Self-care is an integral part of a successful wellness journey. While finding time for fitness and eating nourishing food count as self-care, sometimes we need that extra daily dose of self-love or something to help us de-stress. And, after the stressful year, we have all endured, researchers and mental health professionals agree that self-care has truly never been more important.
Self-Care Isn’t a Luxury: It’s Essential
The truth about self-care is that we often view it as a luxury or something that needs to cost money or take a ton of time. But what if we shifted that mindset a bit and think about self-care in a more approachable way — like adding a self-care activity on top of something you already do, like adding in a 5-minute meditation after your daily workout? It can be something completely free and be something that doesn’t require a ton of additional time.
Looking at self-care from this angle not only makes it more approachable but also makes it more likely that we will commit to fitting it into our daily lives.
RELATED: The Ultimate Guide to Self-Care & Stress Reduction
3 FitOn Trainers Shared Their Favorite (Free) Self-Care Tips
For more self-care inspiration, we asked three of our FitOn trainers what their top free self-care tips are as well as some of their favorite ways to de-stress.
Here’s what Bree Koegel, Sydney Benner, and Caroline Pearce shared with us.
Bree Koegel’s Favorite Self-Care Tips
We asked Bree what her top three free self-care tips were, and here’s what she said.
#1 Go For a Walk By Yourself
I love my husband, but there’s something very sacred about walking by myself, catering only to my needs for a short time.
#2 Stretch Just a Little
If you find time to watch tv, use that commercial break to do the feel-good stretches. Touch your toes, twist your spine, do the things that give you a few more inches to breathe.
For stretching inspiration, browse the stretch category in the FitOn app.
#3 Tell Your People You Love Them
If COVID has taught us anything, it’s that time is fleeting. No regrets is a great way to move forward.
We also asked Bree what her favorite way to reduce stress was, her response…
“*shocker* workout.”
Sydney Benner’s Favorite Ways to De-Stress
For Sydney, her three self-care tips that don’t cost a thing include: Shower/brush teeth, breathwork, and meditation.
Breathwork and meditation are both powerful and completely free ways to de-stress. Time and time again, research shows that meditation helps reduce feelings of stress, particularly mindful meditation.
In addition to adding meditation to your de-stress routine, you can also bring more Zen into your day with Sydney’s Full Body Yoga Flow class.
Caroline Pearce’s Favorite Free Self-Care Tips
Caroline’s favorite way to de-stress is the move! She said she likes to get out for a walk in nature, by the ocean, along the beach.
Her top three free self-care tips include:
#1 You Time
Don’t get caught up constantly attending to work and family demands. Set aside time for yourself each day to do something that gives you peace of mind, whether that’s exercise, meditation, a hobby, or a relaxing bath.
#2 Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate.
This does so much for your well-being. Your cells literally depend on it. And you’ll find most physical distress gets better with hydration!
RELATED: The Ultimate Guide to Hydration.
#3 Recovery Time
Exercise is great, but recovery is just as important. I say, “train hard, recover harder.” This can include stretching, massage, or even an Epsom salt bath and cold flush.
Finding Time For Self-Care
Whether it’s a five-minute meditation, taking a ten-minute walk, blending up an energizing green smoothie, or taking an Epsom salt bath as part of your evening routine, finding time for self-care is a crucial part of any wellness journey. This week, we challenge you to find one new way you can practice self-care and add it to your calendar or set a reminder in your phone. Stick with it for a week and see how it makes you feel. The better you take care of YOU, the better you can tackle the dozens of things on your daily to-do list, and the more of you can show up as the greatest version of yourself.
If you’re looking to amp up your self-care routine and haven’t joined our community yet, sign up for free and get access to unlimited free workouts and meditations. The options are endless — you can choose a stretch routine that will leave you feeling recharged, a higher intensity workout to get those feel-good endorphins flowin’, or even a before-bed meditation to help you unwind.
