Quick and Easy Self Care

I know you're brilliant at looking after your dog, and I love you for it ❤️

My question today is, how good are you at looking after yourself?

Because you see, the better you look after yourself, the better you can look after your dog too.

If you're anything like the members of The Shouty-Barky Dog Group, you won't be looking after yourself even half as well as you're looking after your dog.

When I asked them "Do you look after yourself as brilliantly as you look after your dog?" :

71 people said no.

Just 9 said yes,

and 11 said sometimes.

That's a lot of overwhelmed folks that are not looking after themselves.

Those cheesy sayings are true you know: you have to put your own oxygen mask on first...you can't pour from an empty cup...you need to recharge your batteries before trying to power others...

Self care isn’t selfish, it's essential.

When we're constantly running on empty we're busy busy busy. We can be so busy that we don't even notice that we're running on empty. And even if we did notice, there's not enough time for everything that needs to be done so how could we possibly take time out for self-care? There just isn't enough time in the day!

But here's the thing. Self-care doesn't have to take a long time, and it doesn't have to cost money. I mean it can do, but it doesn't have to. If you've got the time, and the money and you want to go for a spa break, then that's great...but self-care can just as easily take a few minutes and cost nothing at all.

Just 5 minutes of self-care snatched in the middle of a busy day can make a huge difference! And if 5 minutes seems too much, then how about 3 minutes? And if 3 minutes seems impossible, then how about 3 seconds?

If you're struggling to look after yourself as brilliantly as you look after your dog, try this:

Share a smile with yourself in the mirror. Smiles release natural endorphins to help you to feel good.

Close your eyes if it's safe to do so, and ask yourself "What do I need right now?". Notice whatever comes up for you and if possible, gift it to yourself now, or if appropriate make time and space to support yourself with it later. Reach out for help whenever you need it.

Relax, release, enjoy a yawn for you. Yawns naturally help us to let go of anything no longer serving us. So whenever you're ready, yawn it out.

Huge thanks and gratitude to Liz Clifton of Take34U for these simple self care actions.

Remember, you can't light someone else's path if your own candle is burned out.

🐾

Stephie

ps Liz was one of my Shouty-Barky Advent Calendar guests last year and you can still watch her 5-minute self-care activity here https://www.facebook.com/1005546301/videos/1812299459200974/

And if you want to connect with Liz you can do that here: www.LizClifton.co.uk

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Stephie is a dog professional specialising in trauma-informed behavioural support for shouty-barky dogs, dogs with separation anxiety, and sensitive rescues.

Join her on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/TheShoutyBarkyDogGroup/

And check out further learning opportunities on her website: www.CalmerCanines.co.uk

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