Every morning I wake up an hour before any of my obligations start, I take a hot shower & end it with a freezing cold fifteen seconds to make me alert and reduce stress & anxiety. When I step out, I moisturize with non-toxic & natural oils or creams, get dressed, and put my phone in another room while I make tea. Then I sit outside on my uncomfortably bright balcony and read scripture out loud for 10-15 minutes straight. I practice an imaginative prayer, reorganize my prayer notecards between my “praying” & “answered prayer” boxes, and lastly I spend 10 minutes in focused, uninterrupted silence.
JUST KIDDING. That was painful to write because it’s so unrealistic and I imagine you either– 1. rolled your eyes & thought “oh so she thinks she has it all together 🙄” or 2. You shuddered in shame thinking “wow my mornings do not look remotely close to that 😅”.
Truth is, my mornings vary. I could describe my “typical morning” but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that when we think about our own mornings, we think about them in the context of what it should look like, and often how they don’t measure up to that standard. This is the same when I think of spiritual self care routines– everyone must be doing it better than I am, and there must be a perfect-most-fruitful way to do it.
Today’s blog is about spiritual self care. What is spiritual self care? Well, Google’s AI overview explains it pretty well:
Spiritual self care is: “nurturing your inner being and connecting with your core values and beliefs, often through practices like meditation, mindfulness, prayer, or spending time in nature”
All of this has the purpose of “enhancing your sense of meaning and purpose in life.”
As a Christian, spiritual self care means nourishing my heart and soul with the good Word, and finding practices that help me center myself on the Holy Spirit. So, I wanted to present some practices and tactics you can implement in your life to aid in this pursuit.
4 Research-backed practices to implement in your self care routine.
Pause! This list is meant to guide you, this is not for you to add to your “I feel guilty because I don’t do _____” list. So often when we try to adopt new practices, we let a cruel voice taunt & belittle us– saying “didn’t you tell yourself you were going to start doing __ every day? How many times have you actually done it? L0SeR!!!! 🥲” Before you read and choose some that resonate with you, please please give yourself grace. Changing habits is hard– let everyday be an opportunity to strengthen yourself, not tear yourself down.
Digital detox & social media vacation. 📲🏝️
In this study published in the National Library of Medicine, 31 young adults limited their social media use to 30 minutes per day over two weeks. Results indicated improvements in smartphone and social media addiction, sleep quality, life satisfaction, stress levels, perceived wellness, and supportive relationships.
My tips & ideas 💡
- Leave your phone in another room while you sleep so you’re not tempted to scroll at night.
- Leave your phone inside while you go outside so you’re not tempted to mindlessly scroll.
- Delete social media apps from your phone habitually–I have a friend who downloads Instagram & TikTok every Friday after work and deletes it again every Sunday evening. Kendall–you’re my inspiration!
- Create a “Focus” setting on your phone. For me, every weeknight at 8:45 my phone goes into “Nighttime routine” where my lock screen changes into a boring picture and I only have four apps available: Audible, the Bible app, my camera, and my alarm clock.
- Create a ‘charging station’ near the front door of your home so you can place and leave your phone there to charge right when you walk in.
Spend at least 2 hours in nature a week. ⏳🍃
In this observational study of over 19,000 participants, researchers found that the likelihood of reporting good health or high well-being became significantly greater with contact with nature for ≥ 120 mins. For participants who didn’t reach the 120 min mark, there were no significant benefits of being in nature.
My tips & ideas 💡
- Swap a meal or two from eating inside an office/kitchen to eating outdoors!
- Plan four 30 minute walks a week at a park or local natural area.
- Make your Bible study a Bible study picnic or organize a prayer hike.
- Habit stack! Move an existing activity outdoors — like journaling, praying, stretching, or having your morning coffee on the porch or under a tree.
Practice gratitude journaling. 📝✍🏽
In this study 293 adults seeking university-based psychotherapy services were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) control (receive psychotherapy only), (b) receive psychotherapy plus practice expressive writing, and (c) receive psychotherapy plus practice gratitude writing. As you might expect, participants in the gratitude condition reported significantly better mental health.
My tips & ideas 💡
- If you already have a planner/journal, spend 5-10 minutes writing one thing you’re grateful for. Put this next to your bed, or on your bed so it’s there waiting for you before you go to bed.
- If you don’t have a planner/journal, buy one (don’t worry these are not affiliate links). I really love these simple moleskin journals, this Christian Planner, and this Faith Planner.
Create flexible goals, not rigid schedules. 🗓️🫴🏼 **my personal favorite**
In this study, involving more than 2,500 Google employees at offices all around the United States, participants were divided into two groups “Routine Rachels” and “Flexible Fernandos.” Routine Rachels were incentivized to go to the gym at a certain time window 3x a week. Flexible Fernandos were incentivized to go to the gym at any time of the day, 3x a week. Here’s what the researchers saw: “Routine Rachels” began to practice ‘all-or-nothing’ routines. However, “Flexible Fernandos built a no-matter-what routine”. If a “Rachel” didn’t go at her scheduled time, she wouldn’t go to the gym but a “Fernando” would make sure to fit it in his day.
My tips & ideas 💡
- Take any of these suggestions and write them on your fridge whiteboard, your personal planner, or a sticky that you place next to something you look at everyday. Write how many times you want to do them, and the days of the week you hope to implement that practice. Then pray for help from God to accomplish these practices!
And before I go, here are some Scripture verses that come to mind when I think of spiritual self care:
- Romans 12:2 “ […] let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
- Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
- Psalm 1:2 “They delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.
Hope this helps you!
Sincerely,
Synclair