La vitalité
Well BE
BY SUZ ANNE POLL AK
S E L F - C A R E I S I N T H E Z E I T G E I S T. More interesting than the numbers behind the $10 billion dollar, consumer-driven, often pricey self-care industry are the conversations taking place in the present about what caring for yourself really means and how we can practice it. First, let’s look at what self-care is not. Although there are exciting products out there—some that I either use or covet—the actual foundation of self-care is not something we can buy. It’s much more profound than slipping our perfectly pedicured feet into Golden Goose sneakers and drinking an organic kale smoothie while wearing a hydrating face mask. One definition of self-care is “the practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.” But this requires us to develop a specific intelligence.
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It means listening to your body and letting it guide you, going granular on how you view your emotions, paying careful attention to how you are feeling, asking if you need to take care of yourself, and knowing what that means at that moment. As scientists learn more about the balance between the body and the brain, they have discovered that the mind often acts like an unruly toddler and does not listen. The brain responds to signals from the body, but who among us is trained to pay attention to those signals? Only professional athletes, and even they usually have a team of care specialists working behind the scenes. The brain can easily misinterpret or overrule what the body is saying.
