Adams Media - My Pocket Self-Care: Anytime Activities to Refresh Your Mind, Body, and Spirit

Adams Media

An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

57 Littlefield Street

Avon, Massachusetts 02322

www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2020 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Adams Media Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Adams Media trade paperback edition November 2020

ADAMS MEDIA and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or .

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

Images 123RF/Liudmila Horvath

Cover design by Julia Jacintho

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Title: My pocket self-care.

Description: First Adams Media trade paperback edition. | Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media, 2020

Series: My pocket | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020015904 | ISBN 9781507214398 (pb) | ISBN 9781507214404 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Self-care, Health--Problems, exercises, etc.

Classification: LCC RA776.95 .M9 2020 | DDC 613.076--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020015904

ISBN 978-1-5072-1439-8

ISBN 978-1-5072-1440-4 (ebook)

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Simon & Schuster, Inc., was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

The information in this book should not be used for diagnosing or treating any health problem. Not all diet and exercise plans suit everyone. You should always consult a trained medical professional before starting a diet, taking any form of medication, or embarking on any fitness or weight training program. The author and publisher disclaim any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of this book.

Contains material adapted from the following title published by Adams Media, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.: Self-Care for Life by Skye Alexander, Meera Lester, and Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, copyright 2011, ISBN 978-1-4405-2860-6.

Do you want to learn how to beat stress and prioritize what matters most? Are you looking for ways to improve your health and boost energy? Do you want to feel more in tune with yourself and the world around you?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, youre looking for self-care!

My Pocket Self-Care offers 150 exercises you can do at home, at work, or on the go to help you care for your mind, body, and spirit. These fast but powerful exercises will help you balance every part of your mental, physical, and emotional health, in order to flourish as the best version of you possible.

Youll learn how to care for and maintain all of your needs by completing simple activities like:

• Manifesting courage through Warrior Pose
• Refreshing your thinking with peppermint oil
• Finding answers with a pendulum
• Reinvigorating your skin with vitamin C
• Creating a personal mission statement
• Removing computer stress with a tourmaline crystal

As you delve into these exercises, keep in mind that they dont follow a strict order. If you feel drawn to a certain topic, or are looking for self-care in a specific area, skip straight to it. The rest will be here waiting for you whenever you are ready. Its time to take charge of your health and happiness with self-care, so turn the page and lets get started!

PART 1 MIND

Do you often find yourself nervous, anxious, irritable, or tense? If so, youre not alone. According to a Prevention magazine survey, three-quarters of those polled said they experienced great stress one day a week.

When you are stressed out, it can be difficult to make sound decisions. If you are upset, anxious, or in a bad mood, you may subconsciously revisit a situation from your past that hooks into your emotional state, and make a decision based on that earlier situation, rather than the facts of the current one. Realizing how your own emotions impact the choices you make can help you discern when it is best to put off a decision until you are in a calmer frame of mind.

Everything in our world began with a dream or vision. But you must bring your dreams down to earth if you want them to materialize. Its time to focus on making your dreams realities.

Break down larger goals into small steps. Not only will this give you a plan of action for where to go from here, but it will also make the dream itself feel achievable, and help you stay the course no matter what obstacles may crop up along the way.

According to the tenets of Hinduism, thoughts are as powerful as spoken words and produce reactions, either good or bad, according to what you think about. Its a good reason to be positive in your thoughts, words, and deeds.

Unfortunately, negative thoughts have a way of multiplyingfast. And if you let them, theyll drag you down into the dumps. Start monitoring your thoughts. Every time you catch yourself thinking about something unpleasant, immediately shift to something positive. It may also help to write down the negative thoughts you have, either in a journal or a note in your smartphone, so you can see just how often they creep in. Keep a few feel-good thoughts handy as well, and go to them whenever you need to dispel negativity.

When you look behind an overnight success, youll usually discover someone who has worked long and hard to get ahead. Edison may have been right when he said genius is 99 percent perspirationin other words, effort and persistence.

Companies usually state their core values in mission statements. A mission statement tells customers, community, workers, and others what your purpose is and what your business is all about. You can do the same thing! Create a personal mission statement that describes your vision and goalsfor example, My personal mission is to get my students excited about learning and inspire them to pursue what they are passionate about. A personal mission statement will help keep you on track when challenges crop up.

Our fast-paced society encourages us to keep doing more things faster, yet the result is often increased stress and diminished quality of life. Instead of speeding up, try slowing down and focusing on one thing at a time. You may discover you enjoy time with loved ones more, feel more relaxed, and even perform better-quality work.