During the month of June we hosted a virtual self-care challenge on Instagram with many of our guests participating.  The benefit of participating in this challenge extends beyond the obvious, the weSPARK self-care challenge t-shirt. A daily practice of self-care can have a profound impact on your life.  Recently, I incorporated Frank Ostaseski’s “The Five Invitations” into my monthly Yin Yoga workshop and monthly hiking and meditation group “Healing In High Places.”  The fourth invitation is:

Find a Place of Rest in the Middle of Things.
We often think of rest as something that will come when everything else is
complete, like when we go on a holiday or when our work is done. We
imagine that we can only find rest by changing the conditions of our life.
But it is possible to discover rest right in the middle of chaos. It is
experienced when we bring our full attention, without distraction, to this
moment, to this activity. This place of rest is always available. We need
only turn toward it. It’s an aspect of us that’s never sick, is not born, and
does not die.

This speaks to the importance of a daily practice of self-care. While treating ourselves to a decadent massage or a trip to Bali does count as self-care, it probably is not sustainable for most of us. What is sustainable self-care?  Taking a look at your daily life and finding the moments where you can incorporate more healing, longer pauses and opportunities for breath.

Some suggestions from our guests during the weSPARK 30 day self-care challenge:

Meditate for 10 minutes each morning.

Go to bed early.

Write a top 10 gratitude list each night.

Go for a walk in nature.

Begin the day with a glass of warm lemon water.

Take a long bath instead of a shower.

Commit to attending a yoga class on a regular basis.

What sustainable self-care practices can you introduce into your life today?

 weSPARK Cancer Support Center is located in Los Angeles and offers completely FREE programs, workshops, classes and individual therapies to cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones. Remember to take a look at our monthly program schedule for more information about the services we offer.

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Casey Ann Hickey, LMSW is the Program Director at weSPARK. Casey leads the breast cancer support group, post treatment support group, weekly gardening program, monthly yin yoga workshop and “Healing In High Places” hiking and meditation program. More of Casey’s articles can be found on her website.