Jasmine Nicole

After being on lockdown for months, things have opened up and whether you hit the ground running, or laid low, what have you been doing to care for yourself this summer?

I’m a teacher and being a teacher means summers off. I’ve worked during the summers most of my time as a teacher, but I’ve decided that in order to avoid burnout, I would start taking this time off. I know everyone doesn’t get summers off, but I find it to be a time where collectively the world takes time to relax. So here’s what I’ve been doing this summer to engage in self care.

1. Spending time alone

I have a 4 year old daughter, so this is hard to do on a regular basis, but 4 days a week, I have been taking her to daycare so that I can have some moments to myself. I also am in the second to last semester of grad school, so I do a lot of homework during the day, but I’m also using this time to catch up on my shows, rest, read, and enjoy my own company. When I was at home with my daughter last year, working and trying to keep her entertained, it was exhausting. This summer I owe it to myself to get some of that time back.

2. Body Care

I decided to either get a massage, a colonic, or both this summer to give my body a reset. I’m excited to say I’ve done both, which is a big deal for me. My massage was a full body, peppermint aromatherapy, hot stone massage. I was able to find a black woman massage therapist and she was magical. I will definitely be going back soon. Now if you don’t know, a colonic is smooth and easy process to alternatively clean out waste in your colon. I won’t go into details but it’s exactly what it sounds like. I will say that for me, it was super relaxing and a really smooth way to detox the body. If you’re into alternative medicine practices, I highly recommend that you do more research on it and check it out for yourself.

3. Affirmations

I know. I was one of those people who was like these can’t work for me, they just can’t. But they have actually been putting me at peace. I started with listening to a YouTube video of affirmations in the morning and I noticed that I would start to repeat certain ones to myself when I needed that boost. After a while, it became a little like a chore where I had to carve out some time to sit, meditate, and listen to the video. So I stopped, but I discovered that there’s a whole channel of videos that will play while you’re sleeping. The videos target specific needs and playing them while I sleep have gotten me the best sleep I’ve had lately. I’m not sure if it’s the affirmations, the calming music, or an equal combination of the two, but both of these videos have been lifting my spirits.

Alana Fox: https://youtu.be/j71q6zlbO3I

Live the Life you Love: https://youtube.com/c/Ilivethelifeilove

Now that summer is over and my schedule is going to be packed again, I’m hoping to keep my self care up and maybe add some new things to my routine.

What’s been your favorite self care activity this summer?