What is Sacred Self-Care?

I was recently honored to be interviewed by Jen Hofmann of Inspired Home Office.

Today I am sharing with you a brief (edited) excerpt from that interview in which we talk about what makes self-care sacred.

Enjoy!

Why Sacred Self-Care?

Jennifer: You bring a very different approach to self-care. I really like your approach because you aren’t just focusing on ‘ok, I’m going to take a long hot bath, or go for a walk, or give myself permission to write in my journal.’ For you, it is partly about the doing but … You call it Sacred Self-Care…

Larisa: I call it Sacred Self-Care because it is about being deeply present in the moment and in your body. When you are really centered in the moment, every action, every thought (I think I’m quoting Thích Nhất Hạnh here), becomes sacred.

My intention for self-care.

That is really the goal of self-care for me.

For us to be, eventually, so connected to ourselves, and so present in our bodies, and in the moment, that every action, every word that we speak, is sacred.

Everything that I teach around self-care are skills and tools to help aid that shift into the present moment and into our bodies in a safe way.

What keeps us from being fully present.

Most of the time we aren’t really in our bodies; we aren’t really in the present moment.

And there are usually really good reasons for that. So, this is a process that needs to happen slowly, that needs to happen gently… because just kind of slamming ourselves into our bodies and into the present moment can be very dramatic and scary.

A lot of things that we were avoiding can, all of a sudden, just be there, in our face. That can be very overwhelming.

Jennifer: Wow. That’s such a great point… That being present in this moment might bombard a person, or might overwhelm a person with all the stuff they’ve been… that all the non-self-care stuff might be preventing us from seeing or being present with.

Larisa: All those small voices we’ve been avoiding listening to or avoiding hearing…

Chronic pain as an example of avoiding being present in our bodies.

Let’s put it on a little simpler level of say, chronic pain.

If anyone here has (or is having) an experience of chronic pain in their body, why would they want to be in their body? That’s where the pain is. That’s where it hurts.

And so, physical pain in and of itself can be a really good reason for not being fully present in our bodies. If we become fully present in our bodies, there is all that pain there that we have to face in full.

The importance of self-care skills.

If we don’t have the resources or the skills to help us meet that pain in a way that isn’t further traumatizing (to use a rather dramatic word) it can be really difficult and overwhelming.

Jennifer: That makes total sense.

What I’m taking from this is that even the things that we do that make us numb out are kind of, in a way, self care.

Larisa: Absolutely. Absolutely! It is a form of self-care, often, to numb out or to avoid feeling something (whether physical or emotional pain).

How everything we do is some form of self-care.

Everything that we do, I think, is actually some form of self-care.

We just get more and more skillful over time at doing self-care in a way that actually leads to healing, and that leads to transformation, and that leads to growth.

Jennifer: Wow. I’m seeing my obsession over facebook in a totally new light. When I’m on it just messing around I’m like ‘This is not nourishing me at all but it is giving me something and I don’t have to necessarily be judgmental about that because it is a kind of self-care even though I can be more skillful with it, with my self-care choices.”

Larisa: Yes. And, you know, anything… even things that we think of as being really beneficial like, for instance, exercise or eating healthfully, can be also be taken to the extreme where they are no longer really truly self-care… where they are just ways of distracting ourselves from or avoiding other things.

Bringing the sacred into self-care.

For me, Sacred Self-Care is more a matter of where you are internally as you are doing it (your self-care thing) vs actually what you are doing.

Jennifer: And that brings it back to being present in the moment.

Larisa: Exactly. Exactly.

Want to know more?

We are currently in the pre-release launch of the Sacred Self-Care e-course. Here is a preview of the bonus self-care articles you receive when you join the pre-release list.

• What to do When You Find Yourself Resisting Self-Care.
• Do What Works + a behind the scenes peek into why this course will be arriving in February vs January. Hint: I’m 9+ months pregnant; also, we unexpectedly moved this month. Transitions!
• The Science of Self-Care – how to truly know whether the thing you are doing supports and nourishes you.

You can still sign-up here to receive the 3 bonus self-care articles, a pre-order discount, and an invitation to a live Sacred Self-Care call (this Friday!).

Perhaps I’ll see you there. 🙂

Updated: the Sacred Self-Care home-study is now available. You can access it here!

Comment Magic:

What came to mind for you when you first heard the term Sacred Self-Care? How do you bring more sacredness into your self-care activities?