PSA: Soul Care Is The New Self-Care, Here’s Our Guide

Empowerment
by HB Team |
Tue, 24 May 2022

self-care activities

Chances are you’ve got your skincare and haircare routine on lockdown (if you don’t, read this) but what about your soul care routine? We recently watched an interview with soul-care queen, Alicia Keys, who posed this exact question. While she mentioned this in relation to her own skin and wellness brand, Soulcare, the practice is clearly close to her heart and something she consistently advocates for. Listening to Alicia prompted us to consider curating our own routine that makes our soul feel nourished, balanced, and at peace.

If you’re sitting there thinking, isn’t soul-care the same as self-care? Touché, we get your point. Self-care is about doing something that makes your mind and body feel nurtured, and to a degree, so is soul care. However, we’re defining soul care as a ritual that makes your soul feel heard, seen, and validated, something that fills your cup in a way that goes beyond feeling relaxed – it grants you inner peace. Soul care focuses more heavily on your mind and emotion. It gives you the opportunity to connect with yourself more deeply on a spiritual level.

So without further ado, here are some soul care rituals we practice that have made a significant difference to our well-being, and that just generally feel good for the soul.

1. Take A Sound Bath

Sound baths have blown up in the last five years, and for good reason. They’re a mediative experience where you’re bathed in melodic sound waves that are created using gongs, singing bowls, percussion, and even the human voice. Sound baths can last up to an hour (or even more) while you typically lie on your back to listen.

If you’re wondering where the magic lies, a 2016 study of 62 adults gauged their feelings before a sound bath, and again after a meditation session that included a sound bath. The researchers found that tension, anxiety, and negative moods decreased significantly after the therapy. If you’re intrigued about the practice but are not ready to commit to an in-person session, there are tons of online classes, like NTM Sound, which offers sound meditative experiences. There’s even sound baths on social media (like the one linked above) to help you feel balanced and re-energized daily.

2. Invest In Therapy

Real talk: therapy is probably one of the most life-changing things you can ever do. It gives you the opportunity to discuss your thoughts, feelings, and fears in a safe space that’s free of judgment or personalized agendas. It equips you with the emotional and mental tools that can help you navigate life in a more peaceful, harmonious way. It can enable and empower you to set healthy boundaries so that you always prioritize your own well-being and fill your cup, because the reality is, that you can’t fill someone else’s cup if yours is empty.

While we’re aware that therapy is undoubtedly a privilege due to its notorious expensive, there are some amazing services that offer free online help like BetterHelp (the world’s largest therapy platform). Alternatively, you can find apps, like MoodMission, which teach you healthy coping mechanisms to relieve feelings of anxiety and depression. There are also free 24/7 helplines available across the world, so if you’re worried about yourself or a loved one, don’t hesitate to call.

3. Prioritize Laughing Every Day 

We’ve all heard the expression, ‘laughter is medicine for the soul,’ but seriously, it’s the best natural medicine. Studies have shown that it relaxes your body, releases endorphins, protects the heart, and actually may even help you live longer. So although it may sound weird, make sure you laugh at least once a day, whether that’s by calling someone who always makes you giggle, listening to a podcast, or watching some standup, prioritize laughter.

4. Re-energize with Crystals

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Okay, so the topic of crystal healing can be quite divisive – some people swear by it and others think it’s a little far-fetched. If we’re honest, for a while we found it hard to understand the power of crystals, but ever since we sat down and chatted about the concept with healer and shaman, Mama Medicine, AKA Deborah Hanekamp, we’ve been low-key obsessed.

So what exactly is it? Deborah explains that crystal healing is simply, “taking a moment to connect to the way the minerals of earth calm our senses and restore our spirits, and saying thank you to the way the earth holds and supports us.” This can involve holding a specific crystal, using it within part of your meditation or skincare practice, or bathing in water with crystals submerged in the water.

Deborah explains how crystals can connect with living things, “The minerals in your blood and bones actually have their own crystalline structures and elements. So just by connecting to yourself, you can tap into the power of crystal healing.” She goes further, “This is why when we hold crystals, we can have a pulsing sensation of groundedness, and this feeling of being grounded can be equated to feeling confident, which I feel is the number one quality in helping us feel calm.” For more on the practice, check out our crystal guide 101.

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5. Journal Daily 

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Journaling is one of the most popular self-care rituals and so naturally, it also has a place in your soul care routine. As soul care focuses intensely on your emotional mindset, it can help you get in touch with your deeper thoughts and feelings.

Life coach, global writer, and public speaker, Kira Jean, says that it can increase creativity, which for many, feeds the soul, “Journaling is a practice that can be used in different ways to increase mental and emotional clarity and fuel creativity. It can be used to reflect on your day and clear your thoughts, or it can be used to dream, create, and explore ideas and experiences.” To learn more about journaling, check out our journaling guide with helpful prompts.

6. Find out your Love Language

Recently, during a team-building exercise, the HB hunnies did a quiz to discover our love language! The term comes from the book, “The Five Languages Of Love,” which explains that “different people with different personalities give and receive love in different ways.” The quiz helps you determine how you give and receive love so that you can better communicate this with your partner, based on your learnings. The five languages include personal touch, words of affirmation, acts of service, giving and receiving gifts, and time spent together.

Honestly, it’s such a transformative piece of knowledge. It may even surprise you! Not only does it have the ability to improve your relationships with others (especially your significant other) but it can improve your relationship with yourself. With a little bit of thought, you can translate each language into your own soul care care. For example, if you know you feel most validated through words of affirmation, you can practice words of affirmation daily. Similarly, if your love language is physical touch, you could treat yourself to a massage.

For more wellness tips, check out how to have the best morning ever.

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