You know how there are soooo many voices on the internet? Every day my inbox is full of people telling me how to live a better life. Don’t get me wrong – it can be inspiring to see everyone’s interpretation! But sometimes it’s hard to sort through all of the input to find what really resonates with you. Occasionally, those email newsletters and reminders go straight into my archived inbox.
Jessica Dimas is one of the voices I NEVER tune out. Her work is always simple, powerful and just what I need to get myself back in the flow of taking care of myself (and finding a bit of magical inspiration along the way!).
I recently had the honor of asking her five questions about how to amp up our self care practices this holiday season – and I know you’ll find some gems of wisdom in her responses. Listen up, and maybe take notes! And be sure to follow along with Jessica on her site and on Instagram @jessicadimasblog.
Tell us a bit about how your philosophy of self care has evolved over time, and what it means to you these days.
When I first started doing self-care activities, I didn’t think of it as self-care, but alone time. It sort of started out with me doing what I wanted to do without any interruptions, so I would blog or write my book, but then when my book was done and I had completed everything with the blog, I started to just recharge.
I would journal, read books that were healing (Louise Hays’ You Can Heal Your Life book and workbook truly did heal so much of me), I would play soft music and light candles, etc.
Self-care now is still all of that but it’s gone down a more spiritual path for me. I’m not only recharging but I’m connecting with the Divine and grounding. I feel like I dwell in magic for an hour or two, which is so fitting because that was the tagline I created for my blog several years ago.
Where do you struggle when it comes to self-care during the holiday season? What are some proactive measures we can all take to get our energetic “stuff” in line before the stress hits?
I mainly struggle with the overwhelm of lots of activity and interaction within a short and intense time frame. I like to make sure I’m as grounded as possible during this season. I try to spend more time in my self-care space, listen to more guided meditations, and I’m huge on aromatherapy. I have several sprays that have grounding essential oils in them that I will spray around myself and I also work with crystals that help me stay grounded, like black tourmaline.
Mostly I think it’s important to make quiet time for yourself during this season and to connect with yourself frequently, especially if you’re a more introverted person.
The holidays often mean travel, and sleeping on sofas or in spare rooms. Do you have any tips or suggestions for mobile self-care practices? How do you take your techniques on the road?
I take my aromatherapy sprays and crystals! I really do spritz myself several times a day, especially when there’s a lot of interaction. I also always take a journal because I feel like it’s the equivalent of someone who needs to run or exercise in order to release their pent up energy; journaling is like that for me. Once I can write out everything that’s in my head, I can release it and just not feel so overwhelmed.
Whatever helps you stay grounded and connected, take it with you if it’s mobile. Go to your room every so often and just sit in silence if you can. Take a book that helps you to recenter and read that before falling asleep. I just try to think of little things like that that make a big difference but that aren’t super time consuming.
Do you have any seasonal self-care practices that you add in during the winter months, or is your practice consistent throughout the year? How do you “know” when it’s time for a tweak and a refresh?
That’s a great question, I’ve never thought of that! My practice is consistent for a few months and then it changes because my needs change. I do feel like during the holiday season though I’m more focused on my boundaries and making sure I don’t overextend myself. It’s easy to say yes to all of the fun invitations, but it’s not so fun when I’ve got obligations back to back for several days or weeks in a row.
So part of self-care for me is looking at my week and protecting my time. I am not a good mother, wife, daughter, friend, etc…if I am running on fumes. Making time for self-care or at the very least, time where I have zero obligations, is a must for me.
I know it’s time to tweak and refresh my self-care practices when I feel like it’s an obligation or I’m just not interested. Usually I’ll just stick to reading inspirational books and journaling when I feel like this and let my desire for my morning routine, for example, come back on it’s own. It’s usually always a little bit different than what I was previously doing.
The Well Supported Woman is all about confidence, clarity and connection – three aspects that can be very trying during the busy holiday season. How has your self-care practice deepened your own feelings of confidence, personal clarity and connection (to either yourself or a higher power)?
My self-care practice has deepened my feelings of confidence, clarity and connection just from being alone with myself. In our busy world, most of us don’t grant ourselves the quiet time to just be still and alone with ourselves. When we ARE alone, it’s easy to be distracted by scrolling through our phones or vegging out watching tv. I’m not against these things because I do them frequently, but I do think it makes a huge difference when you create truly quiet time to just connect with yourself, check in with what you’re feeling and where you want to go, and to just let yourself be still.
A lot of healing takes places when you’re still and focused on yourself, and your intuition is able to come through more as well which will bring clarity and lead you on a delicious crumb trail to everything you’re seeking.
Consistent time spent in a self-care practice will get you in touch with your inner guidance, and when that happens, you’ll be in touch with everything you need.
Um, yes please. To all of this. Let me know in the comments how you’re practicing self care this holiday season!