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What is physical Self-Care?
Physical self-care is the intentional practice of honoring and taking care of yourself physically.
Physical self-care is one of the 5 pillars of self-care and very important to our overall health. The others include mental, spiritual, social, and emotional self-care.
Why is physical self-care important?
We often race through life, checking off the to-do list, all while putting our physical needs and well-being on the back burner.
The ironic thing is that we are typically more productive and ready to take on the day when we feel and look our best!
If our bodies shut down physically or we just don’t feel great, we won’t be able to do any of the things we need or want to do!
Making time for your physical self-care is a must and can easily be made into lifestyle changes. Small changes every day can make this doable. This way it doesn’t seem like a chore or something else to add to your already busy life.
Remember that encompassing physical self-care does not have to be hard and you don’t have to be some super athlete to practice it. Below are 11 examples of ways to practice physical self-care. Hopefully you can work these into your daily life.
Examples of physical self-care?
1. Medical Check-Ups – This is probably number one in physical self-care! It’s so easy to put off getting our routine medical checkups but doing so can make a huge difference and even save your life! Early detection has saved many from a lot of issues. This includes dental, hearing, and vision, as well as your annual physical checkups.
2. Get Moving – Movement is like medicine and if we don’t take care of ourselves our bodies won’t take care of us. We have to continue to move our bodies to say agile. This doesn’t have to be a 5-mile run or hike or anything strenuous. A quick 5-10 minutes a day can go a long way. Remember: If you don’t use it, you lose it! 
Examples: Take a walk, stretch, yoga, work-out class, dance, swimming
3. Sleep – Sleep is so important and so hard for many of us to get! The expert’s recommendation is different depending on your age, but most adults need about 7-9 hours for their bodies to perform properly. This also goes for resting when you’re sick and not feeling well, your body is already starting to shut down at this point so rest up to feel better!
Remember this means quality sleep too. So, a consistent uninterrupted night’s rest is the best!
4. Nutrition – We should try our best to eat a balanced diet. A healthy diet can even reduce the risk of certain diseases and also affects our overall mood! Remember the saying, you are what you eat!
5. Water– Water, water, water! Our bodies are made up of mainly water, about 60% by the time we hit adulthood. So, keeping our bodies hydrated is a must for our physical self-care. Water flushes out toxins, aids in your digestive system, and keeps you functioning at your best.
“Health is Wealth”
6. Skincare- Skincare is one of my favorite forms of physical self-care. Most people think of the typical facial and mask. But skincare goes beyond the skin on your face. You can incorporate body scrubs for exfoliating, different body oils to moisturize. or dry brushing. It increases blood flow, helps with lymphatic drainage, smooth the cellulite, and more. This is a cheap dry brushing body brush if you want to try it out!
7. Massage- Massages are great for relaxing the body and releasing tension and stress. Have no one to do it? No problem, there are plenty of self-massagers that you can use while you’re relaxing! This neck and back massager is great and even has a heat option which is great for that time of the month!
8. Prayer/Meditation – Although you are still, the effects meditation and prayer have on your mind, body, and soul are unmatched. 
9. Breathing – Taking a minute to slow down and do a few deep breaths can calm us down internally and re-align us. Once balanced we will feel better completing our daily tasks!
10. Vitamins – A lot of times we don’t get what we need out of our food, so we need to help aid our bodies by taking vitamins and supplements. There are many different multivitamins and probiotics that are an option. Collagen is also a good one for your overall health including nails, skin, and hair. Check with a doctor and find what’s best for you!
11. Sauna – Sweat it out! Sweat releases so many toxins in the body and is a great way to detoxify. It relieves joint pain and much more.
Related Post: Emotional Self-Care: 13 Simple Ways to Practice
Final thoughts
Practicing physical self-care and having a healthy lifestyle is crucial for everything else you do! Our health is our wealth and without it we can do nothing!
Setting a routine and making your physical self-care a priority is the best way to make sure you add it to your life. Small acts of daily self-care will work serious wonders!
Do you have any other physical self-care acts that you do? Please share in the comments below. I would love to hear them!
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