I see so many struggling with self-care right now. We try the things we’re told keep us healthy: eat well, exercise, sleep. Many of the definitions of self-care I found were focused on caring for our physical bodies.
While I’m sure the past few years have caused some of those practices to slip, I still see people who eat well and are physically active struggling with feeling good. So what gives?

Here’s how I see it.
Yes, we have physical bodies. But we are energy beings first, and have energy (mental, emotional, spiritual) bodies that complement our physical body.
Since my energy body also dictates how I feel, I’m not only interested in things like diet and exercise. I also focus on my energy body.
I like to use this analogy:
I imagine my energy body has a finite amount of space. Like a jar.
In a perfect world, it would be 100% filled with my authentic energy. My life force. My chi. Pick your name for it – I like soul. In this world, my soul energy would flow through my being and express through me as my personality. Since that energy is so high vibrational, the more that is allowed space in my body, the lighter, happier, and more at peace I feel.
In our actual world, we have clogs to that soul energy – think of them as lumps of clay. Those clogs are full of suppressed, heavy emotions, and disempowering belief systems. The more we have in our being, the less room our soul has to flow.
For my self-care practice these past three years, I have been hyper-focused on noticing, and releasing, those lumps of clay.
One-by-one, each lump of clay that is released allows a little bit of my soul back. Since my soul has a higher vibration than the emotion it replaces, I am replacing a heavy thing with a lighter thing. I literally feel lighter and more peaceful in my body as a result. I have less need to re-center, because I feel centered more of the time.
Some things I’ve looked at:
What are the reasons I feel guilty?
What am I afraid of?
Am I living according to my desires, or someone else’s?
Where am I distracting myself to avoid feeling a feeling?
(Hint: journaling has been an incredible tool throughout all of this.)
As I questioned it all, and used my process to release the heavy energy and tap into my truth, I became lighter. More at peace. Less reactive to my kids.
To me, this is sustainable self-care.
It’s not something in the outer world, like a bubble bath, that feels good for a time but doesn’t do anything to impact our long-term feeling state. It’s cleaning up our inner world that makes the difference.
So to me – yes, I do see self-care as a spiritual issue.
By the way, the process I used on myself is the one I use with my clients. If you’re interested in learning more, book a virtual coffee with me at the link below!

I (Andrea) am a Transformational and Spiritual Coach. I am passionate about women unlock their potential and create a fabulous life!
Learn more about me: https://andreaandree.com/
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