Ritual = Remedy

Let’s talk about “Self-Care.” I feel like the world tends to dress up self-care as long candle lit bubble baths. Don’t get me wrong, I LOOOOVE me a good bubble bath but living with fibromyalgia and my tender skin has taught me something else.

Self-care doesn’t always look like what the world tells us it should. We don’t have to put away an entire hour a day devoted to ourselves for it to be “Self Care”. I teach this in my Apothecary Workshops. Some days it’s as simple — and as hard — as taking a shower when my body aches or I’m anxious and all I want to do is sleep. Or remembering to eat when I’m so stressed I’ve forgotten how hungry I am. I’ve learned to listen more closely. To slow down when I can. I started carving out these little pockets of the day just for me — tiny rituals that remind me I’m worth tending to:

For me, self-care often lives in ritual:

Putting salves on my owies I’d usually ignore

• Smoothing lip balm before bed as a quiet goodnight to myself

• Massaging serums into my skin after showers, letting the scent and texture

calm my nervous system and skin

• Spending time in my apothecary — or wandering into someone else’s — just to soak up the energy we share when we work with plants

 • Harvesting herbs in my garden allowing the quiet meditation that comes along with it

It’s less about doing more and more about being present. I’ve found that caring for my skin became a doorway to caring for the rest of me. With every little ritual, I remind myself that I’m worth tending to. The plants I work with teach me this over and over: healing isn’t loud. It doesn’t rush. It doesn’t demand to be seen. It happens slowly, in layers, in tiny consistent acts of self love.

So maybe today, your ritual is simple: Drink a glass of water slowly instead of gulping it down, take three deep breaths before you open your email, touch and treat your own skin like it belongs to someone you love. Because true self-care is about remembering yourself. Coming home to yourself, over and over again through little moments because you do deserve it.

Rest Well,

Dena