Self-Care for Coaches: Take Care of Your Most Important Asset

Self-care for coaches and healers means taking care of yourself first

Self-care. We all know we need it. But what exactly is it? Bubble baths and spa days? True self-care goes much deeper than that, especially for those of us who run our own business. 

Developing a self-care practice is beneficial for everyone, but especially important for coaches and healers. The more your work relies on your personal time and energy, the more self-care you need.

But how do you discover the best self-care practice for you as a coach or healer? When it comes to self-care for coaches, the best practice is one based on your needs.

Why self-care is important for coaches, healers, and other “helpers”

As a coach or healer, your work requires your time and energy. And, especially if you’re a highly sensitive or empath entrepreneur, you may have tendency to burnout easily.

In order to serve your clients to the best of your ability, you want to be sure to take care of yourself.

The whole point of practicing self-care for coaches and healers is so that you can maintain your energy so that you can show up powerfully and share your gifts. This means allowing  you to rest and recuperate so you don’t experience burnout and fatigue.

An effective self-care practice is one that gives you what you need in order to be of service to others. After all, you can’t help someone put on their oxygen mask if yours is nowhere to be found.

When it comes to taking care of yourself, consistency is key. A regular self-care practice helps you feel more centered, relaxed, and focused over time. And like yoga or meditation, a self-care is exactly that — a practice — that requires constantly returning to yourself.

The best self-care for you as a coach or healer is personalized to your needs

When people hear the word self-care, they think of spa days and bubble baths or pedicures and haircuts.

While your practice may include those activities, self-care is not just about your body or outside image. Complete self-care means nurturing yourself from the inside out; not the other way around.

An effective self-care practice includes paying attention to your body, mind, and soul. This requires checking in with yourself on a regular basis and developing a keen awareness of what you need.

Keep in mind, your most effective self-care isn’t necessarily the same from day to day. The activities will change based on what’s going on with you. Some days you might need a quiet walk alone, other days you might need a sweaty workout, other days you might need a nap or time in meditation.

How coaches, healers, and helpers can practice self-care

These 5 steps can help you create an effective self-care practice personalized to your needs by tuning into your body and intuition, and taking the necessary actions to best support yourself.

1. Find a way to check-in with yourself on a regular basis.

Carve out time each day to check in with yourself. Get still, get quiet, and observe what’s coming up for you. Even if it’s for 5 minutes a day, build this time into your daily routine.  Commit to making it a regular practice, and create the time and space to make it happen.

2. Acknowledge where you’re at in that moment.

How are you feeling? If you’re sad, be sad. If you’re angry, be angry. If you’re frustrated, be frustrated. Whatever you’re feeling, acknowledge it. It’s much more therapeutic to allow your feelings to come up and pass through you rather than to stuff them inside or pretend they don’t exist.

3. Listen to what your body, mind, and soul is telling you.

What is calling out for your attention? What has been neglected that needs to be brought to light? You might notice anything from a persistently sore muscle to nagging resentment over an argument. If you can’t quite hear what your intuition or your body is telling you, stay the course. Practice sitting in solitude on a regular basis until something does arise. (If you want more support in this area, check out tapping into your intuition in business.)

4. Based on the messages you receive, what needs have you uncovered?

If you feel the need for rest, your action could be a cat nap or planning fora  day off. If you detect resentment, your action might be to call the person you feel resentment toward and share your feelings.  If you feel stagnant in your life, your action could be to move your body. Your body knows best and it holds the answers.

5. Take action. (This is important!)  

Whatever you sense you need, give yourself the time and space to do that thing. Although having awareness is a great first step, it’s not enough on its own to give you the relief you seek. You must take the in order to feel better.

Self-care is a practice that supports you to be a better coach or healer

When you continue to practice self-care on a regular basis, you’ll develop a heightened sense of self-awareness, be able to identify what you need to support yourself, and create the time for self-care.

Cultivating this type of intuitive self-care as a coach will help you maintain your sense of self and energy, so that you can better show up and serve your clients.

Time spent caring for yourself is never wasted. After all, you can’t support others until you take care of yourself first.