Taking care of your soul is just as important as taking care of your skin and body.

Self-care usually entails wearing a face mask, taking a long hot bath, and any activities that make you feel good on the outside,  but what about the inside?

Having glowing skin is fun but having a healthy soul is just as good if not more, which is why creating a routine catered to caring for your soul just makes sense.

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

Unlike self-care which focuses mainly on activities that provide temporary satisfaction, soul-care focuses more on adopting practices that will have long-lasting, positive effects on your everyday life.

It is also about believing that you are worthy and deserving of feeling good.

YouTube creator and poet, Abbey Acevedo described the difference between self-care and soul care as follows: self-care is the actual doing of the thing; moving your body in yoga, reading that book, or taking a walk. Soul-care, on the other hand, refers to the feeling you get when doing the thing: joy, freedom, peace, or fulfilment.

Adopting a more soul-care focussed routine will not only be beneficial to you but will also strengthen your bonds with those around you.

Just like a self-care routine, there are plenty of ways you can take care of your soul; from meditating to honouring your boundaries and practising silence, there are a number of ways you can take care of your inner self.

Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash

Here are some suggestions to get you started on your journey:

Meditation

Meditation is a great way to slow down your mind, which gives you access to your more intuitive self. This, in turn, allows you to tune into our soul’s desires.

Practising meditation will also help with gaining a stronger understanding of yourself, helping you grow into the best version of yourself.

Journaling

As much as writing in a journal can be considered self-care, it is also a form of soul-care because releasing any bottled up feelings whether good or bad, rejuvenates the soul.

Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash

Writing your feelings down will also help you process your emotions and release any energy that might be holding you back.

Honouring your boundaries

Some people find it hard to say no without feeling bad about it which often leads to them saying yes even when they do not want to. This can be bad for the soul because essentially when you say yes just to please others, you are saying no to yourself.

Trusting your instinct and being able to say “no thank you” to invites you don’t want to partake in is soul-care. Being able to honour the boundaries that you have set will make you feel good, and that is exactly what soul-care is about.

Affirmations

Thinking positively is one of the best ways you can take care of your soul. By doing positive affirmations regularly you will be able to control your feelings, improve your self-esteem and be more productive.

Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash

Yoga

Yoga has a lot of benefits for your body, not only will it keep you fit, but it will also help with any back problems you might have. It is also good for your soul because you will become more self-aware the more you practice it.

Being silent

Practising silence will allow you to filter out all the outside noise that sometimes distracts us from taking a look at what’s really going on inside of ourselves.

By just being in solitude you get to know yourself on a soul level and uncover your true desires and feelings.

Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash

Taking breaks from social media

This goes hand in hand with practising silence because social media can be very distracting. It is always good to detach from your phone or any other smart devices just so you can focus on yourself without any background noise.

This will take some practice for people that are obsessed with social media but the benefits will be worth it.