By Kristen Alexander

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May 9, 2025

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Self-care for Mother’s Day: Every mother’s story is beautifully unique, woven with love, strength, and incredible multitasking. From sunrise to bedtime (and often beyond), moms pour themselves into caring for others. They make sure everyone has what they need, and often put their own needs last. But here’s the truth: to keep giving your best, you’ve got to give a little back to yourself, too.

This Mother’s Day, we’re shining a light on the caregivers—the moms, grandmothers, aunts, stepmoms, foster moms, and anyone else who wears the “mom hat” in someone’s life. No matter your role, you deserve moments of rest, joy, and restoration…without the dreaded mom guilt tagging along.

So we’ve pulled together some simple, soul-nourishing self-care ideas that are as practical as they are refreshing. Because taking care of yourself isn’t selfish, it’s essential.

Below are a few easy, guilt-free ways to fill your own cup so you can continue pouring into others with love and energy.

• Scheduled Self-Care: While it may seem impossible to schedule time for yourself each day because you are constantly caring for everyone else, try setting aside 10-20 minutes to focus on yourself each day. Use this time to take a bath, cleanse and exfoliate your face, moisturize your skin, apply a castor oil pack, or work on improving your lymphatic and nervous systems! 
  • Nervous System Support: Vagus nerve exercises can help support your nervous system and get you out of the ‘fight or flight’ state, allowing you to be calmer, responsive, and present. A few simple vagus nerve exercises include gargling, humming, splashing cold water on your face, meditating, and taking deep, slow breaths. Another way to support your nervous system and reduce stress is by practicing EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique). 
  • Lymphatic System Support: Gua Sha and Dry Skin Brushing are two excellent ways to gently support your lymphatic system and reduce inflammation and stagnation within the body. There are excellent tutorials on YouTube that are available to help walk you through these processes! The best part about both of these lymphatic supports is that they only take a few minutes of your time!
• Nature Time: Spending time in nature is such an important part of life that is often skipped over due to our busy schedules. Aim to spend 10 minutes outside each day listening to the birds, sitting in the grass, or taking a brisk walk. Challenge yourself to learn about one new flower, tree, or animal daily; curiosity and learning help keep the mind sharp. This is a great activity to do as a family! 
• Human Interaction: Take a few minutes each day to talk to another person outside of your immediate family. This helps to stay engaged and connected with your community, as research has shown that social connection is crucial for optimal mental and physical health. Making time for connection, even 5-10 minutes, is invaluable if you are home alone all day, raising tiny humans! 
• Diet and Nutrition: It can be easy to forget to feed yourself after you have fed everyone else. Or, maybe you just don’t have time in your schedule to prepare meals with a newborn at home. If you cannot eat consistent meals, try incorporating nutrient-dense snacks throughout the day. Focus on protein, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats. It is also important to stay hydrated during the day. Ensure that you have access to quality filtered water (with electrolytes) to help fuel your day and keep you hydrated! If you have difficulty winding down at night, you can create a sleepy mocktail to support hydration, relaxation, and sleep. Try mixing sparkling water, tart cherry juice, and magnesium powder! 

 

If you’re trying to conceive, here are a few practices to start now for additional support:

• Incorporate high-quality prenatal vitamins and fish oil for optimal nutritional support and to help correct potential nutrient deficiencies
• Ask your healthcare providers to run labs to ensure optimal wellness, allowing you to work on improving deficiencies. Basic labs to asses: Vitamin D, Vitamin B 12, Folate, Iron Panel and Ferritin, Thyroid Panel, CBC, CMP, HbA1c
• Focus on nutrient-dense meals that prioritize protein, healthy fats, and antioxidants (berries, leafy greens, nuts, beans, etc) 
• Stress management is essential in all walks of life, but especially during conception and pregnancy. Learning how to manage stress appropriately is important, and ensuring that you have tools that you can utilize is imperative! Consider establishing a relationship with a counselor or therapist. This will help you learn about different stress management techniques and see which ones may work best for you! 
• If you are not already tracking your menstrual cycle, start a journal to help familiarize yourself with your cycles. This will help you discover if there are any imbalances or irregularities. 

 

If you’re feeling out of balance, overwhelmed, or looking for pre-conception support, make an appointment with a naturopathic doctor to see what additional support may be available to you! 

 

Experiencing Care-taker burnout? Read THIS BLOG for more helpful tips!