Self-Care by the Numbers

Keep your well full, that others might drink.

-In other words, we can't help anyone else if we, ourselves, a We can only help those we love from a place of well-being. So here are my top 10 self-care methods.

Our friends and pop psychology are always telling us to engage in self-care. But it occurred to me that some of us might not know where to begin trying. So I thought I'd share my 10 best methods for self-healing, self-nurtiing, and self-loving practices. If our wells are empty, we have nothing to give.

But first, my best advice. Catch it early. Don't wait until you're off the rails to begin. Some ways I can tell I'm "off my zen," as I call it:

• I catch myself complaining, it can be about people or politics or the weather, it doesn't matter. If I'm complaining on our blissful morning walk, I am walking a cliff's edge on crumbling ground.

• I start to get short tempered.

• I use CNN as background noise and leave it on all day.

• I call an anti-vaxxer an idiot.

BUT let me add that noticing you're off is the second line of defense. The very first and most effective method is prevention, or to positively spin that, the steady, loving maintenance of our high vibration. That's what I call my zen. For me, it's a high, easy, comfortable, confident, steady, knowing, following-my-bliss-in-absolute-faith vibe. And the best way to maintain your zen, whatever level that is for you, is to make self-care a daily practice.

The methods below can be used as emergency rescues when you feel too much in your head, or all knotted up about something, or too far off your zen.