16 Proven Spiritual Self Care Practices to Nurture Your Soul

Among the seven dimensions of holistic self care, spiritual self care may be the most elusive. Especially for busy moms, spirituality is not something we can easily prioritize in our daily lives. This means that your spiritual self may be the most overlooked part of you that needs your attention today.

The truth is simple. We do, feel, and live better when we feel connected to something greater than ourselves. What that is, is up to you. But your spiritual connection deserves your attention and devotion.

During my healing journey, I’ve learned many ways to nurture my spirit. Such tools have been especially useful since I became a mother. From energetic hygiene to journaling, this post outlines 16 tried-and-true spiritual practices that will help you feel connected, guided, and fully alive.

What is the Spiritual Self?

It’s a question that’s been asked throughout human history. I’m not sure that I have a definition for you that can fit neatly into a couple of sentences.

But to me, it starts with the “I am” perspective, the observer in the machine. It’s the sense of core self that I’m left with during meditation, in those rare moments of clarity and ease.

That “I am” is who I truly am, beyond my experiences, identity, and physical body.

Of course, there’s more to it. But for now, we can agree that the spiritual self is the unseen, lasting part of us that makes us who we are.

If we agree on that, then we could also agree that there is something greater and meaningful at play here, in life, beyond our immediate and personal understanding.

What is Spiritual Self Care?

Spiritual self care is an act that nurtures that unseen part of you and its connection with what’s beyond.

You can define “what’s beyond” as God, the Universe, or All-That-Is (to me, all the same things). Or, if that doesn’t resonate with you, you can also define it as a noble cause, purpose, truth, and so on.

Either way, when you feel deeply connected to that something greater, you have access to more energy and love.

You don’t feel alone in the challenges of your daily life. Your connection literally fuels you to go further, to rest easier.

You Got Spirit?

This post is not about whether God exists or what God is. From my perspective, there’s room for all kinds of relationships with Spirit, as long as your way doesn’t hurt or impinge upon those of others.

And life itself is a spiritual path, whether you know it or not.

Long ago, there was a time when I called myself an agnostic. I believed that we would never know one way or another whether Spirit exists.

But once I began my healing journey and had to pay closer attention to life, the existence of something greater was undeniable.

To me, it’s the download of information during meditation. It’s the feeling of electricity leaving my palms when I give energy healing, and the lessons that my children teach me about the wounds of my childhood and lineage.

Your spiritual journey might look completely different from mine, and I hope that’s okay with you. It’s completely okay with me.

Having said that, the spiritual self care practices listed below are those that I have found the most effective over the years. You can start small or go big. Choose what speaks to you and see how your spirit responds!

16 Proven Spiritual Self Care Practices

1. Find Time to be Alone

Okay. I had to put this one first for the mamas. I don’t know about you, but one of the biggest challenges of motherhood for me has been the sheer volume of sensory input, day in and day out.

Finding quiet time to rest and reset my nervous system has been a story of intention and courage.

Why courage? Well, there are many outside forces that tell you how to parent the second there’s a new life in your womb.

Some voices assert that you have to be with them ALL the time. They say that you almost always have to bend yourself to meet their needs.

I’ve met many moms who seem to thrive in that framework. But I’ve never been one of them.

Personal space and quiet solitude have always been important to me. It replenishes my energy like nothing else. It allows me to show up lighter, more patient, and more whole to those around me.

So, what kind of alone time am I talking about? That’s totally up to you.

When my kids were babies, I’d occasionally leave them with my husband and get dinner on my own. These days, as my kids are older, I can actually read a book at the end of the day.

It could also be as simple as ten quiet minutes in your bed, alone, with the curtains drawn. Find your formula and make it work for you.

To me, having this little boundary reminds me that I am here, too. That I deserve my attention and am allowed to take up time and space, just for me.

2. Spend Time in Nature

Spending time in nature offers many mental and physical benefits. Even spending just 20 minutes a day in nature lowers your stress hormones, according to research.

This may be because contact with nature lets more of life’s energy flow to you directly from the sun, air, trees, and the Earth, according to the teachings of Pranic Healing.

According to shamanism, everything is alive and has a spiritual component, including everything in the natural world. By intentionally connecting with and being present to the trees, the animals, and the wind, we can access their wisdom and spiritual support, it says.

Spend some time outside today and connect with nature as a spiritual self care practice. Take a quiet walk and watch the birds, and listen to their messages.

3. Clean Your Energy

Energy hygiene was a foreign concept to me until a few years ago, during my Reiki mastership at the Muktinath Holistic Center. Despite my initial skepticism, it has been one of the biggest gifts that has transformed my life.

The idea is that negative thoughts, emotions, and memories can linger on/around your body and space, draining your energy. That includes your thoughts and those of others that you may have picked up.

With regular cleansing, I have so much more energy. Daily tasks are easier to complete, and I now say yes to much more than I used to.

I also enjoy more moments of clarity and peace, since I find myself not holding on to things as much as I used to.

I can safely say that energy hygiene changed my life.

How to Clean Your Home and Body

For your home, you can burn sage or palo santo and use the smoke to clean any negative energy.

You start with a strong intention to cleanse your space. You clean physically first, if possible, and open up some windows and doors for the smoke and unwanted energy to leave. You can do this regularly (which is what my Reiki teacher does) or as needed.

For your body, you can use smoke or salt. Take a relaxing salt bath or finish your shower with a salt scrub. You can also use a strong intention to wash away the dirty energy on your body, but salt is way more effective. [This is my regular salt stash.]

After cleansing, intend to fill your body or home with extra love and gratitude. Ask for continued protection and blessing from a higher power, if you’d like.

I’ll write a more detailed post on energy cleansing. Also check out Master Choa Kok Sui’s book, Practical Psychic Self-Defense for Home and Office, for more information.

4. Make Motherhood a Spiritual Service

In yogic philosophy, karma yoga is considered one of the main paths to spiritual development.

The term is translated as “yoga of action.” It conveys that fulfilling all duties in life as service, without attachment to their outcome or your ego, is a direct path to breaking your karmic cycle.

Do you see what I see, here, mamas?

Motherhood is a huge opportunity for karma yoga!

What if you approached your daily routines as a mom as a form of greater service, detached from their outcome?

To me, this approach makes the pressures of motherhood feel lighter. It feels less personal and distinctly meaningful.

Are your children not listening to you, even after the fourth repetition? Invoke karma yoga and take a deep breath. Find another way to get their attention than raising your voice. (Working on it!)

In this light, your everyday interaction with those around you becomes a spiritual practice.

Of course, there are other ways to serve. Volunteering benefits your emotional health; simple acts of kindness have been found to release brain chemicals that make you feel happy.

Service also gives you a sense of purpose and self-worth, which helps you feel connected to something greater than yourself.

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5. Practice Gratitude

Gratitude is a powerful emotion that helps improve your mood and overall well-being. When you make gratitude an intentional practice, you look for and relish the things in your life that you appreciate.

Your energy goes where your attention goes. The more you practice gratitude, the more you’ll find things to be grateful for. In the process, you change the way you view your life and feel better about your place in the world.

An easy gratitude practice is keeping a gratitude journal. Simply write down five things you are grateful for every day and lean into how it makes you feel.

A more challenging gratitude practice is to find something to appreciate about a source of your discomfort.

My favorite part about gratitude is that it’s something you can just embed into your everyday life. Look for opportunities to say “thank you” to all those around you. The lady at the cash register, your children’s teacher, and the folks who deliver your mail each day.

If you want to see more examples of intentional gratitude, check out Rhonda Byrne’s book,The Magic. It provides a 28-day program with 28 different ways to be grateful.

6. Meditate or Practice Mindfulness

This one appears on the lists for physical self care and emotional self care, but that’s because it really is that powerful.

Mindfulness is the practice of bringing intentional awareness to the present moment. Meditation is a more formal practice of mindfulness, as you dedicate time to go inward and focus.

Mindfulness and meditation help you become more aware of your inner world, regulate your responses, and reduce emotional suffering. They create space between trigger and response, leading to greater clarity, resilience, and inner peace.

This space also allows you to be aware of what’s happening beyond our normal senses. When you’re busy and going about your day, you see what you expect to see. When you turn off your senses and intentionally open up, something more can show up.

I cannot understate the benefits of regular meditation to your spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health.

You can start with just a few minutes of quiet sitting time to observe your thoughts.

Consistency over duration is key. Take advantage of guided meditations or meditation apps to make it a part of your daily routine.

7. Pray

The idea of prayer may be perceived differently by different people. But no single religion has the lock on prayer, and it is available to all of us, if we’re willing.

My definition of prayer is intentional communication with Spirit. It doesn’t even have to look like anything, and it’s completely up to you.

You can write a letter to God or your higher self. You can find a quiet moment alone in nature and talk to Spirit.

Whether it’s in the name of God, Buddha, the Universe, or Guanyin, take some time to talk to this higher power. Share your deepest thoughts, thank them for their love, and ask for guidance.

The more you keep an open mind, the better chances you have to receive your answers. The world of Spirit is subtle, and if you don’t give it a chance, you won’t see it even if it’s right in your face.

8. Learn or Receive Energy Healing

I am a BIG fan of learning energy healing as a spiritual self care practice. With Reiki, the first thing you learn (Level I) is self-treatment.

Learning energy healing is like knowing how to access a certain radio station that can help you relax, cleanse, and heal yourself and others. The more you use that connection, the bigger its ability to help you.

As a healer, you receive healing every time you connect because you are the channel for this energy.

Reiki may be the most accessible energy healing modality around, in terms of finding a teacher near you and the resource commitment it requires. There are many other modalities, of course.

If you’re not ready to start learning for yourself, book an appointment with a healer near you. It just might introduce you to a magical world of new sensations and possibilities.

9. Refrain from Judgment

What judgment, you may wonder. And what’s that got to do with spirituality?

Energetically, judgment keeps you in a box. Judgment stops the flow of energy because you stopped your energy at the point of that conclusion.

Whether it’s about yourself or someone else, judgment chokes the energy and prevents it from becoming something greater, like curiosity or love.

Conversely, when you let go and surrender, you allow the unknown (by the implicit order of All-That-Is) to turn it into something that can surprise you. Or at least not hold you down.

This can be a tricky distinction to understand.

But if you close your eyes and think about it, you can feel it. Judgment feels tight and heavy. Final and hard.

How many of these judgments do you hold inside? About yourself and your life? Your partner and children?

I learned this from a brief stint in Access Consciousness training. One of their themes is to live life in the form of a question.

For example, hold the question, “How does it get better than this?” and stop yourself from coming to conclusions. And get ready to receive all the wonderful things that will show up for you. It’s because you’re letting the energy flow.

10. Read Spiritual or Inspirational Texts

Busy moms don’t have much time to read. But even a single paragraph from a meaningful text or a car ride with an audiobook can remind us that greater forces are at work.

The world is full of content that offers knowledge and wisdom. Inspirational texts are “in-spirit(e)” by design, and introduce you to stories and ideas that are beyond the expected.

I constantly have several spiritual books sitting next to my bed. They represent a wide range of styles and perspectives, including energy healing, quantum physics, channeled materials, esoteric books, creativity, and self-help.

Not all of them resonate with me from start to finish. But there’s always something new to learn and a different perspective to consider.

To me, it doesn’t matter that it takes months to finish a book. It matters that I am engaging, that I am giving my mind and spirit something to chew on.

There are many options when it comes to content. I have some of my favorites listed here on the blog if you’d like a recommendation.

11. Practice Yoga or Breathwork

Yoga, a Sanskrit word, means “union.” Even though most people in the West know yoga as an exercise regimen composed of specific poses or “asanas,” it is much more than that.

Yoga is a system for spiritual development to achieve oneness with “all-that-is.” The physical postures help move and release the memories, or karma, stored in your energy field and physical body through many lifetimes.

Practicing yoga poses is much like meditation through physical motion. As such, if you can take the time to join a class or do a video at home, yoga will benefit your spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being, checking off many boxes for a busy mom.

Breathwork is often included in yoga and meditation, but it can certainly stand on its own as a spiritual practice.

One example is box breathing. This is an easy relaxation technique that uses the following rhythm: inhale at four count, hold for four count, exhale at four count, and hold at four count.

Another example is Pranic Breathing, which utilizes a 6-3-6-3 rhythm of belly breathing and holding to bring more energy into your field. (See video below.)

You don’t have to take a class on yogic breathing. But having a simple go-to breathing technique can provide tremendous support on those overwhelming or stressful days.

12. Say Mantras or Affirmations

I grew up with the sound of Buddhist mantras being repeated in the background. My mom has been a Buddhist all her life. Whenever she faced life’s challenges, she would chant the mantra, “Om mani padme hum,” over and over.

I don’t think she even knew the exact meaning of this phrase, or any other mantras, for that matter. But she had heard of Korean Buddhist monks chanting this phrase, so she did, too.

It made her feel better. It helped her focus her energy during some very challenging circumstances. It helped her hold on to hope that she could ask for protection and blessings from the Divine.

Today, much has been written about mantras and sacred sounds as powerful tools to shift your energy. Beyond calling forth a certain god or desired outcome, Sanskrit mantras are sound frequencies that activate certain kinds of energies in different parts of the body.

Affirmations are not mantras, but the idea is similar.

By repeating a mantra or affirmation, you keep your thoughts away from negativity. With a focus on the meaning and purpose of your words, you elevate your energy and exercise positive control over your thoughts and vibration.

Repetition of sounds also helps you get into the meditative state faster, especially if you have trouble letting go of your thoughts. Research says that mantra meditation can help reduce stress, anxiety, and hypertension, and improvements in immune function.

But the best part? You can recite mantras or affirmations as you’re doing other things, like cooking, folding laundry, taking a walk, or even chasing your little ones at the playground. It’s a super-versatile spiritual practice at your disposal.

For more information on Sanskrit mantras, see the video below.

13. Find a Spiritual Community

Finding the right community of any kind brings you many emotional and physical benefits, including better mental health and satisfaction in life. Finding the right spiritual community supercharges such benefits.

These days, many different spiritual communities are available for you to meet your spiritual needs. Yoga groups, meditation communities, church services, and ashrams, to name a few.

Muktinath Holistic Center, the place of my Reiki and shamanism training, is my local spiritual home. It is always a pleasure to be there with my teacher and like-minded friends. I always feel welcome, understood, and allowed to be exactly myself.

The right spiritual community lets you find a deeper connection with Spirit and will feed you. It may require some research and tryouts, but the reward is well worth the effort.

14. Go on Spiritual Retreats or Pilgrimage

Spiritual retreats allow you to unplug from your ordinary world and create something new. Whether you want to learn metaphysics, explore yourself more deeply, or create much-needed space to get some answers to old questions, spiritual retreats can help you take the next step.

Pilgrimages are similar in concept. But the focus is on your intention to connect with a sacred place and its vibration, which can also bring you new insights or an energetic upgrade.

I know that finding time to get away alone as a mom is challenging. But spiritual retreats by nature are special treats! Since I’ve become a mom, I’ve been able to make it to two in nine years. But each of those has contributed to some major life upgrades.

15. Write It Out in a Journal

Writing down your thoughts and feelings on paper is free therapy, especially if you can do so without judgment.

Journaling has many benefits for your mental and emotional health. Through the act of writing about your life, thoughts, and feelings without judgment, you get an insight into the workings of yourself that you otherwise would not.

Journaling increases your self-awareness and ability to soothe yourself when things are tough. It also increases your connection to intuition and Higher Self, as the act of freewriting lets your stream of consciousness flow.

In some ways, journaling is much like talking to a close friend in writing. But it can also feel like communicating with a higher power. It all depends on your intention.

Dedicate some time—maybe just before going to bed—to write about you. You can do it every day or as needed. A beautiful blank journal can inspire you to jumpstart your practice.

16. Find a Creative Outlet

While at first glance it may seem impossible for moms to find time for creativity, I beg to differ. I see glimpses of it all the time from moms. It’s in the amazing decorations they put together for the school book fair, or the side hustles that get birthed through various constraints.

Creativity fuels our soul, and it deserves a place among our spiritual needs.

Just as freewriting can help you connect with your stream of consciousness, creative endeavors can help you connect with your subconscious.

Creative activities such as painting, playing music, writing, dancing, or crafting can get you into a flow state. In such moments, you are fully immersed in the activity in a meditative state, calm, focused, and oblivious to the passage of time.

Creative expression allows you to connect with your inner self and uncover deeper emotions and truths. Some also believe that all inspiration comes from the collective unconscious and that creativity is an act of spirituality that connects us to something bigger.

So find a creative project today. It doesn’t have to be big at all. Maybe it’s a new design on the cupcake frosting. Or maybe it’s a new acrylic masterpiece. Make it for you or someone you love.

Final Thoughts

Spiritual self care is as personal and intimate as an act can be. Only you can know what works for you, according to your own truths.

I don’t do all of the above 16 spiritual self care practices every day, all the time. Some of them, like meditation and salt showers, are consistent must-haves, whereas spiritual retreats and mantras are more occasional treats.

I hope that you found something that might help care for your spiritual well-being. Please take a moment to care for yourself today. It’ll make the world a better place. And tell me what you think by commenting below!

16 Proven Spiritual Self Care Practices to Nurture Your Soul

What is the Spiritual Self?