Self-Care "Nourishment Menu"
This list was compiled by Christi, her clients, friends, family, and seminar participants. This list is updated frequently, so bookmark this page and refer back whenever you need to recharge, pamper, or pleasure yourself.
Click here to read the full story behind my Menu.
Make the Menu a permanent part of your schedule! Try to do one thing
every day from this list. Print it out, circle the things that
sound best to you, and hang it in a prominent place where you can see
it!
Would you like to add something to this Nourishment Menu?
I'm always amazed how... no matter how long this list gets... I still get tons of brand-new, fabulous ideas from folks I know. The Menu will become as fabulous as you make it...
So, don't be shy! Send me some pleasure ideas of your own.
Send me an email - I'd love to hear "What's Your Pleasure!"
Get a haircut… and a tingling scalp massage!
Play piano – or listen to someone else play
Take a bubble bath – by candlelight
Stare at the window/wall and do nothing
Sip on a glass of wine
Go on a hike and take a healthy picnic lunch
Read a great book
Paint or draw
Play with your dog or cat or fish
Go for a bike ride
Go surfing
Go roller-blading
Take a walk outside in a snowstorm when no one else is on the road
Call a friend
Book a retreat
Plan a great vacation for yourself
Take a ride in a convertible (with the top down)
Walk around or watch a river/lake/fountain/stream
Hold hands with someone
Take a foot bath (water, salt, essential oil, and marbles to massage your feet!)
Make snow angels
Read the cartoon section of the newspaper
Update your personal website
Buy something bright and colorful
Feed some ducks
Keep a gratitude journal
Go shopping!
Get out the camera… and take some pictures
Ask someone to brush your hair
Blast music in the car, roll down the windows, sing loudly!
Get out in nature
Volunteer to hold and sing to newborn babies in the hospital nursery
Take a nice drive outside the city
Go to yoga class… or do some yoga poses at home
Get a massage
Go for a boat ride/rent a jet ski
Take a nap!
Take a few deep breaths!!
Buy fresh flowers and put them where you'll see them all day
Get a pedicure/manicure (or give yourself one!)
Cook… mindfully… with music on in the background (try to match the music with the type of food you're cooking)
Take singing lessons
Go to a flower shop/garden shop and take in all the colors and smells
Sign up for a class – tennis, cooking, jewelry making, squash lessons – anything!
Throw rose petals on your bed cover
Organize your desk or garage
Eat lunch outside
Plant some flowers
Go to an outdoor concert or play
Have a Girls'/Guys' Night Out!
Go fishing
Have breakfast in bed!
STRETCH!!!
Go to a museum for the afternoon
Go ice skating
Find an empty office to work in, so you won't be disturbed
Hike a mountain, big or small
Color in a kids' coloring book
Listen to your favorite CD
Take a Breath Holiday - breathe 10 times with eyes closed and pretend you're on a beach somewhere
Give someone a hug
Spend an entire day reading
Drink a cup of tea in front of a fireplace when it's cold outside
Invest in some heated slippers
Go dancing (or dance at home!)
Write a letter/card to someone who hasn't heard from you in a while
Buy something REALLY nice for yourself – go ahead, splurge!
Go for a leisurely walk
Have Date Night with a partner or friend
Wash your car (use lots of bubbles!)
Go skinny dipping
Crayon a card to someone you love
Order a pizza with all your favorite toppings... just for you... no one else!
Make your own pottery
Go to a concert for your favorite band when you were growing up
Watch your favorite baseball, football, or basketball team
Take a day trip somewhere
Go swing dancing
Drink a glass of water and imagine all the good things it's doing to your body
Get into bed right after work and stay there all night!
Find a sprinkler and run through it!
Using sidewalk chalk to write messages in the driveway
Pay someone a compliment (you don't have to know them!)
Go to the nursery and look at the plants
Paint your toes different colors
Take a 10-minute walking break at work
Go out to breakfast on your own and read a good book without interruption
Sit out in the warm sun and drink an ice-cold margarita
Make a mosaic out of paper scraps or a broken mug
Throw an impromptu dinner party – potluck-style!
Do a 15-minute blitz to clean up clutter in a corner of your home
Light candles
Bring a great novel to read while waiting in line
Sit in a hammock
Go to the bakery and get an eclair
Go white water rafting, kayaking, or canoeing - be sure to capsize at least once!
Walk away from gossip
Race go-carts
Buy baby barrettes and wear them in your hair
Read old letters/card that loved ones sent you
Organize a photo album
Do a random act of kindness... and revel in the person's appreciation
Hire a gardener
Take a cooking class, then throw a dinner party to show off your new skills!
Call your parents or grandparents or siblings
Do volunteer work
Schedule a girls or guys weekend away
Reach out to a friend you haven't talked with in a while
Have a cup of hot/iced chocolate
Have a guilt-free ice cream sundae
Rent your favorite movie
Snuggle in bed with someone or have a make-out fest!
Watch the sunset
Have a picnic by the river
Sit outside on the swings listening to the birds in the morning
Take a long, steamy shower
Pick wildflowers
Lay on your floor
Play a board game
Sleep in
Learn how to play a musical instrument... or go back to one you already know how to play
Go outside and play a sport you loved as a kid!
Scrapbook
Buy a pen that you'll really love writing with
GIGGLE… then LAUGH!!!
Lay on your back on your lawn and watch the clouds go by
Find a rose and stop to smell it!
Give yourself a hand or foot massage
Dance around the house naked!
Throw out all old, expired lotions… and then buy a new one to take their place
Knit
Leave your lover a note with a lipstick 'kiss-print'
Put a hot water bottle on your tummy
Buy a $1 piece of jewelry or makeup!
Eat dinner on the floor… by candlelight… with no utensils
Make faces at yourself in the mirror
Head to the gym, and ask a trainer for a new workout idea
Eat a piece of chocolate, slowly!
Make up a fictional story (if you feel ambitious, put it down on paper)
Put your pajamas on as soon as you get home from work
Have someone feed you – eat with your eyes closed – and guess what you're eating!
Stand in front of the mirror and rub a warm washcloth all over your body
Go to the park and play on the jungle gym
Buy cool, fun post-its and notepaper that will make you smile
Make yourself a cup of tea
Watch the sunrise
Go to the library and read children's books… on the floor or in a kid-sized chair (Samantha recommends Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein)
Go to bed early
Visit a junk shop and explore
Get a free makeup makeover
Spend a weekend at a spa or retreat center
Drive to work or the store… in silence… no radio!
Go to the beach and listen to the waves crash
Pick flowers to press for stationery
Go to the beach with a favorite pleasure book (trashy novel recommended). Extra point for bringing a radio to play your favorite tunes. Two extra points for bringing an icy tropical drink with an umbrella!
Blow bubbles
Call your mom or dad - if they're not alive, just 'talk' with them - they're in a better place and are sending you good wishes
Go swimming in a pond
Gaze at the stars
Stroll around a college campus
Go hiking
Kiss your child's napkin before packing her lunch
Make a reservation at a new restaurant
Check out new arrivals at the used bookstore
Go to the store and find one new food to try
Write yourself an encouraging letter
Plan your IDEAL LIFE in a journal
Plant a flowerpot or flowerbed
Watch fish at the aquarium
Sleep in for an extra hour on the weekend
Hire a cleaning lady
Visit an art gallery
Attend a gospel concert
Go on vacation
Play with your kids... or someone else's kids
Browse at a bookstore
Explore an ethnic neighborhood
Visit a fabric store – buy one piece of pretty fabric!
Rearrange your bookshelves
Do some gardening
Go on a walking tour
Go shoe shopping
Make healthy cookies – and eat the dough!
Read the newspaper
Conversational driving – talk about fun, beautiful
things/people you drive past
Take a train ride
Write in your journal… or doodle!
Take a walk around the neighborhood and say hi to as many people as possible
Volunteer in a local elementary school, or sign up to coach a local youth league sports team
Make a yummy fruit smoothie
Leave a surprise on a friend's front porch
Have somebody scratch your back – then scratch theirs!
Watch your favorite show on TV
Tell a friend you love them
Look at pictures from an old vacation or event
Meditate
Do a jigsaw puzzle
Grow an herb garden
Memorize a poem that you love (or write one yourself!)
Play “the drums” on some pots and pans – be loud!
Ask someone to read a book out loud to you (I LOVE this one!)
Go to the card store and read the funny cards
Listen to a book on tape
Go on a media purge – don't watch news, read paper, or listen to radio
Put lavender oil on your pillow – let your bedroom be an oasis of scented pleasure!
For ladies: paint your toes/fingernails a lovely shade of punchy pink or ravishing red
Sip a cup of tea in an outdoor café
Have a pillow party with friends
Take a nap with an eye pack
Laugh with your child or a friend
Soak your feet in warm water and cucumber slices to relax and rejuvenate
Start a book from the "Read Someday" pile
Make a mini Zen garden with a box, sand, and some rocks
Make a shrine/altar somewhere in your house
Enjoy a leisurely lunch at your favorite cafe
Get out some paint and transform a piece of junk
Plant a seed in a pot – your own mini-orchard
Put two chilled tea bags on your eyes and rest for 5 minutes
Buy yourself flowers. Make sure you really love them and don't skimp!
Buy a gossipy celebrity magazine - drool over the hunky stars, like you did when you were a teenager!
Sprinkle rose petals in your home and on the steps of your pad
Bake some brownies to make the house smell great
Create a collage of pictures and words that thrill you
Buy yourself a new, great-smelling lip balm
Buy a potted plant to put on your desk
Put on a honey/oatmeal facial mask - give yourself a face massage
Sit in the sunshine and do nothing
Stay with friends or family for a day or two and let them spoil you
Let yourself fully feel something – cry, binge, mourn, whatever - then move on.
Start planning a trip abroad
Masturbate!
Have a brag fest with a friend – what's going GREAT in your life?!
Have a theme party
Buy a goldfish
Throw away all the old clothes in your closet (have a friend help with this)
Watch a chick flick, sports movie, or adventure film
Go to a psychic or have your tarot cards read (try www.astrologyzone.com)
Jump rope
Wear one of your favorite summery dresses to work (if it's too risque, you can wear a cardigan and take it off after work)
Invite a friend over for a glorious picnic on your floor
Glamorize your travel bag: pack candles, bubble bath, fun books, great music
Wear really sexy underwear under your everyday clothing
Make a home video of you and your family
Play a game of flag football with your friends – in the mud, if possible!
Wear your best clothes and perfume/cologne… just because
Get up early and prepare a fabulous, healthy breakfast for yourself
Buy yourself a luxurious sheet set – silk, satin, or flannel!
In winter: wrap a soft, warm, wooly, brightly-colored scarf around your neck
In summer: use self-tanner for a safe, bronzed glow
Buy a bag of lollipops and share them around at work
In the winter: go snowshoeing or ice skating!
In the summer: sit by a lake or pond
Come up with a list of fun, pleasurable things to do!
