Source | positivepsychology.com | Anna Katharina Schaffner, Ph.D.
Self-care continues to be a popular buzz-word.
But while it persistently grabs headlines, it also remains a fuzzy concept.
Though a relatively new phenomenon in the West, self-care has a much older tradition in far Eastern cultures, reaching back to antiquity. Marked by a preventative rather than a reactive approach to health, many Asian cultures seek to manage our energy economies before they become depleted.
The therapeutics of Traditional Chinese Medicine, for example, revolves around preventing the exhaustion or blockage of “qi,” our vital life energy. Qigong, meditation, and yoga are all techniques designed to restore our inner balance and to prevent us from burning out.
Combining self-soothing and relaxation with resilience-enhancing strategies, Western-style self-care, too, promotes a proactive approach to our physical and mental wellbeing (see Lee, 2019).
