Holistic Self-Care: 6 Therapies to Rejuvenate Yourself in 2025

When was the last time you stopped and asked yourself: “How am I doing?” If you’re being honest, it’s probably been a while. With everything we put on our plates nowadays, self-care often gets pushed to the side. However, it’s a necessity, not something you should ignore or push to the side.

With the year ending, now is the perfect time to reflect on how well you’ve been taking care of yourself. Think about holistic self-care. It nurtures every part of you—mind, body, and spirit, leaving you feeling less stressed, more relaxed, and happier. With holistic self-care, you set yourself up for a fresh start built on balance and well-being. 

Self-care isn’t one-size-fits-all because we all have different needs. You need to find what works best for you. To help you prepare for a fresh start in 2025, this blog explores several holistic self-care practices that can help you recharge and re-center. From ancient wellness therapies like acupuncture and Reiki to easy at-home self-care, there are plenty of options to guide you toward a more balanced, healthy, and joyful New Year.

Yoga

Yoga combines movement, mindfulness, and breathing to boost your overall wellness. It has become a popular holistic self-care therapy because of its benefits to mental and physical health, which include: 

• Physical benefits: Yoga improves flexibility, strength, and balance. The gentle movements work well in relieving back pain and arthritis symptoms.

• Mental health benefits: Yoga helps manage stress by promoting deep relaxation. Consistent practice helps improve mood and sleep quality and increases energy levels—all key to good mental health.

• Holistic impact: Yoga also allows you to reflect and learn to be present. This develops your emotional resilience and self-awareness, leading to deeper feelings of calm and balance.

  
  

Whether you’re new to yoga or ready to make it a regular part of your routine, consider exploring sessions with Yoga with Dina. Her virtual yoga studio provides flexibility so you can easily work a yoga self-care practice into your schedule.

Acupuncture

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Acupuncture, part of Traditional Chinese medicine, stimulates specific points on your body with thin, sterile needles. This causes your body to release natural chemicals that improve your well-being. While it might sound a little scary, acupuncture is a painless holistic self-care therapy and can provide the following benefits: 

• Relief from pain and discomfort: Acupuncture improves chronic pain conditions such as migraines, back pain, menstrual cramps, and arthritis.

• Supporting overall health: It’s also used to treat digestive issues like IBS, hormonal imbalances, menopause, infertility, and pregnancy-related discomfort.

  
  

If you’re curious about trying acupuncture to improve your mind-body wellness, contact Growing Space NYC for a free 20-minute consultation with a trained practitioner. For the cost-conscious, Tigerlily Holistic offers affordable community acupuncture sessions.

Massage Therapy

While massages bring to mind luxury spas, they are more than just a way to pamper yourself. They are an effective wellness therapy for reducing stress, relieving pain, promoting feelings of wellness, and benefits include:

• Physical benefits: Regular massage improves blood circulation and flexibility while reducing muscle stiffness. It can also relieve the symptoms of fibromyalgia, nerve pain, sports injuries, and TMJ disorders.

• Mental health benefits: You can see an improvement in mood and energy and a decrease in anxiety and depression.

• Recovery and resilience: Massage is gentle enough to help your body heal from strains, injuries, and surgeries, and can help manage chronic pain.

  
  

Massage therapy can be a fantastic addition to your holistic self-care routine. Reclaimed Being offers several massage options to fit your needs as well as live online video consultations to help you find relief.

Reiki

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Reiki, a Japanese form of energy healing, is gentle and non-invasive. It is based on the idea that energy flows through our body. When the energy level is low, it affects our well-being.  During Reiki, the practitioner balances your energy using their hands. There is little to no touch involved. This practice can provide: 

• Stress relief: A study revealed that Reiki participants reported a 60% decrease in stress levels after sessions.

• Physical and mental benefits: Additional studies have shown Reiki can help relieve pain and fatigue, improve symptoms of depression and anxiety, and promote better sleep.

  
  

If therapies like acupuncture or massage make you a little nervous, Reiki can be an excellent holistic self-care choice. If you’d like to explore this practice, Blue Star Alchemy offers in-person and long-distance reiki sessions to help heal your energy.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis relies on the power of suggestion, not mind control as we might see in movies. The Cleveland Clinic explains it as a state of heightened focus and concentration. In this state, you can tap into your subconscious and, with guidance, adjust thoughts that influence your behavior. Some of the benefits are: 

• Behavioral changes: Hypnosis can help you with quitting smoking, managing weight, and overcoming insomnia.

• Mental health benefits: Hypnosis can help reduce stress and anxiety caused by phobias and other fears.

• Physical benefits: Hypnosis has been shown to help ease pain, hot flashes, and the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

  
  

Hypnosis is usually part of a more in-depth treatment plan to improve your mind-body wellness. To learn more, visit L&L Healing, where their therapists use several different hypnotherapy techniques.

DIY Self-Care

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Some of the most meaningful ways to nurture yourself don’t require prior planning. They can be done almost anywhere and anytime and are a good starting point for building a holistic self-care routine you’ll love.

• Journaling: Use your writing to process emotions, express gratitude, or dream about the future.

• Meditation: Guided meditations can help you clear your mind. Apps like Headspace and Calm are a good way to get started.

• Breathing exercises: Intentional breathing can quickly calm you down, making it a great self-care tool you can use anywhere. Try our simple guide to center yourself.

• Relaxation rituals: Light a candle, take a long bubble bath, listen to relaxing music, or enjoy a cup of tea. 

• Movement: Take an outdoor walk or do some gentle stretches at home. 

• Creative outlets: Read, draw, or color to slow down and relax.

  
  

These practices are small acts of kindness toward yourself, which is what self-care is all about. Choose one or two activities you can commit to consistently. You’ll quickly notice the positive changes to your mood and energy.

Embrace Holistic Self-Care for a Balanced Life

Holistic self-care, like life, is a journey of discovery. It’s about making choices that help you feel your best, mind, body, and spirit. Remember, it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. Start small—read about the therapies and self-care practices mentioned here, and don’t be afraid to try something new. The key is to pay attention to your needs, invest in your overall health, and do what feels restorative. 

5 Benefits of Mental Health Counseling to Soothe Your Anxiety and Stress

By Gabrielle Caldon MSEd, LMHC

Your cell phone reads 2:30 AM. It’s happening again — your mind is racing as you go over the day's stress, wondering if you handled things in the best way. You turn over, hoping to get some sleep before the alarm goes off. And it seems to work…until thoughts of your morning meeting pop into your mind, filling you with dread and making your heart pound. You finally start to drift off around 4:00 AM, resigned to another exhausting day of low energy.

You’re tired. Tired of being tired. Tired of being stressed. Tired of being short-tempered and cranky around your friends and family. Your job is really stressful and you don’t have the time to figure out how to cope with it. So you’re also tired of having people constantly asking if you’re ok.

You wish you had more energy. You want to go out with your friends, spend time with your family, and just enjoy life. You can’t even remember the last time you had a fun night out or some me-time. The stress and anxiety are just too much.

You know things can’t continue in this way but you don’t know what to do to feel better. And you feel so alone.

Good news: there IS a way to feel like yourself again.

At Phoenix Within Mental Health Counseling, based in New York, we understand where you’re coming from. We’ve worked with many clients who feel exactly the way you do so just know you’re not alone. We’re in this together and we’re going to help you find a way through this.

Why Your Mental Health Should Be a Priority

Poor mental health affects more than three in ten New Yorkers, especially since the pandemic. But people are still very uncomfortable talking about mental health. And they are even more uncomfortable to admit they need help.

What’s important to understand about mental health is that it is a part of your sense of well-being. It’s not just about mental illnesses or disorders but also about:

• Your interactions with other people

• Your awareness of yourself and how you think

• How you react to events in your life

• How you cope with stress

• Your decision making

When you think about it, how you think, react, and feel has a HUGE impact on your day-to-day routine. It affects so many parts of your life: your self-esteem, your job, your relationships. Our mind is a powerful tool that works for us, but just like any other tool, it sometimes needs a little help to work at its best.

How Mental Health Counseling Benefits You

You may be wondering how talking to a stranger once a week is going to make a difference in your life. Mental health counselors and therapists help you understand your thoughts, feelings, and reactions. You learn how what is happening in your mind affects your actions. They are an ear to listen and a shoulder to lean on when you need some support to get you through a difficult time. Their goal is to give you the tools you need to transform your life.

Some of the benefits of mental health therapy include:

• Increased self-awareness

• Self-regulation

• Improved interpersonal skills

• Decreased levels of depression and anxiety

• Improved quality of life.

Let’s go more in-depth with each of the points mentioned above.

Increased Self-awareness

Personal change and growth begins with becoming aware of who you are and how you think and react. The mind is fascinating and it can make split-second connections between events that we don’t even realize. Your child throwing their food all over the floor might trigger intense feelings of anger that may be connected to your own childhood experiences. A mental health counselor helps you learn how your brain processes and makes connections. Becoming aware of how we think helps us understand our reactions. When we understand our reactions and where they come from, we can change how we react to different situations.

Self-regulation

Stressful events such as messing up at work, having a serious argument, or losing your job can be hard to manage. We are more emotionally sensitive during difficult times. It’s easy to lash out at those around us or be unkind to ourselves because our feelings are overwhelming. Working with a mental health therapist teaches you how to manage your feelings in ways that are healthier for you. You don’t need to feel like your feelings are in control and you are helpless to stop them.

Improved Interpersonal Skills

It’s almost impossible to avoid interacting with people in today’s world. No matter where you live or work, you are going to come across other people who have different personalities. Some are friendly, others are rude, and a few just rub you the wrong way. You can’t change who they are BUT you can choose what the interaction will look and feel like. Working with a mental health counselor helps you improve your interpersonal skills. You get better at speaking, listening, and responding to different personalities in different situations because you are more aware of yourself and in control of your responses.

Decreased Levels of Depression and Anxiety

According to the World Health Organization, depression and anxiety are two of the most common mental health conditions people struggle with in the world. So it’s not surprising to learn that almost 600,000 New Yorkers were diagnosed with either anxiety or a mood disorder like depression in 2022. Both depression and anxiety are chronic conditions, which means that they can last for years and seriously impact your everyday life. Getting counseling for your mental health can give you relief from the symptoms of these conditions, such as sleep problems, appetite changes, negative feelings, and fears or phobias.

Improved Quality of Life

A good night’s sleep, excitement over making plans with your friends, feeling calm when life’s stresses come at you, these are all things we want. So it’s frustrating when our thoughts and feelings are stopping us. But becoming self-aware, learning to regulate our emotions, improving our interpersonal skills, and addressing any feelings of depression or anxiety lead to a more satisfying life. You feel like yourself and you ENJOY the day-to-day. Mental health therapy is the tool that brings all this within your reach.

Find the Right Counselor for You

If you’re on the fence about looking for a counselor, it’s ok, we understand. It can feel scary and overwhelming, especially when you don’t know where to look. That’s why we’re here to help you. So, what’s next?

At Phoenix Within Mental Health Counseling, our goal is to help you transform your life safely and comfortably. That’s why we offer free 15-minute phone consultations. It’s a safe and low-risk way to meet a counselor and get a taste of what counseling is all about. The consultation also allows the counselor to understand what you need and make recommendations.

At Phoenix Within Mental Health Counseling, we offer:

• Counseling sessions based on your individual needs

• Telehealth sessions for greater flexibility

• Counseling for individuals, couples, and families

• A sliding scale for services

Get one step closer to feeling better by scheduling your free consultation.