Tia Mowry is a bonafide self-care maven. From promoting self-love through her Instagram and TikTok videos, to recently developing a standout hair-care line thats all about ease and joy when managing curls, Mowry is intentional about wellness. Its necessary because as you can imagine, things become pretty hectic in the stars home as shes constantly wearing multiple hats.She doesnt let that stop her from carving out me time.

I have a hectic life. I am a mother to two incredible children constantly pulling, tugging, and wanting my attention and affection. Im running multiple businesses and navigating living life. It can be a lot, but I need to schedule and make time for self-care, she tells ESSENCE. This means I will choose one day out of the week for me. I usually go to therapy on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. unless I travel.

She continues, Or Im scheduling float therapy, which is more of a deeper intense form of meditation, where youre floating in this capsule, in the dark, listening to music for an hour. Or when Im creating social media content, I feel inspired and Im having a good time; theres a smile on my face. When my content resonates with my audience, it inspires me.

Something shes presently passionate about is expanding her new natural hair care line, 4U By Tia. Its science-backed, nature-made, and clean for your curls, health, and the environment. The line has also become part of her self-care routine, which is simple and effective. Sunday is wash day for the whole family, she shares. To accomplish a successful wash day, she turns to the following products: Clarifying Shampoo formulated to deliver a clean scalp without sacrificing slip, Moisturizing Conditioner, Multiuse Hair Oil, and the Leave-In Curl Cream.

4U By Tia was created to be a self-care experience, as Mowry wants women of color to embrace their authentic selves and to know that they are worthy of feeling confident. One of the main reasons she decided to name the brand 4U was because she wanted her audience to have an experience and feel valued.

We spoke to the renaissance woman about how she balances her fruitful career and being a mother with making time to practice her self-care routine.

ESSENCE: Why do you love self-care? How does it fill out your life?

Mowry: Self-care is everything to me. And I didnt realize the importance until later on in life. I learned the hard way. I felt the effects of not providing myself adequate care and felt depleted from the narrative that we, Black women, must do it all. Then I started to realize that, no, I dont have to do it all. There is a thing called giving yourself grace, and there is a thing called forgiving yourself if you dont check off everything on your to-do list. I also meditate.

And its not cliche to say you have to fill your cup so that you can be present for your children, be present for your job, and present for the multiple hats that you do tend to wear as a woman. Thats what I have been doing for the past couple of years and its been amazing. Im not just talking about bubble baths, getting your nails done, getting your hair done; Im also talking about mental health. Thats why I mentioned meditation, or, you know, even therapy. I have therapy once a week, and my kids know that mommys in therapy on Tuesdays at four. I used to feel guilty about it but not so much anymore because I see the benefits.

And why did you feel guilty about therapy?

In our Black community, I feel like therapy is still very taboo. And I feel like we dont talk about mental health enough. Sometimes growth and healing come with being vulnerable. Breaking down and crying and allowing yourself to feel and heal, and therapy, helps with that. Religion and psychology sometimes dont necessarily mix well within our community. Im only speaking from personal experience because my mother is very religious. She was unhappy when I told her I was studying psychology or going to yoga. I have a lot of self-help books, and shes like, Wheres your Bible?

Whats great is my generation is becoming more aware of the benefits of therapy and how it coincides with religion. The person you should be going to is God and only God, which I do, and prayer is very important to me. But breaking down your traumas, understanding why you behave the way you do, why youre a people pleaser, or why you see yourself repeating unhealthy and toxic patterns will teach you how to grow as a human being.

Im so glad that you were transparent about self-care being rooted in doing the introspective work. How are you curating this multifaceted self-care routine?

I become aware of what I need and then unapologetic about it. I determine what will give me peace and happiness and to feel good mentally, physically, and spiritually, and then I do it.

First, it starts with that perspective. I love creating. I love creating content on TikTok and Instagram because what also makes me feel good is inspiring, encouraging, and sharing my journey. When I do that, my community fills my cup, and I fill theirs.When Im creating content, I feel inspired and Im having a good time. Theres a smile on my face.

We love how open you are about your kids reactions to your videos. With your content, youre inspiring mothers to maintain their identity before their children sometimes as well. And with that said, who in your village steps in with your kids to allow you to enjoy time alone?

Oh, thats a good question. I am very open about crying in front of my children and showing them my natural state of emotions because I want them to understand that its normal not to be okay. Its normal to be sad. And then for them to see that it doesnt always stay. So its very important for me not to hide anything from my kids regarding real life because thats how they learn and grow.

I have an incredible village. I wouldnt be where I am today without them. My dad has been an incredible force in my life. Hes always very present, asking me what I need. If I need for him to stay, you know, with Cree longer because my girlfriend just asked me to go out on a Friday night, hes encouraging me to have that cocktail. I have incredible caretakers for Cairo, an amazing assistant who helps me with my scheduling, and shes also very adamant about my self-care. The type of people you have in your village is important. I have incredible friends that are that constant. I dont have many of them; its quality versus quantity. But I have friends who just check on me, or if they havent heard from me, all of a sudden flowers are delivered to my house or slippers with hearts that say I love you. Im very grateful for my village.

Any tips for our readers to help them start curating their self-care routines?

Dont be afraid to start. You have to start somewhere. And sometimes thats the biggest leap is just starting. Once you start, you have to give yourself grace when it comes to missing a day of working out or meditation, or maybe you just didnt feel like waking up earlier that day. Give yourself grace and forgive yourself. Dont allow that feeling to stop you from continuing to move forward.

Read more from the original source:
Self-Care Series: Tia Mowry On Finding Joy In Therapy, Social ... - Essence