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What are you doing to show yourself some love and gratitude these days, my dear? What nourishes your soul?
For years, after becoming a mother, I put myself on the back burner. Starting a family was such a huge adjustment for me, and self care truly felt like a luxury that I didn’t have time for. If you’re a busy caretaker, student, or have a demanding career, I’m sure you can relate. Doing something kind for myself seemed so selfish and I felt like it would actually cause me more stress because it would take up valuable time.
The problem is, of course, this type of busy lifestyle without balance will sooner or later catch up with you. It will show up as fatigue, stomach issues, anxiety, depression, and so on. And then the quick fixes become your only coping mechanism.
Caffeine, sugar, wine, late night snacking anyone?
These coping mechanisms can very quickly become a way of life, because they are so easy to reach for and seem to work immediately. But in the long term, they rob you of your natural energy, create more stress on the body, and can become very addictive.
So if the idea of self care is still foreign to you, or you simply feel like you don’t have enough time, or even deserve to have time for yourself, this is for you!
The first step is to actually schedule it into your calendar. And if you feel like there is no time at all, we need to work on creating some healthy boundaries for you first. Are you saying yes to too many things? Next time someone asks you for a favour, or invites you to go somewhere, ask yourself, “is this in alignment with what I truly need or want?”. If you don’t get an immediate “heck yes!!”, then perhaps you are better off to use your time in more valuable ways.
And if you’re anything like me, you probably have a hard time asking for help. What really helped me was making a list of everything that I had to do at home, and in my business, and then find support for a few items on my list to start.
Self care is not a luxury, it’s essential. You want to live a life where you feel like you are thriving, not merely surviving.
10 Ways to Practice Holistic Self Care:
On a budget:
1. Schedule an hour for a tea date with a book. If you have a busy home, go to a coffee shop of your local library. Make or order a tea that actually nourishes you, like chamomile, holy basil, or mint. Two books I have read lately are The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F— by Mark Manson and The Judgement Detox by Gabrielle Bernstein. So good.
2. Make a spa at home and take a luxurious bath.  Buy some lavender bath salts, use eucalyptus essential oil in a diffuser or buy a fresh bunch and put it into your bathroom. Eucalyptus is great for boosting the immune system and smells like the spa! Put on some spa music and light a candle. So nourishing!
3. Go for a walk in nature. This is incredibly healing and helps to relieve stress and anxiety. Take the time to notice nature. Smell the air, notice how the wind gently waves tree leaves, listen to the birds.
4. Buy yourself some flowers. Don’t wait for someone else to treat you. Bringing fresh flowers in the house creates positive energy and uplifts your spirits.
5. Go for a sauna. So relaxing, helps to remove toxins, and anti-aging. Look for a local spa or gym that as a sauna.
Indulge:
1. Enjoy a relaxing massage. If you have extended health benefits coverage, this is a must! But even if you don’t, it’s well worth the price to have a massage. If you’re heading to a spa for your massage, look for one that has other facilities you can use, like water treatments and saunas. (I recently went to the spa at Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver and LOVED it! The view, ambiance and service were top notch. Scandiave Spa in Whistler is amazing too.
2. Invest in acupuncture. The idea of putting needles into your body may freak you out at first, but trust me, this ancient healing modality can release some serious stress and tension from the body, energize you on a deep level and encourage your body’s natural anti-aging and healing mechanisms to activate. It’s important to go see a professional that has the right type of training and schedule a few sessions as part of your self care routine. In the South Surrey area you can check out Greenetea Acupuncture with Lisa Greene (she is amazing!) or ask for referrals from health care practitioners in your area.
3. Practice yoga. This is an obvious one, but many of my clients are too intimidated by the trendy and perfect Lululemon girls that dominate the yoga scene. It may seem like that from the outside, but once you start to explore the different styles and studios in your neighbourhood, I promise you will find the perfect fit for YOU. Yoga is a truly transformative practice, that helps you release negative emotions, stress, toxins, and create a more positive relationship with your body. If you’re brand new to yoga, try a deeply relaxing yin or Hatha style class. My friend Shae Savage and I often conduct workshops and programs together that combines energizing and liberating Kundalini yoga and holistic nutrition rituals to help women manage stress, release weight and gain more confidence.
4. Go for a float. Floating in salt water has known health benefits such as stress and pain relief, but adding in the benefit of sensory deprivation enhances your healing, rejuvenation, and relaxation response and helps to ease anxiety. I think we could all use a moment of peace and quiet every once in a while! I recommend the Float House in South Surrey (there are other locations as well)
5. Experience the healing of art and creativity. One of the questions I ask on my health intake forms is, “how do you express your creativity?”. It may sound odd to ask this on a nutrition and wellness intake, but when you think about it, expressing yourself creatively is something that is so natural for us as children. But where does the creativity go when we start ‘adulting’? I know you might be thinking, ‘I’m not a creative person!!’. But that’s just not true. We all have a creativity dwelling inside of us and when it’s not expressed, we get depressed and disconnected. I recommend doing a fun healing art class in your neighbourhood (check out the offerings at Shakti Creative in South Surrey that offers the Healing Art Experience) or perhaps a cooking class, knitting, calligraphy, photography, dance, or music class in your neighbourhood. You need to feed your soul every once in a while to satisfy your hunger.
Now the most important thing is to take some action! Schedule in one way that you are planning to take care of YOU this week!
Early bird savings on now! Embodying a Fresh Start is a 5 week program for women who want to learn to manage stress, double their energy levels, feel confident in their bodies, and use food as medicine. We combine yoga + holistic nutrition for a truly transformational experience. Limited spots available. Details and registration – Embodying a Fresh Start.
