Check out this post from guest blogger and extendYoga teacher, Leslie Edsall. Today’s post is all about self-care. If you feel like you always put others first and yourself last… READ ON!
As busy moms, daughters, sisters, and caregivers, women tend to put themselves last in terms of priority. Despite the hefty roles that women play in caring for others, they still need to carve out solo time to recharge, renew and reconnect with their own personal goals and/or reduce stress. How do you create a self-care environment that helps to enrich your energy rather than distract from it. Try these tips:
Create a Morning Ritual
- Building rituals into your time will help you keep your commitments.
- Your rituals work best when they are automatic.
- Try working out or taking time for reflection at the same time each day.
Build in Recover Time from Stress
- Managing your energy is often about managing your down time.
- With any major energy expenditure, create a wave of recovery to balance the scales.
- Ideally, you would take the same amount of time relaxing, breathing deeply and settling down.
Be Positive
- Try to make what you are doing more enjoyable.
- See the positive side of any struggles; use them as learning experiences.
- Smile, laugh and choose an activity that makes you happy.
Avoid Multi-Tasking
- Keep in mind that multi-tasking works best when you make a conscious decision to do it.
- When you do two things at one time, you are not giving all of your energy to either thing.
- Commit yourself to the most important thing at the moment. Be present.
Use Your Stress
- Rather than trying to eliminate your stress or stormy periods in your life, use it.
- Recognize that these periods are your best times of growth.
- Just as stressing a muscle will cause it to grow stronger, use your stress to help you be stronger and live more purposefully.
When Relapse Happens – and it likely will!
- Be prepared: have a “plan B” in mind for your self-care each day.
- Don’t let a relapse take away from the achievements made to date.
- Take note of what helped you get back on track. Ask yourself: What triggered this? How can future relapse be avoided?
Are you ready to take care or YOURSELF for a change? Here’s a great, (MD-VA-DC) local, retreat built just for you!
Women’s Retreat – A Weekend of Self Care
The idea of self-care for women is the concept behind a local women’s retreat at the Carderock Community Center in Bethesda, MD, May 3 – 4, 2014. As the care taker for my parents over the years, this is a topic near and dear to my heart. I can relate to the daily and weekly pressures that exist for women of all ages as we strive to help care for others before ourselves.
The main goal of the retreat is for women to get away without “going away.” At this retreat, women can re-connect with themselves through yoga, meditation, outdoor activities, education sessions, group kayaking, acupuncture and spa services. Attendees will take time to get grounded by connecting with the outdoors, with themselves and with other women. See the full schedule and register here: Women’s Wellness Retreat.
Continue to love yourself first or simply remind yourself of the wonderful person that you are!
Leslie Edsall loves to work with people to develop healthier habits in nutrition, yoga and self care from her training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She offers a variety of online and in-person health coaching programs, teaches yoga classes at extendYoga and leads wellness retreats. Leslie also offers private sessions via telephone, skype, or in person in Bethesda, Maryland. To learn more about Leslie: www.TrifectaWellness.com