spring cleanse: self-care

 

If you are anything like me, taking care of others comes easily but self-care falls to the bottom of the list.

Part of the focus of the spring cleanse that I and many of you are undertaking is to be kind and gentle with ourselves and making self-care a priority.

Taking away coffee and chocolate and wine and grains and so on, strips things back and there is more space to hear our inner voice and feel our feelings. Sorry if this is sounding like I'm off with the pixies, stay with me!

The reality is there are always going to be demands on our time and energy, so it is important than we learn how to protect these valuable resources and how to nurture ourselves.

As many of you know, my family and I are on a 5 month road trip. We have had amazing experiences being together on the road. I have also though been pushed to find ways to energise myself and to feel like I am taking care of my needs as well as everyone else's.

One way I have done this is to re-commit myself to daily yoga and meditation. These practices had fallen away over the course of our travels and I began to really feel it in my mood and energy levels. *read - cranky mummy appeared at very short notice!*

The interesting thing I've found with my new practice is that it was as easy as making my mind up. The day I decided, we were out in a remote camp and though I was committed to the idea of daily practice I felt a bit overwhelmed about where to start again. That afternoon we drove into Cooktown and I went into the newsagent to buy some paints for River and Sol and saw The Australian Yoga Journal. This was my place to start.

If you are looking for some inspiration and motivation with your yoga practice I highly recommend this magazine. Each issue includes a great home practice sequence.

And if meditation is something that you'd like to start but don't know how, my mother-in-law Peg who has been meditating for decades (literally!) teaches beginners to light a candle and to focus on the flame "begin with just five or ten minutes and then increase the length of time as you feel comfortable" says Peg.

When meditating you may find yourself wondering "am I doing this right?" "how do I know if it is working?" it is very normal to think these thoughts but just let them float away and return your awareness to your breathing.

Meditation and yoga may not be your thing. It may be walking, or swimming, or singing. The point is, we all have something other than the love of our family and friends that fills us up, we must find it and make time for it.

If you need some self-care inspiration head over to Olga's site.

And while self-care doesn't require spending money, I do have a great offer to share with you in honor of our spring cleanse from Simone Denny who runs Nourishing Hub, a site dedicated to putting women's health first. Simone is offering a generous 15% discount to Wholefood Mama readers, just enter the code SPRING to receive your discount. Thanks Simone.

Now it's over to you, where are you at with self-care? what are some things you'd like to do just for you?