Women. You do it all.
And now you need to take care of your Self. Not yourself. But your Self. That’s right – your Self with a capital S.
This year – 2017 – I am celebrating my 10th year of practice and have decided to make this year about sharing. Sharing the many lessons I have learned from working with women of all ages and all backgrounds, with all kinds of health concerns.
Lesson #1: Self-care is the cornerstone of a woman’s health.
But what does Self-care really mean anyway?
Self-care means different things to different people. To help simplify things a bit for you, here is my definition of Self-care: Self-care is anything you do that helps you feel like your Self again. There’s that Self with a capital S again! Let me clarify why I do that…
Your Self is who you are at your core, your heart, your passion, your truth, your essence – You. It’s much more than just your physical well-being, which is, of course, important, but not the only thing to consider in terms of health. To me, your Self is your physical Self + your mental-emotional Self + your spiritual Self. So when I say Self-care, I’m referring to all of those ways that we can take care of our physical, mental-emotional and spiritual health – so we feel like our best Self, our true Self. You know what I’m talking about, I know you do…
I hear it all the time, from mothers of newborns to toddlers to 20-year-olds; from women wanting to get pregnant; from women not quite ready to get pregnant, and definitely from women in perimenopause: “I just don’t feel like myself anymore.”
What I hear is: “I just don’t feel like my Self anymore.”
When a woman says that during a visit, I write it down, underline it, and put an asterisk beside it. And then I work with this woman to find out what exactly will help her feel like her Self again. It’s a joint effort, just like any good naturopathic relationship is. She talks, I listen – I talk, she listens – and together we figure out that her Self is: whatever that “missing piece” is when she last felt healthy, strong, and happy – like she could do anything and be anything. Through some naturopathic basics like nutrition, acupuncture, sprinkled with some herbs and lifestyle counselling, she is amazed as she realizes that she still can feel that way again, she just forgot over the many years of putting everyone else before her Self.
Wanna become a Self-care warrior?
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YES! I’m ready to take care of my Self!
Secret (but really not so secret anymore) #1:
Women are amazing at taking care of others …but they often do so at the expense of their own health. And when they do take the time for themselves, they often feel guilty and are labeled selfish. I am here to invite, encourage and urge all women to release those feelings. To release feeling guilty and the notion that Self-care is selfish. I’ve often said: “If you’re no good to your Self, you can’t be good to anyone else.”
Think about how many times you have completely overloaded your schedule and given so much of yourself (and start thinking about that as your Self now!), that one last thing puts you over the edge and you just can’t take it. You ended up feeling so stressed out that you break down and cry – at work. Or maybe you wake up one morning with neck pain so bad that you can’t move your neck. Or maybe you are so busy taking care of others that you put off taking your supplements and eating all the great things that kept your eczema away and it comes back in full force. (Yup, all of those things have happened to me!)
Women often neglect their own health to take care of others. And like the title of the hilariously funny Diane Keaton movie says, “Something’s gotta give”. Unfortunately, it is often only when the body “gives” that women seek naturopathic care to help restore balance. And that is great, I am here to support you through that. But, what if – what IF – we as women could try proactively to maintain balance before something gives? We don’t have to be perfect at it – we actually are better off accepting that we should not aim for perfection on this (yes another blog sometime in the future!) – but we just have to be open to trying. I’m in – are you?
Awesome!
Here are some ways you may find helpful to start taking better care of your Self – today!
Mental-emotional Self-care
- Share how you feel with one other person today
- Journal your feelings
- Practice abdominal breathing
- Create an inspiring affirmation like: I practice Self-care daily
- Meditate
- Do yoga
- Try acupuncture to help calm your mind
- Play your favourite song while you get ready in the morning
Physical Self-care
- Eat foods that are good for you – most of the time!
- Go for a mani-pedi
- Find a way to move that makes you feel strong & alive. For some it will be running, for others yoga, dance, cycling or walking. It really doesn’t matter what it is – just start moving!
- Try a new hairstyle
- Treat your Self to a back massage from an amazing RMT
- Take a relaxing bath
- Book your annual physical and blood work
- Wear something that makes you feel awesome
Spiritual Self-care
- Go for a walk in nature
- Do yoga
- Dance
- Sing
- Colour
- Paint
- Meditate
- Pray
What I love about the above list:
1) It’s just the tip of the iceberg. This is not at all an exhaustive list, just something to get the ball rolling for you.
2) It’s meant to be individualized. You can add or subtract whatever activities you want. There is no wrong answer! If it makes you feel closer to feeling like your Self again – do it!
3) There is a ton of overlap between categories. For example, nutrition is good for your physical Self, but guess what – it’s also good for your mental-emotional health. Did you know some foods can help you feel less stressed, depressed and anxious while others can predispose you to those emotions? Another great example is yoga. To me, yoga can be placed in all 3 categories, because it has the amazing ability to help clear your mind from all of the “stuff” going on, help you reconnect with your spiritual Self and can also provide a good strengthening physical workout too.
Still not convinced that Self-care is necessary for good health and the health of those you love? Then I can’t wait to share my second blog in this Self-care series with you. It’s about the amazing world of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. I am always amazed at the way various women’s health issues like fertility, stress, morning sickness, and hot flashes, respond so well to acupuncture. Look out for it next week!
Want to know what I do for Self-care? Don’t worry, that’s coming up a bit later in this series. For now, I want you to contemplate what your own Self-care go-to’s are and ask your Self:
When was the last time I did any of these? What’s stopping me?
If you need help incorporating these or choosing the best ones for you – you can find me here.
I’d love to hear what you do for Self-care. In other words…
What do you do that makes you feel like your Self again?
Drop me a comment below or on Facebook …I’d love to hear from you!
Take good care of your Self until then!
Ready to become a Self-care warrior?
Click the button below to join Dr. Odette’s FREE Self-care Warrior e-mail list and you’ll receive her Self-care videos, articles, and inspiration right in your inbox!
