What if self-care is just taking a shower?
Self-care a recent buzz word!! 'Take care of yourself’, ‘look after yourself’, ‘give time to yourself’, ‘take time out for you’!!
Mind, the mental health charity, state that “Self-care techniques and general lifestyle changes can help manage the symptoms of many mental health problems”
I get this, I teach this in my NCT classes and my Birthing With Love Postnatal Planning Sessions - taking time out of our busy lives, stopping and nurturing ourselves has massive benefits for mental health but what happens if your version of self-care is only taking a tiny bit longer in the shower?!
I have been reflecting on my self-care levels, am I practising what I preach? No, the closest thing to self-care (away from my business or family time) consists of having a longer shower than usual! These self-care moments in my busy life, trying to juggle work and family, are so valuable to me. They consist of standing under the flow of my Aqualisa shower (I used to work in their marking department - loyal to the end!) and planning all the blogs that I am going to write, the videos I will post, the conversations I will have and having all the thousands of epiphanies that I never have the time to action!!
Sound familiar??! I had an Energy Leadership session with a very talented, dear friend and Professional Life Coach - Anna Szpunar, founder of The Entrepreneurial Soul and I had a mini light bulb moment… I claim that I don’t have time to meditate, exercise, read a non-work related book, yet without a second thought, I will make time for my clients. I will make time for scheduling a long call with a pregnant mother or new mother who needs me or needs a sounding board or listening ear. I make time to write social media posts or choose an Instagram story, I make time for my kids, but time for ‘me’ does not seem to hold any weight or value.
What if, I scheduled just 10 minutes in every day to self-care or have a cuppa, in the garden with no interruptions? If I valued myself as much I value those I serve, could I possibly serve those around me better?! Be a better mother, wife, be happier and more content as a person?! I already know the answer… so this is my resolution to myself: Treat ‘me’ as a business, value ‘me’ more, insist on making the time.
When you have a baby, sometimes more than a shower can feel unimaginable. We birth these beautiful little beings and they have the power to rock our world, turn it upside down and inside out!! Before long having an uninterrupted poo becomes a miracle, a shower becomes a spa treatment and a nap is the equivalent of a luxury honeymoon in the Maldives! These demands don’t last forever, it does get easier, roll with it and pull in the resources you have to get through and take a break when you can. If a longer shower once or twice a week is all you can manage this is still a form of self-care as long as you make the time. However, when you feel you have space to offer yourself to others, consider if any of this time can be served for you? Never think that self-care is self-indulgent, consider this to be essential to be the best possible ‘you’ that you can be!
Shower image Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay
