Baby in the Bluegrass is so excited to welcome guest blogger Sharon Tessandori of Barefoot Works Yoga Studio!

The importance of self care…

We all want enough energy to work, love, learn, and enjoy life.  As human beings wanting to fully participate in life, this is a quest for us.  Yet more and more of us are tired, burnt out, and depleted of energy.

We tell ourselves that if we take a day or even an hour to feed our soul the kids will starve, the house will fall apart, the boss will frown, and the partner will see it as selfish.

I can distinctly recall the first real moment I really got the idea of self care.  I can’t even remember how many years ago, but it was Oprah.  Of course, who else?  I can’t recall if it was her show or her magazine.  Mostly I recall her talking about how she “took herself off the list.”  Somewhere between taking care of every one else and fulfilling the role of wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, employee, coach, and so on…..we lose a little of ourselves.

Just like Oprah, many of us take ourselves off the list.  We stop tending to ourselves.  We forget that we have a body, mind, and spirit that we must nourish in order to fully serve those around us.

Wikipedia defines self care as personal health maintenance. It is any activity of an individual, family or community, with the intention of improving or restoring health, or treating or preventing disease.

I have to come clean here and say that I’m not a mother.  I don’t know what it’s like to have an alarm clock replaced by a crying baby, vacuuming up Cheerios or Cheetos, carting the kids to soccer and gymnastics and planning for tonight’s dinner all at the same time.

However I am a daughter and I have family and close friends that do.  And as a female there have been times that I’ve lost a little (or a lot) of myself.  It wasn’t fun.  I felt like I had no idea who the “real” me was.  I felt unmotivated and confused.  I felt like I had little control in creating a life for myself.

Mary Oliver puts it brilliantly when she asks, “Are you breathing just a little and calling it a life.”  I don’t think that any of us want to leave this earth feeling as if we only lived a little.  No, we each deserve so much more than this.

Are you currently in need of some self care time?  Ask yourself the following questions:

1.  Do I have enough energy to sustain me throughout the day?

2.  How does my body feel throughout the day as I work, play, and participate in activities of daily life?

3.  Do I sleep sound at night and wake up feeling well rested?

4.  Do I eat healthy foods throughout the day that nourish me?

5.  Do I feel a sense of passion and purpose for my life?

6.  Are my immediate relationships healthy or toxic?

If you answered the previous questions, or even scanned over them and felt an inner knowing that your current schedule and/or way of living is not conducive to a vibrant and healthy life, you may want to consider some changes.  We live in a society that encourages us to accomplish more in less time, a society where being busy is admirable.

The good news is you don’t have to twist yourself into pretzel like poses or stand on your head for 20 minutes daily to benefit from self care practices.  Here are some quick and easy ideas for self care that you can begin today:

• Create an intention for your day.  Ask yourself, what is the one thing I can do today that will nourish my soul most?  Be open to what arises, listening without judgment.  Take some time to journal, sketch, or paint what comes to mind.  You don’t have to be a poet to journal or an artist to draw.  Quiet your inner critic and invite your inner child out to play!  This time for reflection can help you navigate your day.
• Celebrate yourself.  Dance, indulge in your favorite meal, get a massage, make a list of your dreams then create a vision board, sing out loud.  Revel in your unique ways.  Be unabashedly in love with yourself.
• Commune with nature.  Take a hike, ride your bike, go horseback riding, sit under a tree, take a picnic, lay in the grass and gaze at the clouds, play in your garden, dig your toes into the earth and witness the beauty that surrounds you.
• Connect with your body.  Practice yoga, do a walking meditation, dance to your favorite song, eat mindfully, take a long hot bath, close your eyes and do deep belly breathing.  Find ways to infuse your day with love, appreciation and gratitude for your body.
• Connect with your spirit.  Keep a gratitude list, read inspirational books, pray, meditate, memorize a favorite poem or passage and say it at night before bed, take time throughout your day to consciously connect to those around you.   What are the things you do that help you connect with spirit?  How can you weave those into your day?

Can you for just a moment allow yourself to think that your health and your happiness are just as important as the health of those you love the most?  Can you believe that being alone for a moment, an hour, a day, or a week is just as important as making dinner and/or going to work?

My suggestion is to start small.  Start asking yourself daily how you can find a few minutes to step away from the ordinary and into the extraordinary by communing with your divine self.  For it is here that you will (re)discover your true authentic self.  Give it a try and see if your mind, body, spirit, and family are happier for you doing so.

Sharon is the happy owner of Barefoot Works Yoga Studio and takes great joy in self care.  She leads classes, yoga teacher training and national/international yoga retreats. Visit her online at BarefootWorks.com and BarefootWorks.Blogspot.com

My husband forwarded this article to me from NPR yesterday. I found it pretty interesting. My first thought was, “Is he trying to tell me something?” Then it occurred to me that maybe HE was relieved to learn that he married a pretty normal person. I think he had some doubts the day I screamed out “Now, I have to actually use the vacuum cleaner to get the crumbs off the floor since the dog passed away!”

“A few years ago, Romi Lassally started TrueMomConfessions.com, a Web site that encourages mothers to talk about the triumphs and the tortures of raising kids. She says the site gives mothers an outlet for their “mommy misdemeanors” — a safe space to escape from that idealized notion of how blissful motherhood is supposed to be.” – NPR

READ FULL ARTICLE

Here are some photos from the grand opening of Baby Belly in Hamburg Pavilion. Check out how sixteen moms & their bellies fit into that stretch limo, no pun intended! Crystal Nichols, owner of Baby Belly is offering 2D, 3D & 4D Ultrasounds in the comfort of a spa environment. They offer spa services such as preconception, prenatal, and postnatal massages, facials, body treatments, waxing, as well as pedicures and manicures!  They also offer great spa packages…such as Pregnant Gets What Pregnant Wants!   Great gift-giving idea!

www.babybellyspa.com

After many hours in front of the computer to get our Louisville book “Baby in Kentuckiana” to the printer, my shoulders, neck and back were a mess. I pressed upload on all the files for the book, and soon called Lisa at Lexington Aesthetics to book a much-needed massage. As she told me about the new therapists, she mentioned the Raindrop Therapy massage. I decided to give the 90-minute a shot, and was not disappointed. Though I smelled like a pizza (according to my husband), I came out of there as loose as a noodle, with my sinuses opened up. The oils (including oregano and mint) are a combination of anti-virals, anti-bacterials, and anti-fungals, so could be helpful in shortening illnesses. It definitely shortened my muscle spasms.

Free makeovers during September

During the month of September, makeup artists from various cosmetic companies will be performing makeovers at ULTA, free of charge. I’m looking forward to possibly finding a new foundation–it’s about time I get out of the rut–when I get my PurMinerals makeover on Saturday. Call the Lexington store at the South Park Shopping Center on Nicholasville Road at 859-272-1022 for your appointment.