Self-care is not a luxury, it's a necessity

I’m often asked about my self-care routine by my clients who are looking for inspiration to implement in their own daily routine.

These days, I prioritize my daily self-care focusing on having an attitude of gratitude and spending quality time with myself, reading my favorite book or watching a great movie with a bowl of popcorn. 

Aside from spending time with family and friends, there's nothing I enjoy more than hot summer days with a margarita in hand, weekends in the mountains, hiking, and live outdoor music…

After hours, I typically spend time at home walking and playing with Ruby, my 11-year old very energetic German Shepherd.

If I feel fatigued, I also have no issue taking a day off to rest and spend the day rejuvenating.

You see, I had to learn the hard way how important self-care was for me.  

While I was in my 15-year relationship, I gave of myself to everyone excessively in the family and I neglected myself terribly.  

In 2016, I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer (which was not in my family) and I had to undergo 6 months of chemotherapy and had a mastectomy.  Thankfully I am now a survivor, going on 6+ years.

During this process, I had no choice but to demand to have my needs fulfilled by doctors, nurses, family and friends.  It was the only way I felt that I was going to get through this life-or-death challenge.  

Here’s the thing:  

There is always a gift in any illness or life event, and I certainly learned mine: Self-care is not a luxury, it's a necessity.

At that point, I made a pact with myself to never let myself down again and to focus on self-love instead.

My self-care priorities today are simple.  I focus on physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual and professional care: low stress, good sleep, moving my body and nourishing it well.

So, these days, my morning routine involves starting off my day by meditating for 20 minutes, after taking care of my dog, but before breakfast.  If I have time, I’ll do some yoga and stretch for 30 minutes to loosen up my body.

Then I do some automatic writing in my journal to connect to Spirit and understand what messages of the day are important for me to hear. If I feel called to it, for some fun, I'll pull a few tarot cards to see if there's anything else that I need to bring my attention to.  This keeps me connected to my inner guidance.

My environment is also a top priority, choosing nice easy jazz music playing in the background, connecting to my breath several times a day and checking in with myself to feel how I am doing. If my stress is cranking for whatever reason, I take the time to tune in and calm myself while understanding what my trigger was to release it through a mindset shift.

I nourish my body by listening to its needs and eating a well-balanced diet with fresh fruits, veggies, fish, seafood and some chicken complemented with vitamins and supplements. But I also occasionally love a good glass of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo or a Prosecco.  My weakness is chips so I cheat some days and have some chips - tortillas and hot salsa or salt & vinegar are my favs :) 

I also schedule massages, osteopath and acupuncture treatments and energy healings to keep my body in harmony every month.

I move my body at least 45 minutes per day.  Ruby is very insistent at reminding me at 7PM that it’s time to go for our evening walk.  She needs it and I also need it, so I am thankful for that extra nudge even if I’m exhausted.  

Ruby is also very playful and has a box of squeaky toys that she drops near my feet insistently every night while I watch TV - one at a time to throw for her.  So, she keeps me in a playful mood.

Every night I try to get 8/9 hours of sleep (yes, I need that much as I give a lot to my clients).  Even when I was with my partner and he snored occasionally, I left to sleep in the guestroom.  The quality of my sleep has always been very important to me and I never felt guilty for doing that.

I also enjoy swimming very much. One of my proudest moments was 8 weeks after my surgery, when I went to the pool and swam 44 lengths in 50 minutes, after having survived all my medical treatments for the past 10 months :)

Remember you are “Important People” too!

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