The Importance of Self Care

Happy Monday Friends!

Let’s face it- there isn’t anyone out there more interested in yourself than you. The way that you live is up to you, for better or for worse! Being able to take care of yourself is essential to living the happiest and most productive life possible. This is why self-care is one of the most common themes in all yoga programs. In short, self-care means deliberately and purposefully taking time out of your regular routine to release stress and refocus your energy and purpose. Self-care can be anything you want it to be whether it’s a nice bubble bath (my favorite), working out, reading a book, practicing yoga or even eating ice cream while watching your favorite show on Netflix. Its time set aside just for YOU.

I was first introduced to self-care during my initial yoga teacher training, and I realized as I examined my day to day life, that I was not practicing self-care the way I should have been. Whether it was a busy schedule, school work, or yielding to social pressures, I was not taking the necessary time out of the day to care for my own well-being.

During college I was spreading myself way too thin, eating sweets for breakfast, lunch and dinner, staying up too late, waking up early, and packing so much into my schedule that eating a good meal was something I deemed as an “if I have time” activity. I don’t know how I even managed to do everything I did, while still staying sane! I was taking 19 credits, training on the track and cross country team (which included practice for 3 hours everyday with lifting for 2 hours twice a week), hanging out with friends, going to church, studying and squeezing in eating. It might not sound like a whole lot but I was so busy and ultimately unhappy.

 I would wake up every morning dreading all the things I had to do and stressing about getting them all done. In my mind I reminded myself of all the things I was accomplishing and the memories I was making with friends to rationalize the unhappiness that was weighing down on me. Looking back, I don’t think it was really worth it. Of course I learned something from the lessons and I wouldn’t change the experiences I had because they ultimately shaped me into a better person, but really I wasn’t taking care of myself. I wasn’t doing the things I was supposed to and I wasn’t doing what I knew was right or healthy for me. I really didn’t feel like myself. I wasn’t taking time to introspect and analyze the path that I was putting myself on. There wasn’t any time that I stepped back to ask myself where I was at and how I was doing.

After only about a month at the university, I started dating an older boy without knowing anything about him, other than the fact that I thought he was really attractive. The first month or two of dating was exciting and new but then things really started to really take a turn for the worst. My grades started to slip, I missed classes, I was late to practices, I couldn’t hang out with my friends, I wasn’t eating very much and I felt really controlled and stuck in a bad situation. With every passing day I thought less and less of myself and more and more drained. Of course there were really great days where I felt appreciated, loved, and beautiful but the bad days definitely outnumbered the good. Without going into too much detail, it was toxic and eventually ended 6 months later. After realizing the amount of damage I was doing to myself physically, mentally and spiritually, I also quit the track and cross country team and tried to focus more on school and my friends. I felt mildly better but still not 100%.

NOW ON TO HAPPIER THINGS

As you can tell from this little excerpt from my college days, self care is ESSENTIAL to a happy and healthy life. I was like a snowball at the top of a hill and the closer I got to the bottom, the bigger the crash was going to be. After I started to take care of myself and set aside time everyday for some me time, I was a whole new person. I found my yoga practice, my husband, life long friends and I discovered new dreams and aspirations that I hardly thought possible before. I set aside well-deserved time to preserve my health and wellness while enjoying new opportunities to grow and learn more about myself everyday. I do my self practice so that when I am teaching other people, we learn and grow together at the same time. I love helping others and I think its important to reach out and serve your community, but at the same time we need to care for ourselves too.

You are worth it, you deserve it and setting aside time to balance your crazy schedule with some self care will benefit your life now and for years to come.

Have a killer Monday loves!

love & light

Bree

Wearing all Amari Active > amariactive.com