Nurture Yourself to Nurture Others

I was a few minutes into meditating and noticed that I was physically uncomfortable maintaining an upright posture. Quickly my mind diverted from a peaceful state of focused breathing to thinking about how much my shoulders and upper back were aching, because I wasn’t hunched over feeding or holding my 5 week old baby. I was thinking about how much my lower back hurt and noticed how my entire body was tense and stiff. How did this happen?

    I preach about self-care, and here I realized I had not thought about my own well-being for how many weeks? The consequence of this? A body that was uncomfortable doing something that I had once been doing daily. During this realization, I also took note of how I felt overall- mentally, emotionally, spiritually. Not great. Along with inconsistent sleep, I was also not eating great, not really practicing mindfulness and had not been journaling much. It became clear to me how much my daily practice of self-care impacted my overall wellness.

    It is so common for mother’s, especially new ones, to lose their sense of self. Even during pregnancy and after, your body is dedicated to growing and nurturing another life. It is a lot. We think it’s selfish, or we say we don’t have time for ourselves. However, we forget that we need to take care of ourselves in order to care for others! So, begin practicing self-care in a way that fulfills you. Nourish your body and mind on a daily basis! For an additional and necessary treat, take note of what your body needs and get that massage and facial. There is no better investment than your overall health!