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10 Simple Ways to Practice Self-Care
10 Simple Ways to Practice Self-Care
As a culture we are quite literally burning out. I think many folks can often feel like they are too busy to take care of themselves. But without time for our self-care, stress can take over and we are inundated with exhaustion and we find ourselves a mere shell of who we could be.
Stress is often the leading cause of most health conditions and diseases we face. Being overworked and burning the candle at both ends, this sends our body into an innate state of stress response, releasing an excess of cortisol into our bloodstream to manage the state of our body feeling “in danger”. This is “fight or flight” mode and while our body is here and in a chronic state of the sympathetic nervous system dominance, our digestion doesn’t work, our immune system shuts down, sleep is affected, our heart rate increases and we feel chronically fatigued. We gain weight and our hair skin and nails look drab, despite how hard we try and how great we eat. Our ability to tackle and manage daily tasks feels beyond comprehendible.
Sure you can get your self-care on with yoga, drinking green juice and meditating once in a while, cramming them smack in the middle of your stressful days, but I believe that self-care is a practice much more effective when approached daily, with mindfulness and intention.
Better yet, find a full day to dedicate to your self-care, whatever you need most in that particular moment. If I am home and free, Self-Care Sunday is a regular occurrence that serves a very important purpose to my sanity, my health and my happiness. Some Sundays are facial and hair masks, long showers or staying in my PJs all day. Some involve long walks with good friends, a late brunch and Sunday cocktails – to me it’s just about dedicating time for me, honoring the need for space, not working, not putting anyone else before me and simply rebalancing my mind, body and spirit.
By treating ourselves with kindness and love, daily, we can approach our life, our work and relationships with a happier, more clear mind, allowing the cycle of positivity and happiness to continue to ripple out into the world around us.
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The Power of Gratitude + FREE Gratitude Journal Download
Gratitude is an immensely powerful force that we can use in the most simple of ways to expand our happiness and cultivate loving relationships, it can even improve our health, both mental and physical.
I am so excited to share the Power of Gratitude. The very many powerful health benefits to a regular gratitude practice along with some tips and thoughts on how to cultivate a grateful heart, plus if you scroll to further down, I’m even offering a free download of a Gratitude Journal worksheet you can use daily, as part of your practice.
I invite you to explore ways to support living gratefully as a way of life, not simply something we celebrate once a year.
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The Healing Practice of Pratipaksha Bhavanam
Our thoughts have the power to transform our reality.
The Healing Practice of Pratipaksha Bhavanam
Vitarka badhane pratipaksha bhavanam – Respond to negative thoughts and patterns by thinking and doing the opposite.
If you’ve followed Tasty Yummies for sometime, you are aware that my yoga practice has played a very integral role in my healing and my health, along with my journey toward self-love and self-confidence. I jokingly say that yoga is the gateway drug that came into my life, rocked me and changed me forever – the “drug” that got me on the path to healing. But in full honesty it truly was the stepping stone that brought me to a place where I could finally prioritize my health and from a totally non-ego centered approach, it allowed me to place ME and my happiness above all else. Yoga was the first introduction I had to learning to love and celebrate my body, to trusting myself and most importantly, to knowing that I was actually worthy of being happy, vibrant and well.
It was sometime in 2006 that I first stepped onto my yoga mat, and while I didn’t know this at that time, it was that first unrolling of my mat that fully changed the trajectory of my life moving forward. It was the first time that I made a choice to prioritize my self-care above all else, to give myself permission to fully love myself and to trust that what lied ahead, while intensely challenging, would make for a better version of me.
My yoga practice has evolved greatly over the years. From a daily, rigid, before dawn, self-led mysore practice, to group ashtanga practice, to sweaty vinyasa classes anywhere and everywhere I could take them in, from coast to coast. A few years ago my personal practice eventually reached a place that I was yearning for more and it was then that I received my 200-hour and then 500-hour certification to teach, which I used to host retreats and teach regular classes, publicly and privately. These days, my personal yoga practice is much more private and intimate, with a far less stringent, regimented approach.
While I don’t have a scheduled 90 minute practice daily anymore, yoga still seeps into every single one of my days, even if just by way of the philosophies and methodologies inspiring my approach to daily living. Often it’s the practice of conscious breath work in a stressful moment, or quite literally physical stretches prior to or just after lifting heavy weights or having a rigorous workout of some kind. Some days I make my way to the beach to flow. Often I don’t. I find myself, most days, without consciousness, creating a symphony of breath and movement when I need it most or finding that beautiful balance between effort and steadiness in all aspects of my living. There may not be any greater constant in my life than the practices I have cultivated through yoga.
Throughout my yoga teacher training in 2014, I had a great many lightbulb moments. Literally open mouth “Aha!” moments. Realizations not just in what my body and mind were capable of, but rather in recognizing the control that I had unknowingly harnessed through my practice over the years up to that point. The control of creating my own happiness on the mat and in my life. There were beautiful practices that I had cultivated, unconsciously, which greatly contributed to changing me and much of it finally had explanation with these teachings. I could finally put words and thoughts to them and almost tangibly hold them in my hands so that I could study, cultivate, practice and share them with others.
Studying the yoga sutras and more specifically, Pratipaksha Bhavanam, were probably the most eye-opening aspects of my teacher training and to this day, despite my practice and my teaching career having changed drastically than what I ever could have imagined, they continue to provide daily practices and inspiration for a better life.
Yoga at 8,839 feet?
It was at the very top of Half Dome mountain on a trip to Yosemite last week, at the end of the most intense and rigorous hike (and experience) of my life, after facing my biggest fears and heading head on into place of great discomfort – that I had a great moment of true revelation! It was on top of that mountain, while sobbing in pure pride for what I had just accomplished, that I had the great realization that it was my yoga and the practice of Pratipaksha Bhavanam that got me through and to the top of that mountain that day! Both literally in the actual hike to the peak, but also the years of healing and transformation that led me to even being able to take that journey to be there, in the first place.
In every moment of self-doubt on the journey that day, in every intense thought of great fear, in every question of “But, what if I fall?” I had the unconscious ability to tap into this important practice and change both the dialogue and the outcome. I wouldn’t allow it to continue, I honored it in the moment, I expressed gratitude for it’s teachings and it’s purpose, then I shut that shit down and then literally heard the words – “Oh, my darling, but what if you fly?” (Erin Hanson)
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Looking to Incorporate Yoga Into Your Life? Tips and Inspiration from Some of My Favorite Teachers.
In this month-long total immersion in my yoga practice, as I get my certification to teach yoga – there really isn’t much else on my brain besides just that. Yoga! I find whenever I mention yoga, either here or on my Facebook page, I tend to get a lot of the same questions from people about yoga, the practice, where to start and all that comes along with it. I know this is a nice long post, likely intimidating as a reader – but, I can promise you if you have been wanting to incorporate a regular yoga practice into your life and you just don’t know where to start, maybe you are a tad nervous to just jump right in, there are some amazing thoughts and tips here for you. If you have lost touch with your practice and you need some lovely inspiring reminders of what your yoga practice can do for you, read this. If you just want to know what some people see in it or why so many people are drawn to yoga, take this all in. Regardless of why you read this post, I can assure you, it will inspire you to get onto your mat, whether for the first time or after some time away.
I asked seven of my favorite yoga teachers, some from my past, some from my present, the following two questions:
– What advice can you give someone looking to start a regular yoga practice?
– How has a regular yoga practice changed your life?
James Brown – American Yoga School, Venice Beach, CA
What advice can you give someone looking to start a regular yoga practice?
First, I would say, “Congratulations!”
Start with a beginner class. You might stay at that level for two weeks or ten months or a few years or forever. But you will know, if you start there, if, when and why to move on. I’d also recommend that you look for a class that does not bill itself as “flow” for your first few classes. Start with classes that teach you the basics before flowing. Flow classes tend to be light on instruction.
Try different teachers and classes until you find one that works for you. If you don’t feel good about yourself at the end of the class, move on to another teacher or class. Know that there are many formats and styles of physical practice, and within any style, every teacher will be a bit different from every other one. No matter your physical ability, the teacher should be able to instruct you in a way that you feel that you are already successful. While fancy poses may take a long time to master, a good teacher makes it clear from the start that the level of the pose has nothing to do with the quality of the practice. I have met many beginners who were more advanced, because of their attitudes, than more seasoned practitioners who could do more impressive things with their bodies. Find a teacher who teaches the poses without making the poses themselves the focus.
Set achievable goals. You don’t have to start by going every day. I started with a once-a-week course and that was easy to manage, so I stuck to it and 20 years later I am still at it. And if you fall off the wagon, just get back on. The yoga will always wait for you. Give yourself plenty of time for it to really stick and to become part of your life.
How has a regular yoga practice changed your life?
I can’t really think of any ways that it has not improved my life. The most profound difference is that I am happy. I feel more connected to others and I am content with the imperfections in my life.
Less profoundly, I am aging differently from the generation that I watched age before me. I am almost 50 and my body is still getting more functional each year than it was the year before. I know that things have to turn around at some point, but the age when that happens still seems to be quite distant.
An interesting affect of yoga practice is that it gets me to make better decisions in the rest of my life, particularly with issues of health and diet. The physical practice I do has made it more clear to me how those things affect my body, so I make better choices.
Ramona Tamulinas – Yoga World Studio, Long Beach, CA
What advice can you give someone looking to start a regular yoga practice?
Beginning a yoga practice is a unique, personal experience. Some people decide to practice because of health reasons, physical reasons, emotional reasons, wanting to look like a hot yoga girl, it’s a good way to meet girls (yes, I have been told more than once that is why someone started), improving flexibility, your boyfriend/girlfriend says it’s a must if you want to keep dating… the list goes on and on.
I would recommmend exploring the studios in your area and try different teachers until a place and a teacher resonates with what you are seeking. Once you find that teacher, study with them in a class setting and if your bank account allows – book some private sessions. Private sessions allow you to feel secure and comfortable and they help your teacher know you better. It is most important that you found a place, a teacher who allows you to feel comfortable and at ease. I believe deeply in a practice that builds from the foundation of comfort and ease. Yoga, if you jive with it – leads you down a magnificent path of self transformation. Loving where you begin is therefore vital.
How has having a regular yoga practice changed your life?
To me yoga is more than asana. It is service and compassion to my community. Therefore my yoga practice has taught me to embrace my strengths which are being of service and compassionate.
Before yoga, and sometimes even since finding it, I felt I didn’t have a place. I felt out of place in so many social settings, in so many realms of popular culture I searced for a place to belong and I couldn’t find it. I have always been an introverted person and one who lead internally with my heart. In this crazy world that encourages the worldly and external – I often felt lost. When I found yoga, I was full of self-doubt and wanted to be anyone else but me. I remember telling my friend who took me, “I am already flexible and calm. I need to become tough and strong.” Well yoga did that. I can say practicing has allowed me to stay sweet, calm, and flexible but allowed me to embrace the strength and toughness inside me. In a way, yoga helped me find my inner rebel.
At times I stray from practice and I notice myself questioning this inner strength, but my inner strength would realize how important this wild practice supports me and encourage me back to wards it path, back to my mat, back to teaching, back to learning. It is vital toward my life as anything inside my physical being.
It is as important as my heart, my brain, my blood, everything within me is supported by yoga. For me yoga lead me to the path of embracing my true self, my connection with the universe and my purpose. When I was a young girl the father of my church told me, “I want you to remember five words. I am beautiful, thank God.” He said “every time I see you I am going to wave with five finger to remind you”. He is gone now, but yoga has reminded me of that lesson everyday.
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Gratitude
{Photo © Louie Schwartzberg 2013}Instead of a recipe today, I decided to share with you something that really changed me. I am not sure why I haven’t shared this sooner.
I first heard this nearly a year ago during savasana at a power vinyasa yoga class taught by my amazing friend Lyndsey in Rochester, NY. Days before she was to move to Africa and embark on the journey to teach yoga and share her amazingness for 6 months as part of the Africa Yoga Project. It moved me to tears while laying on my mat, surrounded almost entirely by strangers. It is powerful. In some ways more so even than the super intense, sweaty yoga practice I had just completed minutes before.
I bookmarked this video on the home screen of my iPhone the very day I heard it. I watch/listen to it a couple times a month. I watched it again today and the message is JUST as clear. It is as powerful and meaningful to me as the very first time I heard it.
An amazing reminder to be grateful for the precious gift of life and all that each day brings.
To stay connected.
Be present.
I won’t bore you with my words and thoughts, none of them could ever do this justice. But I really wanted to share this. Please take 10 minutes to watch/listen this video. Bookmark it. Cherish it. Share it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
TEDxSF – Louie Schwartzberg – Gratitude
