Want to Prioritize Self-Care? 3 Ways to Begin
Self-care—the art of attuning and responding to your needs and desires, moment to moment—is not about adding something to your to-do list, it’s about cultivating a new way of being with yourself.
Recently while speaking at a conference on the topic of self-care, I connected with a couple who are both working from home full-time, juggling child care and really struggling. The dad shared, “I know self-care is important, but I have no idea what I need and I’m not even sure where to start! Any advice?”
I loved this question and I offered him the following three “baby steps” to begin cultivating the ability to check-in on what he needs in the moment:
- Morning body scan. When you first wake up in the morning, pause before you jump out of bed. Close your eyes, take some deep breaths and slowly scan your body from the crown of your head down to your shoulders, your torso, your hips, knees, feet and reflect on What do I most need today to feel nourished? It could be in the physical, emotional or spiritual realm. Sometimes my body says, “Kale!” and often it’s, “You need to bump that afternoon meeting to next week, you’re seriously over-scheduled!”
- Tune-in. Research in the area of self-compassion tells us that nurturing self-touch has a significant impact on our ability to feel kinder towards ourselves. Throughout your day, pause, put a hand on the center of your chest and ask, “What do I need?” The more you do this, the more natural it starts to feel. You can even do this in the middle of a work meeting or in the thick of a family dinner; attuning to what you need moment to moment takes practice, but it’s the first step towards cultivating a daily practice.
- “Quickie” journaling. My favorite journaling exercise for whenever I feel out of alignment, overwhelmed or anxious, is simply pausing to check-in on these three questions (I keep a journal and pen in my car and in my purse at all times): How do I feel? What do I need? What do I want? Women around the world who participated in our monthly women’s self-renewal circles have been asking these three simple questions for two decades—it’s amazing how effective they are for helping you quickly reconnect to your needs and desires. My husband likes this exercise, too!
If you’re just starting a self-care practice, remember: baby steps, be curious and invite in self-compassion. Believing you are worthy of self-care—that it’s your birthright—is a radical stance and takes courage. Ask for help and choose to be around people who are also making their self-care a priority. The self-care pebbles we drop in our pond today, create ripples for generations to come.
Warmly-
FOUR WAYS TO HELP YOU (AND YOUR FRIENDS) PRIORITIZE SELF-CARE:
- *NEW OFFERING!* Secrets to Facilitating Life-Changing Women’s Groups/Retreats in Uncertain Times ~ the course. Are you passionate about empowering other women in your area? Would you love to lead women’s groups/retreats? Connection=medicine. Created by Renee, this beautiful, self-paced online course–based on our wildly popular, now retired 18-year-old Facilitator Training Program–offers everything you need to start facilitating women’s circles/retreats. Download today; available 24/7. Only $195 for a limited time. Learn more.
- Wild Souls Nature Adventures (based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western NC): authentic movement classes, community song circles, full moon hikes, meditation workshops, women’s circles & more. New offerings listed each week; have me design a custom experience for your team/friends. Join us Sunday, May 5th for our next Wild Souls Authentic Movement near Asheville, NC. Learn more.
- June 21st, 1-7 p.m. ~ Summer Solstice, Full Moon Self-Renewal Retreat, On Lake Jocassee, South Carolina (one-hour from Brevard, NC). Details coming; size is very limited. Email info@reneetrudeau.com to receive an invitation.
- October 25 – 27th ~ Soul Tending: Cultivating Grace, Power and Intuition ~ A Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health (Berkshire Mountains, Western MA). Join me for replenishing rest, divine natural foods cuisine, song/movement, restorative yoga and more. Packages start at just $635 for this deeply supportive, soul-nurturing weekend. Learn more and register.
Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by self-care coach/author/speaker and catalyst Renée Peterson Trudeau. Passionate about helping men and women find balance through the art/science of self-care, Renee has been facilitating high-impact, interactive workshops for Fortune 500 companies, national nonprofits/conferences and organizations/teams worldwide for 25 years. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Fast Company, Good Housekeeping, Yoga Journal, AARP Magazine, Spirituality & Health and more. She and her team have certified more than 450 facilitators in 10 countries around the globe to lead self-renewal groups/retreats based on her pioneering self-care curriculum. She’s the author of two books on life balance including the award-winning The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life. She and her husband live in Western North Carolina; her latest venture is Wild Souls Nature Adventures. More on Renee here.
