Three Gentle Ways to Prioritize Self-Care
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. ~ Renee Trudeau
Recently, while speaking at a national women’s conference on the topic of self-care and resiliency, I connected with a woman who is working full-time, caring for her mother, parenting her teenagers and struggling to find any time for herself. She 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 her the following three “baby steps” to begin cultivating the ability to to check-in on what she 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 self-care 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 have 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. (Want to travel with me to Iona, Scotland Sept. 23-29th, 2027 and experience deep self-care with other soulful women? Email info at reneetrudeau dot com to receive a personal invite before this goes live and sells out!)
The self-care pebbles we drop in our pond today, create ripples for generations to come.
Warmly,
WANT SUPPORT FOR PRIORITIZING YOUR SELF-CARE? HERE ARE FOUR OPPORTUNITIES:
- *NEW* Oct. 16-18 ~ Awaken Your Wild Soul: Reclaim Your Purpose, Power & Inner Wisdom ~ A Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat. Join me at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in the Berkshire Mountains of MA during peak leaf color for the ultimate fall deep self-care retreat. Learn more/register here.
- Can’t join me in-person? Download your self-guided retreat today! Ready to prioritize your self-care, relax your body and enjoy empowering mentoring from Renee 24/7 from the comfort of your home, car or office? Our highly popular self-paced online retreats are only $59. Download & enjoy today. Learn more.
- Are you feeling called to facilitate women’s groups/retreats? Check out Secrets to Facilitating Life-Changing Women’s Groups/Retreats ~ an online, self-paced training & mentoring course. Only $195. Learn more/enroll here.
- Live in the Southeast or near North Carolina? Join me in the NC Blue Ridge Mountains for a Wild Souls Adventure: authentic movement classes, community song circles, full moon hikes, meditation/resiliency workshops, women’s circles & more or have me design a custom experience/ritual for your team/friends: learn more. Join us for our next public Wild Souls Authentic Movement class Sunday, July 26th in Brevard, NC outside of Asheville; learn more here.
Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by transformational coach/author/speaker and self-care evangelist Renée Peterson Trudeau. Passionate about helping men and women live more intentionally and 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, US News & World Report, AARP, 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 several books on life balance including the award-winning The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life. Renee and her husband live in Western North Carolina and they have one son in New York City. Her latest venture is Wild Souls Nature Adventures. More on Renee here.
