Are You Prioritizing Emotional Self-Care?

My closest girlfriend from Austin just flew in this past weekend for my birthday. We enjoyed long, luscious teas, meandering forest hikes, Wild Souls Movement Classes, beautiful slow soulful meals, restful meditations together and we laughed, cried and hugged about a hundred times over the the three days she was here.  All of this “belly time” (face-to-face connection) and heart-nurturing with Nicole left me feeling nourished, joyful and deeply seen and heard.

Emotional self-care (ex: heartfelt communication with friends who let us show up “warts and all,” asking for support from a minister/therapist/coach when needed and journaling and self-reflection) is the key to resiliency, lowering stress and it has an enormous impact on our overall well-being.

Did you know that women release oxytocin, the cuddle hormone, when they gather with other women and have conversations that matter? (It’s not too late to join us in two weeks for my deep rest, embodied spirituality retreat at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Jan. 30-Feb. 1; I love the deeply authentic, like-hearted women that attend my retreats!)

The care and feeding of our hearts is just as important as physical self-care and it’s essential to feeling whole and alive. But so often we forget this or push aside time with friends in order to stay slaves to our to-do lists.  

What are you doing on a daily basis to nurture your inner world and emotional well-being? Numerous studies report one of the biggest factors that affect our quality of life as we age—especially for women—is how deep and consistent our social interactions are with our friend circle (read more about the importance of connection).

Alternately, when we’re disconnected from ourselves and others, this can lead to depression, anxiety and worse.

We need each other fully and completely: hearts, minds, bodies and souls. Not just through rapid fire texts, emojis or Instagram likes. This week, I challenge you to find ways to connect more deeply and authentically. Try picking up the phone to call a friend you haven’t spoken to in months, setting up a girl’s night out or (gasp!) dropping by a friend’s home unexpectedly just for a hug and to say hi. Your heart will thank you for it.

YOUR HOMEWORK: One of my favorite exercises for emotional self-care is my Quickie Journaling Exercise (from my balanced living book Nurturing the Soul of Your Family: 10 Ways to Find Peace & Harmony in Everyday Life). Take five minutes to answer these three simple questions in a journal/notebook. Place your hand over the center of your chest while reflecting on each question. How do I feel? What do I need (at this moment and life stage)? What do I want (what is my heart’s greatest desire)? Try answering these questions every morning for one week. Often, in just a few minutes, you’re able to shift into a greater sense of wholeness and calm. 

A CALL TO ACTION: Every Tuesday for more than 20 years, I’ve been blogging about how to come into balance through the art and science of self-care. Grab your favorite beverage, curl up in a chair and peruse my popular past posts. And, share my blog with someone you care about. The self-care pebbles we place in the pond today, create ripples for generations to come.

Warmly,

I’D LOVE TO SUPPORT YOU! OFFERINGS TO HELP YOU PRIORITIZE SELF-CARE:

• *NEW* Jan. 30-Feb. 1st ~ Tending & Befriending Your Beautiful Self: A Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health (Berkshire Mountains, Western MA- photo above). Learn more/ register here!  
• *NEW* March 20-22nd for Awakening Your Wild Soul: Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat at 1440 Multiversity in the CA redwoods (image above) ~ an embodied spirituality retreat filled with joyful song, pleasureful movement and deep nature immersions with 1,000 year-old trees; learn more/ register.
• Want to facilitate women’s groups/retreats in your community?  Check out Secrets to Facilitating Life-Changing Women’s Groups/Retreats ~ an online, self-paced mentoring course. Based on Renee’s 30+ years experience training 450+ facilitators and teaching at world-renowned retreat centers like Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. Omega Institute and Esalen Institute, this on-demand video course offers everything you need to start facilitating women’s circles and retreats. Only $195. Learn more.
• 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 Sunday, Jan. 25th for our next public Wild Souls Authentic Movement class in Brevard, NC; learn more here.