7 Self-Care Practices That Carry Me Through Change

2025 was a year of rapid transitions. It felt like I could barely catch my breath between moving, building a home, healing from a car accident, supporting friends/family through hardships, hiring a new team and more!

Transitioning from one life stage, geographic location or state of mind to another, takes more time and energy than we realize. And it can throw you out of alignment. In the old days I would have turned to some not-so-healthy habits to relieve my stress, but today, I know that self-care is not only essential, it’s my best friend when times get tough. When it comes to nourishing and grounding myself, here are seven self-care rituals I can’t live without:

1. 1. I begin my day intentionally. I love my 20-30 minute morning meditation practice. But if things are hectic, I find that even when I take five minutes to start my day with a clear intention, gratitude practice, prayer or stillness, this has a huge impact on how the rest of my day flows. My family sometimes does morning “power circles” right before we head out the door when one of us is having a hard time or needs extra support. I’m also a big fan of the “four hugs a day” club (read more); touch is powerful.
   2. I make pleasure-full movement a priority. My favorite ways to move my body include yoga, vigorous walks with friends around the lake and Wild Souls dance. I often have to juggle like crazy to make this happen and always have to plan in advance to build this in, but daily, enjoyable movement is a non-negotiable for me at this life stage.
   3. I eat foods that make me feel great (most of the time!) and take breakfast seriously. Often I ask, “What would really nourish us right now?” before I decide what’s for breakfast or dinner. This means planning ahead and keeping the fridge and pantry stocked with lots of my favorite staples: turkey, hummus, a variety of nuts and nut butters, fruits/veggies, garbanzo and black beans for salads and dips, green, mint and ginger teas, etc. I love the clean, quick, gluten-free recipes in It’s All Good and It’s All Easy by Gwyneth Paltrow. Breakfast is king at our house. I find if I start the day eating protein, it helps me maintain steady blood sugar levels and has a huge impact on how I feel around 3 or 4 p.m. I like to drink a cup of warm water and lemon immediately upon waking to “get things moving.” Favorite breakfasts include a spinach/mushroom omelet, breakfast tacos, smoked salmon or trout on whole grain bagels, steel cut oatmeal with blueberries/almonds/milk or if we’re in a hurry, apples with almond butter work.
   4. I build in time with friends who let me show up “warts and all.” Heartfelt face-to-face connection is key to lowering stress hormones and keeping perspective. Ideally it’s a lunch, evening women’s circle or walking date, but even a good 15 min. phone call with a dear friend boosts my mood.
   5. I take time to pause, rest and check-in. Pausing to ask, “What is mine to do?” helps me use my energy more effectively. These pauses also help me tune in and ask my body what it needs: one of my hormonal balancing tinctures, some B Complex or a nap? For the past year, I have started taking 20 min. afternoon rests almost every afternoon. Now in my late fifties, I believe this will be key to creating sustainability throughout the decades to come.
   6. I walk on the earth (ideally barefoot). Even if it’s just five minutes of pulling weeds in the backyard or refilling the bird bath, a brief swing in my hammock chair or walking to the park and back after dinner with family, I find connecting with the natural world has a calming effect on my nervous system and helps me reset and shake off any “funk.” Nature = the ultimate anti-depressant!
   7. I prepare for a good night’s sleep. After dinner, we make it a priority to relax and unwind. It’s not a time to get stuff done, it’s time to let the busyness of the day fall away. Sometimes this means embracing a “good is good enough,” attitude and letting the house be messy, clothes pile up and work deadlines wait. I love late evening walks with my husband or neighbor, delicious aromatherapy baths, gentle yoga stretches before bed (legs up on the wall is my favorite) and I snuggle down by 9:30 with something inspirational to read. At 10:00 p.m. it’s lights out, usually after a short calming, breathing exercise.

Honestly, I feel a bit hesitant about sharing my personal self-care practice and rituals. I don’t ever want anyone to think there is a right or wrong way to practice self-care (read more about how I define self-care). I also don’t see self-care as something you need to add to your to-do list, but rather it’s about cultivating a new relationship with yourself. And, I have found that often, the more we hear what self-care practices our friends are committed to, the more curious and motivated we become about evolving or up-leveling ours.

Warmly,

I’D LOVE TO SUPPORT YOU ~ HERE ARE FOUR OPPORTUNITIES FOR 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). Packages start at just $700 for this deep rest restorative retreat; register here!
• *NEW* March 20-22nd for Awakening Your Wild Soul: Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat at 1440 Multiversity in the CA redwoods~ an embodied spirituality retreat filled with joyful song, pleasureful movement and deep nature immersions with 1,000 year-old trees; learn more/ register.
• Facilitate women’s groups/retreats! Check out Secrets to Facilitating Life-Changing Women’s Groups/Retreats ~ an online, self-paced mentoring course. Would you like to empower women in your area through facilitating women’s groups/retreats? 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. Have me design a custom experience/ritual for your team/friends: learn more. Join us Sunday, Jan. 4th for our next Wild Souls Authentic Movement Class; learn more here. 

Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by mindfulness 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 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. 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.