[Guest post by my gorgeous friend Cassie Mendoza-Jones]
Putting yourself first is one of the most important things you can do for yourself.
Yet how often do you let yourself completely enjoy your weekend? Or that mini break? Or that Sunday afternoon off? Or… are you more likely to make yourself feel guilty for slowing down, and taking care of yourself?
Are you more likely to try and pack your day full of ‘stuff’ so you don’t actually have time to sit still and… just be?
Cultivating a body harmony is not just about the food you eat, or the way you move your body, or how much sleep you had last night.
Body harmony is also about how you feel in yourself, how you hold yourself, how you look after yourself… so it makes sense that giving yourself permission to slow down and look after yourself forms a key tenet of finding harmony in your skin.
Showing yourself compassion means you’re more easily able to show compassion to those around you.
Putting yourself first means you don’t feel tired when you wake up, or find it hard to fall asleep because your mind is so wired.
Putting yourself first means you don’t feel like snapping at everyone in sight when you feel tired or run down.
Putting yourself first means you fill your cup first… so you’re more easily able to give to others (yep, including your boss.)
It means you’re listening to your intuition, connecting with what your body and soul need to thrive, and making space for better things to come your way.
It means you’re on your way to body harmony and freedom.
One of the easiest ways to start looking after yourself, is by creating a self-care toolkit.
Self-care comes in many forms… so working out what resonates with you and what makes you feel full and whole is crucial. By creating your own little list of what makes you feel happy, relaxed, calm and balanced, you’re one step closer to making self-care enjoyable, easy and fun.
You can choose from feel-good therapies such as reiki, massage or even a manicure… or other goodies like date nights, movies or a bouncy blow dry.
My ‘happiness’ toolkit includes feel-good therapies such as massage and reflexology, as well yoga, long lazy cafe breakies on the weekend with my hubby, reading books by authors I love, using guidance cards, kinesiology, journaling, clearing the energies of my space/home, making tea, chilling out in a cute cafe with a great coffee, spending time with my family and our dogs, and… giving myself permission to do absolutely nothing.
Which brings me to my next point: your next step is to give yourself permission to indulge in these activities (they don’t actually have to cost you anything though!). Spending the morning in a lush green park offers you a big dose of ‘green therapy’ (yep, that’s a thing!) and won’t cost you a cent.
Without permission, you’ll likely still be wracked with guilt over slowing down.
So firstly, make this list of the things that bring you joy, and pin it up somewhere prominent where you can view it everyday.
Secondly, consciously give yourself permission to release all guilt around self-care and look after yourself.
Any time you feel yourself being dragged down, or you start feeling stressed, anxious, sad or weepy… look at your list and pick one thing that will help lift you up again.
Use your resources and your resourcefulness to create a life that lifts you up… a life full of body harmony and freedom.
BIO
As a kinesiologist and naturopath, Cassie Mendoza-Jones helps women upgrade their health and their life. In working with Cassie, women move into what she calls “body harmony” – a state of balance, ease and vitality.
She has been described as “… leading a revolution that has both been a long time coming and is desperately needed”.
Her lessons and insights have been featured in publications such as Body + Soul, Women’s Fitness, and Gourmet Traveller, and on popular websites such as news.com.au, Vogue.com.au, Sporteluxe, and smh.com.au. She’s spoken at events and workshops around Australia for a variety of companies, including LinkedIn.
When she’s not working with clients, or creating new books, online courses and programs, she’s getting lost in a good novel, hanging out in a cafe or suiting up for a yoga class.
Meet Cassie and stay in-the-loop about her upcoming online courses, books and events at www.elevatevitality.com.au and http://bodyharmonysociety.com/