I woke up this morning and the first thought I had was, “You don’t need to get into the bath and meditate.” I thought… uh oh… Then next thought was something equally self-destructive… but sounded so fun and relaxing, like, “just snuggle closer to Mike and fall back to sleep.” Uh oh. Read more here about the importance of self-care for health and stress management today.
The Importance of Self Care for Health and Stress Management: Creating a Spiritual, Physical and Mental Health Routine
I have spent the last month in a semi-rigorous spiritual, physical and mental health routine. I had buried myself deeply in a hole, and I realized the only one who could pull me out, was me.
So, I have been practicing self-care, I have been meditating, practicing boundaries, eating right, and getting the support I need to keep everything in balance.
My Inner Voice
When I heard this voice come in this morning, I knew it wasn’t the voice of my higher self. This was the voice of self-sabotage. I recognize it immediately now.
So, I went back and forth in my mind about what choice to make. Knowing that all of the choices would impact my day differently.
- I could sleep more (hit the reset button).
- I could take a bath and meditate (keep my practice of self-care going).
- I could write my blog (something I’ve been procrastinating for weeks and I am really starting to beat myself up about).
- I could wake Mike up (and deepen our connection and bond).
Don’t they all sound like positive choices?
But I knew. I knew these “rational” and “justified” choices were all about me DOING something to try to PROVE something to myself. That I am enough. That I am doing my best. That I am valuable. Whatever it was.
I knew the best thing for me was a reset.
So, I went back to sleep, and had dreams and slept well.
I have to take a bath and meditate …
When I woke up again, I felt much better, and just without thinking, headed to my new “habit” that I’m trying to form of taking a bath and meditating. It wasn’t “first thing” in the morning anymore… and I knew I was going to have to “give up” other parts of my day/schedule to “fit it in,” but I’m just not willing to give MYSELF up right now.
This is the ME time I have been needing for YEARS and I am taking it. Even if I have to give up something else.
I Am Committed to a Life of Peace, Play and Fun
I am committed to a life of peace, ease, fun and play. I am finally getting to the point where EVERYTHING doesn’t trigger me anymore. That I can actually spend MOST of my day in my parasympathetic nervous system (rest and repair), instead of the other way around, always on edge, always anxious. It has been a process. And it has been a challenge. And my ego still wants me to feel like shit because that was a place I was comfortable hanging out…
So hard to admit that I used to be COMFORTABLE feeling like crap about myself and the world. I used to actually buy into the idea that “work is hard” and “relationships are hard” and “life is hard.”
I was tired of everything being hard. It doesn't have to be. Click To Tweet
I can actually live, day by day, in a state of peace. I just have to be SUPER AWARE of whether or not I am letting myself do that with my thoughts, emotions and actions.
I Am Nice, Not Stressed Out When I Care … About Myself
And when I do that, everyone around me actually benefits. Because I’m nice… not tense. Wow. Not what I expected. Somehow I expected everyone to freak out if I put myself first.
But what actually happens is, I put myself first, I feel better, and then I actually treat them nicer/better! WOW! Click To Tweet
Ridiculous how easy that was, and that I have been AVOIDING it!? Crazy to think that I was avoiding the thing that would actually put the family back into a state of peace…. putting myself back into a day of peace LOL! One day at a time.
Do you have questions about the importance of self-care for health and stress management? Do you experience a challenge with self-care and putting yourself first? Can you hear the voice of self-sabotage when it comes in? Do you know when you are justifying yourself and telling yourself that you are great when you are really just avoiding a part of yourself that you are ashamed of?
I can’t wait to hear that I’m not alone in this. I know I’m not. Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for sharing how you relate!
READ MORE FROM ME
Over the years, I have been a serial learner and practitioner, taking in information about psychology, religion, spirituality, science, medicine, quantum physics, relationships, parenting, and overall, general happiness and work-life balance. I’ve been fascinated in what it takes to and have created my life of pure joy, happiness, balance and peace. It is my mission to spread what I have learned and practiced to you in ways that are simple, easy to understand AND implement. I have served people in achieving realignment in their bodies, relationships and purpose for over 20 years. If you liked this article, and you want to read more, please visit one of the links below:
- Watch my YouTube Channel: Heather Hundhausen
- Email: Receive my daily, inspirational emails to stay motivated, aligned, and loving yourself.
- Join my private FB group: Beautifully Authentic
- Breakthrough: If you are struggling with the issues from this article, please schedule a free consultation.
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Heather Hundhausen, a mind/body/spirit healer and facilitator, works with heart centered individuals who are ready to release their physical and emotional pain and reconnect their minds with their bodies so they can start living a life of passion and purpose. She assists people in making decisions in their lives by following their heart, mind, intuition and soul, from a place of being whole and in integrity.
With over fifteen years as a licensed massage therapist, Heather understands the connection between how someone's emotions can show up as physical pain. Using a variety of massage techniques, including neuromuscular therapy and structural realignment, she now does her ground breaking work by helping her clients to reach back through the pain and remember who they are to create wholeness and fullness.
During her years practicing traditional massage therapy, and while an intern working on her Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling, she realized that people responded strongly when addressing their feelings and not just their thoughts. Working with this knowledge, she began to create an experiential environment for her clients, having them focus less on what they were thinking and more on what they were feeling. She discovered that when people began to release their emotions, they also released their physical pain. Heather is now passionate about helping people do just this so they hear their inner voice and then act upon their intuition so they create a new physical, mental and emotional life for themselves.
Heather’s authenticity, integrity, honor, commitment to her clients, and ability to create trust ensures that client's have a safe space to experience the exploration and release of their pain. Her clients say she is skilled at spiritual and emotional healing and is a great partner to have on the journey to contentment. As one particular client stated, “She opened my heart so the grief could emerge and then joy was able to fill that space.”
Heather is a popular speaker and workshop leader and facilitator, with one of her most popular workshops, “Connect on Purpose: Interpreting Your Body's Signals for Greater Wisdom and Empowerment” helping guide people to live their purpose, which Heather describes as “being able to take your talents and gifts and put them into action.” She is currently authoring a book and developing additional workshops, including a meditation group.
A licensed massage therapist, specializing in Thai Massage, Neuromuscular Therapy and Myo-skeletal Alignment Technique, she has a Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling, is certified in Redirecting Children’s Behavior as a facilitator and coach.
