It’s the time of year again when you need to take extra good care of yourself. The days before and after the autumn equinox—the change of seasons—your immune system is at its lowest.
You might feel a cold creeping up (I did, this morning) or you may be more tired than usual. As the seasons change, your physical body changes with it, and that means you need to ease the pressure you’re putting on your system.
We often overdo things—even when we are aware of the need for self-care. I frequently notice that people who can take care of themselves really well, will push their limits at other times. As if that balances things out, as if you can get away with overburdening yourself when you take time off, too.
Yes, of course it makes a difference. And all the times you do listen to your body will be beneficial. But it is not a healthy practice, and it doesn’t make it okay. You’re still putting a strain on your body.
When it comes to putting ourselves first, a lot of underlying patterns emerge. We have the more obvious ones like:
“Am I worthy enough?”
“Is that not selfish?”
“Well, no one else is doing it.” Etc.
But the sneaky—less visible—beliefs often have to do with toning ourselves down.
Because when you don’t take super good care of yourself, you will be less productive, creative, effective. And, you will be less present, less grounded and YOU WILL SHINE LESS!
Not giving yourself what you need to flourish is a great way to tone yourself down. And your mind is great at coming up with seemingly reasonable excuses why this is an exception or why you’re doing something ‘only this one time’. In fact, our mind is so brilliant at it that it can be hard to catch yourself in the act of undermining your health and well-being.
I believe we have a responsibility to take care of ourselves first. When we make sure we are in good shape, there is so much less to fix. And you will have so much more to give to others.
If you haven’t made your selfcare a priority then this is the week to do so! And if you are practicing healthy selfcare, this is the week to step it up.
So I am looking through my agenda for this week and have decided to only do what is crucial in getting the book launch finished for this Friday, on the actual equinox :). I am going to take advantage of the lovely summer weather—soak up some vitamin D—and take a long lunchbreak outside. And I will turn in extra early tonight. Oh, and of course diffuse my Healthy Air essential oil essence to boost my immune system!
What will you do to take some of the pressure off and treat yourself—and your body—with kindness?
