Happy Mother’s Day! What’s the toughest part of being a mother? Making enough time for kids, romance, work, extended family, friends and… what am I forgetting? Oh wait, now I remember… Me!
Unfortunately, the work that so many mothers do is underappreciated. The amount of time that most mothers spend raising their kids, cooking, and/or taking care of other household duties often adds up to a full-time job, yet is often taken for granted. And while many mothers may find great joy in raising their families and taking care of them, it’s so critical to remember that taking time for yourself sometimes does not mean that you are a bad mother, or that you’re not doing your best. In fact, taking time for yourself will only improve your ability to be the best person that you can be for your children, partner, and whomever you share a household with or consider to be part of your family.
But where do I find all this time, you might be wondering? Between work, the kids, chores, etc, there is not even A MINUTE of free time! What can I possibly do?!
Jump-starting your life to make positive changes can be almost impossible to do on your own; but we have some great ideas for where to start off. Everyone is unique, so take what you find useful here and if something doesn’t sound appealing, don’t worry about it. We want to learn to take care of ourselves from a place of self-compassion and self-acceptance rather than a place of “I should do x, y, or z.” When that happens, we come to enjoy and take pleasure in taking care of ourselves.
The first thing that’s needed is to calm the mind and bring balance to mind and body. When we are just putting out fires, we are in a state of panic. In this state we are hyper-focused on the resolution of the one problem. We are not seeing the big picture. The good news is that are many ways to gain clarity, and with clarity comes a balanced mind and body. On a daily basis, take a shower or warm bath; get on the treadmill or take a jog; meditate even if for just 5 minutes; listen to audio books; do several minutes of deep breathing; listen to uplifting music; light some scented candles or burn incense or use aroma therapies; write down your thoughts and feelings. There are so many things we can do to help balance ourselves.
For deeper clarity and more engrained changes, consider some of the services we offer: With Reiki, the practitioner is channeling energy to rebalance the energy in your body. This puts a person in the state of “flow” internally. Hypnosis is an extremely powerful way to slow down our racing thoughts and bring clarity. The process brings awareness to what may be holding you back at the subconscious level. But ultimately, as we tell all of our clients, it is multiple positive changes in our lives working all at once that will make the difference. While that morning gym routine may be one piece of the puzzle, the puzzle is not complete without other pieces (enough time socializing, sleep hygiene, eating nutritious, healthy meals, etc).
Make this Mother’s Day more than just a one day change – make it life changing.