This keeps coming up for me in both conversations and experiences, so clearly we need to talk about this! We often make excuses and find reasons not to take care of our physical, emotional and spiritual needs. I am too busy, my kids have a full schedule, or I don't need it. Today, we will explore the power of being selfish to embrace self-care to nurture your well-being and positively impact those around you.
We need to take care of teachers.
We need to take care of parents.
We need to take care of ourselves.
The focus tends to always be on the kids. If they are in the right programs, learning the right skills, if they have enough freedom to explore or the right opportunities, if they have too much sugar or TV, or not enough healthy foods…
We need to stop the blame game.
We need to stop expecting so much from each other.
We need to stop feeling the guilt that we're not doing enough.
Most important, we need to stop living in fear that we are somehow going to mess them up (I hear this All. The. Time).
Often, we're doing too much, which is less productive and less helpful.
Of course we love them, so we do this out of love.
They are amazing humans and we want what’s best for them.
The bottom line is we really just want our kids to feel happy, to feel joy and to know peace and kindness.
How do we do this?
Kids learn by doing, and they learn by example. They are watching, listening and copying our behaviours. They see us running around packing lunches, picking up toys, cleaning the bathrooms, folding laundry, rushing to work, and racing to after school programs.
We are models and we deserve (and need) to practice self care to fill that proverbial bucket. So go ahead and make time for yourself for a change. Be selfish. Practice self-care so that you feel joy and know peace too.
"If you aren't selfish enough to feel good, then you can't connect with the energy that is your Source (Light, God, Energy...) which does always feel good."
~ Abraham Hicks
In our modern society, we are faced with this go go go mindset, somehow jacks of all trades doing SO many jobs in this more individualist society. We simply cannot function like this, All. The. Time. We will burnout and our bodies will get sick in an effort to HELP us.
We are here as this persona one time, how do you want to live your life?
As such, we need to stop and pause and shift into a more parasympathetic state (which your body needs and is biologically designed to do!) This is where we can rest and digest all this information flooding our senses.
By calming the body and the mind, we are essentially reclaiming our power. If we can show up for ourselves and take care of our mental, physical, and spiritual health, we can then show up for others.
"You cannot be selfish without helping everyone. Selfishness is the first step in alignment."
~ Abraham Hicks
How can you expect kids to breathe mindfully, to meditate and to pause and to regulate if we don’t take our own advice? Enough studies now show how beneficial all these practices are for our overall well being!!
I wrote about this issue to our superintendents, a need to put less pressure on kids and teachers to succeed. At all meetings and PD, we are ad nauseam focusing on math data, literacy data, and how to improve our scores. All that stress and pressure is truly counter productive.
Instead, place a little more focus on mental health supports top down, professional development, staff meetings, calm spaces for teachers, that focus on mindfulness, breath work, meditation and yoga as a way to tackle burnout and increase that kind of loving awareness so that it trickles down to our kids. I don't know about you, but calling an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) hotline and speaking to a therapist 3 times isn't going to do the trick. It is a cultural shift in how we view living a full life.
The fact is…if the ENVIRONMENT doesn’t change, NEITHER DO THE KIDS.
I never heard back, which tells me a lot. Where we are and where we need to be. More and more teachers are leaving the profession. More and more people are choosing not to have children. Mental health, burnout, and illness is a growing epidemic and the answers lie within us if we choose to give ourselves the space and the time.
The kids will be alright, they will succeed. Through the loving guidance and modelling of their parents and teachers, the kids will find their passions and what lights them up from inside.
This is because that is what they start to see happening all around them.
The teachers get support, the classroom environment changes. The parents get support, the home environment changes. Change starts with you, it begins within. So please, be selfish, find a practice that works for you and factor it into your routine to take care of your body, mind and soul.
🤍 Walk in nature
🤍Yoga class or video
🤍Gym visit or workout video
🤍Meditation
🤍Breath-Work practices
🤍Reiki session
🤍Connect in community (mom's group, coffee dates)
🤍Read a book
🤍Mindful moments (anchor in the now, be present during meals)
🤍Sound bath experiences
🤍Cold plunges
🤍Hot bath
🤍Journaling
🤍Art: drawing, painting, pottery, music, dancing, plays.
🤍I’m here for support offering what’s part of my path: Yoga classes (Restorative & Reiki, Vinyasa & Yin classes), Reiki Sessions, and Wellness Workshops (3 hour healing retreats every other month), or simply a conversation!! We are all connected, we share similar experiences and it’s so important we support and love one another!
All the love and light to you on your journey through life, may it be amazing!
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