Practicing self-care

"Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while you might miss it"

-Ferris Bueller

Life has been moving pretty fast lately.  Like all of you my plate is pretty full.  There are lots of very exciting things coming down the pipelines for FITMOM Durham this fall, including the 5th anniversary of FITMOM in Durham region.  I am also heavily involved with the planning and co-coordinating of a local community event for new and expecting families in our community and there are some exciting opportunities for expanding my classes and other programs.    This is all pretty exciting, but I am also beginning to notice a few 'weird' signals that my body is feeling the tolls of a very busy life.  I have a very suspicious feeling I am suffering from Adrenal Fatigue - and these days, point me in a direction of a woman/mom who isn't.  Adrenal Fatigue is a hormonal imbalance that is fulled by an increase in stress hormone 'cortisol'.  Our bodies natural fight or flight response is always "on".   The truth is, you can only run on an empty tank of gas for so long, and then you burnout.  Since I am not there (yet) I am taking some pretty big steps to harness my energy, calm my state of mind and ALLOW these really cool things to take place.  

So here are some of the things I am doing to look after & nourish myself inside and out:

-Working with a good friend & client Kim, founder of Appreciating Health.  She's going to help me get better control on my diet and make some recommendations  because I am clearly depleted in some essentials. I know for sure my feratin (Iron) levels are redonculous and very low, but I am sure there are some other essentials vitamins and minerals I am not getting through my diet.  So for the next 5 days I am doing a food diary and look forward to hearing what she has to say- Knowing full well that my consumption of Kraft Peanut Butter may not be ideal as the staple of my diet.....

-Making an appointment with my family Doctor for my PAP test - because the government keeps sending my gentle reminders I am overdue. I am also requesting a full work up of blood work to see where my levels are at.

-Making an appointment with a local Naturopathic Clinic, because I KNOW my family Doctor will roll her eyes at my suggestion of Adrenal Fatigue & other hormonal imbalances I am experiencing.  I also KNOW that the local ND's will take my concerns as legitimate and can likely make some suggestions on how to get my hormones back on track.

A pretty office space is essential!

-Creating a space that I can actually be productive in, no more working from a small desk on the main floor of my house.  I am cultivating a space that will be truly mine, that will allow me the freedom to be creative but also help to set up boundaries so that I don't feel I am working all the time and not getting anywhere.  Hello - Regular office hours, and a space that is functional and Pretty!

-Finally I am going to start meditating.  This is probably the hardest thing for me to do, yet it is the one piece that is essential to quieting the crazy vibrations in my body and to harness that energy and put it to better use.  My lovely friend Gillian, who owns The Spa on King, and is a self-proclaimed "Spirit Junkie" has encouraged me and she has offered to help me.  For starters she has made a great recommendation for a fabulous app called 1 Giant Mind.  The App is free and provides guided meditation for newbies like me. I know I can call on her (and the other amazing women I know who already practice meditation to help me when I get stuck).

In January I picked a word to set my year up with a purpose and to reach some goals.  The word I picked was STRETCH.  I picked the word because I really wanted to stretch physically - so now I am a foam rolling Diva and am feeling so fantastic. But I also picked the word because I wanted to be open to new experiences.  It's funny how words creep in to other areas of your life, I can see myself stretching in other ways, and possibly the best way- stretching  to put self-care at the top of the list.  You know we constantly encourage that for all of our FITMOM members, and now it's time for your coach to do the same.

Amazing things happen when you step out of your comfort zone.  When you're ready, what will you do?