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You are here: Home / Archives for self care

self care

Why Sleep? Your Adrenals Need a Break

August 8, 2019 by Joni Leave a Comment

sleep

The “fight or flight” syndrome – you’ve heard of it, right? Accompanied with the image of the saber-toothed tiger dashing after a hunter, getting ready to attack. You often get into this situation, don’t you? In modern times, we’re not literally in that frantic position, but our bodies are often reacting as if we were fighting for our lives. Our adrenal glands, located on top of each kidney, are forced to work overtime in an effort to deal with stress from all sources:  injury, disease, work, family, finances, environment, etc.

It’s hard to imagine these small endocrine glands, essentially the size of a walnut, responsible for the manufacture and secretion of vital hormones such as cortisol, estrogen and testosterone. The cortisol production is crucial for the body to combat stress. Whereas thousands of years ago the stress was a finite amount of time – you either outran the predator or survived or you were eaten – nowadays, stress seems to be a state of being for so many people.

Although not getting along with a boss or missing a bill payment are not life-threatening like the saber-toothed tiger, our bodies react to the stressors in a similar fashion. The body starts to feel unsettled. More and more cortisol is produced because the body believes it needs massive amounts of energy to run for its life. This happens over and over again throughout the day:  getting the kids ready for school and getting yourself ready for work, traffic, spilling coffee on your new suit, your assistant calls in sick and you’ve got to send out 20 packages today, the babysitter is late picking up the kids from school and taking them to soccer practice, your late afternoon meeting runs over and you leave the office late so family dinner becomes you eating leftovers alone. And all this is going to happen again tomorrow!

Here’s the problem:  chronic stress can overload the adrenal glands to the point of exhaustion. For some, the fatigue will become overwhelming and the adrenals will no longer function properly to provide the energy and resources the body needs on a day-to-day basis. When someone is exhausted, a natural suggestion is to get more sleep. That’s not always easy with adrenal problems because insomnia is a common symptom. There are, however, steps you can take to prepare yourself for sleep, which is certainly one of the best ways to refresh and rejuvenate your body, mind and spirit.

For better sleep and to heal your adrenal glands:

  1. Go to bed at the same time every night between 10-10:30pm.
  2. Avoid stimulants such as caffeine and sugar in late afternoon/evening (or remove them completely from your diet to avoid any rollercoaster-like blood sugar surges).
  3. Keep a gratitude journal near your bedside. Every night, list five things for which you are grateful. Remind yourself that even though you may feel fatigued, there are wonderful aspects of your life and many reasons to heal.

Your adrenals depend on you to give them a break to reset and rest. Let me know how it goes!

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: adrenals, self care, sleep, stress

5 Easy Self Care Tips

February 13, 2019 by Joni Leave a Comment

5 Self Care Tips

Self care is the act of loving yourself. Whether it is mind, body or spirit, it doesn’t matter as long as you are nurturing You. Dr. Chistiane Northrup says,

“You are responsible TO your life and health, not for your life and health.”

Amen. And Amen. What a powerful shift a simple preposition can make. We are responsible to our lives. Love this!

Once you understand the importance of self care and how to avoid the top three excuses for not scheduling in time for You, it’s time to implement. And implement with passion, Peeps! This is where intuition and self trust comes into play. You will know what feels right if you listen to your inner voice. Once you start taking care of You, it’s addictive and time will never be a factor again. Promise.

Five Fabulous Self Care Tips

1. Schedule quiet time. – Actually write it in ink on your calendar and if you don’t use one – start! I really dig meditation and music. They soothe my savage beast inside. Now that I do it regularly, everyone in my orbit is thankful and they never interrupt. Often they remind me before I have to remind myself. Powerful stuff. Seriously.

2. Take a hot bath. – This is so decadent to me but so simple. A 20 minute soak in an Epsom salt bath with a few drops of lavender, a candle, soothing music and I feel like a Queen. There’s a bonus here too. The Epsom salt helps you purge the toxins from the day.

3. Take yoga or exercise class. – Getting the body moving increases endorphins which help manage stress levels. You may need to try a few different classes, or instructors, until you find the right fit, but do something that gets you moving.

4. Journal. – This little tip is not so little in effect. Journaling is a powerful way to decompress and let yourself go. It can be in any form too! Some people keep a daily update of their lives, some write five things they’re thankful for each day and others still like to free flow and write whatever pops into their big beautiful brain that day. There are absolutely no rules. It’s all about You.

5. Get a massage. – A relaxing massage is not a frivolous activity for those with cha-ching. Massage provides health benefits; calms the nervous system, reduces tension and anxiety and improves blood circulation, which is the highway for delivering oxygen and nutrients to our cells. If you can’t swing it in the budget, make a deal with your partner to practice self care on each other.

Hopefully one, or all, of these tripped a trigger for you and your intuition is pointing you in a direction. Remember, self care is self love it isn’t selfish, it is necessary for radiant health.

 

Filed Under: Body, Mind, Spirit Tagged With: aromatherapy, detox, featured, lavender, self care, self love, stress

What does a candy-free February look like?

February 5, 2019 by Joni Leave a Comment

Valentine's Day

It looks better than you may have imagined!

Try some of these non-food nourishing gift ideas and I’ve added a yummy Homemade Chocolate Truffle recipe to satisfy the sweet tooth naturally:

♥ The American Heart Association suggests a gift from the heart, such as a poem or love letter. Choose a favorite poem or write what you feel. Write or type it on beautiful paper (check out some options on Etsy.) In between relationships? Write yourself a loving, “non-negotiable” list – all the things you will never put up with in a relationship ever again. Or write a friend or loved one who has been an inspiration or support in your life.

♥ Savor the moments in pictures. Do you have a ton of pictures on your phone but rarely print them out? Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to remember your loved ones with the thoughtful gift of photos. I love the app Groovebook – for $2.99 a month you can upload up to 100 pictures and Groovebook automatically sends you a photo album each month! Or go for a year of love with a photo calendar – apps like Shutterfly make it easy!

♥Get really decadent and draw yourself a relaxing bubble bath with candles, rose petals, and a bubbly beverage. Yes! You are worth it.

 ♥ Spend a night with no electronics or digital distractions! Make a fire, bundle up and go for a walk, or have a few friends over and serve the heart-healthy treats below with sparkling water and raspberries.

Instead of reaching for something sweet, chocolaty or gooey this Valentine’s Day, try some of these ideas for indulging the ones you love. (And that includes YOU!)

Taking time to draw a hot relaxing bath is a wonderful way to treat yourself!

Crowd out the candy with Homemade Chocolate Truffles

truffles

Ingredients:

2 cups organic pitted Medjool dates – soaked in warm water for 2- 3 hours

2- 3 TBSP raw cacao powder, extra for coating

¼ cup cacao nibs

¼ cups goji berries

1 TBSP coconut oil

2 TBSP chopped raw almonds, walnuts or cashews (soaked 1-3 hrs.)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Sea salt to taste

Directions:

  1. Soak pitted dates in warm water for 2 – 3 hours, until soft.
  2. Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor until you have a very smooth, uniform consistency. Use your spatula to scrape the dough down until it’s well combined as you blend.
  3. Scoop out mixture one teaspoon at a time, roll into small balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Mixture will be very sticky; wet or lightly coat hands with coconut oil to make it easier to manage.
  4. Roll balls into additional cacao powder.
  5. Place truffles in the refrigerator for at least one hour to firm.

Filed Under: Body, Healthy Eats, Spirit Tagged With: cacoa, candy, chocolate, recipe, self care, self love, truffle

Myths – Busted!

February 9, 2015 by Joni Leave a Comment

3 Self Care Myths Busted

Top 3 Reasons Myths People Neglect Self Care

Most of us realize we should take care of ourselves better and there exists a direct correlation between our health and stress levels. But… yep, big word here …we seem to neglect self care. That’s unfortunate since self care is so simple and in our complete control. Let me help you bust the top three reasons myths surrounding self care.

Top 3 Myths Busted

  1. You feel guilty taking time for you. – Wow. This one is huge for people, especially women. But here’s the deal, Ladies – you can in no way, shape or form serve from an empty well. If you don’t fill the well there is nothing to give, which of course leads to more stress and guilt. No one needs more stress or guilt. Let this go.

  2. You don’t have time. – This is an overused line, isn’t it? I tell people ‘there’s no such thing as Time, it is a figment of your imagination.’ While not necessarily true in the literal sense, it does hold truth. We are the Master of our time not the other way around. Period. It’s not any more complicated than that really. Let this go.

  3. You don’t know how. – Ok, now this one should be a huge red flag if you tell yourself this. Why? Because it is a strong indicator that you aren’t in touch with You. You’ve lost sight of your deepest wants, needs and desires. It’s time to get reacquainted with You. Start digging deep to uncover You again and then let this go.

I’m sure we all have other excuses we could add to this list, but the point here is that they are just excuses, or reasons, not to honor you for the fabulous specimen you are.

Not sure where to start? You can start today by taking ten uninterrupted minutes to listen to music you like and just enjoy. If you want to get real crazy do it with your eyes closed and daydream a little!

Much love & light to you!

Other posts you’ll like:

What exactly is self care???

5 Easy Self Care Tips

 

 

Filed Under: Body, Health, Mind Tagged With: myths, self care

Self Care

February 6, 2015 by Joni Leave a Comment

self care

What is self care and why should I care?

Self care is a term you’ll hear if you hang out with me. In my opinion self care is just as important as what you put in or on your body.

Let’s get one thing clear up front. We are ALL busy and living hectic lives. Harried living is our culture, at the moment, unfortunately. However, this lifestyle is taking a toll on our health, physical and mental. I have clients in my practice who are always amazed to realize bloating, aches and pains, and diminished energy levels are not just something they have to live with as a price for getting older. They quickly learn how to reclaim their vitality and a large part of this puzzle is self care.

So, what is self care? According to Wikipedia, self care is defined as

“In health care, self care is any necessary human regulatory function which is under individual control, deliberate and self-initiated.”

Self care is the same as self love. What do you do to love yourself up? What do you do to support your body, to let it know you honor it and cherish the amazing vessel it is?

Why should I care?

Not sure why this pertains to you? Follow me here. Stress is a toxin to the amazing vessel, your body. Science has now proven “chronic stress may also cause disease, either because of changes in your body or the overeating, smoking and other bad habits people use to cope with stress. Job strain — high demands coupled with low decision-making latitude — is associated with increased risk of coronary disease, for example”.1

Chronic stress adds to the Cortisol overload in your body as well. If your Cortisol levels are off the charts there is no way you will release excess weight. Plus, elevated Cortisol levels have effects on your other hormones swimming around inside making it hard to get proper rest or even relax. Some simple self care techniques go a long way to help level out all your hormones.

What should I do?

Instead of popping pills, powders and potions jump off the gerbil wheel to spend some quiet time for just you. This simple change is much more effective, sustainable and healthy. When you juggle your schedule why would you not schedule in time to recharge your batteries with some quality self care?

If you don’t take care of you, who will? No one will ever be as adept at providing you what you need as you. Get it? Good!

So what will you do today to recharge those precious batteries?

Other posts you’ll like:

5 Easy Self Care Tips

Do you fall for these self care myths?

 

1Krantz, D.S. & McCeney, M.K. (2002). “Effects of psychological and social factors on organic disease: A critical assessment of research on coronary heart disease.” Annual Review of Psychology, 53 , 341-369.

Filed Under: Body, Health, Mind, Spirit Tagged With: hormones, self care, weight loss

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