Take Care of Yourself...How? 5 Tips Anyone Can Do

You've heard people say, "You need to take care of yourself." And somehow that is supposed to fix everything?

When you are a massage therapist, your work is to help people take care of themselves. Massage therapists encourage people to take care of themselves, too. The question is HOW?

When taking care of one's self, here is a few key points:

1. Get adequate sleep - most people need between 6-9 hours of sleep per nite. People try to function on 3-4 hours of sleep, but this inhibits tissue repair and depletes the immune system among other things.

2. Stay active - take a walk instead of a drive to the mail box, or park further away from stores an walk a few dozen extra steps. Build in activites that get you out in the sun for 15-30 minutes minimum per day. Both vitamin D and exercise help to improve your mood.

3. Take your vitamins/nutrients- whether in food, bodily soaking, liquid or powder/pill form, when you are stressed your electrolytes and other essencial nutrients get used. For example, go rock climbing in a gym for an hour or two with no breakfast....you will be ravenous by the time you are done because of all the calories/nutrients you consume in that one short hour or so.

4. Eat appropriately for your daily activities -massaging is a high calorie drain nearly the same as rock climbing or other exercise. For everyone, and especially therapists, eat a good breakfast high in un-greasy protein to diminish your sugar cravings, set aside time to eat a good lunch and you will be prepared for a light dinner (so you don't feel like gorging right before bed).

5. Take time to smell the roses - when you are stressed, the body is acting like it is running from a tiger (or some animal that is trying to eat you). Your body is in fight or flight mode....

This is the equivalent to running a marathon all day every day - your body will begin to give out after a while of running full out all the time.

When stuck in fight or flight, the mind is reviewing the situation and looking for escape as if you were faced with a tiger chasing/cornering you. This is the 'racing mind' when you try to sleep. Its a fabulous function if you were to actually be faced with a tiger, because you wouldn't want to be caught napping by the hungry tiger (you probably wouldn't wake up too happy when the tiger takes a leg). But when its a test, a bill, or a paper due, its an imaginary tiger and won't actually kill you, but your body still reacts the same...

Do what you can to resolve the situation, set a timeline or accomplish what can be done today and make a ToDo list for what is waiting on tomorrow. Once everything that can be done is...

Smelling flowers and enjoying scenery, relaxed conversation, massage, down-time will help reduce that stress or take you out of fight or flight.

So schedule your massage and Take Care of yourself.

Get Your Spring Re-feng Shui On!

Its Spring! ...and getting on towards summer.
Recently I have been talking with many folks about new spring exercises and getting in shape for the summer....yep, I'm working on getting in shape for the summer too. And then there is the dreaded spring cleaning....

But every spring, I engage in Spring Re-feng Shui. Its different kind of spring exercise and spring cleaning. Its not just personal diet changes and cleaning out cobwebs that have gathered over the winter, but re-researching and changing business and household services and exercising my ability to move around furniture, pair down excesses, add in self care, and simplify my daily doings.

If you are not familiar with the term,Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway), is an eastern concept that refers to the ease of energy movement around and through all things like a stream through a landscape.

My Spring Re-feng Shui changes include daily routine, services, and self care.

Start by looking at your daily routine. This isn't about judging, but honestly note down things like: *electronics used,
*obstacles in your path,
*a feeling of 'if I did this differently I could...',
*things that cause you to lose your calm or make you irritated
...in the following activities: waking up in the morning, getting dressed, morning meal (?), morning exercise (?), out the door, and off to work.

Perhaps you could automate your lighting in the morning with timers to help you get a better start, or set out things the night before.Something as simple as adding a small, high protein meal in the morning can curb sugar cravings throughout your day.

Repeat this for each section of your day for morning, noon, and night. If you can make at least one change in one area, that is great. If you can make one change in each area, then you are really on a roll.

As far as services, for both personal, and business (especially for the business owners), with all the advancements in technology, are you using the best value service for you (or your company)? Its not always about the cheapest service. I recently changed phone services to one that was $5 more expensive per month, but if I had added all the features that are included with the new service to the service with the old company, the added charges would have been $10-15 more expensive per month. The new service adds features that reduce my time spent checking messages with voice-mail to text, and direct calls to the person best qualified to answer instead of ringing everyone's phone, or just one person getting all the calls, and has a nicer automated greeting that is customizable.

Loyalty to a service company that is not serving you well, or is just not a good fit, will cause extra effort, expense, and/or stress. Change can be difficult, but knowledge that you have looked at your options and have picked the best fit for:
*phone,
*internet,
*credit card processing,
*web hosting,
*utility services,
*etc
...will bring about a better peace of mind.

And last, but not least, self care comes under scrutiny. Diet and exercise are usually what people think of first, but I also include hygiene routine, posture, self time, and appearance.
Here again look at each of these items, but it is about looking for optimization. Leave judging for folks who enter pageants and contests.
On each of the above noted items including diet and exercise, note:
*if things are easily accessible,
*you feel rushed or skip something to 'save time',
*are unhappy with or don't care how something looks/feels/tastes,
*if you have received feedback either positive or negative from other people,
*feel like "I should be able to...."

Get friends to take pictures or use a 180/360 degree mirror to look at yourself from all sides. Look in your closet/drawers and bring out things that don't fit, or that don't get worn and make space for things that you want to wear and that make you appear more healthy and successful.

Schedule in time for yourself: a massage, exercise, reading time, cooking time, etc monthly, weekly, or even daily.

I recently went to a friends house for a barbeque, and got enlisted to help cook (it was fun), and I needed some spices to season. When I saw her spice rack, it was so very different my own spice cupboard, I realized just how much my own spice collection has changed over the last few years as I learned new cooking styles, and how to cook new foods. The little changes accumulate and produce a big overall change that may not be as apparent in the beginning, but lead to a richer experience.

Many times we continue to deal with less than ideal situations that cause us undue stress, when the solution is relatively simple. Take these Spring Re-feng Shui tips and look at your own situation and see if you can spot just one or two little things that you can make changes to. Regular yearly application of these tips can lead to profound changes in your doings and bring about a less stressed you!