Self-Care = Selfless

Oh my, it's been some time since I've had a moment to write. I just got back from my new favorite thing, "honoring my body" (thanks Oprah!). This is my new term for exercise!

Anyway, I wanted to tell you about this amazing event that Megan Mountcastle and I just did at Mini Luxe in Newton! It was a fabulous night of healthy snacks, women sharing, and mani/pedi's! We discussed Healthy Beauty, which we believe starts from the inside out. Here's the highlights of my Mini Luxe talk, just in case you missed it!

Essentially, when you feel your best, you often look your best. I think back to my wedding day-I really was a blushing bride! I fully felt my best, I had been preparing for months by working out and eating healthy, and on that day, I truly glowed. Think about when you felt your best-how did you look?

Also, I often like to think about someone I admire, someone I find truly beautiful....during our talk, I asked some of you who that person was for you. Some of the responses were people such as Jennifer Aniston, Michelle Obama, and Oprah...but my personal admiration always goes to Princess Diana. Regal, royal, gorgeous, and mostly an amazing humanitarian, it's hard to pin down the qualities that make her fabulous. But I'm betting she had a secret to her amazing life--you cannot expect to give to others unless you are giving to yourself FIRST.

I sometimes use the example of airline safety-you have to put your own oxygen mask on before your kid's. Right? It makes so much sense.

So why then, do we run ourselves ragged, giving to others, without a thought to ourselves? Why is it always our needs that get cut off the list first?

Stress is all around us-it affects everyone differently and everyone has a different tolerance. But a universal truth is that when stress hits, our body has a chemical reaction that releases the stress hormone Cortisol. Cortisol is actually a toxin to the body that can suppress immune function and also has been shown to slow weight loss.

How do you combat Cortisol and your body's natural stress response? You can't....it happens with or without you, so to speak. BUT you can temper your reaction to stress, which can help to re-wire parts of your brain and eventually reduce Cortisol. One way to do this is by implementing regular self-care.

There are several ways to take care of ourselves, and some of them we do and don't always count, like making sure you have a regular physical and dental cleaning. Here are some others that people shared during our talk: working out, eating healthy, Mani/Pedi's @ Mini Luxe!, getting a massage, going to book club, girl's night out.

How do you make the time to do these things for yourself? One way is to schedule it like you would any other activity. Your needs should be just as important as that play date or business lunch. And a path to this is sometimes enlisting a friend-you are responsible for making sure she gets her self-care in, and she's responsible for making sure you get yours.

Thanks for checking in, and we hope to have more events hosted by Mini Luxe in the future! Until next time, remember, only you can take care of you!