Self Care - An Ongoing Commitment

I realise that I have to take a bit more care of myself with the arrival of bump later in the year but surely daily self care it is something that we should all strive towards. After my stay at the Mamas Retreat I felt it was something that I really should start putting into practice and on a regular basis. So here are the things I want or have already started to do for myself.

Reiki - 
When we moved I decided to start a Reiki Group every other Tuesday night for anybody who wanted to share some or experience Reiki for the first time.My husband has been fully supportive and Tuesdays he dashes home to wolf down his tea, then he takes the boys up to bed before spending the evening on his laptop. This means I have the front room to hold my Reiki Group.

Here is my front room. It takes quite a bit of effort to remove the traces of toddler from the room but it is really worth it. I feel quite sad at the end of the night when I have to pack it all away again.
Reiki is a type of "hands on" healing. Basically you lay your hands on people and healing energy is passed to the recipient. Everybody has healing energy. If your friend is upset and you give them a hug, they feel better don't they? That's healing. Reiki is a natural, calming and gentle way to make yourself feel better anytime, anywhere.
I have held this group on 4 occasions now (every two weeks) and every week different people have come. It is lovely. I also made the commitment that if nobody came I would still use the time for myself to heal or meditate in this gorgeous room.

Sleep - 
It may come as no surprise but I am a bit of a do-er. I find it very hard to say no to people as I want to help as much as I can. I also find it hard to see a job that needs doing and leave it undone. While we have been going through the mill will Squish and his night time waking habits, I have found it very hard to have enough energy to entertain them through the day then be super sympathetic to his night time antics. Needless to say Super Nanny would not be impressed by my lack of patience!
With that in mind I feel my boys deserve more of me so I now try to go to bed at a sensible time (10:30pm) and if I happen to doze off while I am putting them to bed for their afternoon nap then so be it. Gone are the days of beating myself up if I haven't cleaned, polished, hoovered and baked (not that I've ever polished!). Now, I am so exhausted I get a round of applause from my husband if I am still awake past 9pm, cheeky sod!

Food - 
This is something I am going to work on a bit later once the awful "Any time it flippin' pleases" sickness has passed. I would really like us to eat a more varied, healthier diet with less "out of a box" foods. I would also like to cut down my own sugar intake. I have noticed that it is when I am tired I reach for the sugary snacks so by looking after myself more this should make things a lot easier. If I'm not tired I prefer to eat buckets of fruit to sweets and chocolate.

Exercise - 
This is another area I need to commit to. I really want to attend a regular yoga class but now I will have to try to find a pregnancy class instead. In the meantime I'm walking the dog daily which she is enjoying as much as me! I had SDP (separated pelvis) in my previous pregnancies so I daren't sit around too much or my hips may just give up on my legs altoghether!

Having thought about my self care a lot and during writing this post, the most important thing you can do for yourself is - Be Nice. There are so many things to think about, don't give yourself such a hard time. Think about the last time you were telling your friend about the state of your house and she said "Hey, it's ok. Mine is a pit too but it's ok." Just for a second, believe her. Feel all that worry, stress and pressure to achieve everything just wash away. Doesn't that feel great?! That is what I'm working on. This is the biggest item on my self care list because I believe it is the most important.

Every day I am committed to do what I can with the energy I have that day and the rest can wait til tomorrow AND that's ok! Ever time I make an achievement, I say a little "Yeah" to myself. At the moment that could be going 5 minutes without feeling ill or walking upstairs without losing my breath or even having a sleep because I needed it! It could be talking instead of shouting at the boys even though they are driving me crazy, there are hundreds of reasons for a "Yeah" in the day

If you're wondering about your own self care plan, I would start with a little "Yeah" and the rest will fall into place. You know what you find challenging so you know what deserves the "Yeah" factor!