Nourish Your Mind, Body and Soul!

In the hustle and bustle of daily life, sometimes we get easily caught up in the thoughts and acts of doing rather than the precious moments of being. We pile things onto our never-ending to-do lists partly because it feels productive to check things off. I admit that I am one who loves that feeling of being able to cross off something on my to-do list, but I also find that when I check one thing off, I add 3 more to the bottom of the list. Does that sound familiar to you? Then when I take a step back to see what else needs to get done, I see a long list of items staring back at me and that’s when the stress begins to mount. My mind starts whirling with agitation and thoughts of “How am I going to find time to finish all of this?” or “Well, I guess I have to reschedule that fun excursion planned so that I can get these things done.” What would not cross my mind were the more gentle thoughts of, “It’ll be okay. I don’t need to do it all.” The kindness and understanding that sometimes doing what I want is doing what I need, and taking a moment of perspective to realize that I am doing the best I can. So when I feel the stress begin to mount—when I notice my eye starting to twitch or that I’m having trouble sleeping, some simple stress relieving activities that help bring my racing mind back to a place of calm are:

 

Mind

1) Color.

2) Get lost in a good book.

3) Find a sunny spot outside, take deep breaths and consume the sights, sounds, and smells that surround me.

 

 

 

Body 

1) Drink warm herbal tea.

2) Snack on chocolate.

3) Exercise.

 

 

 

Soul

1) Spend time with good friends or family.

2) Watch something that makes me laugh.

3) Play or snuggle with my dog.

 

 

As an exercise for yourself, take a moment to think about and fill in this short list of things to help remind you of the various ways you can care for yourself in moments of stress. You can cut it out and put it in your wallet to access at any time, wherever you may find yourself in the day. And as always, remember to take a deep breath and gently remind yourself that you are human and that you can do anything but you simply cannot do everything.

 

Care Card PDF