Things I endeavor to do every day to make me feel good

Healthy living encompasses so many things.. It is not just the food we eat and the water we drink, but it is also our mental health, our environment, our stress levels, etcetera. I am no doctor, nor am I a professional in any medical field - this is just my observation, the ideas that I have, when I’m thinking of what I can do to make my days enjoyable, filled with joy, and perfect!

Number 1: Exercise

I know this is a tale as old as time (is that the expression used correctly?) and if there is anyone who is definitely lazy by default and not into sports, then it’s me. But, over the last few years I have learned that movement really helps me to feel fitter in my body (whatever form or shape it is at that moment) and also lift my spirits immensely. Still - I need a push to do it, so I found out that what works for me, is to do it first thing in the morning. After my alarm wakes me up, I do a short work out (15-25 mins) and then after school drop off I take a brisk walk in the park or along the river. Movement: done.

My dear friend Karen also reminded me to add additional movement during the day, she calls it ‘movement snacks.’ I love this idea, and now I regularly take a break from sitting behind my computer and running up and down the stairs a few times. Read her blog here.

Number 2: Find stillness and gratitude

I try to start off my day with my gratitude journal or some meditation (after the work out burst). It helps me center my thoughts and inject positivity in my day. If I feel very tired later on the day, I use hypnose sessions from an app to take a break (read: nap) and the 20 or 30 minute sessions are perfect to get me into a deep state of relaxation but then also wake me up again without being groggy. Perfect!

Number 3: Fast but also nourish

I fast most weekdays from 7 pm until midday the next day. This fasting doesn’t only free up my time that I can then spend on making breakfast & lunchboxes and getting the kids out the door; it also gives my body time to extend the overnight fasting period, detox the liver further and give my intestines a break from digesting. For me, fasting is not really about losing weight (even though I heard from other people that they do lose weight following this method).

After fasting, I make sure I nourish my body with what it’s craving, which is usually fresh fruit or a smoothie (hence all the smoothie bowls on my insta feed!) I also make sure I hydrate with filtered water or fresh celery juice.

Number 4: Hugs and touches

In these challenging times, I think we all really miss touching one another - not just your family or lover or friends, but also the normal daily touches: shaking someone’s hand, guiding someone with a hand on their elbow, getting a massage or pedicure. So I make sure to cuddle and hug my kids and husband as often as I can to make them feel loved and treasured. My mom always calls it ‘monkey love’ the way my kids and I are together, but that’s just the way we operate and show love. And remember: 20 seconds at least to get the oxytocin / love hormone flowing in your bloodstream!

Number 5: Doing something for someone

Kindness goes a long way. I’m very much a giving person, so much sometimes that I will go out of my way to do things for people when they don’t really need it or appreciate it (focus point for me: learn to say no!) Doing something for someone can be small and hardly take any extra time out of your day. I ask people if I can pick up something for them from the grocery store, or I’ll pick up their kids, send a postcard, pick up some trash, return someone’s forgotten item, or burn a candle and send good thoughts to help someone through a rough time. In the end, even if it’s not recognized or known by the person you do it for, you still have the uplifting feeling of doing something good and you know - karma is a real thing too.

Number 6: Doing something just for me

Self care is one of my top priorities. That line they say in the airplane safety video - that’s my mantra. If my own oxygen mask is not properly put on, I cannot help others.

Again, doing something for yourself doesn’t need to be big, and of course it’s completely personal to everyone, but it is important that you do it. Not just for moms, who are always taking care of themselves PLUS their children, but for all womxn. For me, I love taking baths, listening to music with my headphones on, and reading.

Reading has been my to-go-to my whole life (well, since I could read) and I absolutely shred books, reading 3 books a week on average. It’s not very sociable, and my family is annoyed with me when I really need to finish reading something before I can be available again, but it is my way to just spend time with me, and not think about my worries, my grief, my daily chores.

Number 7: Spend time in nature

The heading already says all there is to say about it. Find time to look at a tree, to feel grass under your feet, to breathe in the smell of flowers, feel the sun tickle your skin. It gives you energy, brings you back to center, feeds you.

I’d like to end this blog with a poem, just because I can. I wrote this a while ago for a friend of mine, a strong woman who I am proud to call my friend. I wrote this for her when she had a writer’s block and I recently found it again. I guess it can be interpreted in different ways. Maybe it will do something for you.

She heard the whisper

Like before

But this time, it was more clear

Like a gentle, but steady breeze

Over the top of the trees

In Central Park

It rattled her

As it had the edo tablets

In the Kumano Shrine

And the red faded swings

Gently clashing

“Lay it out”

The whisper announced

“it’s all there, in your head

Just pick up the pencil

And spill it on the virgin paper

Then follow the breeze

And be nourished”