Planning a Rejuvenating Retreat at Home | #15
The goal of this day is to focus solely on your well-being. This creation came to light at a time when I saw the power in tracking my cycle and utilizing the optimal times of the day. There are times when I nourish my body with the power of the season, and self-care is my goal, and there are times when productivity comes shining through. The more you practice, the more powerful this practice becomes. Let the power of your intuition lead you where it feels best while giving your body the nourishment it deserves.
Wellness Retreat At Home For Complete Rejuvenation
I found a way to have a wellness retreat at home for complete rejuvenation. Since staying home with the kids, I’ve found I need to make sure I spend my time alone wisely. Being susceptible to others’ emotions leaves me drained. I am still learning how to protect myself energetically. Dreaming of escaping to a spa has been on repeat in my mind. I knew it wasn’t in the cards to go in the center of a pandemic. I came up with the idea that I would be free of all family duties for 24 hours. Thankfully my husband was on board. I didn’t like the name “vacation” day because it projected that I binged on tv and other mindless activities. At first, I would try and have one of these days every couple of months. However, the idea of having 24 hours that didn’t revolve around the wants and needs of others was euphoric. You can have your wellness retreat right at home for complete rejuvenation The first few vacation days, I would work like crazy. I took pictures for my website, made recipes, or learned ways to get a blog designed and running. After that, I would take a nice bath, but I was usually working at that time too. It didn’t make my husband very happy that I felt burnt out after giving me time to myself. So then came the mindless scrolling and eating foods that don’t make my body feel that great. I felt somewhat rested, but I didn’t feel great about the time spent. I would lose track of time. Then I would think there was no point in only spending a small amount of time on my work stuff. When I finally get time alone, I have a hard time balancing productivity and giving my body the care it needs I would think, “if I could only go to a spa, then I would give myself the care it deserves.” With Covid, I knew a venture like that was pretty far off. I also thought about my last two trip experiences (details in this article) and realized I don’t need to go anywhere to give myself the love and care it needs. You can have an at-home retreat for complete rejuvenation. So I have made this general outline of what I would do to feel equally rested and productive. Every time I am left feeling rejuvenated. The basis of this day has a devotion to cyclical nature. You don’t have to experience a cycle to benefit from this concept. The seasons of mother earth follow along with this idea as well. I have taken this day to be more on the restful side. I have also taken this day to be as productive as I can be without overdoing it. It is really up to you how you would like this time spent. Your wellbeing is your main goal, so try and focus on healthy eating and nourishing activities. Let’s call this day the Floductivity 24 hour Retreat: A wellness retreat at home for complete rejuvenation Here are the rules for a purposeful day to yourself: Communicate with everyone in your household this is a time you shouldn’t be disturbed (yes, even your kids) Keep your phone away (or on do not disturb) Avoid numbing food/activities such as alcohol, junk food, & media (unless it pertains to your productivity) Here are some tips that help me stay on track for my day to be well spent: Do what feels good to you that is healthy If you make a mistake, then acknowledge and try again (don’t give up) Don’t watch the clock but listen to your body, be sure to check in regularly No chores (my rule since I am at home all day so this might not apply to you) There are suggested times to do certain activities, but you are in charge. That means sometimes we keep doing an activity that feels good and have to leave behind something else. Let’s think of this day as growing your self-love & self-investment bank account. Each activity you do earns a check, but the check can’t get deposited without your signature. The way you get the check signed is to embody the activity fully. Doing the activities to check it off your list is not what to do for this day. It won’t grow your account in a way that makes a big difference. Each time you devote 24 hours to your wellbeing, you will bring totally different activities and experiences. So be open to trying new things. Maybe cook a new dish, try a craft you’ve always wanted to try. If it doesn’t turn out the way you wanted, learning from it will add to your self-love account. You can make this at home wellness retreat for self-care, productivity, or a mix of both If this day is to embrace what feels good fully, I have a simple method to allow yourself to enjoy the day. When I am doing an activity, I check in to see where it falls in the 1-10 joy scale. 7 or higher I keep doing it 7 or below, I move on to something else. You can decide this day is to be productive then understand that checking in with yourself is very important. Also, it is important to understand that what we think we need to get done may shift into something else. Anytime I have stood strong in what I thought I needed to accomplish, it never turned out as I wanted. When I’ve allowed the chance to pivot into another work project that felt more aligned, it exceeded my expectations. Be open to what may come up for you I didn’t think being stuck in a house would allow this to work. My husband would get the kids and dog out of the house, which was great. It only bought an hour or so which is better than nothing. To be honest, at
Self-Care Tips And How You Can Improve Your Practice
What is self-care? I guess it can be a topic for discussion. Some people think binging on Netflix while eating pizza is self-care. Some people think it’s going to an expensive spa. I’ve been guilty of thinking both are self-care. The spa can be a way to nourish your body, but it isn’t at all necessary to achieve self-care. I want to give you some self-care tips and how to improve your practice. The last year has opened my eyes to what caring for my body can do. It has also brought to light the habits I engage in that don’t do well for my body. Sometimes those pesky bad habits sneak back in, like scrolling on TikTok for hours or indulging in sugar. I’m only human and know that sometimes we need to shut out the world and indulge. Self-care is taking small steps every day to take on new healthy habits. So back to what self-care is…. it’s in the name, caring for the self. Do you think eating sugar while watching mindless media is caring for the body? It doesn’t sound like it, and my mind and body never feel good after the fact. I either overeat or waste too much time when I could be doing something that makes me feel good. Here are some great ways for self-care: Turn your phone off Sit and honor your feelings and emotions A nice warm bath with some candles and music Walk-in nature Meditation Yoga Massaging your body with oil Journaling (check out my free daily gratitude journal) A whole day of healthy eating We should do self-care as a part of our daily life, not something we resort to when we can’t give anymore. My husband, kids, and I took a trip to Hilton Head for a long weekend over Mother’s Day in 2019. It was just a few weeks after my son of four months had to have surgery, and I was ready for some R&R! We were out to dinner on Mother’s Day, and my daughter’s finger got caught in a door. After spending the night at the ER and my daughter having to have emergency surgery, it wasn’t the best way to spend Mother’s Day. To make up for this Mother’s Day gone wrong, I had booked a yoga retreat at the Art of Living Center in Boone, NC, for the fall of 2019. In my mind, I needed this yoga retreat away to get the relaxation and rest I desperately craved. I was to the point where I couldn’t care for others until I gave myself the care I needed. Self-care wasn’t daily practice in my life. It started great, and the idea of the place is impressive. It had yoga, a spa, and nature. It wasn’t the luxurious type of spa that I had been to a couple of times before, but it had the peaceful vibe I needed. The first morning I woke up not feeling the best. I was in denial; I was getting weaker as the day went on. I was on my way to being pretty sick, but I hadn’t allowed myself to process it. I still did most of the activities planned, but by evening I had excused myself to get to bed early. I barely slept and woke up feeling terrible. I went to the yoga class and breakfast, thinking that it would help get my body moving. I planned on going for a hike after checking out, but I had no energy for such an adventurous task. I felt so bad I wasn’t sure I could drive a few hours back home, but I kept on trucking. During the drive home, my husband informed me both kids were also pretty sick. I felt so guilty I had been away, and now I had to tend to the kids even though I felt horrible. My daughter had an ear infection, while my son and I both had double ear infections. They were so bad the infection was in our eyes. Looking back at this time of my life, I pushed myself so hard to do it all; my body was shutting down. Now let’s fast forward to February 2020. We were taking a family ski trip to visit my husband’s family. We were bringing my nephew for his Christmas and birthday present. I didn’t have any relaxation expectations for this trip since I don’t ski and would be hanging back with my son. We were all staying at a rental property in the cute little town about twenty minutes away from my sister-in-law and brother-in-law’s house. I was happy to get the family time in. One afternoon I had asked to use my brother-in-law’s infrared sauna since it is highly suggested when detoxing my body from the mold. They were happy for me to use it and said to take as long as I needed. I don’t think I had done anything for as long as I wanted without a time stamp on it for a very long time. I took the twenty-minute drive to their house and played my favorite music. I even stopped off to check out the gorgeous views of the New River Gorge. That time in the sauna was the most impactful self-care I have ever done. I sat, I journaled, and I listened to music at separate times. I cried, prayed, and gave gratitude for every moment I had experienced in my life. I sat on their front porch and stared at the snow-covered trees. I experienced the “NOW.” So my point of those very different trips is that giving your mind and body the attention it needs is self-care. You don’t need a fancy spa or a weekend retreat to provide yourself with the care you need. You need to set the boundaries, make the effort and turn your phone