OK it's the end of another crazy busy week for a lot of us and now its time to unwind...
But how? It's just so darn hard for people who care for others to stop thinking about it for while and give ourselves a chance to really relax. Glass of yummy wine, you may be thinking?
Sure, why not?
But how bout we think about doing some other things first to bring ourselves into a better state of consciousness before we start a little too early with the wine and end up forgetting all about the other ways we might relax.
Too me, a Friday night is not about getting stuff done. It's more about finding some inner peace after a really crazy busy week with the young kiddos I care for in my child development home. My weeks are always action packed and exhausting with up to 8 wonderful children aged 1-5 in my care.
Well, I do get quite a bit of help from my friends, family and child care families, but still..........I'm 58 years young even though I truly think I feel better now than I did at 22! (more about that later).
I'm officially here to tell you tonight, that's it's perfectly OK to relax and do some things that you like to do and it's also very important that you be sure to not let other people get in the way of that no matter what! For example:
It's OK to say NO to plans unless you really seriously want to do them.
It's OK to say NO to work that you don't feel like doing tonight. Your body and your mind need some time to rewind and rejuvenate before you plunge into doing the things that you really need to get done over the weekend.
It's OK to say YES to 10-20 minutes or more time to stretch your body out in ways that feel good and right to you. You don't have to cause yourself pain to benefit from stretching.
I'ts OK to tell (not ask) your people that you are going to take 20 minutes or more for yourself and it's also OK to clear people out of any room you want to use in order to get some well-deserved peace and quiet for yourself. Your family will probably thank you for it later when they see what 20 minutes of stress-free relaxation can do for your personality and your sense of humor!
If you want, try this easy to use technique:
Think of one or two feelings that you want for yourself. Examples may be inner peace, light, warmth, excitement, friendship. You name it! Then think of a couple of feelings that you don't want.
Then spend some time saying to yourself, Breathe in "good feeling of your choice" as you breathe in slowly. Breathe out "stress and pain" or whatever feelings you don't want to keep around.
If you're distracted by visual images, picture something simple like a yellow star or a candle flame.
Here's a bit of a really nice piece of prose by author Shakti Gawain about why it's so important to treat yourself well. I found these beautiful words in her 2002 book called "Living in the Light".
If you appreciate yourself, others will appreciate you
If you honor yourself, others will honor you
If you enjoy yourself, others will enjoy you
Think about it. Read it again. It makes sense.
So please do yourself and the people you take care of a favor and enjoy yourself for at least a short time every day. You definately deserve it.
If you're interested in gaining energy and/or losing weight, come on over to our Joy! pages.
You can get our free Omega 3 Gluten Free Bread recipe that you can make in under 5 minutes. Plus you can find out how to order my book and make your own Joy!
n.joy!
Nanci J Bradley
Owner/Director Nancy Bradley Early Childhood Ed