Take care of yourself! You're worth it.

 Are you so busy taking care of the needs of everyone else that you often put your own concerns on the back burner of your life? Well, I'm sure you've heard it before, but you need to take care of you before you'll be any good to anyone else. When you take a more balanced view of your life and start to think about yourself, it benefits everyone.

I recently caught an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show where Seal and his famous model wife, Heidi Klum, talked about how they make their relationship work. They talked a lot about balance (they have 3 kids and very full careers), and how they always put themselves first. It might sound selfish (I know I heard a gasp from someone), but Seal put it very succinctly, "Happy Wife. Happy Life". He knows that when Heidi makes time to take care of herself, everyone else will be taken care of too. He's a smart guy, so he supports it.

Now we don't all have partners like Seal, yet how often do we hear ourselves saying how tired we are, that we can't afford to get sick, or we'll just do a few hours of work and then take care of the sore throat/throbbing headache/fill-in-pain-here? How many times do we have to get totally incapacitated to learn that taking the afternoon off, canceling a dinner out or getting a friend to watch the kids is ok when you are trying to take care of yourself? In fact, eating healthy food, having a Girl’s Night Out or getting a pedicure can be incredibly preventative when you're piled on with stress. Guys might like to go golfing (maybe you do too!), but a relaxing massage has been known to rid the body of toxins and get the body and mind to relax.

It's never too late to start paying attention to our own health and well-being, and make an effort to take care of ourselves - not just our partners, children or employer. We all know that if we let minor ailments blow up into major health headaches, we won't be able to help anyone because we'll be out of commission.

Now is a good time to realign our schedule and pencil our own name in at the top of our agenda - without feeling guilty!

Incorporate these top three things into your life to see big changes:

1. Connection: The power of connection for women is well documented. Plan a monthly lunch with other women, where you have the opportunity to eat really delicious food, that's good for you and prepared by someone else (no stress in prep or clean up!) and a chance to really connect. Or find a New Power lunch in your area. A catered lunch where you get coached on integrating qualities we all have (like nurturing and how not to de-value taking care of yourself). The promise: Real People. Real Connection. Real Solutions. 
2. Sleep: It sounds simple, but maybe you aren't getting enough. It's the number #1 thing you can do to start feeling better, sharper, more like yourself. When you think you should just send one more email or finish one more report - stop - its time to get downtime and get some z's. It's really a choice, and one your body needs you to make now.
3. Meditation: There are a lot of benefits to meditation. Meditation can simply be your time to sit in your favorite comfy chair with a cup of tea, and breath. The time you take to connect to yourself, for reflection or some inner peace can greatly reduce your stress. It doesn't have to last for hours, but 15-30 minutes (sometimes even 5). In this fast paced world we live in today, a slice of time to stop moving and connect to stillness can be the thin line that cements your health too.

When we take time to take care of ourselves, everyone can benefit. When your intention is to help everyone, then you have to put on your own oxygen mask first. It bears repeating. The flight attendants make sure to keep that one on the list because it's critical, but easy to forget. We can't help anyone if we're out of commission.

What other ways do you like to make sure you take care of yourself?

Wishing you an integrated day! 

-Sylvia