hese days we are over-committed, overwhelmed, stressed out, and tired and wired to boot. Many of us are
owners or managers, and know how to pamper and look after our inn guests to perfection – yet when it comes to ourselves, our internal world is tapped out and exhausted.
With summer just around the corner, wouldn’t it be nice to get a kick-start on self-care and making enough space for ourselves, physically, emotionally and spiritually? It is easy to see what is needed, but how do we carve out the time and the mindset to keep this personal promise? The challenge is how do we find the time or use our time in a different way – to be less stressful, gentler to ourselves, more patient and balanced. This is what needs focus and willingness to achieve.
First of all, as many stress-reduction disciplines advocate, it all starts with the breath. When we focus on the inhale and exhale of the breath, something magical happens: the time we thought we didn’t have suddenly becomes available. Focusing on breathing seems to create a time distortion that slows down our racing minds. Yet it doesn’t take any more time to breathe – it is just the awareness, the discipline and the follow-through on making breathing a mindful focus.
Second, self-talk is something to be aware of. It can present itself as an inner critic, (we know this one all too well) – or it can be a kind, compassionate and caring voice, perhaps one of a favorite person in our life. It takes conscious awareness to tune-in and notice what type of self-talk we are doing, and to adjust it to the caring voice accordingly. Life can be stressful enough, and we don’t need an inner critic faulting and shaming ourselves constantly.
Breathe!
Self-Care Rituals
By Laura Nashman
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