Putting
Yourself First - Living For Health and Wellness
Pride
is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and modesty, a virtue. So
is it any wonder that moms, work at home moms, and women in
general have a hard times taking care of themselves first
and setting aside time each day to improve mind, body and
spirit?
As a
mother, it is especially hard to find time in our hectic
lives to pamper ourselves and to de-stress. However it is
of the utmost importance that we do so, so that our mind can
center itself, the body can relax and the spirit can be
renewed. And although we sometimes get so busy that we
forget to do these things, I would encourage you to somehow
remind yourself to take this daily time to yourself, whether
by using post-it notes, an alarm clock, and a note on the
calendar, or even a computer reminder!
When
you take time for yourself, it doesn't have to be a long
time (although, the longer you can afford to relax, the
better!), because it is the quality of time that counts, not
the length of time. You start with taking just 15 to 30
minutes every day to let yourself unwind and relax. This
can be really early in the morning before the children wake
up, during a lunch break, right before bed, or any other
time that fits your schedule.
Here
are some ideas that you can use to get started with your
daily time to help yourself de-stress. Please feel free to
modify these ideas in any way to fit your lifestyle or
personality!
Meditation - Meditating has a reputation for sounding much
harder to do than it really is. Take a few moments to
either lie down or sit comfortably and clear your mind of
worries, daily stresses, or other intrusive thoughts. Relax
your entire body and try to clear your mind, focusing only
on deep, diaphragmatic breaths. You can meditate for as
long as you would like to.
Take a
Warm Bath - Water has its own peculiar way of taking away
stresses, relaxing the body and helping us to unwind. But
when you are putting yourself first and taking care of
yourself, you don't want this to be a short to-the-point
bath. Take time to add scented oil or bubble bath, fix
yourself a cup of hot tea or cocoa, grab a favorite book and
have a luxurious soak!
Prayer
- No matter what your religious beliefs are, prayer has been
shown to relax the mind and soothe the soul. Take a few
moments to pray or simply be grateful for what you have in
your life. This helps you center your spiritual self as
well as to focus on you for a while.
Yoga
- Yoga
is so much more than twisting oneself into a pretzel. Most
beginners yoga poses are very easy to do, and help you to
focus your mind, body and spirit all at once!
These
are just a few of the ideas you can use when you take time
for yourself. However, putting yourself first doesn't mean
simply taking 30 minutes everyday for mom. It also means
that your own basic needs must be met everyday. What are
these needs? Abraham Maslow. a humanistic psychologist
developed a hierarchy of basic needs that every human being
has. Let's take a look at these needs and how they relate to
you as a work at home mother.
1.
Physiological Needs
These
include the very basic needs that are the most necessary to
a human being. They are: oxygen, food, water, sleep, and a
relatively constant body temperature. If these needs are
not fulfilled they can influence your thoughts and
behaviors, cause you to become sick or even cause pain,
discomfort or death.
2.
Safety Needs
When a
person's physiological needs are met, then the need for
safety will come next - whenever one stage is fulfilled, the
next stage suddenly becomes more important. Safety needs
include: physical safety (from violence, aggression, etc.),
a secure home, secure employment, security of revenues and
resources, moral and physiological security, family
security, security of health, and security of personal
property against crime.
3.
Love/Social Needs
The
third layer of Maslow's hierarchy after physiological needs
and safety needs are those involving your emotionally-based
relationships, including: having healthy friendships, sexual
intimacy, and having a supportive and communicative family.
This includes feeling as if you belong and are accepted, and
feeling loved as well as loving others.
4.
Esteem Needs
All
human beings have the need to feel as if they are respected
and to have self-respect. Therefore the 4th level of needs
include: self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of
others and respect by others.
5.
Self-Actualization
The
fifth and final level of basic needs is self-actualization,
which is the instinctual need of human beings to make the
most of their abilities and strive to be the best that they
can be. Self-actualization can best be described as
reaching one's fullest potential. These needs can include
(but are not limited to): morality, creativity, spontaneity,
problem solving, and lack of prejudice and acceptance of
facts.
With
these basic needs in mind, think carefully...what needs of
your own are you meeting? Which are you neglecting? At any
given moment, think about which layer of the hierarchy you
are on at the moment. Can you improve this?
Even
though as a mother, you have a responsibility to meet the
needs of your children and family, you also have an
obligation to take care of yourself first. Because, quite
simply, you cannot fully take care of others if you are not
making sure your own needs are met first. So each day, keep
in mind what your own needs are, and see that you are taking
care of yourself first so that you can take even better care
of your family and loved ones.
_____________________________________________
Article Source:
http://www.faithfulgrannies.com
About the Author: Stephanie Davies is a WAHM from
Mid-Missouri. She loves to read, write, knit, watch movies,
build websites and surf the internet. Her website at
http://www.hostingwahms.com
provides website hosting and other online services to work
at home parents. She recommends Christian Work
From Home Moms and Grandparents
http://www.faithfulgrannies.com as a great online source for work at home moms.
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