Self Care Is Not Selfish

Self care is the foundation of joy and excellence. And so hard for so many of us to allow ourselves to do for so many reasons.

There is often a tension seen between self care and serving others. When actually there should be no tension at all. When you take time to nourish yourself, you are able to bring so much more to the world and everyone in it. The culture of self sacrifice in our world does not serve us. When caregivers, spouses, parents, friends and colleagues are depleted they cannot bring the best of themselves.

Yoga and mindfulness helps me see this clearly - giving yourself nourishment space and compassion for an hour allows you to show up so much better afterwards. This is the cornerstone of my yoga teaching. This is also the cornerstone of coaching. Clearing out thoughts and beliefs that don’t serve you and choosing to live more purposefully is a form of self care that makes your life better, improves your relationships with others, and allows you to show up more fully.

One thing I am still personally working on - and coaching helps with so much - is the concept that self care and nourishing yourself is also important just because you are you and you are of value and worthy. We all only get this one life to live. Experiencing joy and pleasure and self care is an important part of living well in its own right. We all, and this includes each one of you, deserves this.