Category: Selfcare Is

My Self-Care Journey + Four Big Lessons I’ve Learned

Listen to the companion podcast episode HERE.

We all begin our self-care journey somewhere. It’s like a lot of things in life: you might not recognize where you began – what paradigm shift or pivotal moment brought you to the starting line. But years down the road you’ll look back and go “ahhhh, that was it. The beginning.”

That was certainly true for me. I didn’t even know I was on a self-care journey until I was five years in. Looking back I can clearly see each paradigm shift.

I’d love to take you along on my journey. I want to start by defining self-care. I’m passionate about making the term self-care accessible and applicable for every mama, everywhere. For the purposes of Soul Mind Body Selfcare, here’s our working definition:

Let’s start at the beginning…

Paradigm Shift #1: The Beginning

Me with my first son. After a very long labor + traumatic birth. So in love but completely + totally overwhelmed in every way.

I didn’t know anything about self-care until after I had my first son in 2013. I had come off several stressful years in my late teens and early twenties, earning my bachelors, working two jobs, putting myself through an intense master program, getting married and having a baby in quick succession. It was a lot of stress (even though a lot of it was obviously good!) and not a lot of recovery time. I remember feeling like I was getting sick one fall while I was deep in the trenches of earning my masters. I told myself I didn’t have time and I just kept pushing forward. That’s just one example of many.

Add to that: I didn’t know how to care for myself even if I’d wanted to. Period. I didn’t know what that looked like. I treated my soul, mind and body like a machine: they did what I told it to and that meant I never really stopped.

Even after my son was born, I didn’t stop. I was up and around just a couple days after a very long, intense and traumatic birth. The midwife was horrified. I remember going to Target, my newborn in a moby wrap, way too soon because I just thought that’s what I was supposed to do. Get back to life, get back to normal.

Oh, man. I could write a book, just on that. How as a society we have lost the beautiful, vulnerable, necessary healing time that is postpartum. I had no clue. No clue what a healing postpartum season looked like. No clue that there was no getting back to my old “normal.” No clue that I had nothing to prove, no one to impress, by pushing myself too hard, too fast.

In fact, it wasn’t until I was around 15 months postpartum that everything began to catch up with me. I was still breastfeeding, had suffered an early miscarriage and my husband was away for six months going through training for a new job that would move us to the other side of the country.

It slowly starting dawning on me that: caring for my baby was only part of the motherhood equation; the other part was learning how to care for myself as well.

This was my first big, paradigm shift. The beginning of my self-care journey. I wasn’t well physically, emotionally or mentally. Our of sheer necessity, I found myself at a naturopath, trying to figure out why I felt like I was falling apart. During the two hour intake session, I ended up sharing things I’d never shared with anyone. I realized then I probably should have been in therapy long before. It was the beginning for me.

Paradigm Shift #2: A Slow Awakening

Me with my daughter. After a very emotionally charged labor and beautiful, birth center birth. I was exhausted on every level. Our postpartum season was good but way too short.

After seeing that first naturopath, I took baby steps towards addressing some physical issues I was experiencing. Skin issues, hair loss, inability to concentrate, wired but tired, prone to depression…so many things pointed to the fact my adrenals were shot. What I couldn’t know at the time was that this was only the tip of the iceberg.

I did start to feel some micro improvements, but I still didn’t have any clue what self-care was or the depth to which I needed it. I did what I could with the knowledge I had at the time. Which is all anyone can do, which is why this is called a journey.

Fast forward to six months postpartum with my daughter at the beginning of 2016. I had been through a super stressful year prior. We had moved across country for my husband’s new job, away from family. We had been through house hunting, found a place and had been working non-stop to fix it up. All while my husband worked 12 hour days and I managed the renovations. Add to that: pregnancy, wrangling a toddler, an emotionally intense delivery, extended family issues…

That time still blurs together. I was overwhelmed, stressed, not sleeping, and I still hadn’t learned what I needed to thrive, how to meet my own needs or how to ask for help. Before I had become pregnant with my daughter, I had been writing my heart out, building a blog, and an email list and I literally hit “delete” on all of it. Just like I had hit delete on all the parts of life that made me…well, me.

I hit rock bottom. I found myself at my parents for a few weeks and, for the first time, I was able to rest, to sit back while my children were cared for by others and actually see them, see myself, have space to think. That’s when I realized again that I needed help.

I found a naturopath in our new area and dove deeper into functional medicine. I still went into my first appointment with a shotgun approach, not really knowing what to ask for or what was priority. Once again I took baby steps towards caring for my physical body. I was diagnosed with candida and got on a regime to treat that. I did a Whole 30 and learned so much about eating whole foods, reading labels and how to cook a lot more things from scratch. Through that whole process I discovered my body [and my skin! It completely cleared up] did so much better without conventional dairy.

Addressing the physical was good. It brought me to a place where I could actually start thinking about what I required to thrive. How I should care for myself. What I needed most. It helped clear some of the brain fog and the nagging physical symptoms that distracted me from working on deeper issues.

The clearer mind brought me to counseling and starting to do the hard work of setting healthy boundaries. I am not by nature a strong willed person, but I became strong willed when it came to my own self-care. I learned the importance of saying no, of prioritizing myself and my family over what others thought or wanted. I realized I had to stop playing the martyr. No one could read my mind. I had to get to know myself better, understand what made me thrive, and learn to meet those needs and how to communicate them. I had to take responsibility for caring for myself.

I began practicing yoga and I fell in love with how it married movement and breath and brought restoration to not just my physical health, but my my mental health as well. I’ve been practicing yoga for almost five years now and nothing helps me feel more at home in my body or my mind faster.

Around the same time I started yoga, I embarked on a mission to not just organize our home, but completely declutter it. Get rid of everything that we didn’t love or use. Of course, my mission wasn’t quite that clear at first. I just knew that too much stuff overwhelmed me and I was tired of trying to organize it only to turn around and find it a jumbled mess two minutes later. So I started decluttering, space by space. Month by month. It’s been a journey in and of it’s self. A long learning process. Like peeling away the layers of an onion. But, truly, decluttering our home, our schedule, my expectations, my brain, everything has been a huge game changer in my self-care journey.

Paradigm Shift #3: Starting to Share My Journey

Me with my third baby, our second boy. Having him felt like coming home. He brought healing that I didn’t know I needed, on levels I didn’t know existed.

The spring my third baby was born was one of the most beautiful seasons of our life for so many reasons. We had just finished a long, arduous process of selling our house, moving to a new town, living in a rental paying double payments, battling lots of sickness (I was sick for two solid weeks before my son was born, coughing until my ribs ached, sleeping sitting straight up in bed at 9 months pregnant, ha).

My son was born, my first successful home waterbirth. It was quick and intense and beautiful. He was perfect and so was our postpartum experience thanks to all the many lessons I had learned and my mom and my husband caring for me, the kids and the house so seamlessly. I spent the first two weeks in bed with my baby and gave myself a full 12 weeks before I started any exercise beyond walking. I let my body heal and didn’t try to rush. It felt so freeing. We finally sold our house and found a new house. The cherry on top was that the baby was our best sleeper yet. It all felt like such a gift.

When my third was about nine months old, I started intentionally sharing my self-care journey on Instagram. The more I shared, the more I heard from other mamas how desperately they craved self-care but didn’t know what it looked like or how to implement it. So, I kept sharing everything I had learned and was learning and one day Soul Mind Body Selfcare was born. A few months later I started this blog so I could have a place to write that gave me more space than an Instagram caption. I’ve slowly, steadily grown my mama tribe and hope to continue growing.

Paradigm Shift #4: Self-Care Isn’t Just the Feel Good Stuff

Nursing my sweet third born for the last time. I was about to start some intensive protocols to heal my gut. I also knew deep down my body needed a good, long break.

When my third baby was about a year old, I found a local functional medicine doctor to get a proactive, head start on caring for myself postpartum. This time when I went in for my first appointment, I didn’t shotgun; I knew the questions I wanted to ask, the tests I wanted done, and where exactly I wanted to prioritize.

A series of comprehensive tests revealed/confirmed I had borderline Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, multiple food sensitivities, leaky gut and two different gut infections. I went on a strict elimination diet for two months, cutting out several reactive foods including coffee, alcohol, eggs, yeast and gluten. I followed several different protocols to heal my leaky gut, detox my liver, support my adrenals and get rid of my gut infections. In order to do the protocols for the gut infections, I needed to wean my third baby at 16 months. Which isn’t early by any means, but he could have kept going and it made me sad not to be able to nurse him for as long as he wanted.

But sometimes self-care looks like sacrifice. During the fall and winter of 2019 I really ramped up my self-care on all the levels. I started meditating, dry brushing, visiting the sauna, using a castor oil pack, utilizing adaptogens, practicing moon cycling, getting massage, taking regular detox baths. You name it, I was doing it. We started trying for another baby and I wanted to be as healthy and strong as possible.

Of course, in January I (along with all the family) got the horrible flu that was going around. It set me way back. I didn’t feel like myself for weeks and was still dealing with lung congestion, low energy and relapses a month later. A month after that I experienced hair loss due to the stress of the sickness. Which is just amazing…I don’t even want to know what it would have done to my body if I hadn’t already been so focused on my health and self-care on every level.

A few weeks after that, in mid-March of 2020, we found out I was expecting. Not exactly how I’d hoped to step into a new pregnancy. And it so happened to be the same week of the full moon, day light savings and when all of the Covid-19 stuff hit the fan. It was an intense time on a spiritual, emotional and mental level…let alone on the physical level.

All the lessons I had learned over the previous 8 years came full circle. It felt a little like ground zero once again. Where the rubber meets the road. Almost like a new beginning of some sort. I’m still navigating it. Because this is a journey. There’s no finish line in this life and that’s okay. The beauty and growth and transformation is in the process.

Don’t forget that, mama.

Listen to the companion podcast episode HERE.

To recap, here are four big lessons I’ve learned so far on my self-care journey:

Big Lesson #1:

Addressing the physical is so necessary and might need to happen first before you can think about anything else. Healing physically will bring you to a place where you can actually start thinking about healing emotionally and mentally and deciding exactly what you require to thrive.

Big Lesson #2:

Setting boundaries is key. You have to learn to say no. You have to learn to make yourself and your immediate family priority over anything and everyone else.

Big Lesson #3:

On that note: stop playing the martyr. No one can read your mind. No one is going to magically meet your needs without you asking. Ultimately you have to take responsibility for caring for yourself. Determine what you need to thrive and then meet your needs or communicate them clearly to those who can.

Big Lesson #4:

One step at a time. One day at a time. Nothing worthwhile happens over night. It’s called a journey for a reason. There’s no medal for the first person across the finish line because there is no finish line. At least not in this world. What matters is that you are learning and growing and moving forward one step at a time.

Listen to the companion podcast episode HERE.

Have any questions for me? Leave them in the comments and I’ll be happy to answer! You’ve got this, mama. Never fear! One breath, one step, one day at a time.

For more self-care goodness, come join me on Instagram. And if you haven’t joined my email list yet, that’s a great place to find more of the same. Check out the side bar (or scroll all the way down if you’re on mobile) to view all the freebies I’ve created just with you in mind. I hope you find something helpful.

Let’s care for ourselves,

Hannah

Practical Self-Care Tips for When You’re Sick

This year we drove cross-country to be with my family for Christmas. Thirty hours one way with the three kiddos, but it went so much better than we thought it would. The kiddos did great, the roads were clear and we made it.

Fast forward to the day after Christmas. My daughter came down with the flu. After that, we all fell like dominoes. Thankfully staggered, but still. Phew. I’ve been super sick in the past, but I’ve never had the flu like that. It truly laid me out. Migraines, chills, fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, stomach trouble, skin rashes, body aches… the whole shebang.

When life knocks you down the ladder to simple survival, it has a way of testing your routines, your self-care rituals, your tried-and-trues. What’s left is what is truly important, what really works.

You don’t have to be fighting the flu to implement the tips I’m going to share. Perhaps you’re feeling a cold coming on or you just feel extra run down. Pin this post and save it for later. Save the link to a note on your phone. Email it to yourself. Share it with a friend who is sick. Whatever works.

Let’s dive in…

Rest.

WHY I know resting can be the hardest part of recovery. It is for me. But resting is not laziness. So much healing happens in your body when you allow it to rest. So, give yourself permission to “fall behind.” Strip everything down to the bare bones. Put all the non-essentials on hold and let yourself rest. This is self-care.

HOW What are some specific ways you can rest when your sick? The answer to that question can vary person to person. But here are a few suggestions to get you started:

  • nap whenever you can
  • lay on the couch for large portions of the day
  • go to bed early + don’t set an alarm
  • stay off your phone and let your mind rest

Outsource.

WHY Because you can’t do it all. Especially when you’re sick. Remember, mama: you’re human. It’s okay to have needs, to ask for help, and to accept help from others.

HOW Once you’ve stripped everything down to the bare basics, see if you can outsource even some of those things. Here are a few examples:

  • Order your groceries online and have them delivered.
  • Order all other necessities from places like Amazon or Walmart and have them delivered.
  • If you don’t have delivery available in your area, ask your spouse to pick them up or ask a friend to drop them off.
  • If you’ve ever used a meal delivery service, now would be the perfect time.
  • Accept any and all help that is offered.

Hydrate.

WHY Staying hydrated is super important in general, but especially when you’re sick. If you have a fever and you’re sweating a lot or you soak in a bath or perhaps you’re throwing up, then you’ll want to make sure you’re staying hydrated so your body can fight off illness.

HOW This is also easier said than done. I know I didn’t have much of an appetite when I had the flu and everything tasted bland. Water was hard to drink like I normally do. So, I added a splash of 100% pomegranate juice to my water, I drank bone broth with a sprinkle of salt and lots of herbal teas. Aim to drink half your body weight in ounces of water, more if you’re running a fever.

Check out this video for more tips on staying hydrated.

Move.

WHY Depending on how sick you are (there were several days with the flu when I could barely get up off the couch), this might be something you save for later in recovery. But slow, gentle movement can help your body release stiffness, boost your mood, and encourage lymphatic drainage.

HOW Here are a few different ways I moved while I was sick:

Soak.

WHY Speaking of stiffness and lymphatic drainage, a detox bath will aid those as well. It will also help ease body aches, increase circulation, and promote relaxation. Epsom salts contain magnesium which is quickly depleted when our bodies are under stress (ie sick). Our bodies need magnesium for so many reasons, including helping our muscles relax and promoting restful sleep.

HOW Whether I’m sick or not, I love to soak in a detox bath a couple times a week. Check out this post for my favorite detox bath recipe and tips.

Eat.

WHY It’s so important to be supporting our bodies while they fight off illness. We don’t want to burden them any more than they already are. If you have an appetite, food is one of the best ways you can get nutrients needed to heal.

HOW If you have an appetite, focus on eating warming, whole foods that support your body with nutrients needed for the healing process. Think: room temperature, veggie-heavy smoothies, bone broth, soups, roasted veggies, and lots of good fats. Listen to your body. If you don’t have an appetite, try simply sipping on a mug of warm broth. Note: processed foods, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, conventional diary and gluten are all hard on our bodies, even on our best days. Try to steer clear of those while you’re body is recovering.

Here are some of my favorite healing meal ideas:

  • Veggie lentil stew made with bone broth
  • Chicken thighs, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts or green beans roasted on a sheet pan
  • Chicken soup made with bone broth
  • Sauteed kale or Swiss chard, garlic, onion, any protein you’d like, served over polenta
  • This smoothie or this smoothie on repeat.

Outside.

WHY Sunshine and fresh air are both helpful when we’re trying to heal. Sunshine can boost Vitamin D levels (which boosts our immune systems) and fresh air can clear out our lungs and deliver much needed oxygen to our cells.

HOW If you can’t make it outside or it’s too cold, try to find a sun spot or west facing window to sit in. Otherwise, take a mug of something warm (if it’s chilly) or top off your glass of water (if it’s warm) and sit outside in the sun. Lay out if you can, exposing as much skin to the sunshine as you can. And don’t wear sunglasses! One of the big ways our bodies synthesize Vitamin D is through our eyes. If you have the energy, go for a slow walk around your yard.

Supplement.

WHY While the tips we’ve previously discussed will always take precedence over supplementing, a high quality supplement has it’s place.

HOW Here are some of my favorites to use when I’m sick:

Plan.

WHY Sometimes just having something fun to look forward to is enough to boost our spirits and tune our minds to recovery.

HOW I scheduled a hair appointment for when I started to feel better. It was so relaxing and rejuvenating. Here are a few more ideas:

  • Meet a girlfriend for lunch and a pedicure.
  • Go to a tanning salon. Seriously.
  • Get a massage.
  • Plan a day trip to somewhere new (or maybe an old favorite).
  • Plan that summer vacation or your winter getaway.

Listen.

WHY When we are in the habit of listening to our bodies, we can sense intuitively what they need most in order to heal. Being mindful can speed our recovery and give us powerful insight.

HOW Do a body scan and take note of how you feel. Now answer these questions: where do I need the most support? What can wait? What is working? What isn’t? Now you have some powerful information to use as you move forward in the healing process and beyond.

Have any questions for me? Leave them in the comments and I’ll be happy to answer! You’ve got this, mama. Never fear! One breath, one step, one day at a time.

For more self-care goodness, come join me on Instagram. And if you haven’t joined my email list yet, that’s a great place to find more of the same. Check out the side bar (or scroll all the way down if you’re on mobile) to view all the freebies I’ve created just with you in mind. I hope you find something helpful.

Let’s care for ourselves,

Hannah

Self-care is Setting Boundaries [Why We Need Them + How To Set Them]

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This coming weekend just got really busy all of the sudden… I texted a friend. Can we reschedule for next weekend?

There was a time, not too many years ago, when I never would have dreamed of cancelling on a friend. Or anybody for that matter. I never wanted to let anyone down, never wanted to disappoint anyone, never wanted to say no. I would quip that I must have a sign hung around my neck that said, “Please, take advantage of me.” I was always going, didn’t know how to rest, wouldn’t heed my body’s signals that it needed care.

But that was then. What bridged the gap? Learning how to set boundaries. A couple years into my self-care journey I hit a wall. That’s when I realized that I wasn’t going to get very far unless I learned how to set healthy boundaries.

Because self-care isn’t just warm drinks, detox baths, hydrating and brain dumps. It’s not just about getting a nap or time alone or taking five minutes to put on make up. It is all those things and so much more. It’s also the hard stuff, the heavy stuff. Like learning how to set healthy boundaries.

Setting boundaries is key to practicing self-care. If we don’t set healthy boundaries all our efforts at self-care will fail.

But why? Here are just a few reasons we need to set boundaries:

  • Setting healthy boundaries checks our pride. We are not superhuman with limitless amounts of time, energy or resources. Let’s not fool ourselves into acting like we are.
  • Setting healthy boundaries informs others of our limits. Some people don’t know + some people don’t care. Either way, it’s not fair to them or to us not to be clear about our limits.
  • Setting healthy boundaries ensures we have what we need for the things + the people who matter most. It ensures we’re not wasting precious time, energy or resources on the unimportant stuff.
  • Setting healthy boundaries keeps us safe. When we don’t have boundaries, anything goes. And anyone goes. We need protection from our own human nature and others who might take advantage of us.

But how? Here are some practical steps to setting boundaries:

1.) Identify a problem area in your life. Something that is wearing on you, draining you, perhaps even causing you anxiety and/or affecting your physical health.

Example: You can’t seem to put your phone down. Sounds and badges and notifications are constantly calling for your attention. You get a lot of texts and a lot of emails. You’re constantly checking + rechecking your phone. You’re always trying to answer a text, read an email or respond to someone on social media. You’re always distracted, trying to be in two places at once. You have a mental buzz that never really goes away.

2.) Identify your limits in that area.

Example: I don’t have endless amounts of time to respond to texts, emails and notifications. I can only be in one place at a time. I have about two hours per day I’m able and willing to give. I’ll handle the most important and leave the rest.

3.) Set healthy boundaries based on those limits.

Example: I’m going to answer emails + texts for 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in evening, that’s all the time I have. I’m going to turn off all notifications except for texts from my spouse, everyone else can wait. I will check social media for an hour in the evenings when I’m not distracted.

Here are some more examples of how you might set healthy boundaries:

  • You cut ties with anyone who doesn’t lift you up. Starting with face to face relationships down to the people you follow on social media. You are kind but unapologetic. If you need to, you have the hard conversations.
  • You say no to any extra-curricular activities that don’t fill your cup. You are ruthless. You only get 24 hours in a day and every day is a gift.
  • You keep to firm wake times, quiet time/nap times and bed times for your kiddos. You find this to be a game changer because you need space at those times each day to care for yourself so that you can be a better mom.
  • You create and follow a budget each month. Especially during the holidays. You realize that managing your finances is self-care, too.

Does this resonate with you, mama? Have any questions? Please leave me a comment or send me an email. I’m here.

This post is part of our #smbselfcareis series. To read more posts in this series, go here.

I’m also over on Instagram and, if you haven’t signed up for my email list, I’m there, too. If you sign up, I’m giving you my Healthy + Healing Warm Drink Guide FREE.

Let’s care for ourselves,

Hannah

5 Ways To Care For Yourself During the Holidays

Mama, of all the seasons of the year where you should feel happy, light, peaceful and rested…it should be the holiday season. Our society has manufactured the idea of hustle + bustle, has told us it’s what true holiday spirit looks like, that our kids will grow up hating us and have to go to therapy if we don’t “do Santa” or bake 6 different kinds of cookies or wear ourselves out trying to find the perfect gifts. That’s just not true.

This should be a season of tuning in to the beauty right in front of us. A season of caring for ourselves and our dear ones and extending kindness to those in need. A season of soaking up the simple moments which usually end up being the most profound. This should be a season of making memories: of home, a crackling fire, Christmas stories read aloud, Bing Crosby serenading, and the story of Jesus’ birth lighting the way once again into a brand new year.

Perhaps even more so in 2020 than any other year before: We need peace, we need simplicity, we need quieted hearts, we need rest. We’ve already told our kiddos that this Christmas is going to be a simple, quiet one. No big to-do’s, no crazy happenings, just us – family – soaking up the beauty of the season. We’ve even called a toy moratorium. Except for a few things they need, a few books and learning resources, we’re not expending a lot of time or money on gift giving this year. The season itself and the depth of what it really means – Jesus, Emmanuel, Come to Live Among Us – is what we want to shine out above all else. And, you know what? They complained briefly the first time we mentioned our plan. The next time, not a peep. I think they were starting to understand. We keep repeating our plan periodically and I think I even spotted a bit of relief in their faces this last time. I know I feel relief.

Remember, mama, we have a choice. We have a lot more control over how the holiday season plays out (and our lives) then we often like to admit. Also, there’s this: true self-care – the kind that is consistent, tangible and life-changing – doesn’t have to cost any money or require large chunks of time. It doesn’t even mean you have to leave your house.

Let’s dive into my top 5 tips for caring for yourself this holiday season…

No.1 Get your sleep.

Sleep changes everything. Any mama knows this is true. It has to be a non-negotiable. Our bodies need 7.5-9 solid hours of sleep every night. On days we’re super active, we might even need a 20-30 minute nap mid-afternoon. Listen to your body. Follow it’s lead. Whatever needs to happen for you to get rest, make it happen.

  • Set a firm bed time + wake time for the kiddos (they need their rest, too!).
  • Work together with your husband to make sure you’re both supporting each other in getting rest.
  • Aim to be in bed a full hour earlier than you want to go to sleep. Read, relax, do a brain dump, unwind and turn out those lights on time.
  • Limit caffeine after noon and don’t drink alcohol or eat a heavy meal right before bed.
  • Use black out blinds or an eye mask to block out light.
  • Keep your bedroom cool for sleeping.
  • Use white noise or ear plugs to make sure you’re not disturbed (especially if you go to bed before your husband).

A note to mamas with young babies: The first two years with each kiddo can totally be rough, I get it completely. If it helps, don’t look at the quantity of sleep as much as the quality of sleep in those seasons. Work to optimize the sleep you do get. Example: if you can get your longer stretch of sleep each night from 10-2am that’s when our bodies do a majority of the detoxing/restoring/resetting and that will definitely optimize your sleep.

Also, check out Taking Cara Babies if you haven’t already. I’m not getting paid to share about her, but I would pay any amount of money to sleep well in the early months [years!] with my babies. Cara also has so much good information on her blog and IG page for free. Check her out! I’m taking her First Five Months course in preparation for our fourth baby’s arrival.

No.2 Make a daily #soulmindbodyselfcare appointment with yourself.

This means every single day you’re going to spend at least 10 minutes caring for your soul, mind or body. Put it on your calendar, set a reminder, make it happen. If you can give more time, then set aside more time. Go, mama! If you need to spread out the time in smaller chunks over the course of the day, then do that. Whatever works best with your schedule, whatever best meets your needs.

Here are some ideas for your time each day:

  • Take a detox bath.
  • Make a warm drink + sip it slowly (get my favorite recipes HERE).
  • Spend some time goal setting + intention setting for the new year.
  • Paint your nails.
  • Move your body – yoga, pilates, HIIT, go for a walk.
  • Do a brain dump.
  • Work on a passion project.
  • Declutter one space in your home.
  • Hydrate with a tall glass of water.

No.3 Drink a daily green smoothie.

There’s bound to be more sugar floating around during the holiday season. And it’s sometimes difficult to control what you eat and where due to family gatherings and holiday events. But if you start the day out right with a green smoothie (or even sub it for lunch or your afternoon pick-me-up), your body will thank you.

I swear by a daily green smoothie to keep illness at bay. This Chocolate Cherry Smoothie recipe is one of my favorites and this Beet-licious Smoothie is another on rotation over here. If neither of those strike a cord, maybe give my Sunshine Smoothie a try. It’s packed full of nutrients that will give your mind, body (and immune system!) a boost.

For more on winter wellness, check out my blog post and podcast episode all about why/how/what I stock to support our immune systems through the colder months.

No.4 Carve out quiet time before the day begins.

I know this is easier said than done, but it’s a lifesaver. Even just having 10 minutes to myself, to start the day on my own terms, makes a huge difference in how the rest of the day goes.

This is my typical morning routine right now:

I wake up around 7am, I do my tongue scraping/teeth brushing, splash cold water on my face and use the restroom. Then I apply my favorite face oil or serum (right now it’s this one – bonus: it smells like Christmas) and hop back in bed to do my gua sha routine (if you don’t know what gua sha is, here’s a great tutorial).

Then I dive into my quiet time. Right now I’m reading through the Psalms using a journal Bible. Then I pray through my list of what I call “affirmational prayers” – statements of faith in prayer form. Then I’ll look over my to-do list for the day, check email quickly, reply to any texts and then throw on my slippers and a cozy sweater and make my way out to the kitchen to start the day.

All of that might take me 20 minutes, but I am much more ready to jump into the fray when I’ve had some peaceful moments to myself first. I have a lot more patience and joy and our day just flows better.

Side note for mamas who have early wakers like I do: Don’t be afraid to set boundaries. My kids are in their room until 7:30am. They can use the restroom and they have their waters, but they are in their room with the door closed until it’s time to begin our day together. This is the boundary I’ve set and it works well for us. Do what works best for you, mama, but set those boundaries.

No.5 Say NO to anything that does not light you up.

Let’s make this tip specific to Christmas, although it can be applied to any holiday, birthdays or really any time of year. I love to send our annual Christmas card. It’s my thing. And because I love to send it, it’s fun to create, not a burden. I love having special Christmas mugs for each kid and making hot cocoa with marshmallows every chance we get. I love taking the kids to Hobby Lobby to pick out an ornament each year. I love observing a simple advent. I love making + decorating sugar cookies with the kiddos; we usually do that 2-3 times during the season. I love minimalist decor that melds with the color pallet of our home, that I can keep up through winter season (it’s such a downer to strip the house bare come January 1st).

What I don’t love? Time consuming crafts. Elaborate advent calendars. Lots of decorating that I have to take down/put away/store. Intricate traditions that depend on several different variables to be just right. Intense baking. Going anywhere crowded. Being out late. Being out. Period. Ha. So I don’t. I just say no. In fact, like I said at the beginning of this post, we don’t have anything currently planned for the month of December.

Choose the things you love, that light you up and and leave the rest. Never apologize if your style of savoring the season looks more like staying home in your cozy slippers and reading Christmas books to your kids by the fire. I promise your kids won’t care. All they want is a happy mama, a mama who is caring for herself.

Have any questions for me? Leave them in the comments and I’ll be happy to answer! You’ve got this, mama. Never fear! One breath, one step, one day at a time.

For more self-care goodness, come join me on Instagram and find the companion podcast episode for this post HERE. And if you haven’t joined my email list yet, that’s a great place to find more of the same.

Check out the side bar (or scroll all the way down if you’re on mobile) to view the freebies I’ve created just with you in mind. I hope you find something helpful.

Let’s care for ourselves,

Hannah