October's Monthly MANTRA:
It's ME Time! (part 2 of 2)
Last month, you will recall from my September monthly mantra article
that I recently asked the universe for a vacation and received two weeks off work instead to have and recuperate from emergency shoulder surgery. Taking some personal "me time"
and tuning in to what my body needed might have allowed me both a REAL vacation, and prevented or at least postponed a surgical procedure. The self-nourishment I put on the back
burner, I have again learned, should be an absolute daily priority, otherwise it usually forces us to learn things the hard way.
Self-care that leads to well-being can start with as little as five minutes a day, say researchers. As we have seen the importance of self-nourishment and nurturance as a
way to expand our internal reservoir of love and light for ourselves and others, the journey toward self-wholeness of mind, body and spirit can be easily achieved by incorporating the things below—easily
remembered because they spell "SELF."  S
is for Serenity. Take five minutes of silence a day. Learn meditation. Take a few deep breaths while waiting at a traffic light. Say a prayer for someone. Repeat a positive
affirmation, as the repetition will produce less cortisol in your body, thus decreasing your stress. Indulge in a 20-minute colloidal oatmeal bath (see
recipe below). Check out www.mindfulliving.com
for other cool ways to educate and enlighten yourself (my favorites are The Meditation Room and Mindful Living Everyday). Try serenity 5 minutes a day.
E
is for Exercise. Thinking of exercise as play reorganizes the brain. Where the act was once dreaded, playing music while on the treadmill, having a snowball fight, looking for
animal tracks while walking in the park, or taking a yoga class with a friend will physically change your brain's chemistry. Think FUN while you exercise a minimum of 5 minutes a day.
L
is for Love. Smile. Give hugs. Give kisses. Deliver cookies to someone who can't get out. Read 5-10 minutes of inspirational messages. Write a thank you card to a good
friend just because they're your friend. Pet your cat or dog. Take a loved one to lunch. Stop the guilt. Forgive what you are not and remember who you are. Replace "I should"
with "I will love me today." F is for Food. Use food as the medicine your body needs. It doesn't need 12
tablespoons of sugar with every soda you drink, so decrease your risk for diabetes and cut it out of your daily consumption. Eat healthy, or at least healthier, starting a couple days
a week and working forward. Read labels when grocery shopping. Include Omega-3 fatty acids. Add B vitamins, as they have been shown to lower stress and depression.
Don't be so busy managing life and all its challenges that you lose yourself in all of it, as I did last month.
There really IS enough time in the day to do everything AND still have personal time for you. Make yourself
the new priority of the day and allow the rest of your day to fall into place. Ultimately, your 24-hour day
boils down to you saying "yes" or "no" according to whether requests or tasks fit within your wants, needs,
or goals. Say "no" to all those things that don't serve you well. Make YOU your daily priority and all the rest will fit in.
 COLLOIDAL OATMEAL BATH …Indulge for 20 minutes!
Colloidal oatmeal is available at pharmacies but you can make your own
simply by grounding oats into an extremely fine powder. Using a coffee grinder, blender, or mortar and pestle, grind everyday breakfast oatmeal from
the grocery into a fine powder. Pour two cups into a tepid bath, stir with your hand, and soak up the relief. The oatmeal creates a milky dispersion that
feels silky as it coats, moisturizes and softens your skin, and is a powerful remedy for relieving dry, itchy skin. Try adding essential oil of lavender or rose
for an extra relaxing, therapeutic soak with a hint of fragrance or a quarter cup of baking soda which helps soothe the skin if it's extra dry.
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