Tag Archives: self love

Practicing what I Preach

By | | , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

I have made a difficult decision.  I will not be offering my Voice Lifted at Christmas concert this year.  I struggled to come to the decision, and I feel a mix of emotions in announcing this to you.

At each of my concerts, I share with the audience a message of slowing down and appreciating the simple beauty that is always present…during the holiday season and at all times during the year.  At every yoga class that I teach, I encourage and support others in taking care of themselves in body, in mind, and in spirit.

I need to practice what I preach.

The decision to rest my voice and to take a year off from offering my Christmas benefit concert is a choice that I am making in order to allow myself to slow down and to take care of myself in body, in mind, and in spirit.

We live in a world that is moving at a fast pace.  Productivity and multi-tasking are no longer buzz words that are associated with overachievers but are now minimum performance requirements and expectations.  Many elementary school children are stressed with their overly packed schedules that take them from school to sports to extra-curricular activities.  Parents are hunched over cell phones trying to pay their mortgage on an online banking app while baking brownies for the band boosters fundraiser and listening to their younger child’s spelling words, while the tv news is playing in the background, broadcasting reports of natural disasters and incidents of violence at public places.

A writer and public speaker whom I have found to be inspirational, Brene Brown, has asserted that when we define our self-worth by what we accomplish, we are constantly in a “hustle for worthiness.”  It is very easy to buy in to societal messages that we must do more.   We can go through our days trying to prove ourselves or trying to please others by saying “yes” when we really are tired and want to say “no.”

I realize that I am most joyful when I am going through life in a slow and conscious manner, when I have time to notice the details and reflect on how I got to this place and where I intend to go next.  I am most inspired and most myself when I can do something spontaneous and be creative in the way that I go about what I do in a day or in a week.  Each day is a gift and a blessing, and I am committed to experiencing these days fully.  In order to do that, I need to rest so that I am fully awake and alive and present.

I plan on returning to the stage at the Tamaqua Community Art Center in December 2018, refreshed.  I thank you for understanding my decision to have a time that is quieter and more restful so that I can offer my best self to the world.  I will continue to share my voice on this blog, and I will continue to keep the songs alive in my heart.

Self Care and Self Love

By | | , , ,
3 Comments

This past week, I was hit by the flu.  I picked it up somewhere, and my immune system was weakened enough that I ended up noticing a sore throat as my first symptom, and then things went on from there.

 

While there’s never a good time to be sick, I was upset that this struck during “mid-term exam time” at school…but I was thankful that it didn’t interfere with any musical performances I had scheduled.  Being sick gave me the opportunity this week to really practice self care and self love in a way that I hadn’t before, so that is the blessing that came out of this.

 

Many spiritual teachers remind us that everything we experience can be seen as an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and to learn about life.  This was a growth experience for me, because I went about being sick differently than  I had in the past.

 

Before, I had never been a person to slow down.  I had always tried my best to keep going – not wanting to miss time from school/work, not wanting to cancel lessons I was teaching or plans I had committed to, not wanting to take a day off from working out.

 

This time, the flu left me with no energy, and the fact that I couldn’t get much sleep because of the cough left me even more weary.  I decided to listen to my body and take care of myself by resting…a lot.  I used sick time I had available at work;  I cancelled students’ lessons;  I skipped my morning workouts;  I didn’t even go to InterPlay – and participating in that active, creative improvisation-based class that centers around movement, storytelling, and song is something I truly love to do.  Instead, I spent a lot of time in bed; I took hot baths; I drank countless cups of tea.  I took it easy.

 

And it worked.  I am now feeling better and slowly reentering the routine – but with a focus on self care and self love.  I’m taking it slowly and remembering that my body needs to be treated well in order to perform well in the world.

 

I sure hope that you do not have this terrible flu.  It really was not fun.  But if you do, or if you’re feeling that your health is compromised in any way, I encourage you to follow my example and treat yourself well.  This was new to me, and I now am grateful for this experience and the lesson I learned from it.  In the beginning, it was almost like I needed to be given permission to slow down and take care of myself.  So I give you now permission to treat yourself with care and love.  It will leave you feeling healthier and more alive and will lead to you to be better able to go out into the world and do all that you do.  And even if you are feeling at your peak, I still encourage you to practice self care and self love.  Please feel free to share in the comments any ways that you practice self care and self love.

self love