I am so excited to debut the new Self Care Journey series, highlighting the self care journeys of women like you!
Self care is vital to the spirit and enables us to be our best self for those around us. In this new series, we celebrate the women who have claimed time in their routines for themselves, and I dig into their motivations, their routines and more so we can all be inspired to claim some time in our day for us.
Our first Journey is a dear friend of mine, Britta Brown, who you can probably relate to: in her 30's, busy wife/mom, career goals, putting other's needs before her own. Wanting to be a role model for her two girls, Britta embarked on a self care journey last fall and I asked her to share with us her routine, her inspiration and more. Here's what she had to say about her journey thus far:
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The most surprising thing I’ve discovered in this journey is a balance between giving myself grace and gently pushing when needed. |
Britta, tell our readers a little bit about yourself.
I am a wife, mother of a year 3 year old little girl and bonus mom to a 12 year old beautiful, young lady. For enjoyment I like to disc golf, read, hang out with my family, and occasionally spend time in the kitchen cooking new meals.
You lead a very active life. What inspired you to embark on your current self care journey?
My current self-care routine was inspired by, honestly, my age. I am in my mid-thirties and at the point in life that I really needed to start doing some self-reflection on how I am treating my body. I want to be a role model for my girls of self-love and to teach them that you only get one precious body so you must take care of it.
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I want to be a role model for my girls of self-love and to teach them that you only get one precious body so you must take care of it. |
I love that you want to be a role model for your daughters. Sometimes we forget how much they observe and learn from us, even when it seems like they aren't paying attention. Share your self care journey and routine with us - what types of things are you doing to show your daughters that caring for yourself is important?
My current self-care journey started in September of 2020. This is when I started to pay attention to my skin. I started using a new product and that helped to change my skin care routine. It was something I knew was benefiting my skin so it became easier and more enjoyable to spend time in the evening washing and moisturizing my face. Every evening that I do this is just a small gesture that I love myself.
I also started a yoga journey on Jan. 1st. When my friend approached me to do a 30 day yoga challenge, to be honest, I didn’t think much about it. I said yes, started day one thinking this would be another thing I would fail at but then, I didn’t. I showed up every day for myself. I now wake up early enough to spend time practicing yoga and reading.
My next goal is to focus on food, to incorporate better eating as simply as the other two self-care routines have developed. I think the difference in my life right now, compared to other times when I’ve tried to focus on my health, is that now I am letting it happen organically. It is not a forced routine, it is not dreaded or doing something that I ‘think’ I should do. I am just simply doing what feels right; listening to and nurturing my body and soul.
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It is not a forced routine, it is not dreaded or doing something that I ‘think’ I should do. I am just simply doing what feels right; listening to and nurturing my body and soul. |
There's some powerful stuff in there! You are caring for your physical self and your spirit. Building your routine slowly sounds like it's working to create a realistic routine for yourself.
I hear some self doubt in there with the yoga challenge, and I think a lot of women have that tendency to assume that they'll fail something almost before they even give themselves a chance. It's inspiring to hear your perseverance in showing up every day and defying that doubt.
What's been the most fulfilling part of the journey?
The most fulfilling part of the journey is the ease of it all. In the past, I jumped around a lot between this diet/workout plan to that diet/workout plan. Each time I felt so excited for the new adventure. But in comparison, this time, I just created the routine naturally. I focused on what felt right and what didn’t; I changed little aspects of my routine to freshen it up or make it flow even more smoothly. For example, I’ve always laid my yoga mat out the night before but recently I switched where I place it in order to get a different feeling and environment.
It sounds like you're really tapping into your intuition and checking in with yourself regularly. So often we look to outside forces to tell us how we should be feeling or what we should be doing. Your trust in your own intuition sounds like it's creating a sustainable and meaningful routine for you.
Has anything surprised you about your journey so far?
The most surprising thing I’ve discovered in this journey is a balance between giving myself grace and gently pushing when needed. This routine may be great for me but that doesn’t always mean I want to do it. However, if I don’t wash my face at night or if I don’t nourish my body the way I expect myself to, I just remind myself that I am human; that I also need spontaneity; not everything has to be structured. On the flip side of that, I also push myself by remembering why I do this routine, how I will feel if I don’t do it versus how I will feel if I just take a few minutes to take care of myself.
Self compassion is a phenomenal thing for you to have discovered. So many times we beat ourselves up for missing a part of our program or routine, and that can lead to giving up completely. Having compassion for yourself in those moments and realizing it's ok is something we can all work on. And I love that the flip side of that is that gentle push of reminding yourself why you're doing these activities and how important they are.
Do you have any advice for other women who are looking to focus on self care?
My advice to other women in regard to self-care is to not be afraid to change it up if something doesn’t quite fit or feel right. Adjust until you find that organic chemistry of loving yourself through simple self-care gestures. Self-care isn’t a one size fits all, it is specific to you and you must find it for yourself.
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Were you inspired by Britta's story? Comment below or comment on the Instagram post for this story!
I want to feature YOUR self care journey! If you'd like to tell your self care story, please email me at brightdaybathandbody@gmail.com.
Have a Bright Day, sunshines!
- Alexis