Self Care, continued

Two weeks ago, I felt completely ungrounded — after 9 weeks of travel for my work with Riding On Insulin and some personal adventures mixed in, I was walking around like a zombie, never really getting work done, but thinking I was trying my best.

Turns out, routine is a beautiful thing!

As I told you in my last email, I scheduled an Ayurvedic consultation with Nancy (who also teaches for us!). She gave me some simple steps to help ground my energy, despite being on-the-go. I should note, these are age-old Ayurvedic traditions, so they weren't invented just to help me. And I've been wanting to integrate my essential oils more into my home routine, so this was the perfect excuse.

1. Oil massage. I laughed at this one when Nancy mentioned it. How in the world would I find time to give myself an oil massage? Let alone every day. We shared some laughter, and Nancy advised that I just start with my feet and some grounding oil in the morning, and in the evening. It couldn't be so hard, right? Simple foot massage, with a little doTERRA Balance blend in the morning, and Serenity blend in the evening. I'll tell you this: I now look forward to that 10 minutes I spend on myself in the morning, and again at night. Never did I ever think I'd say that — but I do! It's a special time that I devote to myself.
2. Lemon water. I love this one. The instruction was simply to drink warm water with lemon throughout the day, and especially before my coffee in the morning. Nancy calls it, "Lighting the digestive fire." And so right after I stoke the wood stove in our yurt each morning, I stoke my "digestive fire" with warm lemon water. When I don't have a lemon around, I just use a few drops of my doTERRA lemon oil in warm water. (Note: all essential oils are not approved for ingestion — but doTERRA does have a few, Lemon included)
3. Meditation. Still working on this one... but aren't we all? I try to not be so hard on myself, but rather focusing my breath and attention inward whenever possible. When I have a spare five minutes, I'll sit in my favorite chair, close my eyes and just breathe. I also find that the oil massage time is a meditative time, too.
4. Mindful Eating. Simply sitting with my food when it's time to eat and not doing anything else aside from eating that food. No computer, no phone call. Just me and the plate of food, with the mission to leave my meal (especially a big, fulfilling lunch!) completely satisfied.
5. Yoga, often! Well this one was easy. We are so fortunate to have so many amazing yoga instructors in our community. Tomorrow, I'm trying out our newest class, PiYo — with Certified Personal Trainer, Aly Toth! Join me at 7am at the Hive for a fast-paced, full-body workout that will leave you sweating and satisfied! 

Simple as that! I've got a few weeks under my belt with all this, but I'd love to know what self-care routines you implement at home... please share! 

Namaste,
Mollie