Inspired Living through Informed Choice!
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In This Edition
As women we love to talk and share ideas with one another, especially our girlfriends. Ask any woman and she will tell you there’s something special about her friendships with other women. Girlfriends are there to listen, to console and to encourage. They inspire us to keep on keeping on or help us to look at things in a new way.
In honor of the power of Girlfriends, The Bay Area Women’s Journal is pleased to bring you this feature The Grace of Girlfriends. In each edition, we ask Bay Area women to share their thoughts and wisdom with you on topics that are...well...girlfriend talk. So grab a cup of coffee!
One of the greatest challenges women face is learning how to nurture ourselves. The tendency, of course, is to put ourselves last on the list...taking care of everyone and everything else before tending to our own emotional, physical, or spiritual needs. Yet, ironically, when we put ourselves last on the list, we are often stressed out, depleted of energy, and unable to give to family members, our jobs or our life the full attention needed!
As we head into the new year, the staff of the BAWJ feels it’s important to include “Self-Nurturing” on our to do list for 2008. To help inspire us, we asked the following Bay Area Women
| "How do you make time for self-nurturing and what are your favorite ways to take care of yourself?" |
Erica M Nelson
The funny thing is that while I personally know nurturing oneself is wildly important (and I even wrote a book about getting into a positive mindset and how this will help you get stronger results), in my life, taking time for Erica is a challenge. The three kids are perpetually mommy-hungry, my future books want my energy, housework stretches on endlessly, and my husband would like more time. To take care of my spirit, I meditate and listen to guided meditations. I love riding my horse. I curl up with a book in front of the fireplace. In the wild landscape of my life, if I cannot spend the time for a nice pedicure, I stop and look outside and consider the beauty in the sky. To the degree I take that time for me, my life runs smoothly and with more joy. Erica M Nelson, author of “Prospect When You Are Happy: Move the Law of Attraction into Action” ($13.95, ISBN 978-1-932279-81-8 at Amazon.com and EricaMNelson.com) is a success coach. |
Jodi Perelman
Another good way is to set aside time for nurturing activities (or non-activities!). It’s really helpful to make an appointment with myself for things like rest, making art, meditation, yoga, seeing good friends, connecting with my partner and doing absolutely nothing. It can be hard to slow down in the midst of so much busyness, and sometimes I feel a lot of resistance to it. But when I actively make self-care and self-nurturing my priority, I feel good inside and am more effective in my other activities. Jodi Perelman, M.A., is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco. She welcomes women who wish to work on relationship issues and build on their innate capacity for health and healing. She also works with couples and families. |
Nikki Anderson
Nikki Anderson is a lifestyle strategist and business coach. She works with individuals, teams and business partners, helping them to create successful work/life balance strategies. |
Nurturing yourself is a mindset, a way of being that honors you. So often we slip into the role of leaving our own list of nurturing activities to last place. 
One of the ways I take care of myself is to surround myself with people who also believe in the power of self-nurturing and self-care. These friends support me in making good choices and look out for me when I overextend myself.
I make time for self-nurturing by choosing me over other things I could be doing. I have realized over the years that if I don’t put myself as a priority then ultimately not only do I suffer but so does everything else in my life. My favorite ways to take care of myself each day are taking quiet time in the mornings, sitting down for three balanced meals every day, and taking as many naps as I can squeeze in on a given week. | Copyright © 2008 Bay Area Women's Journal | Top of Page | Website Design by Janssen & Associates |
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