The Importance of Self Care

 

What do you do to look after yourself, to refuel yourself, to implement self care? Do you exercise, meditate, journal, go for a walk outside every day, read, get your nails done?

 

What My Self Care Looks Like

As a mom, I find that I have to make such a concerted effort to ensure that I am doing things to take care of myself. When I am taking care of myself, I find that I am a much better mom. The tricky thing is in the midst of juggling work, cleaning, groceries, making dinner, getting kids to and from school and extracurricular activities, quality family time, volunteering at the school etc. – this can be the “thing” that gets put on the back burner and moves down the priority list. Self care for me includes exercising 5 mornings a week (before the kids get up!), a monthly massage where our massage therapist comes to our house (it costs the same as going to see him in a clinic and I get to put on my PJs after!), and taking time to deal with my aches and pains. The latter is where my amazing younger brother and physiotherapist extraordinaire comes in.

 

Physiotherapy

It had been my brother’s dream for the longest time to open his own clinic and… HE DID IT along with another physiotherapist and business partner. The first time I went to get treated by my brother at his clinic, Movement Sports Clinic  was after I had broken my foot and I was finally out of my walking cast. (Long story short I had broken it while working out in our basement early one morning – not my finest moment.) When I was sitting in the waiting room, I full-on teared up. This was not because of the pain in my foot but rather the pride in my heart. Here I was sitting in my brother’s physiotherapy clinic. He’d had a dream and he had made it happen.

He really is an amazing physiotherapist and I’m not just saying this because he is my brother. He has been the head physiotherapist at the 2009 Briar (Canadian men’s curling championship), the head physiotherapist for the 2010 Olympic curling trials, and the physiotherapist for the Canadian National Bobsled and Skeleton teams at the Sochi (2014) and Pyeongchang (2018) Winter Olympics. He treats high-performance athletes in a number of other sports including NHL hockey players – which our kids think is particularly fantastic. He also treats regular, everyday folk including all members of his immediate and extended family and a number of friends in our community that I send his way.

 

Self Care is a Worthwhile Investment

At my appointment yesterday, we had a great chat about the importance of self-care. I had booked this particular appointment to treat either my knee or neck whichever was hurting more that day! We talked about our vehicles and how we put so much money and time into taking care and maintaining them and how they are replaceable. Our bodies, on the other hand, are not replaceable and we should be giving them more time, care, and attention so that we can feel and be the best that we can be.

I am pretty sure that my brother takes some joy in the expletives I say and the facial grimaces that I make during my appointments (I wasn’t THAT terrible of an older sister!). Despite the “uncomfortable” moments, paying to hang out with Tys, or rather be treated by him, has proved to be an important part of my self-care that I make time for.

 

What do you do for self-care? How do you fit it into your juggle? I’d love to hear from you. 

It’s easier to navigate the part-time jungle when your knee isn’t cracking and when your neck isn’t stiff and sore.

Tiana

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