Life is busy; we all can relate to busyness. In the midst of our busy lives, self-care is often overlooked and sometimes even viewed as selfish. Colleen Harshbarger, a health and wellness coach at The Mindbody Center, is an expert in guiding busy people to a place of healthy self-care.
In her recent blog, found on her Wellbeing Solutions website, she writes:
“The key steps to begin the practice of self-care are awareness, intention and action. It’s helpful to think of these as a continual feedback loop.
First, awareness is raised, then we set an intention to address it, then we act on one thing. Once we’ve successfully integrated that action into our lives, we notice other things calling our attention and repeat the steps.
The practice of self-care is a continual process on the journey to flourishing and thriving.”
Awareness. Intention. Action.
Three simple steps for self care.
Awareness. How do you raise your awareness about your self-care? Colleen advises: “Listen and let your heart, your inner knowing, guide you to one area calling your attention right now. Trust what you hear. It might be a call for more sleep, more connection, creative time, movement, healthier food, time spent journaling, meditation or solo time, feeding your senses with time in nature, a relaxing bath or music. Try to accept the answer without judging it.”
Intention. This step is all about not letting your newly realized self-care needs and desires get lost in the busyness of your life. Colleen suggests writing down your intention and sharing it with someone–creating accountability.
Action. Take a small step. Make one small change towards your positive wellbeing. Colleen encourages us to “consider a Kaizen step, a step on the path to continual improvement.”
For example, if your sleep schedule is erratic, your intention might be to get more sleep. An example of a Kaizen step towards a better sleep pattern could be “I will set my alarm clock for the same time every morning for the next two weeks”
Give it a shot. This week, we challenge you to set aside some time to be aware of what your body needs. Next, set an intention and take a Kaizen step.
For more information, we recommend reading Colleen Harshbarger’s full post titled, Simple Steps to Self Care posted on the Wellbeing Solutions blog.
Personally learn more about self-care during Colleen’s Thrive to Health course at The Mindbody Center.
Thrive to Health is an 8-week group workshop focusing on improving your health, quieting your mind, and creating a life of balance, happiness and optimal wellbeing. The course content is informed by established research developments in biology, neurology, and psychology that clearly demonstrate the mind-body connection, and prove that our total wellbeing must incorporate all dimensions of our lives. During this course, Colleen invites you to come to a deeper understanding of yourself, to gain more clarity about your current motivation and to learn techniques to harness energy and create your optimal balance and wellbeing.
Individual therapy is offered as an option with the program and all participants complete an intake evaluation prior to registration. This course is often insurance reimbursable. Receiving individual counseling services at Natural Resilience is not a prerequisite or requirement of participation.
Thrive to Health is offered on Monday evenings from 4:30 to 6:00 at The Mindbody Center. The next workshop starts on April 10th and runs through May 29th, 2017. The fee for this class includes one-year access to the Wellness Inventory, an online wellbeing management platform.
To register for the Thrive to Health series, please call Natalie at The Mindbody Center 304-241-5100.
The Mindbody Center offers services to clients of Natural Resilience and Resilient Kids, as well as to the community. Services include meditation, yoga and other movement therapies, support groups, psychoeducational experiences related to nutrition, art therapy experiences and more.
The Mindbody Center • www.mindbodywv.com 2000 Coombs Farm Road, Building B, Suite 106 • Morgantown, WV 26508 • Phone: 304-241-5100
Wellbeing Solutions is a recent startup established in to help individuals and organizations optimize wellbeing. Harshbarger’s brand offers wellbeing coaching and education in the community as well as she actively teaches yoga and wellbeing programs at West Virginia University and community classes at BlissBlissBliss and Natural Resilience.
For more information on Wellbeing Solutions, email Colleen Harshbarger at colleen@wellbeingwv.com