5 New Year's Self Care Techniques by Cynthia Land, LMT, RYT

At the beginning of every year many of us make obligatory resolutions, often abandoned within days of making them.  Today I offer you a set of somewhat yoga related self care items you can easily drop into your existing wake-up routine. They will help you feel refreshed and ready to face the day.  For the most part, they're easy to do and don't require you to purchase a lot of expensive equipment such as you might need with exercise regimes.  Give them a try. What do you have to lose but the parts of you you didn't want anyhow?  

• Lemon Water

By the time you get to my age, there's a chance you're already drinking water with your handful of supplements and/or medications.  Warm lemon water jump starts your digestive system by moving the sludge of the previous night out of your digestive tract and infusing you with a big hit of vitamin C.  The writer in this link doesn't mention it, but I have personally found that a big cup of warm water in the morning gives peristalsis a kick and might just help you run a little smoother if you know what I mean. 

• Skin Brushing 

This is one of those techniques that sounds uncomfortable but is really quite nice.  One of the first times I experienced skin brushing was at a waterfront hydrotherapy spa near Seattle.   The practitioner gently brushed my skin with a boar bristle brush and prepared me for a deep cleanse of my pores in a sauna.  It was amazing!  I now do this for myself and I love the way it makes my skin come alive. Remember, your skin is your body's biggest organ. I also know I'm helping slough off heaps of dead skin.  Yay!  Skin brushing isn't for everyone.  If you have eczema, psoriasis or just sensitive skin, you might not benefit from this technique.  

Banyan Botanicals image

• Abhyanga (self massage)

Skin brushing is often followed by a shower, but I recommend abhyanga or self massage.  If you think your skin feels soft after the skin brushing, get on your warm massage oil, hop in a warm/hot shower to open up those skin pores and then see how soft your skin is!  I was using heaps of body butter to just barely not feel as though my skin wasn't going to break off from dryness.  When I do these two techniques together my skin is happy, happy, happy.  The video above also notes that you can get oils mixed for your dosha.  I just use sesame oil but am thinking I might add a drop or two of rosemary or verbena to soothe my doshas.  

• Five minutes of pranayama 

https://www.givinghandsreiki.com

I suspect this will be the hardest one for folks to add, next to the last one but it really sets the tone for your day.  Pranayama is the breathing exercise that determines the setting on your energy.  If you need more energy, pranayama. If you need calmer energy, pranayama. If you need more uplifting energy, pranayama.  Just five minutes a day can really make a difference as you head into meditation and into your day. Don't take my word for it, try it for yourself.  There are many different kinds of breathing exercises, be sure to check with your teacher to find the one that is right for you.  

• Meditation

Ah yes, if you are a yogi, all roads lead to meditation.  If you really want to be calmer and have more serenity this year meditation must be included somewhere.  I was reminded recently that meditation doesn't always mean sitting with your eyes closed.  Some people meditate while walking (Thich Naht Hahn), some even come to a place of peace by jogging or swimming.  However you get there, eke out a space in your daily life to soak in it. 

image from pinterest

Some would include neti pot in this list and that would be excellent.  Personally, I do nasal cleansing at the end of the day. Give one or all of these recommendations a try for 30 days and see what you notice.  And remember that meditation can start at five minutes and work up to something longer.  The important part is regularity.  The only way you'll notice a change is if you do these things regularly.  Let me know what you find!

Start All Over Again ~ by Linda Boulanger

The beginning of a new year is always a great time to start fresh. We come out of a festive season, sometimes after time off from work, put up the decorations, and dive in. But it’s also a great time to remind us that even if we’ve fallen short of our goals (whether self-imposed or mandated by others), we can do as the old song says and pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again. No matter how many times you fall, you don’t have to change that first “I” to an “i” until you quit trying.

As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be an author: way before I knew anything about cover design and formatting, before Amazon and others opened the doors to individuals instead of just the big publishing houses... Even back when I thought you just sat down and wrote out a story and your book was done. I’ve always had stories in my head that I wanted to share with the world.


But it’s hard! It’s work! It takes dedication and self-discipline… two things that are often hard to come by when it concerns going after our dreams. And sometimes even when we set goals for ourselves, we find, like I did, that just three days into a new year, we’ve already messed up and missed our goal.

I set a lofty goal for myself. It isn’t a lot according to what many authors write, but I wanted something doable for me. I wanted to make sure I committed 1,000 words to the page each day for five days a week. Day 1 was picture perfect. I set up my book just like I like them, and started writing. Day 2 ended with just over 2,000 words total, which meant I had exceeded my goal for those two days. Yay! Then Day 3 hit and at 9 p.m. I realized I hadn't even opened my story.

For a moment, I started to doubt myself and my abilities to truly make 2019 the year that I published the books I'd set as my goal. I started to wonder whether my goals were too lofty… and that’s where I stopped myself. I told myself that not only am I the author of written words, but I am also the author of my own story. By not quitting, I don’t fail.

I think that is something we need to remember--no matter what we’re doing or what dreams we’re pursuing, as long as we don’t quit, we have the power.

Today, I have plans. I have cover designs to complete, I plan to take my four kids to the local ice-skating rink before it closes for the season, and I am going to write. One thousand words. Maybe more, if I can. And if I fall short? Tomorrow is a new day. I pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again.

So, what are your plans? What goals have you set for this new year? Whatever they are, I encourage you to remember that dreams don’t have an expiration date. Even if you fall short one day, there’s always the next. Take a deep breath, spread your wings, and try again. Don’t let anyone stand in your way… even yourself.