In a culture where self-care is often considered selfish and there is always, theoretically, someone else to blame, I choose to empower myself and others by promoting, supporting, and modeling both Self-care and Self-responsibility.
What does this look like? It can be as simple as excusing myself to use the restroom during a session, or expecting people to drink water, snack, stand or use the restroom as needed during a class.
In my experience, the only way we can bring our best to the world is if we are practicing pristine self-care. Like when the flight attendant instructs us: “in the case of an emergency, place the oxygen mask on yourself first.”
Have you ever noticed how the quality of our decisions tends to drop when we aren’t taking care of ourselves? In Al-Anon, the acronym H.A.L.T. is used to remind us to stop and tend to ourselves to prevent decisions or reactions we may regret, especially when we are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. Makes sense, doesn’t it?