Steps I’ve Taken To Enhance My Well-Being
In this post, I’ll begin to share some of the holistic and alternative approaches I’ve taken to enhance my well-being. As with all good stories, this one starts with the ‘once upon a time’ part.
By my mid-forties, I was a walking example of the physical responses to too much stress: physical tension in my back and shoulders, emotional eating with accompanying weight gain, and anxiety about a constant need to prove myself.
I had allowed myself to get caught up in a game of competition and trying to demonstrate my value in the workplace. At the time, I was unaware of how my body was under constant fight-or-flight stress and cortisol overload. All I knew was that work had ceased being any fun at all.
A turning point came when a woman who was part of the leadership team asked me if I was enjoying the work. She recommended a transformational leadership and communication seminar that she’d just taken, pointing out how more in charge of her life she felt. It sounded like the goal for me, so I enrolled in the course.
As a result, I not only felt more empowered at work, I discovered the wide arena of complementary and alternative healing. And what a blessing it was that such methods and approaches came to my awareness.
Once I began to increase my self-care and to re-balance my own female and male energies, I also moved on to working environments that were more compatible (more on this in future posts.)
For me, acute physical stress of the body, like the kind I was experiencing, responds well to holistic alternative healing solutions like massage, which has become a foundation piece to my well-being. I highly recommend having support in relieving physical tension, whether it be through massage, exercise like walks in beautiful natural settings, hot water soaks, or a combination of these approaches.
For emotional stress, the Bach Flower Rescue Remedy, or a lavender essential oil, work well. Both are good aids to relaxing the nervous system and they’re available at most health food stores. There are still times when I reach for the flower essences.
Meditation has been another key part of my journey to well-being, for the physical relaxation it brings my body and for the enhanced awareness.
As I develop this blog, I’ll be sharing more about essential oils, flower essences, meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, prayer, journaling, biofeedback, and other self-care techniques that have helped me enjoy well-being.