The Intuitive Path Blog

Today's Intuitive Self-Care Tip: Every Body Deserves a Massage

I am just going to assume that all of you have enjoyed a professional massage before, and if you haven't, you are overdue! I find massages extremely relaxing and rejuvenating at the same time. They can be a great piece of your regular self-care routine. If you think that you don't have the resources for it, let me convince you otherwise with just some of the benefits of massage therapy (Source: http://www.massagetherapy.com/learnmore/benefits.php):

• Decreased anxiety.
• Enhanced sleep quality.
• Greater energy.
• Improved concentration.
• Increased circulation.
• Reduced fatigue.

I find that particularly as a solo business owner I can use all the self-care I can get :-). If our body is not in great shape, how are we supposed be present with our clients and produce great results in our businesses? This certainly counts for everybody but in particular for us because we are the greatest asset of our business.

If money still comes up as an objective, than let me share some tips for self-care on a shoestring:

1. Barter your services with a massage therapist (just make sure you find a mutually beneficial agreement)
2. See people in training at massage schools so it will cost less
3. Get a half hour instead of an hour - less is better than nothing!

Don't wait, make an appointment for this week, and enjoy!

Today's Intuitive Self-Care Tip: Recharge through Nature

It's a beautiful morning here in Connecticut, and my walk in the park inspired today's intuitive self-care tip: to recharge your batteries and restore your energies through nature's healing powers. I know, some of you will say: That's wonderful but I am so busy today, so much on my plate, and I would love to take a walk in the park but there is no way I have time for this. Well, hear me out - even if it's 5 minutes that you take to go outside, it will do something good for you. If you can stretch it to more than that, even better!

So, take as much time as you can "sacrifice", ideally 20 minutes, and go to a local park or another green place like your backyard, and take in nature to the fullest. Let all your senses enjoy this time of rest you allow yourself:

• Breathe in the fresh air until your nostrils burn ;-)
• Feel the sun on your skin and the breeze around you - and if it rains, enjoy that, too
• Take in the beautiful sounds of nature - the birds, the wind in the trees...
• Admire the green of the trees, their majesty and calming presence
• Sense the environment how it affects you positively

Again, you can do this in 5 minutes, too. Taking care of ourselves is a matter of giving attention to what relaxes and energizes us, and then start incorporating it into your daily busy life. The more you do it, the more you will find the time because you'll see how much it benefits you in all aspects of your life.

ENJOY!

Ladies, Let's Change This Pattern!

… and you will ask, what is she talking about?

I am inspired to write about a pattern that I see in a lot of women including myself. This comes out of a conversation I had earlier today with one of my dearest friends in Germany. She told me about an incident with a guy that told her something very hurtful, and she actually accepted his harshness until she had a physical reaction a few days later. This made me think about a pattern that a lot of us have where we willingly take in any criticism from others because we want to make sure that we are loved and accepted. So, we accommodate whatever they are looking for in order to get what we want. But do we truly get it this way? Is there ever a way to receive self-worth and self-love from the outside? We need to look at the “self” in the equation!

As open as we are to adjusting and answering other people's expectations, as difficult it is for many of us to accept compliments, gratitude, and other gifts from others. Can we only handle the “bad” stuff? Come on, ladies, let’s change this pattern, finally and for good. Decide consciously if you want to receive the critical word from someone, if there is really a ground for it that makes you want to change for the sake of your own conscience and decision. Determine just the same if you want to receive a gift or a compliment based on your own terms. Does it come from the heart? Was it really meant in all honesty? And even if not, maybe you still want to say yes to it at times. Let’s enjoy the good stuff, give it some more weight over the “bad” stuff because most of the time we are already so critical of ourselves as it is. Isn’t this true?

Be gentle, be loving, be true, and you can give all the love and worth you need to yourself and more to others as well!

Thank you for reading and please share your insights,

Anja