This is the last post of the month where we've been exploring the topic of self-care. My intention has been to have us improve our relationship with taking good care of ourselves. This is obviously a continuous learning. But occasionally bringing a sharper focus to it will undoubtedly foster feeling ease in our lives. I believe that improving this sense of ease is as important as building up our muscles, cultivating flexibility or exercising our brains.

Here is a lovely guest post from my friend and colleague, Julie Spicer. She teaches at Wallabi Yoga and has been on a journey of self-care improvement over the last months.

A little while ago I asked myself, other than my yoga practice, what is that I do to make time for myself, to treat myself. Not much, I thought.

I've tended to put other things first, like housework, washing, gardening, caring for others. I'm usually thinking, I'll do those things and then I will have time for me.

In May, I participated in a program called Mindful in May, which I highly recommend. Each day I received a meditation and some wonderful talks on mindfulness, meditation and the nature of the mind.

It was in one of the guided meditations that I experienced feeling ease in my body and mind, and appreciated how good it felt! I knew then that I wanted more of this feeling in my life.

It may have been easy to say this, but not so easy to remember to take the time to feel at ease. Life has a way of getting in the way.

Eve's blog posts this month on the topic of self-care steered me towards re-committing to taking better care of myself. So this month I have done the following:

Treated myself to several massages, something I rarely do.

Practised Yoga Nidra, a guided meditation, sometimes twice a day!

Walked on the beach, remembering to use my senses to feel my body and really notice my surroundings. (I'm so fortunate I can walk to the beach from my home.)

Joined the local volunteer coast care group, just because I love gardening and being out-of-doors.

Making time to meet up with family and friends, and not letting housework get in the way.

Going to Eve's yoga classes (aren't I lucky?).

My hope is that you use this post as prompt to find the feeling of ease for yourself. I think we could all do with a little more of it in our lives....

Because it's not always a simple thing to get that feeling of ease, I have another tool. It's something I come back to when I'm in difficult times. This saying comes via a dear friend who has it from Reinhold Niebuhr. You may know it as the Serenity Prayer.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the course to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

These words bring me home every time.