Self-Care in the New Year – Part I
I don’t know why, but I really don’t like making New Year’s resolutions. However, I do strive for self-improvement and growth all year long. One of my main focal points over the last year has been improving self-care, and I carry this into 2019 as well. I have found a new at-home practice to be very beneficial and have creating a new consistency with it that I have never had before. I’m really enjoying Yoga with Adriene, a free service provided by Adriene Mishler on YouTube. I am currently on day 7 of her most recent 30-day yoga journey (not “challenge,” she doesn’t agree with that particular word, and I agree with her), which can be added onto the last 30-day journey she provided for 2018 that I completed on January 1st this new year. So, technically I’m on day 37 and will keep going beyond day 60; at least that’s my plan.
This yoga practice has helped me realize how fast I tend to be and my “need” to be one step ahead. I struggle to stay present, in the moment, from movement to movement, but obviously this can be translated to off the mat as well. I am often going fast (mentally and physically) and want to be a step ahead in many aspects of my life. I am working on slowing down and letting myself feel slow and even behind at times rather than a step ahead. I wonder what you might learn or realize about yourself from a regular practice of movement and yoga?
There are a lot of ways to care for oneself in the New Year and many reasons why you might want to make this a priority for yourself. Add a comment below with your self-care rituals or methods or struggles you’ve had with self-care. I will be adding more in series of blogs about self-care for the month of January. More to come…
Kimberly Atwood is a licensed psychotherapist and certified sex therapist working in private practice in Princeton, NJ. She also provides online therapy with clients living in Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. She specializes in sexual health, intimacy and relationship issues. For more information, please check out her website.