Have you ever had a young child run across a room to hug you? Or maybe gifted a dandelion bouquet? Possibly you’ve received an extra wet kiss from a baby, or a half-eaten cookie as a gesture of sharing. And you have likely experienced a moment when a child just wanted your undivided attention. Sometimes these experiences are endearing. Sometimes they make you giggle internally and sometimes your very exhausted self is a little worn out by the behavior. But each of those behaviors is that child's way of loving you. Remember that each child is just a small adult. They create their communication styles early. The child who offers you a dandelion bouquet communicates their love through the language of gifts. The child who offers you wet kisses is communicating through physical touch and the one asking for your undivided attention is asking for quality time. 

This concept is likely over the head of these children, but you will grasp it easily. To recap the five love...

I am a nurse and a Women’s Wellness Coach. 

When I tell people that I usually get one of three replies. 

1. What’s a coach? 
2. Why do I need one? 
3. And my favorite… “Do you have your own life together?” 

It seems that the term coach is being used for anything and everything these days. For many years we have recognized coaches for sports of all kinds, and even voice and speech coaches. It is in more recent years that coaches for every other aspect of life have started to emerge in droves. Nutrition, finances, mindset, meditation, lifting, running, you name it, they’re hireable. Other terms used for these people have been guide, mentor, and advisor. A rose by any other name… right? In this instance, coach, guide, mentor, advisor, etc, are basically the same. To coach, by definition is to train or instruct. As a Women’s Wellness Coach, I help coach you to find wellness, in your mind, body, and soul....

There I was, working with a client in a routine wellness session and I was hit with one of those phrases that make me stop in my tracks and write it down. Why? Because it is so simple, yet at that moment feels so profound. I mean I teach these concepts to my clients every day. We are always working on some variety of self-care, self-discovery, setting boundaries, and healing from our past. I have been doing this for over 8 years, and every now and then, a phrase will hit me like a ton of bricks. This session was one of those times.

See, when we allow our boundaries to be ignored, when we put ourselves last, when we take care of everyone and everything else without also taking care of ourselves, we end up unwell. For some, that looks like burnout. For some, that manifests physically. Sometimes, it's chronic fatigue, a short temper, or turning to food, alcohol, or other substances to get through the day. That will due in the short term, but eventually, it causes distress that must be...

Last week we talked about delegation and how empowering others can help them develop just as much as it can help you relax. Win,  win,  right?! 

But what happens when the frustrations you have are from situations you have little control over? A client of mine recently said,  "I just wish people would be nice to each other!" Neither one of us has any control over how others behave,  but their behavior impacts us just the same.  

Hearing about murders, abuse, assault, death, hate crime, etc can sure put a damper on your day. I watch the news very sparingly for this reason. As an empath, it's hard to hear all the heavy, heartbreaking stories without doing a lot of work to keep my light shining bright. But that same heartbreak is sometimes in our own homes, our workplaces, or communities. You can just turn off the news but you can't avoid life. So what do you do? 

First,  you change your mindset. It is so easy to think...

Often we look into self-care when feeling exhausted, burnt out, and overwhelmed. But, what if you looked at it from prevention than from recovery? I’ve always been a supporter of routine maintenance over crisis management. In a perfect world, we would make time for self-care every day. If you’re looking for some quick strategies to support your self-care I have a good list of them HERE. There is one thing that isn’t on that list though. A variety of self-care that often is overlooked. 

Awareness. 

In particular, being aware of your own limits. Knowing your limits in all facets of life is vital for keeping you grounded, organized, and free from burnout. Let’s use this example from my high school days. My nephew was in the class below me and we were both involved in many of the same activities, track being one of them. He was a distance runner. I was a jumper. So when he wanted to “go for a run” his idea was 8+miles at a...

Self-care, self-love, me-time. These phrases are ones we hear often. But do you have any idea what that even means? Do you hear yourself saying, “must be nice” when someone talks about taking some time for themselves? We’ve all been there. Some days it feels like there just isn’t any time for you. Some days it feels too expensive, wasteful, or even selfish. But every day, it is necessary.  

As a society, we always find the money, the time, the space, and the energy, to make things happen that we really want and need. The most heartbreaking example of this is when a loved one is ill. In your day-to-day life, you don’t have the time or money to visit. But when that person becomes ill, you make the time. You find the money. You find the way and get there. Immediately, this becomes a priority, and we always figure out the way for our priorities. I challenge you to prioritize your health and well-being this month. Sure, life is crazy and busy...

Much of what I work on with my clients is based on stress relief. Whether that's stress from a current situation, stress from past events, or stress caused by our current lifestyle,  it all boils down to a lack of peace in the body, mind, and soul.  

We hear so much these days about self-care,  work-life balance, and wellness it's easy to forget that each of these is more than just buzz words.  

A stress response from the body can be a good thing. This is your fight or flight response. This is the mechanism in the body that helps you to fight a virus, shiver when you're cold, and run from the saber tooth tiger to save your life. We certainly want those things to keep happening. The difference between these scenarios and the kind of stress most of us endure is that each of those scenarios is short-lived. Here and gone in a matter of weeks. Your work stress likely isn't that way.

That is where we run into problems and why there is so...

According to an article posted in Forbes in 2021, at least 52% of the working population is feeling the strain of burnout. Yikes! That means if you’re not feeling it, the person sitting next to you likely is. The worst part is they might not even be aware of it. You can’t fix it if you don’t even realize that it’s happening. 

So often I hear clients tell me all the ways they are struggling in their day-to-day and then follow that up with something like, “but this is ‘adulting,’ right?” As in, I shouldn’t complain because this is just what being an adult is. They always told us being a grown-up was no fun. 

Here’s the reality. While being an adult does come with its own set of responsibilities and stressors that our children know nothing about, it doesn’t have to feel this heavy and exhausting! Some days are hard, yes. Some situations require a lot from you, yes. But if every day feels like a...

Did you ever get lost as a kid? Maybe got distracted in the grocery store when mom made it to the next aisle without you? Do you remember that immediate feeling of unease and maybe even panic? It was so hard to think clearly because you were LOST! It was a gut-wrenching feeling, wasn't it? 

Now, let me ask you this… have you ever thought to yourself, “I just don’t even know who I am anymore.”? While you may know and trust that you will survive this season of life, that feeling of “lost” still brings up some unease in your psyche. Consider the idea that a part of you feeling off is that you have lost yourself. Lost in the hustle, lost in your kids, your job, and your household obligations. 

A little real talk… when was the last time you did something that was just to fill your own cup? Not something to “deal with the day” or to “get away from it all” but something that genuinely made you...

Have you ever heard the expression, “she walked in like she owned the place”? Descriptions like this are referring the way someone carries themselves. Either with confidence or on the flip side, timid and shy. Either way, you can see the difference in mere seconds of being around someone. The way you carry your happiness and your stress affects every part of you and how you show up. 

Every situation and emotion we experience is carried in a specific place or way in the body. For example, tension is usually carried in our neck and shoulders, and that leads to tension headaches. Stress, carried in our gut,  leads to ulcers. Both of these are fairly well known. But did you know that the way you carry the stress of your obligations or your to-do list, can cause pelvic pain? 

As busy women, we all have to-do lists and they never quite seem to be complete. That is a stressor all in itself, but not the one that I want to explore today. March is...