|
Advertising
Articles
Contact Us
Classifieds
Rotation Classifieds
Recourses
Birthday Gifts
Books
Banners
Balloon
Gifts
Candles
Clothing
Crafts
Coffees & Teas
Dolls
Flowers
Gifts
Gift
Baskets
Graphics
Health
Jewelry
New
Baby Gifts and Baskets
New
Home Gifts
Season
Items
Snacks
Quilting
Scrap
Booking
Spa Soaps &
Lotions
Pets
Wines
Work From
Home
Wood
Crafts
Free Plug Board
Top
Site
Link
Exchange
Recipes
|
Welcome To Our
Work at Home Divas
OnLine
Putting Yourself First -
Living For Health and Wellness
Pride is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and modesty, a virtue. So is it
any wonder that moms, work at home moms, and women in general have a
hard times taking care of themselves first and setting aside time each
day to improve mind, body and spirit?
As a mother, it is especially hard to find time in our hectic lives to
pamper ourselves and to de-stress. However it is of the utmost
importance that we do so, so that our mind can center itself, the body
can relax and the spirit can be renewed. And although we sometimes get
so busy that we forget to do these things, I would encourage you to
somehow remind yourself to take this daily time to yourself, whether by
using post-it notes, an alarm, a note on the calendar or even a computer
reminder!
When you take time for yourself, it doesn't have to take a long time
(although, the longer you can afford to relax, the better!), because it
is the quality of time that counts, not the length of time. Start with
taking just 15 to 30 minutes every day to let yourself unwind and relax.
This can be really early in the morning before the children wake up,
during a lunch break, right before bed, or any other time that fits your
schedule.
Here are some ideas that you can use to get started with your daily time
to help yourself de-stress. Please feel free to modify these ideas in
any way to fit your lifestyle or personality!
Meditation - Meditating has a reputation for sounding much harder to do
than it really is. Take a few moments to either lie down or sit
comfortably and clear your mind of worries, daily stresses, or other
intrusive thoughts. Relax your entire body and try to clear your mind,
focusing only on deep, diaphragmatic breaths. You can meditate for as
long as you would like to.
Take a Warm Bath - Water has it's own peculiar way of taking away
stresses, relaxing the body and helping us to unwind. But when you are
putting yourself first and taking care of yourself, you don't want this
to be a short to-the-point bath. Take time to add scented oil or bubble
bath, fix yourself a cup of hot tea or cocoa, grab a favorite book and
have a luxurious soak!
Prayer - No matter what your religious beliefs, prayer has been shown to
relax the mind and soothe the soul. Take a few moments to pray or simply
be grateful for what you have in your life. This helps you center your
spiritual self as well as to focus on you for a while.
Yoga - Yoga is so much more than twisting yourself into a pretzel. Most
beginner's yoga poses are very easy to do, and help you to focus your
mind, body and spirit all at once!
These are just a few of the ideas you can use when you take time for
yourself. However, putting yourself first doesn't mean simply taking 30
minutes everyday for mom. It also means that your own basic needs must
be met everyday. What are these needs? Abraham Maslow. a humanistic
psychologist developed a hierarchy of basic needs that every human being
has. Let's take a look at these needs and how they relate to you as a
work at home mother.
1. Physiological Needs
These include the very basic needs, that are the most necessary to a
human being. These include: oxygen, food, water, sleep, and a relatively
constant body temperature. If these needs are not fulfilled they can
influence your thoughts and behaviors, cause you to become sick or even
cause pain, discomfort or death.
2. Safety Needs
When a person's physiological needs are met, then the need for safety
will come next - whenever one stage is fulfilled, the next stage
suddenly becomes more important. Safety needs include: physical safety
(from violence, aggression, etc.), a secure home, secure employment,
security of revenues and resources, moral and physiological security,
family security, security of health, and security of personal property
against crime.
3. Love/Social Needs
The third layer of Maslow's hierarchy after physiological needs and
safety needs are those involving your emotionally-based relationships,
including: having healthy friendships, sexual intimacy, and having a
supportive and communicative family. This includes feeling as if you
belong and are accepted, and feeling loved as well as loving others.
4. Esteem Needs
All human beings have the need to feel as if they are respected and to
have self-respect. Therefore the 4th level of needs include:
self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others and respect by
others.
5. Self-Actualization
The fifth and final level of basic needs is self-actualization, which is
the instinctual need of human beings to make the most of their abilities
and strive to be the best that they can be. Self-actualization can best
be described as reaching one's fullest potential. These needs can
include (but are not limited to): morality, creativity, spontaneity,
problem solving, lack of prejudice and acceptance of facts.
With these basic needs in mind, think carefully...what needs of your own
are you meeting? Which are you neglecting? At any given moment, think
about which layer of the hierarchy you are on at the moment. Can you
improve this?
Even though as a mother, you have a responsibility to meet the needs of
your children and family, you also have an obligation to take care of
yourself first. Because, quite simply, you cannot fully take care of
others if you are not making sure your own needs are met first. So each
day, keep in mind what your own needs are, and see that you are taking
care of yourself first so that you can take even better care of your
family and loved ones.
Article Source: http://www.faithfulgrannies.com
About the Author: Stephanie Davies is a WAHM from Mid-Missouri. She
loves to read, write, knit, watch movies, build websites and surf the
internet. Her website at http://www.hostingwahms.com provides website
hosting and other online services to work at home parents. She
recommends Christian Work From Home Moms and Grandparents http://www.faithfulgrannies.com
as a great online source for work at home moms.
Marcia Chumbley is a work at home mom and grandmother in Minnesota. She
is the owner of a Christian Work From Home Moms and Grandparents web
site at http://www.faithfulgrannies.com. Bringing generations of
Christian Work From Home Moms, Grandmothers, Parents, Boomers and
Families together while providing resources, inspiration and affordable
advertising while balancing the work at home experience.
Copyright © Work At Home Divas On
Line. All rights reserved.
|
Featured Sites
|
