September Self-Care Challenge

self-care

One of my two points for today! The other is hidden in my hair. 🙂

For me, and for many of you, September is about restarting. New school year, new season approaching, new energy. It’s my favorite time of year, but it can also be tiring, stretching ourselves after a slower summer.

So I wanted to share my September self-care challenge (which I totally made up). The idea is for this to be quick and easy. I freely admit I’m a perfectionist. Because I’m a healthcare professional, I run across LOTS of great health tips. That can feel overwhelming, and when you pair too much information with perfectionism, it’s easy to get into an all or nothing mindset. I must do a full yoga practice every day! I must meditate for an hour at 5 am! I must eat only organic local greens grown under a full moon! And if I fail at those huge goals, I must quit.

That kind of thinking goes nowhere. So I’m rejecting all or nothing this month, and going for just a little bit instead. For the month of September, I’m going to give myself acupuncture every day. I know, doing anything every day sounds like too much. But the other part of the challenge is “two points.”

So I only have to do two acupuncture points, and that can be in bed if I want. Or I can sit with needles in while I work on the computer. If I’m motivated to do more, great, but two points is enough. (And, if I miss a day, that’s cool. I keep going.)

This is new for me. Acupuncturists are notorious for not getting nearly enough care (including acupuncture) for ourselves. And when I work with clients in my private practice, two points would rarely feel like enough to address that individual’s needs in the moment. But I’m really curious to see what shifts with small steps. Will I feel physically different? Emotionally different? Will a tiny bit of acupuncture also spur me to do a tiny bit of something else? I’ll be checking back in here on the blog and on my Facebook page to talk about how it’s going.

Want to do this for yourself? If you like yoga, try two poses a day. Want to meditate? Try two minutes. Choose whatever feels nourishing to you, whatever you’re drawn to having more of in your life, and remember, keep it quick and easy. Take a walk around the block. Write one paragraph in a journal. Small changes can be big if they mean we’re prioritizing ourselves, even if that’s only happening for a few minutes a day.

Let me know if you decide to join in, and either way, I’ll keep you posted on my progress. Wishing you a wonderful September.

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