Safety has always been high on my priority list. I’m not sure where that comes from, exactly, but I suspect it has something to do with my dad. He was always very concerned with safety. His and ours.

My dad drove to the Boulevard Mall in a blizzard (many blizzards) to clean off my car and start the engine so that when I left work, I would have a snow-free windshield and a warm car to drive home in. Yes, he spoiled me rotten but he was also concerned with my safety.

My dad double-wrapped everything in the refrigerator. To keep it safe.

Safety showed up in our pantry as well. There were always canned tomatoes on hand (real ones, in bottles) and plenty of dried pasta to carry us through the blustery winter storms that kept us housebound. Lake effect snow. There’s nothing quite like it.

I’ve been reflecting a lot about how safety shows up in my life today. Mostly, I just want to be prepared. When I’m well-prepared, I feel safe.

Here are a few practices for you to explore when you want to feel a little more prepared. I love the phrase, “action absorbs anxiety.”

 

 

Replenish & Restore

Several years ago I was faced with knee surgery. I had my tonsils out when I was three years old, but other than that, I had managed to avoid hospitals, altogether. I was more than just a little nervous about this procedure. I did my research. I found an excellent orthopedic surgeon. (I visited several before I chose “the one.”) To prepare for my recovery, I filled my refrigerator and freezer with nourishing foods. I love my husband dearly, but he is not a cook and I wasn’t about to eat chicken pot pies and ‘NOT chicken’ nuggets while I was recuperating.

I collected all the books I had been wanting to read and placed them in a basket beside the couch. I figured out how to use “the remote.”

I purchased the book, Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster by Peggy Huddleson. (I know, right?)

I held fast to Peggy’s words, “Knowing how to relax is the one of the best ways to cope with the stress of surgery.” Since that day I’ve learned that knowing how to relax is one of the best ways to cope with any and all stress. For me, it’s a lifelong learning process. I am a chronic and recovering over achiever. I have to remind myself daily that NOT activity is essential to my health and well-being.

The practices that work for me may be very different from the practices that work for you. Come up with a list of possibilities and ask yourself, “Does this count? Is it restorative? Does it activate the parasympathetic nervous system?”

Hint: Pounding the treadmill may be great exercise but it doesn’t activate the parasympathetic nervous system. You need both. Activity and NOT activity.

For me, cooking is a meditative practice. It’s also a beautiful way to practice care of self. What do YOU do to replenish and restore?

 

 

Honor Your Story

One of the strongest components in my work with women is the nourishment script we unravel as we explore the many facets of our health history. I used to rely heavily on the health history form. That form asked the usual questions. It had a fancy chart with a rather impressive list of symptoms that my clients could check off. The trouble with a list of “symptoms” is that symptoms overlap. One set of symptoms may be exactly the same for several different health issues. The personal narrative provides the context. (So much richer than a list.) It’s the personal narrative that gives us the more textured story that we need to understand in order to bring our bodies back into balance. The symptoms are merely a nudge telling us to look a little deeper or to make a course correction. When I visit a health practitioner, I lead with the story first, then the symptoms.

Do you have a journal? Pull it out and do some reflective writing. You’d be amazed at what you can uncover when you take a gentle walk through your life. And, if you really want to feel your way into this process, consider joining my Inner Circle. Brave Writing™ is a powerful component in my Well-Nourished Woman program.

 

 

Find Your Tribe

I had no idea how important community was to my overall health and well-being until I discovered the power of online communication. I know this feels a little foreign (even scary) to many, but I have witnessed groups of women come together in very powerful ways in the online world. Women who otherwise would not have the support they need to navigate the terrain of their beautifully complex lives. I am very fortunate to have these online communities in my own life and even more fortunate to lead a few. I’ve learned from my own experience, both personal and professional, that each community has a different flavor and texture. My recent Eat Your Way to Gorgeous adventure brought together over 150 women from all over the world to celebrate food. I saw in the feedback I collected, how that space enriched their food lives and gave them a more expansive view of nourishment.

My Well-Nourished Woman Inner Circle is a much smaller, more intimate space. That’s where we dance in our kitchens in the company of like-minded woman AND dig a little deeper into our health histories so that we feel more empowered in our approach to both our kitchens and our nourishment script.

Find your tribe. In your local community or online, you need a place to share your experiences, hopes and dreams. You need to be seen and heard and cherished and sometimes that requires a stretch out of your comfort zone.

After all, there is safety in numbers.