Self Care Definition
Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. ... Good self-care is key to improved mood and reduced anxiety. It's also key to a good relationship with oneself and others.

This is a fascinating and complex subject.
 
When asked what are the reasons that people don’t generally apply self-care, what do you think the answers would be?
 
These are some answers I got when I did some research:

• Low self worth, Guilt, people pleaser, or putting everyone else first
• Lack of self love
• Conditioning from parents/childhood, poor role models, conditions of worth
• Lack of time or not deemed priority
• Poor relationship with the self/boundaries
• Continuous anxiety or trauma (fight/flight) effects executive functioning (pre-frontal lobes) which is needed to make the decision to apply self care
• Not understanding what self care is
• Not taking responsibility for self or knowing how to
• Outside pressures
• Stress and overwhelm
• Poor relationships with others and self
• Depression and anxiety
• Autism Spectrum Condition
• Lack of motivation
• Not heard of it
• Difficult to relax/switch off
• Too busy
• Not understanding its importance
• Joy, arts and crafts may be viewed as childish, getting in touch with your creative side can actually boost self esteem

 
 
Do you apply self-care?  Do you know what it is?  Self-care comes in many different shapes and sizes and can also be called getting our needs met, and we can do this in many different ways. 
 
Self care can also simply be something that you do for no purpose other than you enjoy it or it makes you feel relaxed afterwards.
 
Years ago I was great at applying self care and meeting my own needs, that was before children, pressures of work, and the pressures of life taking over with one disaster or traumatic event after another.  I then went through many years of not applying self-care, because I was depressed, or I just wasn’t in that place to be able to give it to myself.  I was making sure everyone else was ok before me because that is just what I did, and I had no idea of the long term effects it would have on me not giving it to myself.  I also had no idea that my own limiting beliefs, conditions of worth, childhood experiences, and traumatic experiences in adulthood were stopping me from being able to look after myself properly.  I got into a viscous cycle, and a habitual rut.
 
At times (particularly of stress) I would blame everyone else for how I was feeling, not take responsibility for myself, and not say or do what I wanted because I didn’t think I was worthy to and this perpetual cycle of disempowerment and self victimisation just kept repeating itself until I started therapy, which eventually enabled me to see my patterns of self destruction and give myself the love and compassion that I needed.
 
I now know that in order for my family and friends to get the best of me I need to invest in me and there are many, many ways I can do this.
 
I use Reiki and energy work on myself along with guided meditation, mindfulness, creative drawing and painting, massage & holistic therapies, exercise and positive psychology including a gratitude journal which have all helped me to find acceptance and peace within myself and improve my self-esteem, mind-set and self worth.
 
Ultimately the journey to loving you and finding self-compassion is also the journey to understanding your relationships and improving them through the relationship you have with yourself.  You can only improve the relationship you have with yourself by investing time in yourself.  Ultimately it is an investment that you and the people around you will all benefit from.
 
Ironically self care and compassion is also the key to healing trauma and changing limiting self-beliefs and mind-set.  Creative self-care is proven to increase feelings of wellbeing and self esteem which in turn boost mood and confidence.

Self care isn't just about having a lovely aromatherapy bubble bath, although this is lovely, self-care is about strong healthy boundaries, resilience,  learning self respect and when to say NO, which is empowering and takes courage but all of this can be learned over time.  Self-care is about getting up and standing on your own two feet and taking control of your life, doing the things that you want to do with the people that you want, when you want and how you want.  All of these things equal authenticity, freedom of choice and autonomy and, for me, this is also what coaching is ultimately about and will lead to a happier place.
 
What is not to love but you?
 
Now I have a much greater understanding of what it is and why it is important,  I am much better at applying it, in fact I know that if I don’t everything can suffer, my mood goes down hill fast which effects my relationships, my work and most importantly my wellbeing.  Learning that it is OK to prioritise yourself, in fact that it is a necessity and that I am worth it, may be one of the most important healing journeys and learning curves of my life. In fact it may have saved me. xxx

We are given so many conflicting pieces of information these days and told to do so much, or we ‘think’ we have to do certain things to conform or fit in, which can come from feelings of low self worth or not feeling ‘good enough’.
Social media, the news, newspapers, magazines etc.  Eat more fruit and veg, do more exercise more, look this way or that, be the best mum, wife, colleague, be sporty, be creative, be successful, be grateful, be happy, walk more, shop more, more more more!

How about less and how about space to breathe and think and be you. How about just being.

How about having the time to do what you want to do not what you think you should do or what others are expecting you to do? How about for once in your life you take the time to find what you love, to find what you are good at whatever that may be but most of all find what you want to do because you want to do it and it makes you feel good and  for no other reason than that?

Giving yourself the time to do nothing isn’t actually doing nothing, it gives your brain much needed down time to think, to process and much more importantly to be creative.  Humans are innately creative and being in touch with our creative side has huge benefits.  It is mindful, relaxing, lowers blood pressure, gives the body and mind time to ‘switch off’ and recuperate or heal, and can lead to inspiration, dreams being fulfilled and ideas on where to go next in your life that is the right path for you to take, it’s you being in your flow, not forced or rushed, and there is no ego involved. It’s all you for the right reasons finding your flow and direction.

This is who I am as a coach, (and soon to be counsellor) yes setting goals is great but not empty goals that are meaningless and just for the sake of them.  Watching lots of coaching speak and training material that doesn’t sit comfortably with me is the pressure to perform and ‘do’, I am all about finding out who you are as a person, and using coaching as a way of developing your strengths so you can fulfil your potential and most importantly be happy.  As they say there is more than one way to skin a cat. It doesn’t work for me to follow the crowd, or social media, I find great joy and fulfilment when I re-connect with myself through meditation, being creative and working with energy and in nature which enriches the relationship I have with myself, and therefore others as a result.

We have so much now, more than ever before, the stuff in our homes may be overwhelming and we can feel overloaded on the inside and the outside leading to stress and illness.  Yet there is huge imbalance in the world and maybe  in our lives. Balance is the key to everything with its root in nature.

Doing less, having less, and being more may be the way forward.

I much like many others have being spending the majority of the year clearing out not only unwanted things from my house but also unwanted and unhelpful things from my life and it is liberating, satisfying and freeing.  

The more I get rid of the more I want to get rid of. Less is definitely more.

So don’t feel pressure to be someone or do something or have something that YOU don’t want to, take the time to find out who you are and what you want and give yourself the gift of TIME which is an investment in YOU.

Love Helen ❤️

As I sit here preparing for my Reiki 2 course tomorrow and also wondering about the kind of coach I am, I started to write down key words that resonate with me at the moment.  I came up with words such as authentic, peace, harmony, balance, connection, happiness, and potential.  That pretty much sums up what I try to strive towards and I don't always get it right, far from it!  That is what it is to be human I guess.

Addiction is born out of pain and is the opposite of connection.

Pain is the opposite of peace and is born out of trauma (any kind of trauma, big or small).

we can often find that peace by connecting with ourselves and others.

I found myself contemplating what it is I love so much about Reiki and teaching Reiki, and this is what I have discovered;

Reiki is always there for me whenever I need it so it is certain, it grounds me, and enables me to nurture myself and centres me and helps me to reconnect with my spiritual side.  It gives me time to breathe, think and is fantastic at helping with quality sleep (because it is so relaxing it prepares the body to do what it does best). 

In connecting with my spiritual side I am also finding peace within as well as being present and fully in the moment I am in my flow, enjoying every second.

It helps to improve my relationship with myself, therefore improving my relationship with others through connection which brings inner clarity, a deep sense of relaxation, peace and harmony, which in turn gives me a great sense of wellbeing which enriches my life and therefore everyone else's life around me.

It enables me to let go of my ego which is a bag full of unhelpful emotions (at times)  and behaviours and encourages me to get in touch with myself, connecting again. 

It is all about connection and unity which in turn can create peace and happiness. At its core Reiki is love, which sounds at bit out there but who doesn't need love right? 

I am aware that I have repeated myself several times here but it is to get the point accross that happiness does come from within, not from others or from things or possessions, but from within, and Reiki can be a huge doorway or access point for allowing this self love, self compassion, self acceptance and connection with self to grow and develop.

I may be preaching to the converted but there will be some of you out there who will resonate with this and if you do then Reiki may be for you.

Apart from all that Reiki stabilises the mind, body and spirit, is hugely relaxing and therefore a great way to calm the mind, alleviate anxiety, worry and stress which seem an all to familiar recipe in todays modern society.

Reiki is a fantastic way of allowing inner reflection and healing to take place, it encourages you to listen to your heart and intuition, so that you can follow your inner guide map which enables you to follow your true calling  and is a great way to practice self development work.

It has many of the same benefits as meditation, yoga and mindfulness and is in fact a mindful practice.  

Some of its benefits are;

• Relief from pain, anxiety and fatigue
• Can help to relieve the symptoms of depression
• Can help to enhance the quality of life
• Boost mood (much in the same way as meditation and exercise)
• Helps to relieve tension, headaches, insomnia and much more
• It is extremely safe and non invasive as a therapy

https://fb.watch/2fhw9KEGZz/fb.watch/2fhw9KEGZz/


Follow the link to download my podcast with Valeria Teles on Awareness, Healing and Growth xxx

Balance ⚖️

What does that even mean?

Well everywhere we look there are extremes and in particular in nature, Mother Earth finds a way to bring balance back into focus when it goes a bit awry. As humans we don’t always realise when things have gone awry or a bit screwy, we just might not feel great, mentally, physically or emotionally and even then we don’t always know what to do about it.

Here is a list of extremes or opposites that I have come up with, maybe you can think of some of your own?

Empowered - Disempowered
Big - Small
Happy - Sad
Excited - Anxious
Tired - Energised
Awake - Asleep
Ying - Yang
Black - White
Logic - Creativity
Bored - Stressed and Overwhelmed
Weak - Strong
Quiet - Loud
Introvert - Extrovert
Rich - Poor
Love - Hate
Light - Dark
Peace - War
Winter - Summer
Autumn - Spring
Male - Female


The list goes on and is endless. Everything comes back to balance and when you have found balance in your life generally contentment and happiness follows.


I generally find that working with my clients they are unhappy because there is something in their life that is out of balance, they either have too much of something or not enough of something else and of course it can be more than just one thing. There is almost much more going on than they realise.


When we are out of balance and are juggling too many balls in the air this can lead to feelings of stress, anxiety, panic and overwhelm as well as the other end of the spectrum - boredom, apathy, feelings of worthlessness and then depression. The key 🔑 to calm and happiness is BALANCE ⚖️.

Effective stress management helps you break the hold stress has on your life, so you can be happier, healthier, and more productive. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun—and the resilience to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on.

The importance of listening
Did you know that there are varying levels of listening skills? I didn’t before I did my coaching training and it was the one biggest revelation to come out of my initial training. 

There are 5 levels of listening in coaching and I though I would share them with you.

Level 1,  interrupting,  do you ever do this? Are you aware that you do it? How does it make you feel when others do it to you? It can be really worth reflecting on these questions as effective listening can improve all your relationships, at home, with family, in work and with friends.  I cannot underestimate the power of truly listening. 

Level 2,  Hijacking - this is when someone tries to talk to you about somethings that they have done and you hijack the conversation to make it all about you. I know I used to do this a lot - check in with yourself - how often do you do this? When someone does it to you how does it make you feel?

Level 3, advising - not totally terrible but it isn't always helpful to have your problems solved by someone else and can be disempowering.   Isn’t it more powerful and effective when you are empowered to solve them by yourself? Do you want someone to truly listen so that you can offload? Quite often when we have a safe space to offload we can process our thoughts and we can come up with our own solutions.
How does it make you feel when you have truly been listened to? Does it increase your connection with that person?  It’s natural to want to help, and it’s not a bad thing to give advice but it is also not the most helpful and effective way of listening.

Level 4 is attentive listening - Really listening- looking at the speaker, giving your full attention, open body language, focusing on what the other person is saying (and not what you are going to have for dinner), asking questions, inviting more information etc. How does it make you feel when someone says to you - “tell me more, I really want to know”?  

Level 5 is active listening  - Listening behind the words and between the words; listening to the silences; using your intuition; prompting the person to explore; facilitating self learning and awareness; making suggestions.

The purpose of this blog is to get people thinking about the power of listening and how it can dramatically improve relationships.  

Effective listening can also inform you of the response that is needed, because you have effectively heard what the other person has said.  'Listening with the heart', showing empathy and understanding and really putting yourself into somebody else's shoes can make the world of difference to your communication and relationships.  

Mindfulness also comes into play here too because when you are truly listening to somebody else you are able to tell them what they have just said to you.

Try this; talk to somebody you know really well for a few minutes and then ask them to repeat back to you what you just said.  

How well they have listened will be evident in their response.  You can try this the other way around too and see how effective your listening is.

​Try being quiet and allowing people to talk and see how it makes you and them feel. Does it change the way you think?

“ Karen Wilson from coaching culture at work says ; Levels 2 and 3 above have their time and their place in good management, particularly in mentoring, but they cannot be termed ‘listening’. These two levels may also be appropriate in normal conversation, which is often a process of trading information and ideas. It is useful to be aware of where we are in the five levels during any exchange, so we can consciously decide which to use. In a coaching session, we should almost always be in Levels 4 and 5; however, in a social situation Level 2 may be more comfortable for all parties, and Level 3 is sometimes useful, particularly when someone has come to us specifically for advice”

How many of us really take the time to truly listen to each other and really understand what we are being told?  

I know when I am truly listened to, how it makes me feel.  It makes me feel understood, it validates my thoughts, feelings and Ideas, it can truly boost peoples confidence and empower people.  

This is part of why I love coaching and empowering others to discover what they are truly capable of and of course giving them space to talk and be heard.

Happy listening xxxx

I want to tell you about my own personal experience of past life regression therapy.

We opened our holistic wellbeing centre in 2011, I was open to all sorts and dabbling in tarot, psychic abilities, and all things spiritual and mystical as well as mainstream stuff such as aromatherapy, massage, meditation, sports massage, yoga and bodywork etc. 

In one of my psychic readings I had been told that I had been a witch in a past life and this made me eager to want to find out more (I was naive).  I booked myself in for a past life regression therapy session with someone who came highly recommended to me.  I had no idea what to expect.

I arrived at her house and she talked me through the process.  I laid down and she took me into a meditative state.  I cant even tell you how it happened or why my subconscious brain cooked up what happened for me.

Picture the scene - an old farmhouse many many years ago, my mum stood eerily watching from an upstairs window in the distance.

Me with my dad standing over me in a field and a car coming towards us on a long dirt track.

I knew instinctively what was going to happen and it had happened many times before.  I wont go into detail, nevertheless I can assure you it was a very unpleasant experience.

I think I was left in shock, I paid £120 for the experience and after it was over she just said that it had gone on longer than expected and to contact her if I deemed it necessary.

The next day I crashed the car.  My head was all over the place.

This experience affected me deeply and it is only now that I think about it and that I am training to be a therapeutic counsellor that I get angry that it was allowed to happen at all.

I want to raise awareness of this kind of thing happening.  The problem is anything otherworldly or not deemed as mainstream is unregulated, there are no regulations or codes of ethics to adhere to.  Nothing protects the therapist or the client.

As a Therapist of many years, A Personal Coach, A Teacher and a Trainee Counsellor  I have a code of ethics that I have to adhere to, I have memberships with associations which give advice on all sorts and are there to help to protect me and my clients, I have public liability insurances, I have to ask my clients to complete working agreements to ensure their safety and to ensure confidentiality.

I talk to my clients about the process I will go through in our first sessions together so that they are completely aware of what is going on.

I am at last finding my voice on this and so much more.

The subconscious makes up 95% of the human brain and it can play tricks on us, it tells us stories that are not always true and will always think of the worst case scenario first because it is there to protect us from danger, ie i'll look for the threat so I can protect myself.

I would love for more to be done to protect people from these kinds of experiences and hopefully by me sharing mine it will raise awareness of what can happen.

I'm not saying all experiences are bad, I am sure some people have lovely past life regression therapy sessions.  What I am saying is I didn't and I didn't feel pre-warned or protected in any way.  If writing this can stop someone from having the same experience then that would be a good start.

I'll leave this with you to contemplate, it is a very interesting and controversial subject.......do we really have past lives or is it just our subconscious brain cobbling together a story of it's own from the experiences that we have already lived?