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Wellness is at the center of so many people’s minds during this season and that is actually a great thing. Self-care can look different for everyone but making it a priority can sometimes be very difficult. With the help of our friend Lanae, the visionary behind Bloom by Simply Lanae, we decided to connect with a few awesome Nashville women to see how they are prioritizing their own health and wellness while managing life, family, career, children, and friends.
Erika Glover
Fox 17 News Anchor
Hometown: South Carolina
Erika’s go-to self-care activity and why?
My go-to self-care activity is long-distance running because it’s my daily designated time to focus on my mind and body. Running whatever distance, and speed, that’s most comfortable for you is an instant mood booster!
Erika’s tip for incorporating more self-care to help you keep blooming in your life?
Join a local running, or walking, group in your community. This gives you the opportunity, and motivation, to meet new people with common goals in mind. Hold one another accountable for achieving weekly exercise goals. Allow running to be your moment of clarity before, or after, the craziness of a long day. Take care of what’s most important—YOU!
Linda Hope
Managing Director, Beautycounter
Hometown: Miami, FL
Linda’s go-to self-care activity and why?
My go-to self-care activity is more of a ritual because it encompasses several self-care activities. I like to start this ritual first by putting my kids down because self-care is always better without little kiddos running around. After I put my babies down to sleep, I will then head over to the kitchen to boil some hot water and prepare my favorite elixir or bedtime tea.
Then I head to my bathroom to wash my face with a charcoal cleansing bar and follow with a smoothing facial mask which is extremely relaxing to me. After enjoying my smoothing facial mask, I will then hop in the hot shower and spritz a Showermist spray which is a beautiful combination of lavender and eucalyptus.
I don’t necessarily do all these steps every night, but that is definitely how I wind down on my special self-care nights. These are the practices that make up my overall self-care ritual. To me, self-care is self-love. It just all comes back to taking care of yourself because no one else can do it better than you.
Linda’s tip for incorporating more self-care to help you keep blooming in your life?
The tip I have for someone who’s looking to make self-care more of a priority in their life is to first start with mindset. You must believe that you deserve taking a few minutes each day to take care of yourself. Self-care doesn’t have to be long and extensive. It could be as simple as taking a minute to appreciate all that you have to offer this world. And it could be as simple as taking a hot shower and playing some spa music in the background.
Another tip I’d like to offer is to schedule it. Make it a priority just like any other appointment that we schedule in our lives and choose to prioritize. If we can’t prioritize ourselves, then we’re doing something wrong.
Ra’Shaun Simon
Content Creator, Entertainer, Event Host
Hometown: Memphis, TN
Ra’Shaun’s go-to self-care activity and why?
My go-to self-care activity, as silly as it may sound, is laughter! Though it isn’t something we generally see as an activity, I absolutely do! Laughter reduces stress, elevates endorphin levels, and increases oxygen intake; but, in a more conventional way, laughter just feels good!
Ra’Shaun’s tip for incorporating more self-care to help you keep blooming in your life?
When considering what you should do for a self-care practice, imagine things that make you feel renewed! What brings you peace or overwhelming satisfaction? Self-care should be something to honor your spirit, body, mind, or all of the above. Note that it doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate unless you so choose…I have never spent even a penny to smile!
India Newsome
Founder and Event Producer for She Did Her Thing
Hometown: Memphis, TN
India’s go-to self-care activity and why?
My go-to self-care activity is Pilates. I started doing Pilates in August and it was completely unexpected. I ran into an old friend in a coffee shop and I told her that I was considering a Yoga certification. She looked at me and said, “No, you should totally do Pilates!” Through some sort of God’s miracle, I was able to enroll in Pilates training 3 weeks later with little to no experience. 1 week after I started training, my grandmother passed. 5 months later, I had a miscarriage. Through navigating such extreme grief, I know that God brought Pilates to me for this very reason. It has played such a vital role in my healing and self-care routine. I practice about 6 days a week and it helps me move all of my negative emotions through my body. Practicing Pilates has been the cause of my peace during these trying times.
India’s tip for incorporating more self-care to help you keep blooming in your life?
We see a lot of “self-care routines” on social media, and while I think it’s great that people are sharing, I think it’s also important to understand that self-care isn’t one-size-fits-all. You have to find something that you truly enjoy for yourself. Set aside some time do to what you love. Sometimes I’m only able to do Pilates for 20 minutes and other times I can practice for a full hour. What matters to me is that I’m able to move my body.
Another way to find things that you love is to think about what you did as a child. I went rock climbing the week after my miscarriage and the whole time I was thinking, “Why did I ever stop doing this?” Now, in addition to Pilates, I’m committing to rock climbing once a month. Start with what you love and then prioritize time to do it.
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