Hello self-care ninja’s, how has your week been? I hope you had the chance to incorporate more moving into your life. I haven’t. In fact, I have been moving less than usual. Somehow, everything went topsy turvy with my plans and what I usually do but that’s another story. I have been practising full acceptance of myself and rolling with what life throws at me. Life moves on (at least that one moves LOL) and here is a new week to try out ways to care for ourselves. Today’s post gives you some more ideas, tea recipe and Mindfulness in April. Are you up for it?
What’s in our mugs this week?
And why mugs in this blog feature anyway? If you have signed up for the Bee Writes…/The Bee Creates… newsletter you got a download about easy daily steps to self-care. One of which is my “Self-appreciation mug”. No, it does not mean to get arrogant about yourself it means to allow yourself a mug (or glass) of your favourite beverage while contemplating what you have achieved and giving yourself praise for it. This is a great way to raise your self-esteem and to realise how far you have come which in turn will encourage to make more changes for the better.
This week I chose not to share a recipe but the history of my favourite beverage: Tea. TED Education did an interesting history of the good old brew and you can choose whatever you want to drink while watching it and reading this post 😉
Video credit: TED-Ed via YouTube
Singing in the Rain ~ Week 8 ~ Eating for Calm and Focus
Maybe this chapter should also be called “Drinking for Calm and Focus”. We continuously hear what is healthy for us to eat and what is not. I found the advice changes often and thus I just don’t listen when there is another new food feat out there. However, I have experienced how becoming a vegetarian has changed my health for the better as well as how drinking enough changes my concentration and even mood.
Rachel Kelly has worked with Nutritionist Alice Mackintosh for many years who suggests when your stress levels go up concentrate on taking in these four minerals and vitamins: Magnesium, zinc, B vitamin and vitamin c. All of them help to calm our nervous system down and improve our immune system. If our body is stressed through a cold for example, we are more stressed too. So keeping ourselves healthy is vitally important for our mental health too. There is truth in the saying: “A healthy body is a healthy mind” and the other way round.
Rachel offers a list of foods that have lots of magnesium; are rich in zinc; offers many B vitamins and gives you much vitamin C in them like spinach, almonds, citrus fruits and eggs. She then goes on to emphasise the importance of being hydrated well. There is another Body-Mind connection here: If our body isn’t hydrated well, it gets stressed and in turn, we as a whole get stressed easier so it is important to get our 1,5-2 litres of fluid in our bodies. She offers a list of ideas to drink more as well as a jug you can cut out. She suggests to write down those ideas that you most likely adopt and then hang the jug up somewhere handy where you can see it throughout the day and are reminded to drink more.
This is, of course, a nearly endless topic which I have no knowledge to go further into. However, I found a video on YouTube both with Rachel Kelly and Alice Mackintosh about the importance of nutrition when it comes to happiness and mental wellbeing. This will explain much better than I ever could what to do:
Video Credit: Action for Happiness via YouTube
If you would like to work with Rachel’s suggestions for this week then I encourage you to check out Rachel’s “Singing in the Rain ~ An Inspirational Workbook” by Rachel Kelly on Amazon for the full benefit of her suggestions!
(I am not affiliated with Rachel Kelly and get no rewards for this suggestion)
Mindfulness in April
This week’s Mindfulness fits in perfectly with Rachel’s nutrition topic: For about a year now I have big trouble with my stomach. It just feels continuously like I have a rock stuck in there and it is very, very uncomfortable. I have been to the doctor who put it down to my mental health. Duh!
Anti-acid tablets helped for a while but it never really went away so for a couple of weeks I tried out “Mindful eating“. I haven’t really read up on it, to be honest. I just started to really concentrate when I was eating on how it felt, how it tasted and on eating a lot slower and a lot less than usual. And guess what? It made a huge difference to my stomach. Unfortunately, last week all went down the drain for whatever reason.
So what great synchronicity that Rachel’s book reminded me of it again. I suggest you check out these links
Mindful Eating 101 by Healthline
and experiment with the information. It is very interesting what you learn about yourself and the food you eat when you slow down your eating. Come on, just give it a go!
This weeks Music
There was a bug in my post last week :-). Originally, I wanted to suggest to challenge yourself on listening to some classical music. I changed my last motivational message to “listen to some classical music” but then had the idea to add Rhianna’s “Please don’t stop the Music” because it always makes me move and did not change that message. Well… Bee looks like you need to drink more and focus, focus, focus ;-).
I suspect you guess this week’s musical theme: Classical Music. I’ll share a video with you that offers a medley of different pieces and I hope there will be one or two you like. I love classical music and find it slows me down nicely. So here we go some classics for you 🙂
Video Source: Halidon Music via YouTube
And to remind ourselves how to take part:
SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO TAKE PART IN THE MINDFUL MUSIC MONDAY MUG (formerly Music Monday Care & Love)
~ I invite you to appreciate yourself with a cup of your favourite beverage or the recipe I introduce in this post
~Additionally I offer you questions, exercises and ideas to explore self-care, self-love and self-improvement.
~ I invite you to share your ideas and experiences in the comments or write a blog post about it and leave the link in the comments.
~ Also feel free to visit the blogs of our fellow self-care explorer ninjas.
Now dear self-care explorer ninja’s
go, eat mindful,
find classical music
And have lots of fun!
DISCLAIMER:
I am not a health professional. My posts describe my thoughts, my experiences and my conclusions about life, mental health and self-improvement. My described actions always go alongside therapy and do not substitute professional advice by a health professional be it a doctor, therapist or counsellor.
I invite you to try out self-care tools, however, if any of these make you feel uncomfortable please stop and do not go further ahead. Also, if any of the tools suggested bring up issues that need dealing with do not hesitate to reach out for professional help. To recognise when you need to stop and when to reach out for professional or any other help is one important part to learn when it comes to self-care.
Please look here if you need further guidance:
USA:
MentalHealth.gov
Canada:
Government of Canada
the-bee-writes.com 
In 2737 BC, Shen Nung (2838-2698 BC) emperor of China, herbalist and scientist discovered tea when leaves from the plant Camellia sinensis accidentally blew into his cup of hot water. Emperor Shen Nong, was revered for his knowledge of agriculture and medicine, and he mandated, that his subjects boil their water before drinking it, to prevent the spread of virulent diseases in his provinces. One day a light wind deposited several tea leaves into his cup of boiling water. The aroma enticed Shen Nong to sample the contents, and at once he found the flavor to his liking and his body felt rejuvenated. Camellia sinensis was native throughout ancient China and southeast Asia. Shen Nong described wild tea growing on the hills of Ichow and how to harvest and dry it on the third day of the third month. He tested hundreds of plants for therapeutic value and he would use tea as an antidote for any poisonous side effects. Shen Nong believed the medicinal benefits of tea included curing abscesses around the head, helping bladder and lung infections, quenching thirst, lessening the desire for sleep, and cheering the heart.
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Definitely lessening the need for sleep 😁 thanks for tve information 🙋♀️🐝
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That came from my first book.
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