"why is self care important a personal story and meditation" photo of Emmys standing on a cliff side near the ocean

Why is Self Care Important? The Reality You Need To Know

Why is self-care so important? Because without it, you will lose yourself to what you are doing. You will become a slave to your tasks. You, beautiful soul, are worth so much more than what you can do.

Hello, my name is Lumalia; I’m a yoga teacher and connection architect with Celebrate Again, founded on the belief that life is too short not to celebrate all of it.

My Self Care Story: How I Found Out Why Self Care Is Important

Emmy sitting on a beach considering why self care is important

Several years ago, as a new mom with a challenging baby, my body started to break down. When my daughter was just two years old, I started losing the use of both my hands, unable to do any strenuous activities, including pick her up normally, do the dishes, hold a mug, and well, even button my own pants.

You see we, my husband and I, had unfortunately fallen into an outdated cultural assumption that the men work and the women tend to the house and children – except I also ran a wedding photography business and was at the height of my career when my health issues forced me to close my business, for what I thought would be forever.

Thinking I could do everything I never ask for help from my husband, hired a nanny, or had the thought that I could even get help. But I never asked for that and my husband, who was not naturally inclined to be a servant at the time, didn’t even consider it. All because, as a woman, I assumed I could raise my child, run a household and run a business, and all this even better than my husband could. Despite being very sick and having my body deeply compromised, I thought I could “do it all.”

Self Care Means Asking for Help

While this mindset is “empowering,” it ironically is really the most debilitating mindset we women can put on ourselves because you do not have to do it all.

Let me say that again:

"Just because you CAN do it all, doesn’t mean you HAVE to do it all. ~ Emmy" photo of fog over the trees and trail down to the river

Becoming sick really taught me the importance of asking for help, something I actually wrote about for The Mighty which you can read here. But more than that, I’ve learned the importance of how to take care of myself as a woman.

Self Care is Important Because We Need To Slow Down

View of the ocean on a cliff side

Up until 2020, I would push through copious amounts of work and pain to get things done, and if I’m honest, it’s still something I have to daily check-in with myself about. Because, in my mind, I thought, “if I don’t do this right now, this will not get done and no one else will do it.” (more on how you do anything is how you do everything here.)

This subconscious thought led me to bad cycles of pushing so hard to get things done that I would crash soon after checking off my to-do list because my body couldn’t sustain that amount of “doing.” And maybe for you, your body doesn’t crash, but your anxiety rises or your mental health begins to be decline.

While women who may not have such high physical consequences for “pushing” their bodies as mine can, it is still exhausting to anyone to feel like, ‘if I don’t do this now, it will never get done.” No wonder we all feel so exhausted, all the time.

Without Self Care We Can Loose Ourselves

This mindset bred a lifestyle of little time for joy, for play and in fact, I forgot even how to play. It was only through working with an amazing therapist did I realize that behind the intense grief I was carrying in my body (to the point that I was, at times, very close to taking my own life) were parts of myself that I had long suppressed, one of which was playfulness.

Trying to fit into the cultural norms of doing it all instead of asking for help, instead of choosing self care, I lost myself.

"You see, in trying to fit into the cultural norms of doing it all instead of asking for help, instead of choosing self care, I lost myself. ~ Emmy" photo of a big leaf
It has been a long road but I’ve recovered. I’m stepping into daily patterns of taking care of myself in ways that fit me and I am now guiding other people to do the same.

So, to my fellow super women, first of all: you are amazing because you CAN do it all… but what if next time–say when your kitchen is messy and you feel like you have to clean it right now–you take a moment to see if you could take a step back, choose self care, have your partner help or come back later after you’ve given yourself the option to maybe even rest, do something delightful or simply to take a glorious deep breath.

"What if we stopped praising “super women” for “doing it all” and instead started sharing the joys of choosing self care. ~Emmy" photo of a female swimming under water

What if we stopped praising “super women” for “doing it all” and instead started sharing the joys of choosing self care and celebrate yourself!

"My dear, let's get lost in the wonder of beauty, finding freedom to play." quote about why self care is important by Emmy with a photo of the sun poking through the trees in a black and white image

How to take care of yourself as a woman meditation

Use the text below to guide yourself through this self care meditation or watch the video below starting at 10:55

Note: the beginning of the video is my personal story with why self care is important and what happened when I didn’t take care of myself. Then at the end is this meditation with me guiding you through it.

I am worth self care
I’ve done enough
I am enough
Taking care of myself isn’t selfish
I deserve to be my best self
I don’t have to do it all
I am enough
Right here
Right now

"I am worth self care I’ve done enough I am enough Taking care of myself isn’t selfish I deserve to be my best self I don’t have to do it all I am enough Right here Right now" photo of a the sun setting on the beach as the waves create foam

Want to try more self care meditations?

Try A Self Care Yoga Class

Get exclusive access to my full length self care yoga class

Sign up to receive exclusive access to this full length yoga class that isn’t available anywhere else! (Don’t worry we won’t spam you.)

Want To Go Deeper?

If you feel like you aren’t sure how to take care of yourself as a woman, I’d love to invite you into my yoga for self care class where we step into noticing ourselves first. I truly believe at the heart of our own self care journey or learning how to take care of ourselves as a woman is learning to listen to what our hearts and bodies are telling us, because it is there that our soul resides.

couple holding hands walking into the sunset

Hey beautiful soul, my name is Lumalia and I’m a yoga instructor and connection architect helping women like you step out of surviving and into thriving. Want to learn more about what I do? Check out my self care yoga membership!

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About the Author

emmy on mountain to laughing

Hey, I’m Lumalia, a connection architect here at Celebrate Again Yoga. My passion is guiding others back to their true homes inside their beautiful bodies. Learn more about the Celebrate Again membership to understand more.

I’m a certified yoga instructor, certified Kindred meditation teacher, and  couples connection  photographer behind Celebrate Again and Luminosity. Here you’ll find ways to live the Celebrate Again lifestyle.

I want to help you embody the joy of life by learning to Celebrate Again in everything from intentional breathing to taking on major life events. I believe your life should be full and be what you make it.

Here you find conversations about self care, free yoga videos, free guided meditations, and healthy plant based recipes to fuel your lifestyle.

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