Woman, Pamper Thyself!

from here

My Dears,

"Self-nurture is not about being selfish. It is about self-care." ~Alice D. Domar, Ph.D

I've been reading one of my all-time favorite comfort books "Romancing The Ordinary" by Sarah Ban Breathnach. You may be familiar with her ever popular books including Simple Abundance.

In this book she takes on each month of the year and invites us "women" to treat ourselves and our senses to the simple pleasures. I will now take her advice on pampering and share it with each one of you.

The Soulcraft of Pampering

Most women think that pampering is self-indulgent. Actually, pampering is a sacred soulcraft because pampering is self-preservation. Have you ever noticed how you feel on the fourth day of a vacation? You wake up well rested and your aches have disappeared or diminished. You realize that your emotional equilibrium is back - once again a glass of spilt milk is just that; something to be wiped up, not screamed about. You break into a grin more easily, have more energy, and are as spontaneous as the weather. If it's rainy, you'll read; if it's sunny, you'll play outside. Doesn't matter. You're back in touch with a warm, witty, wonderful woman who is fun to be around all the time, and it feels like a happy reunion.

Unfortunately, everybody's favorite gal is only around when she's been pampered-charmed, cajoled, and coaxed out of hiding...but it doesn't have to be two weeks at an expensive spa. A few days of tuning out the wants of the world and a little attention is all a blissful babe asks. It's not much.

Oh yes it is...but stay with me. Most women think of pampering as recuperative, after they've crashed and burned. I know I did. In reality, pampering is every day's most urgent need and the best preventive medicine. "Losing touch with ourselves is easy to do these days. We are conditioned to ignore the warning signs that protect us from becoming ill," Barbara Close reminds us in her soothing guide to sensory self-care, Well-Being: Rejuvenating Recipes for Body and Soul. "Instead we push ahead to meet deadlines and live up to our responsibilities and commitments until fatigue or sickness overwhelms us and forces us to stop." Barbara believes in simple, restorative rituals that engage all our senses. Pampering from the inside out helps us "reestablish a sense of connection to ourselves."

In the beginning, introducing small moments of pampering into your daily round is going to feel strange, unnatural, and forbidden....but persevere, one small, kind gesture at a time. Pampering is really Life's most natural remedy for whatever ails us physically and psychically. So when those guilt feelings start to creep close, remember that pampering is not selfish or frivolous. Pampering is soulful. Pampering is how you reach out and touch your essensual self. Pampering is the spiritual secret to becoming self-possessed.

~Sarah Ban Breathnach - Romancing The Ordinary...A Year Of Simple Splendor

Losing myself in a good book....a lovely way to pamper my mind.

Simple pampering.

from here
Oh how I love a foot massage!

Blissful slumber...

Have I mentioned how much I love tulips? They make me smile.

Heaven knows I have many ways to nurture my body and spirit through pampering. Sweetly scented body creams, a foot massage, and a room full of tulips are just a few of my favorite pampering treats. Even the simple things like music, a hot bubbly bath, a favorite meal, and a soothing night of deep slumber filled with the sweetest of dreams can contribute to one's pampering..... after all, it's about what makes us feel rejuvenated and blissful.

How do you pamper yourself?

xoxo,
Miss Sandra