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Nurture Yourself!
Practical and Fun Ways to Lower Stress By Rick Hanson
Nurturing yourself is what enables you to be at your best for your children. It is not something that requires feeling guilty. It is something that is necessary for the well being of mothers and their children. Further, mothering is not a hobby you picked up for fun. You work hard for the sake of your children and family, and that entitles you to respect, care – and stress relief.
Additionally, getting the needle on your personal stress meter out of the red zone stops the current wear and tear on your body, and it helps prevent your brain and hormones from getting so sensitized to stress that they over-react to it in the future.
Some soothing activities that you can do in one minute or less include:
- Take four long, slow breaths, and as you exhale, imagine that a gray cloud of stress, worries or troubles is leaving your life. As you inhale, imagine that peace and love and wisdom are filling you up.
- Take your shoes off, rub the bottoms of your feet with your knuckles and massage the joints and tips of your toes.
- Smell something nice, like an orange or your child's hair, or put on a dab of perfume.
- Splash water on your face.
- While standing, bend over to touch the floor, shake your arms loosely and straighten up slowly as you take in a big breath.
- Look at something pretty.
- Knead your neck and shoulders.
- Nibble something good.
- Rub your eyes and the bones around them gently.
- Hug your child or partner for one whole minute.
- Remember a good joke.
- Repeat a favorite saying or prayer to yourself.
Then, when you have released these burdens on your mind, you will have created a space in yourself in which to take in the "good," such as positive experiences of happiness and self-worth. 
You can let go of stress in each part of your inner world, including your body sensations, mental images, emotions, desires and thoughts.
