Take Care Of Yourself

A few years ago, I was walking to my office with my coffee in hand when I suddenly lost consciousness and fell to the pavement. When I came to, I was dizzy and could not stand for awhile, thereby ruling out that I had simply tripped. I went to the emergency room and luckily, all serious conditions were ruled out. The only conclusion, low blood sugar from skipping breakfast that morning. Up until that fainting spell, I had not been taking very good care of myself. Since the birth of my first child in 2000, the focus on my health had steadily been declining. I had been guilty of the typical mommy syndrome......,everyone else came before me. I had been physically fit before kids, then found a million excuses to avoid the gym. The excuses had some validity. There had always been a baby crying, a needy husband, house to clean, groceries to shop for, clients to see and more chores than I could keep up with, never mind that I was exhausted and never got enough sleep. That fall literally woke me up!! The day after the fall, I vowed to take my life back and I have been off and running ever since. Those wake up calls are our lesson's to assess what is not working in our lives and change it. I started to take responsibility for my health and well being and I transformed my life. The first step.....eliminating the excuses. I started asking for more help from others around me and went to the gym no matter what, having my spouse take the kids even if they were crying or whining. I did not allow guilt trips or the mountain of chores and responsibilities to deter me. I would talk myself through excuses, "there is always so much to do anyway, an hour at the gym won't put me that far behind." I immediately started to eat 4-5 small healthy meals a day, instead of skipping meals or overeating whatever I was feeding the kids. I became a modified vegetarian (I still eat fish) and started educating myself on the nutritional value of the foods I was eating. I also started focusing on weight training and cardio as well as getting back to my love of hiking and outdoor activities. Then there was sleep. I started making sleep a priority too. Sleep is the best meditation, according to the Dalai Lama, and I believe it. I certainly had not realized how sleep deprived I had become until I started focusing on it. Having children had changed my sleep patterns significantly. I had become accustomed to waking up at the slightest sound, whereas before kids, I could sleep through a hurricane! I had to start allowing for enough sleep and again, asking from help from my spouse to let me sleep in. I work with so many sleep deprived moms. I ask them, "are your husband's sleep deprived?" The answer is usually, "NO." I guide women to request help from their spouses, family, or hire a sitter to watch the kids, to make the time to get sleep. Mental and physical health requires sleep! The benefits of focusing on my health have been numerous. I have more energy, lost a lot of weight, my cholesterol went down significantly (over 100 points), I'm happier and I role model to my kids the value of taking care of themselves. I have a scar on one of my knees from the fall, a permanent reminder to always take care of myself. "Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care (Buddha)."