Take Care of Yourself! (2014)

A little over seven 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 and to stop making excuses. 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 and kept it off, 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)."