How well will your daughter know her body? Try 3 Steps for you

Do you listen to your body?
If you get to a yoga class or the gym a couple of times a week, eat as well as you can and don’t often punish your body, why aren’t you feeling vibrant?

Women are really good at getting the job done and looking after everyone else - and everyone else’s projects.  Many of us are ok at self-maintenance, too.  But we need more. The trouble is, we often see other people’s needs as more urgent than our own. 

Don't pass on martyr practices
If you want your daughter to avoid the self-sacrifice trap, you need to show her the way.

As girls, very few of us were taught or given great role models of self-care, let alone inspired to listen to our bodies as a top priority.  Every week, every day, your body and your menstrual cycle are telling you something.  Here's an example of what you can do to listen.

1. Take a few minutes each day
Jot down what you noticed about yourself that day.  I do it just after I’ve got into bed.  A few words or symbols for things like:

• your mood
• energy levels and
• body sensations.

Then make a note of where you are in your menstrual cycle. Count the days by making Day 1 the first day of your period. (If you're menopausal, this is still a handy reflective practice.)

2. Find the gold
You’ll start to notice patterns, and within a couple of months, you can begin to anticipate how you’re likely to be feeling.

This is gold.

3. Use the gold
Plan around what you can anticipate.  It's great to recognise your needs, but that's just one part. You can only make huge and positive shifts in your health and well-being  when you consider it urgent to take action on nurturing yourself.

Here's what you can do
For example, after charting your cycle, you'll know you’re close to a low energy period (pardon the pun), and you can do something about it. 

Instead of becoming fed up and overworked at a time when you’re feeling extra sensitive and low in energy, you can neatly sidestep that sense of overwhelm by rearranging your schedule or allowing shortcuts for yourself before you reach the end of your tether.

Time to shine
There are other advantages, too.  For women who want to

1. avoid getting pregnant (think of your daughter in the future) or
2. have a baby (think of your potential grandchildren!),

charting your cycle gets you in touch with the few days of your cycle where you are fertile.  We often feel attractive and energetic around then, so why not plan for it?

Even if a woman never wants to become a parent, it’s handy to know when you are ovulating (releasing an egg that could be fertilised to make a baby).

It’s a great time to plan for parties and being productive, as our body’s hormones are telling us that now is the time to get out there and shine!

Self-care has extended benefits
If you can get into this practice of self-care and share it with your daughter, it will benefit both of you.  And those who live and work with you. 

Our own well-being isn’t just important; it’s an urgent priority.  Please have a play in our new look website or get in touch if you'd like to know more.

Have a wonderful and fulfilling day!

Warmly
Janoel

Now taking bookings for 2016:

A Celebration Day for Girls 1.5 day workshop
for 10-12 year old girls and their mother/female carer

Step into Womanhood Mother Daughter Bali Retreat July 2016 for 11-13 year old girls and their mother/female carer.

Coming up soon:
Fathers Celebrating Daughters workshop with Janoel Liddy for fathers of tween and teen girls to prepare for a positive transition to puberty and growing up.
Monday 23 November 2015    7.00 pm – 9.00 pm
Venue: 108 Cramer St (Cnr Gilbert Road), Preston West
Cost: $35 For the workshop and resource materials
Enquiries/Bookings: Janoel Liddy on ph: 0408 664 919 or email: [email protected]