Interested in being the best you that you can be? Read on for tips + tricks!
Like many women in business, I found myself in a constant juggling act. As president of our company, I juggled the day-to-day to support the Charles Penzone, Inc. Compass Group – the team of executives guiding the direction for our salons and spas.
Aside from my career, I found myself busy with speaking engagements, charitable commitments and so many other odds and ends that filled up the moments of my day.
And then, there’s family.
I’ve always made it a priority to keep a close connection with family – near and far.
Needless to say, I found that I had very little time for myself. I realized that in order to be good to others, I had to be good to myself first. But, making time for myself during the busy work day and back-to-back meetings was challenging.
Over the years, I’ve developed a set of practices that I do each and every day to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle. These practices are simple, manageable, and doable for the everyday person. I encourage you to use these to become the best you can be.
Breath Work // Pranayama: Three-Part-Breath
Taking a moment to breathe is the first step.
The three areas of focus while you’re breathing are your belly, rib cage and upper chest.
- Place your hands on your belly and slowly inhale. Did you feel your belly expand?
- Next, place your hands on your ribs, inhale and feel your ribs expand.
- Now, place your hands on your upper chest and feel your chest move up. When you exhale you should feel your upper chest, rib cage and belly lower.
Put all three parts together and you’ve mastered the three-part-breath!
Are you feeling more relaxed?
Now, imagine how good you’d feel after just a few rounds of the three-part-breath practice. You can do this anywhere, at any time, throughout your day. This will energize you, calm your nerves and release stress (all of that from a few deep breaths!).
Meditation
Sit up tall, with your eyes closed or softly gazing ahead. Bring your focus and attention to your breath; this is what we will focus on throughout meditation.
If a thought arises in your mind notice it without judgement, let it go, and come back to focusing on your breath.
Take time here to notice and feel the space and the peace that you start to discover between breaths.
Now, take five minutes and meditate… This is a good starting point if you’ve never meditated. The goal is to continue increasing the time you stay in meditation.
- Gently start to bring attention back to your breath.
- Move your fingers, move your feet and bring your chin down to your chest.
- Roll your head to the right side, and to the back and all of the way around back to the center.
- Now, reverse the circle (side, back, side, center).
- Inhale and bring your arms overhead.
- Exhale and bring your arms down to your sides.
Namaste.
Setting Goals
I just love the quote, “Go the extra mile, because it’s never crowded.” This is so important to keep this mantra in mind while creating your goals. Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone either. The best goals are the ones that seemed nearly impossible at first.
Once you’ve created your goals, go share them! You’ll want to let those around you know what you’re striving for so that they can be there for the good days and the days you may need a pep-talk.
You’ll also have to rely on yourself a lot through this journey. Be sure that you’re practicing self-talk and reminding yourself that you really can do it! Turn around any negative thoughts or worries that come your way and make sure that your words reflect your actions.
Think: Think you can do it.
Communicate: Say you can do it.
Action: DO IT!
The journey to becoming my best self has been a fun, challenging, enlightening experience. I hope these simple practices help you as much as they’ve helped me become a better version of myself.
Be your own kind of beautiful!
-Debra
