Wellness: How to do more of what brings me joy in 2021
I’ve been thinking a lot about what our first article would be for 2021 and I simply wanted to focus on two things that are important for me;
Joy – Joie de Vivre
and Love
Broad topics that sometimes can be seen as fleeting but I want to remain in these two places as much as I can this year and hopefully, I won’t have to punch anyone in the face! haha just kidding!
Here are some of the things that brought me through the last two lockdowns and I plan on balancing out the rest of the of my life ( I was going to write year but I think at this point these will carry me to old age and beyond, hahaha)
1. Hydrating!
we underestimate the importance of H2O, I have been drinking magnesium water (Hepar brand here in France ) and it’s been so good I feel more energetic and I think it had a part in my weight loss around my stomach area when I started the fibroid evacuation journey last summer.
Our bodies are made up of 60 percent water!
In addition, I also started to drink ginger tea daily – as suggested by my acupuncturist I make a big pot in the morning and drink it throughout the day. You can use fresh ginger root or buy some organic dried one from your local store, add about a tablespoon for one 1/2 liter.
I drink very little coffee now and have opted for more anti-inflammatory type hot drinks and shots. Ive become an advocate for Chicoree … hahaha
In the morning I always start off with a little Curcuma, chili pepper shot.
At night I’ll drink a cup of hot water with bit of honey to prepare for bed.
Let me know in the comments if you’d like a video of me showing you my mix of teas that I’ve made last year? Mostly because I was doing everything I could to release the fibroids and be pain free. I’m no longer in pain and my fibroids are shrinking.
One such mixture is a jasmine, ginger and chamomile green tea that i drink quite regularly.
2. Reading More Books
Seems trivial but the My Parisian Life bookclub saved me, literally with all the knowledge but also the monthly community chats – where we talk more about life and not only the books.
I also took this year of uncertainty to dig deeper into a lot of holistic and metaphysical research that I wasn’t sure how to integrate into the book club, like past lives, sacred geometry, and the healing power of plants.
3. Daily Gratitude
Even though I journal daily, I sometimes forget to write down my thankyou list, because it’s in a separate 5-year gratitude journal. So what I’ve started to do is saying 5 things I’m thankful for as soon as I open my eye (hahaha habit stacking 101 right here from the book Atomic Habits!
4. Doing my best
What a year to give yourself grace? There were days I could not get out of bed and I decided to be fine with that. There were days I was grumpy and malicious and I decided to be fine with that. There were days… you get the drift. I was just fine with everything during this emotional rollercoaster of a year. Which meant my best would change from day to day and that was ok.
5 Resting and making time to be silly
I discovered that I’m a recovering people-pleaser and workaholic. Always putting others first, not respecting my own boundaries and over-giving to make up for years of having to “prove myself” mixed with low self-confidence. So I seriously had to chill – still learning though. But I feel that the older I get the younger and more childlike I become. It’s a weird process I think most people get hardened by life, I can feel myself getting softer and that’s sufficient for me. To each her own soul’s desires. One day I know this may shock you guys but I’ll leave Paris for good, be living on a farm with my animals (hopefully close to the beach) making soaps, drinking my herbal teas, and welcoming you to my little corner of paradise.
6. Eating well
Considering I eat mostly vegetables I thought I was living pretty healthy until I saw that my body couldn’t handle all the wine and cheese I was giving it …ooopppsss. So I had to cut back on my dairy and alcohol. This drastically improved my mood, and made my fibroids pain completely disappear after 7 days! Now I’m back to some cheese and wine ( oh thank godd!) but still cautious to balance what I eat. During the first lockdown being alone I think I overdrank on many occasions and my body was not having it.
This leads me to the next thing! Listening to my body – it always speaks. We just have to listen. I highly recommend Louise Hay’s “You can heal your life” if you have any ongoing condition that you want to heal or know a bit more about. One of my favorite mantras I use comes fro here “MY BODY IS A SAFE SPACE”
7. Removing toxic thoughts and people
Once I started to invest heavily in my self-care and see my own destructive patterns ( and the beautiful ones too!) I saw that I actually didn’t even need to remove toxic people or thoughts the positive ones just take over. There”s a natural ‘distanc-ation’ that takes place energetically. The stronger focus always wins. I am resilient, courageous, and deserving of the lost divine love and spaces. It was a matter of also learning to let go. This will definitely be a WIP for the rest of my life, but hey on y va!
Constantly, creating new habits, rituals and patterns … but also leaving and accepting some of the small destructive ones because I’m aware of them and I’m trying. Giving myself grace.
8. Getting on with my work
I love what I do! on the hard days just have to remember why I started and also focus on little joys in the daily process.
Now with Covid, I’ve lost so many clients and business from weddings, tours, and more but I’m also lucky to have some part-time teaching work at La Sorbonne of all places! I absolutely LOVE teaching!
9. Knowing that the universe has my back.
I can get through anything, with ease and grace. Every situation is a lesson waiting to be mastered.
10. Being a maman to Pierre.
He’s seriously the funniest, kindest person I know; I thank him for choosing me to come into life.
Here’s to the best 2021 you can have my loves!
bisous
Yanique
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