Baking bread and doing yoga

I am a counselor. I am also a daughter, a wife, an athlete, a gamer, an artist, a musician, and the list goes on. There are many aspects or parts of myself and there are many things I enjoy. However, like many other humans, I battle my own thoughts when considering making time for self-care. Through studying counselor stress and compassion fatigue, I realized that each counselor needs to find unique ways to reduce stress (Willey, 2023). What works as self-care for one counselor, may not help another counselor. For myself, discovering the unique and calming qualities of baking bread has been quite therapeutic. I also worked on building a habit of doing weekly yoga. This was difficult to fit into my schedule but I now look forward to it. 

I used to hate cooking and I really mean I hated it. I later recognized the negative thoughts I had been thinking such as "This takes too long" or "I am not good at cooking." I had to change my mindset over time to try to view it as something that is important to bring nutrients to my and my family's bodies. I also found that for me, baking bread is very therapeutic. I work with my hands, I knead the dough, and then while it bakes the yummy smell permeates the house. In terms of self-care, I guess you could say it is a grounding technique for me. I had to push out the thoughts of I don't have time and hold onto the thoughts that it is nutritious for me and my family.  

I am also learning about baking bread and building faith which also helps my mindset. Bread is mentioned many times in the Bible such as in I Kings 17 (New International Version) where the jar of flour and jug of oil did not run out for the widow and her son who baked bread for Elijah. John 6:35 (Amplified Bible) also states: "Jesus replied to them, 'I am the Bread of Life. The one who comes to Me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in Me [as Savior] will never be thirsty [for that one will be sustained spiritually].'"

My history with exercise is a little different. I do not enjoy going to the gym, probably because I am a highly sensitive person who likes to work out alone or in nature. During the pandemic, I realized that I was depressed and was not exercising much. I could still go outside of course but the motivation was lacking and I would make excuses such as "It's too hot outside" or "I get headaches when I run" and would talk myself out of leaving the house. I realized it was the same with the gym even prior to the pandemic. I would pay for a monthly membership but avoided it because again, I like to exercise alone which is not an excuse but a preference. However with watching indoor yoga on my TV, the excuses are not valid, it is not too hot because I am indoors. I do not get headaches from the heat. I also found that yoga helped me relax more and to notice my body and to reconnect. I see it as similar to mindfulness and meditation. We are taught to notice our bodies to build stress management and to "balance our effort with our ease" as Julia Marie (2018) states. I fully agree with building balance and I teach that as well. 

The point of this blog is, as counselors I think we each need to find our unique self-care practice and this may change from week to week. For me right now, baking bread, and doing yoga is part of my self-care strategy. 

References
Marie, J. (2018). 30 Day Yoga for Weight Loss. https://www.amazon.com/30-Day-Yoga-Weight-Loss/dp/B07LB93TG3
Willey, B. M. (2023). Understanding the Experiences of Compassion Fatigue Among Counselors in Private Practice: A Phenomenological Approach. Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 4446.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/4446