Cold and flu season is among us! Despite my preventative efforts to avoid it, I have been sick for part of this week. While nursing myself back to health with plenty of rest, chicken noodle soup, and orange juice, the importance of self-care came to mind. Taking care of yourself is important, physically and otherwise, to your health. Yet practicing self-care doesn't always come easy. With busy schedules, family obligations, and work expectations, there can be a lot of pressure to rush along instead of putting these things aside at times to put yourself first. Doing so will reduce stress, improve self-esteem, and enhance your relationships. Women especially seem to suffer from believing that this makes them selfish and end up feeling guilty for taking time for self-care. I'm no exception to this, as I found myself ignoring my cold symptoms by trying to toughen up and push myself to go to my office. Ultimately, I decided against this, realizing that I am no help to my clients when I am not well. This reminds me of the air mask instructions they give on airplanes..."make sure your mask is secured first before assisting other passengers or children". When you're feeling under the weather, and even when you're healthy...don't neglect or overlook the importance of YOU! For many ideas on how to nourish and care for your mind, body, and spirit, click HERE.