By Julie Nadeau
Julie Nadeau / A little… a lot of self-care please.
I am Julie, passionate about life, yoga teacher, pilates and primary school teacher. The curious girl, connected to her heart who always wants to vibrate loudly. Through these lines, you will discover my self care secrets. I include my favorites and ideas to inspire curiosity.
With the change in our daily lives, we have had to adapt to new rhythms of life. This, in turn, led me to choose new actions to do me good, to pay attention to myself. Because the most important person is me. I think I've become addicted to self-care. It brings me so many benefits, being more “grounded” and slowing down and appreciating are the richest gifts I have given myself in a long time. Having self-care moments helps you relieve everyday stress, decompress or clear your mind. It can help unload excess accumulated negative emotions. We like that !
The secret: knowing or wanting to learn to love yourself and ensure you optimize your health, in its entirety. Wanting to generate greater vitality and joy of living. Still not that bad of a start. The rest will simply follow.
The top 10 self care options in Juju
- Breathe deeply. Truly, breathing is the anchor to a healthy and balanced life. We must take the time to properly align the body, with our back straight so that the air can nourish our entire being, down to our smallest cells. Before getting out of bed in the morning, I place my right hand over my heart and take 3 deep, conscious breaths. It instantly energizes you! I'm ready to start my day, alive as ever. Tell me you're going to try it tomorrow morning???!!!
- Every morning, I draw 2 intention cards which will guide me through my day or which will nourish my thoughts. Positive affirmations to optimize well-being and self-esteem. My favorites are those from Dosha Yoya as well as those from Estelle Thompson . A great investment to nourish our inner self.
- Every day I do either a stretching, yoga, pilates or mediation session, sometimes a mix of all of that. There are several free platforms on the Internet or simply go there with intuition, these are often the best sessions. Trust yourself and follow the flow of the moment. Princeless! Without forgetting THE playlist in our ears for even more connection or simply silence. No need for a one-hour session. 10 minutes is better than nothing at all and your body will say thank you, I want more please.
Playlist to discover on Spotify: Peaceful Indie Ambient - Morning Coffee - Peaceful Meditation
Also discover the Mon Yoga Virtuel platform where there are more than a hundred competent and certified teachers. Go try Nadia Bonenfant's class, one of my yoga mentors.
- Play outside, without prescription, even in the rain or at -30C, to the rhythm of nature's elements. Skiing, fat biking, touring, biking, paddle boarding, running in the forest, name it!! A walk with my bestie (Plume, my puppy) fills me with happiness. Healthy vitamin for more energy! Life-size self-care, nothing less. A vital need.
- Drink water, lots of water, a cup of hot ginger-lemon water, a green tea after a day outdoors in my beautiful KSL bottle. I like to make healthy juices with my juice extractor. Best purchase ever. I have the Omega brand. We have to take the time to invest in our health and prepare ourselves what we offer to our body, I believe. It seems to me that my beet and carrot juice is better than that bought on the shelves. The pleasure of drinking your own juice, wow!! Make in large quantities and freeze.
Recipe for my favorite juice, to be redone without permission: 2 grapefruits, 3 green apples, 1 pear, ½ cucumber, lots of fresh mint, 1/2 lemon. So delicious!
- Sunday is the beauty break dedicated to bodily well-being. A real girl! Exfoliant, mask, foot scrub, hair treatment, etc. I'm spoiling myself! I have always loved coconing love by discovering all kinds of products, increasingly made with natural ingredients here in Quebec. I have fun preparing DIY things like shea butter for the body, my homemade makeup remover or mint lip balm. The Les Trappeuses platform is the one that most influences my ecological footprint. It gives you a little bit of pride to be an actor in a better environment for our planet. Every little gesture counts.
- Turn on my essential oil diffuser as often as possible. My blend that smells like heaven with incredible benefits: 4 drops of eucalyptus, 2 drops of lemon and 2 drops of lavender. To use during a yoga session. It makes you feel zen at its best and you breathe joy around you. Otherwise, a flavored soy candle gives such an enveloping effect. A little cinnamon-sugar latte with that?
- Write in my journal. It takes a little practice, but it feels great. I write down my successes, my pride, my accomplishments, my intentions, memories that I want to keep, a significant moment, a wish, dreams, etc. I let the less beautiful one go. Yes, it takes that to accomplish oneself with conscience.
- Observe the splendor of the sky. Simple as well! Twilight, golden hour, dazzling blue. Every day, I marvel at this spectacle of nature. Go out in the evening, look at the stars or the full moon. Everything is grandiose and generates such pleasant emotions.
- Wear a KSL piece that makes me bright, confident and beautiful. There is something magical wrapped in KSL. The real ones know it, haha! Everything is designed with so much attention and love. As if we had a life mission and were propelled to the highest peaks. The one of the moment: the Valéry bolero with its big cozy collar. Love it!
More and more self-care with Juju
Buy flowers – eucalyptus leaves, they smell so good – get an Ayurveda-style hair treatment
(the total) – use a dry brush for body care – sleep 8 hours – read – garden – take the time to cook good dishes for the people I love – take care of my house, my living space.
Ok, enough there, you know all my secrets! Now, right hand on your heart, take a deep breath and smile, smile with your teeth, smile at life! Without pressure and without judgment, you are the most radiant and important person there is, never forget that.
Peace and love
Ju xx