Photo by Shannon FloresOne of my favorite quotes in Gurmukh's book, Beautiful, Bountiful, Blissful, is this:
“Women need to nourish themselves because the well being of their family depends on them being healthy and strong. Every time a woman does something to elevate herself, her family benefits.”
I think everyone of us knows this to be true, yet we still sometimes don't do the things we need to nourish and elevate ourselves. I have thought of plenty of examples of things women can do to nourish their spirit while pregnant, from reading scriptures and going to the temple, to enjoying baths, taking a photography class, gardening, reading good literature, meditation, dancing and much more. What I would like, however, is more personal examples of this from readers. How did your nourish your spirit during pregnancy, or during the postpartum period? And what effects did you see--both immediate and long term?
I had a hard time with my first baby. I was new to being a mother, had just quit my job to be a stay-at-home mom, and discovered I had nothing for ME. I had to get up every day and take care of everyone else, but I was not taking care of me. And the family suffered. I was stressed and tired and moodier by the day. But then when my son was 13 months old, we got a horse - horses have always been my life's passion, but I had never actually owned one of my own. That gave me the outlet I needed. Then, when I got pregnant with my daughter, I found myself at the barn more and more. Sometimes I would just sit on my horse's back and absorb the country sites and sounds. Then after my baby came it was so nice to have that bit of 'me' time every day while I went to take care of the horse. I always came home happy and ready to be a mom. I had none of the stress and sadness I had after I had my son. It's so important to have that spiritual nourishment. I definatately learned that if you don't care for yourself, you cannot take care of your family! For me, my horse feeds my spirit and it's wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Sara. Alone time is so important for me, too. But I forgot how important a beloved animal can be in nourishing some spirits. How wonderful for you and your family that you have that.
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