How 7 Women are Making Self Care a Priority

Love is wonderful to bestow on others— but it’s a gift you should give to yourself as well, babe.

Happy Valentine’s Day & Galentine’s week, ladies! While all our relationship might look different, there’s one we all have in common— a relationship with ourselves. Making sure that you are taking care of yourself as well as your significant other, children, & business is something I know you’ve thought about, put on your 2019 vision board, & taken steps to make happen. I want to say bravo to you for making yourself a priority! Only you can create the self care routine you truly need & honor it. Know that it’s something we all find challenging, but that every day is an opportunity to treat yourself well. Whether it’s a session at the gym, spa, or in the chair opposite your therapist that you’re needing right now, book it! 

Here’s how 7 women are making themselves a priority this year. Take a peek at their story & know that we’re cheering you on every step of the way as you write yours. Stay boss! xx -G

Regina Rached | Regina As The Photographer // IG

“Self care has been a huge goal for me this past year and I plan to continue it. I am getting monthly massages to help my back pain. I also started doing yoga every day (trying a 30 day challenge). Both have really helped. The yoga especially is helping to strengthen my back. I also am making sure to take at least two days off a week. I know that seems impossible to most of us, but even if it means working extra on other days or working at night, I think it’s worth it to have days off like most other people. It’s also important for me to plan those days to be able to spend time with family and close friends.”

Tampa, FL

Heather S. Saunders | Ameriprise Financial 

“Self-care helps prevents burning out, plain and simple! My clients and colleagues need me to operate at peak performance, and I can only do that when I am taking proper care of myself. When I have too many late nights in a row, you can definitely tell a difference! Ideally, I have a set schedule of the workouts I should be doing each day, and if I know that I have late meetings or networking events, it’s up to me to make sure that I am waking up early to get it done at the start of the day. I used to do a lot of running, but I have found that strength training is what really makes me feel my best, so that is my primary focus, supplemented by yoga and an occasional cycling class. A large part of my self-care is also taking enough time out of the office, which I sometimes avoid because it seems to create twice as much work! But the time I spend unplugged and reconnecting with family and friends in a relaxed environment always reminds me how grateful I am for this life, and that makes me a better financial advisor too.”

Tampa, FL

Danielle Jackson | Stride Media Group // IG

“As a new mom and new business owner, "free time" is nearly non-existent. I'm learning that burnout is real, and if you don't take care of yourself, you will always be giving less than your best. So to practice self-care, I light incense, paint my toenails, and play Ella Fitzgerald on my record player. It works every time.”

Tampa, FL

Erika Vidal Holmes | Erika Vidal Holmes // IG

“I've learned the hard way that if I neglect to take care of myself and fall off the workout wagon for too long, I get super moody and it affects the vibe in the whole house. So every weekday morning after I drop off my kids, I tee up a podcast episode and head out for a run. I also go see my favorite hair stylist every 5 weeks, without fail, to get my hair done. I've had a hate-hate relationship with my hair my entire life, but every time I leave Heather's chair, I feel like a new woman.”

Tampa, FL

Crystina Castiglione | The Messy Painter // IG

“Now that I’m a mom, and a business owner - taking care of myself is more important than ever. We hear it every day from women of all walks of life - but it’s so true: if you don’t take care of yourself first, you CAN NOT show up and take care of others - whether you are taking care of your clients, your pets, your house, etc. You just can’t do it, or at least not well, if you are running on low.

My self care habits consist of a few different things. The first, one that I’ve been doing for years, is daily journaling - I try to make it happen for at least 10 minutes either in the morning or before bed; it happens most days, but not every day. Stream of consciousness babble is my jam, I do a huge brain dump and then never look at it again. I also like to get out of my house a few times a week - whether it’s by going for an hour long walk down by the water, or going to a museum that I already have a membership to - my goal is to spend no money doing it, but to just leave my house for a change of scenery. I’ve also started protecting my weekends. For too long I have allowed client emails, texts, phone calls, last minute fixes, etc. to jam pack and take over my weekend, which completely stressed be out - but not anymore. At the start of January 2019 I started implementing strict studio and communication hours and will not take unscheduled phone calls, and I won’t answer emails in my “off hours” - EVEN if I can. I even turn on my away message from Friday-Monday morning on my emails for any new inquiries that may come in. I started to do this because nothing showed me how fleeting time is more than watching how fast my baby has grown these last 8 months. My family deserves my undivided attention, and I deserve to have time off to enjoy being with them. I make sure my clients know this from the get go so that they aren’t expected immediate responses. Finally, I take serious social media cleanses. I delete it all off my phone for at least a week (I schedule my posts during this time - set it and forget it!). It’s SO NECESSARY and has helped alleviate a lot of my anxiety, comparison traps and overall happiness.”

St. Petersburg, FL

Christina Jones | Christina Jones Photography // IG

“Self-care is important to me because as a wife, mom and business owner, I can be pulled in many different directions. I believe if I don’t take time for myself to recharge and prioritize my needs, I can’t be my best self and give my best self to others.

Something I do for self-care is set a goal to treat myself to something that I really want personally or for my business and work toward it! I also like to take solo trips to networking events. It gives me time alone in the car to think, plan and dream!”

Tampa, FL

Brooke Eversoll | Bee Studios // IG

“My power word this year is “ME”. I am focusing on getting healthy and hopefully shedding some baby weight in the process. I signed up for the Skyway 10k bridge run in March. I am currently in an 8 week training program to help me achieve this. I also get a monthly massage, especially in times of extra stress. I also want to sign up for some coaching/training/ therapy this year to work on additional self care.”

St. Petersburg, FL