N.O.U.R.I.S.H. yourself by creating a 'To Be' list
Lots of us have ‘To Do’ lists – but do you have a ‘To Be’ list?
I came across this idea recently and thought it was brilliant. Ensuring that you have time to just ‘be’ is so important in our busy world. It’s more important for our health and wellbeing than all the stuff we have ‘to do’.
Below is a little inspiration to create your own ‘To be’ list, using the acronym N.O.U.R.I.S.H.
Creating this list, I’ve been inspired by a few things including:
- Jolene Parks Nourish Framework – she’s a US based nutritionist with an interest in helping people to reduce or stop drinking alcohol https://grayareadrinkers.com/
- Julia Cameron’s idea of a regular Artists Date to inspire creativity and ease blocks – turning it into a ‘being date’ https://juliacameronlive.com/the-artists-way/
- And a study which concluded that 8 healthy habits could add up to 24 years to your life - https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jan/08/healthy-habits-extend-disease-free-life-by-up-to-a-decade
You might be inspired by one of the N.O.U.R.I.S.H. ideas below and go and do it right now!
You might decide to use this as a journaling practice, adapting them and tailoring them to your needs at this time - if so you can download this PDF by clicking here to use to make your ‘To Be’ list.
You can create a ‘To Be’ list to whatever timescale works for you - for this week, this month or this year.
Whether you decide to add some or all of the below items to your ‘To Be’ list I hope this gives you a little time to think about ‘Doing’ less and ‘Being’ more
N ature
We know that spending time in nature is hugely beneficial to our wellbeing and there are loads of studies out there with evidence based research to prove it. Large expanses of water, forest bathing, spending time in our garden even just looking at pictures of nature can have a beneficial effect on our bodies and minds.
Set a time to enjoy nature, whether its 5 minutes looking at your garden with a cup of tea, or a long walk in the countryside.
O xytocin
“Oxytocin – sometimes known as the ‘love hormone’ – is produced by your body when you feel safe, happy, warm, cosy and emotionally liberated.” Millie Hill
“We produce great peaks of it at special times in our lives. We produce bursts of it when we fall in love and when we make love, and the biggest peak of all is the one a mother produces just after she has given birth. It promotes the bonding of mother and baby and the establishment of breastfeeding.” Katharine Graves
Oxytocin can help us bond with loved ones and can also be released through touch such as massage or a hug, music, exercise, and stroking pets. It can decrease stress and anxiety levels. Foods rich in vitamin D, vitamin C, and magnesium all support oxytocin production in your body.
So give yourself a hug, hug a loved one, hug your pet and feel the love!
U nwind your body
Movement is super important for all of us to keep healthy and mobile, especially as we age. Yoga ticks all the boxes for stretching, strengthening and supporting the body and has the added benefits of mindfulness.
What movement do you love doing? If it's something you've not done for a while maybe this is a little inspiration to get up, get out and get back to it! Or maybe its time to try something new…
R educe Stress
The big one - REDUCE STRESS
We cannot avoid stress (and a little bit is actually good for us) but most of us live with too much stress, brought on by our western lifestyles. culture, social media and the rest of day to day life. Then you add in the more challenging stresses which come to all of us at different times in our lives and it just becomes a cycle.
A 'To Be' list is a way of adding some wellbeing into our lives. If there is something on your 'To Do' list you could let go of you'll instantly reduce some of your life stress.
Soothing practices like yoga, meditation, singing, chanting, humming, self massage can all help us to dial down our stress bringing balance to our nervous system and helping vagal tone. These tools can all give us more resilience for those bigger life stresses.
So what can you add to your to be list that will bring you some calm and soothing time?
I am enough - kindness to yourself and others
We can all think of a time when we've given kindness to someone, and when someone has given kindness to us - family, friends, people we don't know. We know how positive it feels to give and receive kindness.
But how often do we give kindness to ourselves? If it's not very often, give yourself some kindness and remind yourself regularly, 'I am enough'.
S tillness
Reminding ourselves to pause, rest and sleep is really important. Our culture doesn’t reward doing less. But when we become more still we create space for the present moment, we see things more deeply and we get huge wellness benefits.
Stopping for a moment, meditation, relaxation, breathwork can all help us to become more still in our mind. But so can movement and activity. Think of a time when you were just lost in the process of doing something – knitting, yoga, gardening, running, anything where you are in ‘flow’ can bring stillness to the mind, even if your body is not still.
So add a pause in your day to your ‘To Be’ list – whether it’s 5 minutes or 50 and bring yourself some stillness. It might feel like a luxury but its fundamental to keeping you healthy.
H arness your breath
Inhale, Exhale. It’s so simple, and we don’t even need to think about it as our body just breathes automatically for us.
But when we bring awareness to our breath it can be really powerful. A gentle focus on the breath can give our mind an anchor point, something to follow and to come back to when it gets busy. Breathing fully through the whole of our diaphragm, with a gentle expand and release of the belly means that we are breathing optimally and effectively and helps to balance our nervous system too. Breathing through the nose rather than the mouth is important for cleaning the air we breath, breathing effectively and promoting better health. James Nestor’s research will give you more information about this.
We know when breathing is challenging – particularly in times of illness, and stress. We also know when we are breathe freely or are in a place where the air is cleaner. So connecting to the breath can tell us lots about how we are. Breathing mindfully can help us become more present, and breathing optimally gives us more wellbeing.
So take a moment to connect to your breath by taking a pause, follow your breathing rhythm with your awareness by feeling and observing the breath as it moves in and out. Try to breath in through your nose and let the belly gently expand as you inhale. Release the breath through nose or mouth and repeat a few times.
Add connecting to your breath mindfully to your list.
