MEG BONHOMME

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about how 2020 has brought us closer together with this sense of “we are all in it togetherness.” Still, it’s been a lonely few months with physical and social distancing (and so much uncertainty and pivoting) as we individually and collectively navigate as best we can, trying to connect to ourselves and each other to keep moving forward.

It’s no surprise that it’s been heavy the last few months. Last week I had a moment of fear, dread, overwhelm and a corresponding WHY AM I FEELING LIKE THIS mood. 

I could feel a spiral coming and my initial reaction was I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS (lol do we ever?!).

So, I asked myself what I needed to feel better, to feel safe, and to feel loved. (If you’re anything like me, you like that reassurance and validation to come from OUTSIDE. I’ve been working on going INSIDE.) My inner response: RELEASE.

So, I put on a sad music playlist,...

Since I was a kid and have always loved words (#englishprof).  Writing was a source of outlet for me since I was really young. I used to rewrite animal fun facts, provide written commentary on characters I read in books, and make up stories of lonely kids and dogs finding each other. Clearly I wasn’t the most fun child to have a play date with lol

Writing back then was a way for me to do something with my weird and often wild imagination. Writing took me to places deep within and far outside myself. As I got older, I realized I had ideas and feelings that I didn't know what to do with. Many times, writing was what saved me.

It was a way for me to feel less alone and to look inside for the answers rather than be confused by what advice was being offered around me.

To this day, I use journaling to see my feelings on the page and move the heaviness (or inspiration!) inside so that I can focus on better feelings.

I’ve truly seen the...

Ever feel the pangs of guilt when you close your laptop lid to go for a midday walk? The shame in soaking in a bubble bath and journaling while your email inbox notifications ping?

You are not alone!

There were so many times when I pushed through and ignored my own needs, thinking that hustling and bustling was the way to go. 

When things got overwhelming or busy, instead of slowing down, my self care was the first to go. 

More coffee for the late nights. 

More take out food as I rushed between meetings. 

This was the pattern until it wasn’t; burnout caused me to hit rock bottom, and I had to do things differently. 

So, if you’re in the same boat, I’ve got a few tips on how to never skip your self care again.

First thing’s first, you need to know:

• You are deserving of it. Yep, if you’ve been waiting for permission to light a candle and just jump into the...

I’m about to blow the self care social media paradigm right open. 

You ready?

Self care is not just bubble baths and face masks.

Let me explain a little more… When I talk about self care, I really mean two things: fluffy self care and icky self care. 

Fluffy self care is a lot of the socially known self care: things like pedicures, massages, pouring bath salts in overflowing tubs…

Icky self care, on the other hand, is all the stuff that actually supports us and our wellbeing on a deep, soul level, but isn’t what we typically want to do. This includes looking at financials, setting boundaries, having hard conversations, reflecting and healing trauma, taking responsibility for parenting ourselves…

[Get your Recipe For Self-Care NOW click here ]

Being the (self proclaimed) Self Care Queen, I’d like to think I lean into both equally (although history would show I tend to dive...

If you had asked me five, seven, or ten years ago if I would ever (EVER!) become a meditation teacher—someone who would welcome extended periods of sitting and thinking—I would have laughed and thought there was more than just coffee in your cup. And now here I am, in 2017, enrolled in Charlie Knoles’ 200hr Master Meditation Teacher Training. I. AM. TERRIFIED.

How did I get here? Here’s some history to put things into perspective: I graduated from university in 2009 and started sessional teaching at a college immediately after, at age 21. To make ends meet, I also continued working at a local retail store, tutoring, coaching, and delivering mail at a cancer centre. I loved it—the challenge, the people, the full days. People would say it was too much; I would say it wasn’t enough.

I decided I missed school and that I would enrol in my Master’s on the side to fill the void. Fast forward two years of hard work, quite a few sacrifices, and the...