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...

There was a time when I was living from my bank account’s overdraft. Okay, living might not be the right term...surviving feels more accurate. Honestly, this was the scenario: I’d get paid on a Thursday and be in the minus by Friday. I was stretching every last dollar, racking up credit cards, and not knowing if I’d have to ask for a handout from family. ‍

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

It was not fun. It felt really heavy. And I was really embarrassed about it. 

I was in that spot of lack, hopelessness, and wanting more until I realized I had more power over my situation than I thought. 

Enter money mindset!

After reading a few books, listening to a few podcasts, and getting clear on my budget, I realized that there were things I could do to improve my relationship to money. In Lovely Human School, I teach an entire module about stepping into our fortune and living an abundant life,...

As someone who goes nonstop most days from 5am to 9 or 10pm, I know how crucial it is to use every moment and get things checked off that ta-da list! But how often do you find yourself staring at your screen, forgetting what you were working on? Or flipping from instagram to facebook to email back and forth without actually completing a task?

Yep, been there! ‍

I’ve read books from all the productivity gurus, taken courses from some of the best experts, and, still, I catch myself with my eyes wandering and my inbox growing. 

That is until I started using my  Self Care Framework to hone in on what makes sense: mindfulness as a means to productivity. 

The Framework has helped me to manage working a 9-5 job and building my self care empire without sacrificing sleep or sanity. The key is that mindfulness--the BEING not the DOING--is imperative to long term fulfilment and productivity since it creates space to have...

I was having a conversation last week about my self care and realized that I’ve come a long way in being able to take care of myself and shift my needs and wants so that I fill my own voids and take care of myself. 

The reward of being a Self Care Queen: spending less time spiralling and more time in joy and inspired action. 

The problem I realize, is that we are programmed to look outside ourselves to find comfort and solutions. My journey the past two years has been to look within to soothe and calm my own insecurities + needs. It has NOT been easy (and most times really difficult), but the benefits of taking responsibility means I get to choose each and every time how I show up. 

For me, emotional reactions stem from my wiring. So, if I felt unloved in the past or like I wasn’t heard or valued, when it happens in the present, my body feels like I am going through that same emotion and acts accordingly (cue 8year old Meghan...

When I am asked what I do for a living, my immediate thought is to say I help people realize or become the loveliest humans possible. My actual job description goes something like “develop curriculum and assessment tools to prepare students for vocational outcomes; engage all types of learners through differentiated instruction; enhance students’ communication skills.” And I only know this because my mother STILL has my job posting from 2009 when I was hired.

While I am obsessed with how a semicolon can change our lives (or at least the appearance of our grammar proficiency), I’ve realized over the past eight years of teaching that when I go into a college classroom, my true job is to bring the best part of me to help my students recognize the best part of them. This has become much easier since yoga and, more recently, meditation has come into my life, but it was once very difficult and confusing.

I remember when I first starting teaching I was insecure...