take the time – monday meditation II

Take the time to listen and to get to know yourself. Take the time to change, to grow, to rest. Take the time to say yes, take the time to say no. Take the time to be quiet. Take the time to look after your body, to eat well. Take the time to ask yourself who you are and what you want.

– from How to be Parisian Wherever You Are

I love this book. I also enjoy Older, But Better, But Older, by the same authors, but I return to How to be Parisian time and time again for a weekly dose of Parisian insight. Welcome back to meditation Monday. Going into my 6th week of covid quarantine I realize I have not really been taking time for myself, taking time for self-care. I’ve gone along with many of the other isolation trends- baking fresh bread, catching up on reading, yoga (even though I was already doing that, I just upped my game a little)- but somehow the self-care trend totally went over my head. When I put on a t-shirt yesterday and realized it was a little snug (thank you fresh baked bread) I realized I’m following another popular trend – putting on the extra lbs. Welcome to take the time – monday meditation II.

take the time

It’s not just about the extra weight though, it’s about getting back to me, the best version of me. So time to get serious, time to take the time. Time is a blessing right now during these scary and confusing days. As for me, I am grateful for more time to spend with the puppy, more time to cook, which is my favorite hobby, time to read, time to start a blog, time for self-care. Below are some more ways I will spending my time, maybe some of these ideas will be helpful for you too!

Boho Beautiful Yoga

I’ve been following Boho Beautiful for years now, it truly is inspiring. I love Juliana, she is a beautiful soul. So many videos on YouTube, and new ones posted all the time. From yoga, to pilates, to meditation, it’s all good. At the beginning of the year I purchased the Detox program, it is very motivating. I will be following the exercise program this week with some of the recipes thrown in. I will also do one of her meditations from YouTube each day.

The Science of Well-Being

I am in the process of taking a course offered by Yale through Coursera called The Science of Well-Being. It has been pretty interesting so far, studying happiness, core virtues, greatest strengths. This week my assignment is to do 7 random acts of kindness. What better way to feel good than to make others feel good?

Feel the healthy

In addition to the Boho Budha-ful Bowl (brown rice, topped with boiled sliced beet, yam, baked chickpeas in spices, cooked kale, fresh purple cabbage and chopped lettuce, drizzled with tahini sauce- it is the JAM) I plan on making from the Detox program, I’ll be healthy food this week. Less bread, more veg. I’ve been craving curry and a lentil curry sounds good, maybe this one or this one? I’ll also definitely be making my spirulina matcha.

Iced Spirulina Matcha Latte

1 t. matcha powder
1 t. spirulina powder
dash of stevia
1 c. oat milk (my new obsession) or other plant based milk
ice

Put matcha and spirulina in jar with lid. Add a few tablespoons water and mix powders together. Add oat milk. Put lid on jar and shake until blended. Pour over ice in glass and (as my sister says) feel the healthy!

Last Thoughts

I will finally try journaling this week too. That should help me with knowing myself or getting back to myself. I’ll also be looking into french facial massage. I believe it is mentioned in Older, But Better, But Older as a must for keeping your skin young, I need to find a diy version. Speaking of skin, I have dozens of diy face mask recipes written down, including the french one pictured that I found somewhere years ago, I will get back to doing those weekly also. What about you? Any suggestions for self-care? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. À bientôt!!