Thursday Thoughts: Self-Care Is Not Selfish

What is self-care? Is it going to yoga several times a week? Is it meditation? There seems to be some preconceived notions about it, so I decided to look it up. Basically, it’s whatever activities & practices that you do that can enhance your health & well-being, manage your stress & help you stay positive. Sounds good, right?

I recently read an article about why self-care isn’t just for the 1 percent. I know many people think that self-care is a luxury or an indulgence. As a busy mom, it’s very easy to put everyone else’s needs first – your kids, your husband or partner, maybe even your boss! But it’s like that analogy of putting your oxygen mask on first in an airplane before helping your kid with the mask – us moms need to take care of ourselves!

My self-care routine mainly consists of exercise. If I don’t get at least 2-3 workouts in per week, then I tend to feel cranky, sluggish & sometimes even anxious. There’s something to be said for getting your “sweat on” & releasing endorphins, which gives you that post-exercise “high.”

Are there weeks where I can only exercise once a week? Sure, of course. Life gets busy with work, family, school activities, home life, etc. That’s where other forms of self-care are needed. I know some people meditate daily, do yoga, pray, etc. There’s so much out there that one can do to improve their well-being.

A few months ago, I won a contest hosted by MomsLA. The prize was a float session at Pause Float Studio.

What is a float session? Basically, you enter a small float tank or pod, lay back & relax in the water. Pause Float Studio uses filtered water & lots of magnesium sulfate (salt). Once you get into the pod, you lay back & float.

I’ve heard about how some athletes soak in a salt bath after a game, a hard workout or an intense run. Something about the salt helps ease the muscle tension. I don’t know all of the particulars, but it’s science (Google it!). I’ve soaked in an Epsom salt bath after a 10k, but the float session at Pause sounds way cooler!

First you’re taken to your individual room. You’ll get undressed & rinse off in the shower before going into the pod. It’s good to rinse off any hair care products, make-up, perfume, etc. that you may have on before you do your float session.

You can wear a bathing suit or be clothing-free in the pod. While the door is locked to your room, I still opted to wear a bikini top & bottom. It’s just personal preference.

The float session lasts 60 minutes. Some people fall asleep during the session. Others, I was told by a Pause employee, have interesting dreams or an epiphany of sorts. I mainly floated around in a semi-trance. Once you finish your float, you can jump back in the shower & use their complimentary beauty products.

Afterwards I felt completely relaxed. They have a tea room set up so that post-float, you can bask in the self-care glow & talk (or not) with other float attendees.

I chatted for a little bit with the other folks at my table. I asked the guy next to me (who is 6’ tall) if he had any issues with the pod. I’m barely 5’ tall so it was like a mini pool for me (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration) but he said that the pod was big enough for him. However, there is a “float room” which is a huge tub that takes up much more space. Apparently really tall people use that one.

Now I purposely scheduled my float at Pause Studio the day after a really hard boxing workout. I wanted to see if the salt float made a difference with my muscles, as I felt aches & pains from the workout. I can honestly say that the 1-hour float did help. I went to a kid’s birthday party later that afternoon & I wasn’t as sore as I was when I first woke up that day. The salt float really worked for me! If I ever run another 10k, I know exactly what self-care session I’ll need to book at Pause Float Studio.

Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. I won a complimentary session at Pause Float Studio. Though a post was not required, I wanted to share my experience. All images are my own unless otherwise noted. As always, my opinions are 100% my own.