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<\/figure>\nWomen\u2019s Mental Health: Making it a Priority<\/h3>\n
When it comes to self-care, it\u2019s key to prioritize your mental and <\/em>physical health. You can get in the habit of prioritizing your mental health by regularly going to therapy sessions, frequently journaling to process your emotions, and doing stress-reducing activities such as yoga. You can prioritize your physical health by eating a healthy diet, going for daily walks, doing morning stretches, and getting plenty of exercise<\/a>. <\/p>\n However, since women\u2019s mental health is so important, let\u2019s expand on these ideas for self-care below. Here are some tips with more details on how to prioritize your mental and physical health:<\/p>\n Yoga earns a spot at the top of the list because this ancient and wonderful practice is incredible for both<\/em> mental and physical health. Since March is International Women\u2019s Month, we\u2019re discussing women\u2019s mental health, but yoga is of course beneficial for anyone.<\/p>\n The founder of Blue Eagle Yoga<\/a>, Melissa, has been studying yoga for over 45 years and explains, \u201cThe yoga mat, for me, is a metaphor for a raft. My raft is a safe place, to work with my energy as it is, that day, whatever is going on in my life. If it\u2019s stressful at home, I come back from yoga feeling reset and able to listen, able to feel, able to be in a neutral place in a centered place of awareness where I can breathe through anything that comes up.\u201d<\/p>\n Melissa also explains that when it comes to yoga and being present on your mat, \u201cFoundational principles always apply, but you integrate them at different levels. Sometimes it\u2019s physically. Sometimes it\u2019s emotionally. Sometimes it\u2019s psychologically and you have that big \u2018ah hah!\u2019 moment where the mind and the body are really connecting, and you\u2019re feeling, for example, how you hold your stress in your body as energy. And you actually have access, now, to breathe it out. That <\/em>is the wonder of yoga.\u201d<\/p>\n The breathing exercises and quiet meditation incorporated into a yoga class are wonderful for mental wellness, and as Melissa of Blue Eagle Yoga explains, it helps you \u201csuper-oxygenate the brain\u201d. She says, \u201cWhen you super-oxygenate the brain, it makes you think more clearly. When you super-oxygenate the brain, it also releases endorphins, serotonin, and melatonin. The science of yoga is that it\u2019s all about the breath.\u201d<\/p>\n Furthermore, the physical aspect of yoga is great exercise for your body, especially all of the stretching. Yoga involves a lot of stretching that your body desperately needs. Most people don\u2019t stretch enough, and it\u2019s great for your body to stretch daily. This brings us to our next tip, on morning stretches.<\/p>\n When we sleep, the long stretch of immobility in the night can make our bodies become stiff. Morning stretches<\/a> will help prepare your body for the activity your day has in store for it. Stretching in the morning also helps wake the body up, gets your blood flowing, and helps you become more mentally alert as well. <\/p>\n You could even do your morning stretches in the form of a virtual yoga class.<\/a><\/p>\n Remember that regularly stretching every day can have important long-term benefits such as improved posture, better joint mobility, and reduced back and body pains.<\/p>\n Journaling is a very beneficial habit to get into for mental health. If you can journal daily, whether it\u2019s in the morning (often referred to as \u2018morning pages\u2019) or at night before bed, your mental health stands to benefit a great deal.<\/p>\n Journaling can help you process complex emotions, and it can help you let go. Some people even use their journal to write a letter to their ex that they\u2019ll never send, but it helps them move on. Other people use their journal to write down what they\u2019re grateful for in their lives, which boosts mental wellness as it helps you cultivate an attitude of gratitude.<\/p>\n If you can walk for half an hour or an hour every day, that\u2019s a great way of prioritizing both your mental and physical health. Exercise and fresh outdoor air are great for mental health, and your physical health will benefit with more daily movement so that you\u2019re not sedentary as much. Sitting all day, also known as a sedentary lifestyle, is so bad for your health that health professionals now often say that sitting is the new smoking. Daily walks<\/a> will do wonders for your health, especially if you have a sedentary job.<\/p>\n Incorporate nature into your daily walk if you can, such as by walking a beautiful forested trail, or walking along the beach. <\/p>\n Scientific research suggests that spending time in nature is linked to happiness<\/a>, and can lead to improvements in mood, cognition, and overall mental health.<\/p>\n Nature therapy is incredible for our health. Spend as much time in nature as you can. Try to incorporate nature into other self-care activities. This can be achieved in more ways than just walking along a scenic outdoor trail. You could also journal by a beautiful lake, or at the beach.<\/p>\n Exercise is crucial for mental and physical health. The endorphins released when we exercise are great for mood and mental health, and exercise also is necessary for our physical health.<\/p>\n The best way to ensure you\u2019re getting enough exercise to stay healthy is by scheduling it and having a routine. For example, perhaps you\u2019ll hire a personal trainer and schedule two sessions per week with him or her, in addition to one yoga class per week and one spin class per week. The variety will keep things interesting and scheduling it means you\u2019ll be accountable and never \u2018run out of time\u2019 thus forgoing exercise for the day.<\/p>\n When it comes to diet, most people have lots of room for improvement to start eating healthier. One of the best ways to eat healthier is to schedule time for Sunday meal prep. Buy all the healthy ingredients for a tasty chicken stir-fry, for example, and cook enough for the week. Be sure to read up on your genetic dietary needs<\/a> before you plan out your meals if you want to tailor your diet plan to your unique genetic makeup, since some people have higher needs of certain nutrients than others.<\/p>\n Everyone and anyone can benefit from counseling sessions. While some counselors specialize in helping us unpack trauma, many counselors also offer simple talk therapy sessions to help you process and work through any complex emotions or fears you\u2019re experiencing. Women\u2019s mental health – and anyone\u2019s mental health, for that matter – can stand to benefit a great deal by committing to bi-weekly therapy sessions. Ensure your therapist is right for you by trying a few different therapists and finding someone you connect with, whose words resonate. Make sure they\u2019re qualified and registered. <\/p>\n All of the above tips for women\u2019s mental health can help ensure that women are prioritizing self-care and keeping themselves healthy both in the present moment, and in the preventative sense. <\/p>\n Prioritizing self-care is something that seems like it should be common sense, but many women\u2019s mental health concerns originate from (or are worsened by) forgetting about self-care…. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":2701,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2060,2059,4365,8578,4781,2061,4859,7956,4357,8720,1283,4325,4435,4387,4829],"class_list":["post-1284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wellness","tag-accuracy-of-the-apple-watch-en","tag-fitness-tracker-accuracy","tag-for","tag-health","tag-importance","tag-importance-of-self-care","tag-improving","tag-lifestyle","tag-mental","tag-personal-trainer","tag-self-care","tag-the","tag-tips","tag-wellness","tag-womens"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1284"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5861,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions\/5861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/circledna.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/content_images_2023_03_yoga.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n1. Yoga<\/h3>\n
2. Morning Stretches<\/h3>\n
3. Journaling<\/h3>\n
4. Daily Walks<\/h3>\n
5. Spend Time in Nature<\/h3>\n
6. Schedule an Exercise Routine<\/h3>\n
7. Improve Your Diet<\/h3>\n
8. Go to Therapy<\/h3>\n
References:<\/h3>\n
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