Featured Businesses - Spring 2022
We love supporting other small business owners, even more so when they are clients of Steps! Below are some talented business owners, who have shared some of their knowledge in our latest Newsletter.
Everyday Self Care
Facials, bubble baths, manicures and massages. Mmmmm, sounds divine right, and no doubt these are all beautiful ways to give thanks to these incredible vessels we call home, but is this really what we mean when we talk about self-care? Is this really achievable for most of us more than a handful of times in a year.
To me, self-care means nourishing my mind, body or spirit. It’s a way to consciously celebrate what this home has done for me and also to keep that bucket full for all the things it will do tomorrow.
It can be as simple as starting the day with your favourite drink, in your favourite spot and practicing some box breathing. It can be spending your lunch break on the grass instead of at your desk. It can be getting your sweat on with your favourite tunes at the gym or it can be the decision to give the gym a miss today. It can be gratitude for those wonderful legs for carrying you endlessly rather than the more common berating them for how they look in shorts. It can be having a wine or a coffee and a belly laugh with a dear friend. It can be adding some more veggies or water or carbs to your day. It can be snuggling into bed extra early with a great book rather than the endless social media scroll. It really can be anything that serves you in a way that feels right. When are quiet enough to hear what she is asking for, what does she say? If you can’t hear her, maybe getting quiet could be your self-care.
So absolutely enjoy every second of your pampering ladies. I’m all for celebrating you. Just know that true self-care doesn’t have to be done in a salon. It doesn’t (necessarily) require a budget or a day off work or away from the kids. We can make every day self-care a non-negotiable for this one crazy beautiful messy life we get. Imagine if we looked after ourselves the way we looked after the people we love. Goodness the world would be a beautiful place. How can you prioritise some self-care today?
Kate McGill is a Health Coach, Intuitive Eating Counsellor and Dietitian. Through her company, Firefly Nutrition & Health Coaching, she supports women to make peace with food and their bodies.
She adamantly believes that self-care is a fundamental element of our health and is available to everybody.
You can follow Kate on her IG or Facebook pages: @fireflynutritioncoaching or her website www.fireflynutrition.com.au
The garden age – how to get the most out of your outdoor space
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was our natural settings that gave us much needed respite from lock downs. It was the calming effect of tending to our gardens, building a balcony space, embracing indoor plants, or enjoying our local parks that has seen gardening and landscaping elevated to new levels.
Recently released data from the University of California, which collated feedback from gardeners across Australia, Germany and the US, showed that respondents felt gardening was important for nature connection, individual stress release, physical activity and food provision. This research certainly supports what I experienced firsthand over the past few years – my garden was my happy place, friends and family called to get advice on their new veggie patches and our outdoor spaces became ‘the place’ to exercise.
The great news is, while we are slipping out of pandemic living, the garden is still taking centre stage. We have found a new appreciation for our green spaces, which presents the perfect opportunity to reassess our outdoor areas.
Want to ensure you are getting the most out of your outdoor space? The following key points will help you understand what is important to you, how you can best utilise this space and how you can create a haven that promotes good wellbeing for the long-term.
- Understand and appreciate your surroundings: When was the last time you took a stroll around your neighbourhood to admire and appreciate other’s gardens and balconies? This is often an untapped source of inspiration. It is an easy want to get an understanding of what plants, trees and designs may thrive in your own space.
- How do you want to use the space? Do you like to entertain? Do the kids need a place to run and play? How do your pets fit into this space? It is important to take a moment to think about all the ways you want to utilise the space. Gone are the days where outdoor spaces are just grass and plants. There is a myriad of ways to curate an outdoor space that will serve all your needs.
- Is it about ‘setting and forgetting’ or ‘constant care’? Some of us love to while away the hours pottering around our outdoor spaces and hand out TLC in spades. Others just want to take a seat, take in the beautiful space without the hassle. We are all different, so the key is to ensure the design of your outdoor space matches your enthusiasm for maintenance. Be clear on this as it can influence plant selection, the use of grass and other aspects that will need attention.