Often my clients that are suffering from digestive problems say to me, “I know I need to take more time for myself, and I KNOW this could be related to my belly problems, but I just can’t seem to figure out what self-care really means or how to fit it into my life.”
I call these my “grin and bear it” clients because they suffer day in and day out, while clenching their teeth and waiting for their belly flare-up to pass, only to return to their same fast paced schedule as soon as the flare-up is over.
Are you a “Grin and Bear It” person? Do you simply wait for the flare-up to end and then go about your usual routine? This mistake is part of what is keeping you stuck in the cycle of regular flare-ups! And there IS a solution…
And that is…The Belly Soothing Toolkit, which doesn’t have to take up a ton of your time and isn’t expensive.
You may realize that in order to soothe your stomach and prevent your belly from constant flare-ups that you need to include more “self-care” into your day, but how do you actually put this into practice?
Say you are feeling stressed or are having a flare-up and itʼs all you can focus on. It is awfully hard in those situations to think of what to do to “soothe” your belly, let alone go to the store to buy your ginger tea or soothing foods, or organize yourself enough to do anything but crawl into bed (or zone out at work and just stare at your computer, pretending to work to try to get through the day).
Thatʼs were the toolkit comes in.
When you have everything you need to pamper yourself right at your fingertips you are much more likely to DO IT. It brings the concept of “self-care” out of the realm of the abstract into the concrete where you can put it into practice.
Thatʼs why have a toolkit is so helpful. It not only prepares you to take care of yourself at any time without having to think about it in your worst moments, but it also helps you regularly de-stress so that you are less likely to have a flare-up in the first place.
More often than not our “self-care” gets pushed to the back burner because we havenʼt clearly defined what it means for ourselves, and don’t realize the VALUE in practicing self-care.
There are TWO components of a Belly Soothing Toolkit:
1. Your Nourishment Menu: This is a LIST of relaxing, fun and juicy activities you can do that light you up and make you feel great. Let your imagination go wild and be creative.
They can directly relate to relaxing your belly (i.e. hot water bottle on your stomach) or not at all (going out dancing). Whatever you do to pamper yourself will benefit your belly health!
Nourishment Menu Examples:
Lie down with a hot water bottle on your belly and breathe deeply
Get out in nature for a quiet, mindful walk
Go out dancing with friends or dance alone in your living room!
2. Your Tools: These are the actual items that youʼll use when you want to relax or when you are having a flare-up. I recommend heading out to Target or my fave The Container Store and getting yourself an actual basket or cool storage container. Then fill it with everything you need to pamper yourself.
Tool Examples:
Hot water bottle
Yoga mat
Journal
Candles
Book: “5 Good Minutes In Your Body” by Brantley & Millstine
How To Use Your Belly Soothing Toolkit:
There are two ways to use your toolkit. The beauty of this is that it will help you soothe your stomach as it hurts, but will also help you prevent your next attack from coming on!
1. Do 1 thing every day from your Nourishment Menu. Turn this into a daily ritual. I like to start my day with something from my Nourishment menu.
2. Use your toolkit in the event of a flare-up. When you need to soothe your belly pull out your list and do something that you know will quickly relax you. If you are at work, do your best to get through the flare-up then take yourself home ASAP or get to a quiet place where you can do a more focused relaxation time. This is like having an “emergency” self-care ritual.