It's Self-Care Month. How many times today have you been reminded?
If I were to venture a guess, I would say at least 10 times today. There's your watch. Your app. The newsletter from that brand you ordered from once in 2021. (You knew that coffee made from mud looked too good to be true.) The influencer who swears by something that requires a promo code.
So much noise.
We know self-care is essential for a longer, healthier life. But somewhere along the way it became a movement, and the movement became work. Sorting through what is real, who to follow, what to read, what to believe. And underneath all of it, the same quiet question.
What are they selling?
Here is a different answer. Relax The Back.
Relax The Back has been doing self-care for more than forty years. The real version. The one that starts with a conversation, not a promo code.
From the outside, it looks like a furniture store. People walk past. They assume. They don't know what happens inside until something sends them in. A PT referral, a back that finally gave out, a recommendation from a friend. And then they find it. A conversation. Feeling heard. Simple education. And what had been written off as a chronic problem that would probably end in surgery turns out to be nothing but a tweak in posture. And then comes the words, "I wish I knew about this!"
But this newsletter is not about selling Relax The Back. It is about finding self-care. The trouble is, they are one and the same.
So let's talk about where that awareness really came from. COVID actually taught us a few lessons.
Working from home suddenly gave you a lot more time to notice things you used to be too busy to pay attention to. And worst of all, nobody in your house was buying the stressful day at the office excuse anymore, because you hadn't left the house in three weeks.
That shoulder roll and neck stretch you did in the car on the way home every evening. You know the one. You thought it was stress leaving your body after a long day. Turns out it was your posture announcing itself. You just had a forty-minute commute to hide it. Remove the commute, and all of a sudden your body had nowhere to hide.
Welcome to working from home.
The office setup that was provided for you (the cubicle, the computer in the corner, the chair that was low man on the totem pole because someone grabbed yours while you were on vacation), well, let's just say it was less than ideal. No one was talking ergonomics. No one was telling you to take a break and move. So how is it you were still feeling the need to do the shoulder roll? You spent all day in your slippers. No boss staring through the office door.
You still felt it.
That was the clue. It was time to fix your sit, your setup, and yourself. And it didn't have to cost a fortune. It just had to be right. Fixing your body became important, and there was no room for compromise on that.
Do you still feel that sense of urgency?
If not, you are not alone. A lot of us have gone back to the distracted life, putting ourselves further down on the list. If there is one exercise to help you regain your perspective, try this: put yourself back in lockdown for a moment. What was important then is still important today. Your body didn't forget, even if you did.
So let me ask what COVID made you think about, at least once: what did you learn about self-care?
Come in and tell us. We would love to hear it.
With appreciation and a strong opinion about mud coffee.
