Shero Cafe Podcast

025 Beyond Traditional Self-Care: Embracing Creativity and Meditation for Deeper Healing

• Deborah Edwards and Debbie Pearson

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Talk to us, Shero! Talk to us!

Ever wondered why traditional self-care routines like mani-pedis and massages don’t always cut it? Join us for a revitalizing session at the Shero Cafe, where I,  along with Deborah, unravel the multifaceted world of self-love and self-care practices. In this episode, we confront the barriers many of us face in adopting these practices and explore why our go-to methods might not be sustainable for everyone. 

Deborah provides her expert insights on achieving tranquility and shares how activities like meditation and breathwork can facilitate deeper healing. Debbie shares how creativity can help slow down the frantic mind into a calm, relaxed state.

Join us as we delve into creative and playful avenues for self-care—think dancing, playing, and taking soothing baths. Learn about the concept of "meditation in motion" and how simple activities such as walking can induce a meditative state, calming the limbic system and paving the way for new learning and problem-solving. Whether you’re craving new self-care strategies or looking to refine your existing ones, this episode is brimming with actionable insights and heartfelt discussions to enrich your journey to wellness.

If you'd like to see what Creative Stress Relief (CRS) session is coming up, go to DebbiePearson.com/creativity. This page will tell you everything you need to know to participate (ie, what to bring (supplies), clothing to wear, what we'll be doing, etc.)

FYI: Our next CRS session is Friday, 10/4/2024 (6:30-8:30pm CT). 
If you can't make it but want to experience it, we can send you the reply. 
Also, if you can't make it but want to know about future CRS sessions, send up your email address and we'll get you the list!

Thank you!

---CONNECT with Shero Cafe---
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shero.cafe.podcast/
Email: thesherocafe@gmail.com

---CONNECT with Deborah Edwards---
Let's Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deborah.edwards.372
Self Care Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/624202641785785
Website: https://gratefulom.life/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahedwards-selfcarecoach/


---CONNECT with Debbie Pearson---
Facebook (personal): https://www.facebook.com/debbie.pearson.921
Facebook Group (Creative Self-Discovery Lab): https://www.facebook.com/groups/creativeselfdiscoverylab
Website: https://www.debbiepearson.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiepearsoncoach/

Debbie:

I'm Armika, o Deborah it's been a minute.

Deborah:

Yeah, I'm loving that we're back from hiatus. We're going to be back in the Shero Cafe being fed and sharing and loving, and I'm just excited to get back started.

Debbie:

And inviting everybody to the table.

Deborah:

Exactly.

Debbie:

So we decided to record this episode because we were talking about different ways that people practice self-love and self-care, and I had. I was noticing that there's a program that I love to teach but that people have a really challenging time or at least it's challenging for me to get or it was to get them to that program. It's like I just want to say do the program and you'll, you'll be better. But of course it n say than that, but it's like, but they're like. No, I, I'm too upset, I'm too overwhelmed, I'm too whatever.

Debbie:

And it occurred to me like there's this energy inside of us that is it's too much, we're overwhelmed, we're stressed, we've got anxiety, and so a lot of people practice self-care in a variety of ways, and I know that there's some traditional ways, like some people think, and there's nothing wrong with this, but like to go get a mani-pedi or go get a massage, and maybe we do need that, there's nothing wrong with that. But is it sustainable every day? Is it sustainable on a weekly basis? I mean, for some people the answer could be yes, but there's other possibilities.

Debbie:

So I thought maybe you would throw out, maybe some things that you do in self-care and then we'll keep going with it

Debbie:

we were talking about in our conversation earlier, is that really healing um cannot happen when you are in a in a stimulated uh or state. um, when you are in a calmer state. hat's when healing can occur. That's why much of our healing happens when we're sleeping. That's why, a lot of times when we're sick, the only thing that we want to do is sleep, because that allows your body to regenerate and to heal.

Debbie:

So, with self-care and mindfulness, some of the ways that I really love to really create that calmer state, of course, is meditation. That's my number one, and part of meditation can be breath work really getting your body to settle down by focusing on your breath. Some of the other ways is just playing, just playing and dancing and, you know, just getting that energy out so that you can, you know, come back to your body, and that allows the space with self-care and there's so many others. I think there are as many ways to to really get ourselves calm as there are us, right? Sometimes a bath for me is what it takes to get me calmed down, right.

Debbie:

<b>Debbie: </b>nd I love that. You said meditation, but there's so many ways to do meditation and, you know, I think a lot of us picture the guru sitting in the lotus position with their legs crossed or whatever. But I recently was talking to somebody. We're actually doing an email. She signed up for a course and we're doing something called creative stress release. Creative stress relief, which we'll talk about in a minute. But the word that she used was meditation in motion and I, for me, when I was walking, I did that long walk where I was, you know, walking every day, every day. It was like that was meditation in motion for me. I love walking. I do go into a meditative state unless I'm walking my dogs and they stop me every five seconds and when they pull that, that leash and it just jerks me out.

Debbie:

Oh I can't wait to bring them back home so that I can go back out again, but I do take them for about 30 minutes, so. But it's like meditation in motion is also a place your brain can go where I'm not really sure a different way to say this, but it's like your limbic system can calm down.

Deborah:

Right.

Debbie:

When the limbic system is calm, however, you get there right, and there's so many ways to get there. Then you can learn new stuff, then you can access those parts of you, then you can maybe, you know really get into that problem solving mode.

Deborah:

So and yeah, and what I call that, when you're in those meditative states, when you're creating those practices, is creating space for other things to to happen. Because when you're in agitated state there's no more space. You build it up with the, with the anxiety, but when you're in agitated state there's no more space. You build it up with the with the anxiety, but when you're doing these other things, you're creating space for that creativity to come in.

Debbie:

For that you know the thoughtfulness yeah, and a lot of um neuroscientists will talk about this is a great way to solve problems. So you have a situation, some kind of problem. You just can't figure out how to get your team to work better together, how to get some more respect from your teenager. You know a situation going on with a loved one in some way. You know a situation going on with a loved one in some way. It's to focus on the question of. You know what might be a way to xyz and fill in that blank, but don't try to find the answer. Yeah, be in the question. That's what they be in the question and then do something mundane. So this is what the neuroscientists say do something mundane, go cut some peel potatoes you know fullf clothes but don't do it with a podcast on it's to let yourself quiet down. So one of the things that I like to do is a process called neurographic art and it's. It's just a way. You don't have to have any skills at all.

Debbie:

If you can write the letter s and the letter o, you're in, but basically you just write, they do these curved lines and then, wherever they cross, you kind of color them in. It would be easier to just see it than for me to try to explain it. You know, on a podcast. But it's like in other areas where it's not filled in with, say, black ink or blue ink or whatever color you choose, then you color. You might color with oil pastels, you might color with watercolor, you might color with um pencils or markers or whatever your choice is.

Debbie:

And in this coloring, in this focusing on you know rounding it here and you know filling in this area there your brain is actually moved away from the stressfulness of the situation that you're trying to find an answer to or that is creating stress in your life, and you get .you focus. And that focus allows the parts of your brain that can figure out those problems to begin coming up with its own solutions without the conscious mind in there inserting the um previously agreed upon ways of being that it should be. You know the information we get from our parents, from our friends, from wherever it is that we think things are supposed to be a particular way, and then it allows the brain to create and come up with other possibilities. And that doesn't mean you're going to solve every problem. I don't I don't mean to say it like that, but you've. You've opened up that space for that opportunity to happen.

Debbie:

And even if you don't get the answer, you just had a lovely lovely quiet meditative moment that your brain loves, so it's a servic .

Deborah:

There are times when I'm like having a conversation with someone and I cannot remember something. Like you know a, a song or a lyric or something like that and I'm like, oh well, I'm gonna just let it go, and you just let it go, and you just let it go, don't cause you know, you're just holding on and trying so hard to have that come to mind and then five minutes later, oh yeah, there it is. Is this kind of the same thing?

Debbie:

It's kind of the same thing and I don't really know how the brain works that way. I just know that the quote unquote, forcing to try to make your brain think of the thing it's on the tip of my tongue and I just can't, you know. And so when we're forced that, that forcing to to try to make it come out to remember it, it's, there's a pressure and that pressure is like the elevated stress and again, when we're in some form of stress, we just can't really do a good job. Now there's times when stress is super important, Like if you're in a dangerous situation, right, Life threatening, physical threatened, but not everyday life. You don't need that.

Debbie:

But so many of us lived in that heightened state. So when we do, we're already heightened and we're like, oh, I can't even get that word, you know, and we're just all even higher tense and it just it makes it worse. It's the same thing If you're like, oh, man, I wanted to tell you something and now I can't remember, you know, and it's like that same thing. We're already in that heightened state and so that it's like it's getting blocked a little bit and so, just like you said, don't focus on it. When I think you said let it go.

Debbie:

I think let go of of the forcing is what you're talking about Right and just continue with your conversation and more than likely it will come back. But if you do the force focus, it seems to push it away, which we've all had that experience, I'm sure. So, yeah, it's very, very similar. It's a limbic system and all the chemicals that are being released from the brain to try to help protect us from something, something you think is a danger, but it's actually not so yeah it's challenging, but it's also incredibly wonderful when you can start start stopping, so go ahead.

Debbie:

I can see you want to say something.

Deborah:

So I understand that you offer sessions in this. I'm super excited to experience my first session. Excited to experience my first session because I love, first of all, being creative and I am so interested in seeing how that process is going to work and you know. So then do you show up with, show up to one of your sessions with a specific question or how does that work?

Debbie:

well, I call the classes creative stress relief, because there's a lot of ways to be creative in relieving your stress. Um, because I do it online, we're not going to go for a walk, um, you know. We're not going to do something like overtly physical, um, we're not going to have a dance session for an hour. That's not how I am, more than likely. I know some people are like, why not?

Debbie:

it's like because I'll be, but, um, more than likely it'll be some kind of an art type of thing, a craft like, um, we might do, um, a plaster strip, uh, over a bowl and to give us a little bowl, like you know, and it's like forming it in with plastic. It's plaster but you use plastic and you can put it over any bowl you want and the plastics over that so it doesn't get the bowl dirty whatever, and you know. So I, what I do, is I give you a list of supplies. More often than not, it's pretty usually under 20 bucks, but you can go, you know you can buy more, but I keep it very limited and that allows people most people to be able to purchase it. But what we do is it's it's like we come to the session and we settle down and we settle into our time together. We may be quiet for three minutes, I may pull a card and whatever card comes up. We talk about that.

Debbie:

If I didn't ask you to come with a situation, there may not be a need for the situation. This may be just how to release stress, but not try to solve a problem, but just a way like next week you're stressed, maybe do this particular activity to help decrease that stress. In this case, I'll put some details in the description box for this episode, because there is something coming up in October. But in general, people can go to my website, which is debbiepearson. com, and then click on the link Creativity, and that's going to be the Creativity link or tab is where they can find out more information of what's coming up. But yeah, so I'll leave it at that. That way I can put the details in there, because I don't know when people are going to listen to this particular one, so I didn't want to.

Deborah:

yeah like, but I mean, this is going to be an ongoing offering that you have, so they may be. They will always be able to go to that link to see what's going on right now.

Debbie:

Absolutely, and that's why.

Deborah:

I just pointed to the link you know, and I, being a self-care coach, am always looking for new ways because all of us connect with different ways of doing things, and I think I invite people to really see what works for you. So this is just another opportunity for me even to try something different. I love doing art and I invite our listeners to check it out. I think it's going to be so much fun.

Debbie:

It really is. It is very calming, it's very relaxing, it feels good. We share whatever we can in the time allotted. And then we have the website, facebook group, where there's a thread, you know, and it's like post that class that sessions artwork here. And I say artwork again. It could be a collage. You know putting words together. It could we might do a digital vision board. I mean, there's just so many different possibilities that I didn't want to call it art, but so I called it creative, creative elief, and it it is. It's just so. It's very wonderful anyway. Yeah, so I can't wait to see what you're going to do. And it's just, it's a lot of fun, very relaxing. People do seem to enjoy it very, very much.

Deborah:

Cool. Well, I'm looking forward to it and I invite our audience to come check it out. And, as always, we invite you to love and care for the shee on you.

Debbie:

bye bye, everybody.

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Debbie Pearson

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