How to Prioritize Your Mental, Physical, Emotional, Financial, and Spiritual Health

In today’s episode, we’re sipping on a delicious Smoky Earl Grey from England, the perfect companion for our deep dive into mental wellness, self-care, and creating balance in everyday life.

In this episode, we’ll explore tools that have been essential to my own mental health journey, including journaling, mindfulness, and therapy. I’ll share how journaling helps me process emotions and organize my thoughts, how mindfulness and guided meditation keep me grounded, and the transformative impact therapy has had on my overall well-being. We’ll also discuss building a strong support system, whether through professional help or leaning on trusted friends when therapy isn’t accessible.

Physical health and emotional well-being are key parts of self-care, and we’ll cover everything from creating a bedtime routine and the importance of rest to nourishing your body with whole foods and practicing self-compassion. We’ll also tackle financial wellness, a crucial but often overlooked aspect of self-care. Drawing from my personal experiences, I’ll share budgeting tips and daily practices that have helped me find spiritual balance, like prayer and meditation.

Join me for an inspiring conversation on taking meaningful steps toward a healthier, more balanced life!

Chapters

• 0:00 Finding Balance in Self-Care
• 7:12 Exploring Mental Wellness and Self-Care
• 15:17 Prioritizing Rest, Nutrition, and Emotional Health
• 22:54 Financial and Spiritual Self-Care

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Tea with Tanya. I'm your host, tanya Ambrose, an average millennial navigating life as a maternal health professional, non-profit founder and grad student. Join me in the tea tasting room where we spill the tea on finding balance and promoting positive living while doing it all. Hey friend, welcome back to another episode of Tea with Tanya. It is so good to be back here in the tea tasting room with you. I know it's been a couple of weeks since we've all hung out and met and chit-chat a little bit, but you know what Sometimes breaks are necessary. It's important for us to prioritize rest and, you know, get our minds back so that when we come here to the tea tasting room we got all the tea to spill and talk and engage. You know, get our minds back so that when we come here to the tea tasting room we got all the tea to spill and talk and engage. You know what I mean, but I'm happy to be back here.

Speaker 1: 0:51

A little life update, nothing too special, but you know I actually went on another vacation with my family. Went on a cruise to Mexico and the Bahamas. That was amazing. But what wasn't amazing was me coming back being sick. Your girl was down and out for like at least two and a half weeks. I'm talking to you now in the tea tasting room, operating at a good 90%. I don't feel like I'm back to my full 100% yet, but nevertheless, your girl is pushing through and taking it one moment at a time.

Speaker 1: 1:22

We are approaching week four of grad school. Like I am literally in my last year of grad school. So come May 2025, your girl will be graduating. I am so looking forward to that. There's so many opportunities awaiting. There's so many opportunities that has presented itself thus far this semester as it relates to my school and the things that I'm trying to do. There's so many opportunities happening for my non-profit, scrub life here.

Speaker 1: 1:47

So, even though I took a little break from the tea tasting room, the work hasn't stopped. I've been thinking of ways to grow here in the tea tasting room. If you're new here, you know I'm a non-profit founder, a grad student mastering in public health and the health service and policy management, along with a maternal and childhood certificate as well. So I do it all. So one of the premise of the show is for us to find balance while doing it all. So it hasn't been time away from the tea tasting room not working. I'm thinking of ways to elevate the podcast, how I can better serve you, listen to your feedback, what you want to hear me talk about. If you notice there's a new cover art, let me know what you think about that.

Speaker 1: 2:27

But I've just been really tapping into what my heart has been telling me. You know, I attended a small island developing state conference back in May and something about that conference just reignited a passion that I didn't even realize started to dwindle. And it's not that it was dwindling, it's just that when you try to appease everyone. But you know, one of the reasons why I started the podcast was for me to create or bring public health stories or talk about our health and wellness from a public hand or through a public health lens, and just have amazing guests so that we can continue to understand one more about our body in a fun and engaging way, but also how we can elevate and just transform every aspect of our lives. So I'm just I'm so happy to be back here to bring you amazing content, amazing guests. You know all that jazz. So the tea going between the next couple of episodes, the next couple of months, as we continue to grow and elevate and I cannot grow and continue to elevate without the support of you. So I definitely want to thank you, my friend, for supporting me throughout the years. If you're a new listener, welcome, welcome, welcome, thank you, and I hope you take this crazy ride with me here in the tea tasting world.

Speaker 1: 3:37

So the tea of the week? Because I've been sent so many teas over the summer that I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to package them. Like I went to 2J Max a couple of days ago and bought me a tea storage situation, because you know what the tea is just tea, and I need to make sure that I'm organized. You know what I mean. But the tea of the week is a Smoky Earl Grey, and that's all the way from England, first of all. But it has an acquired taste to me. It tastes like the regular earl grey but something about it just tastes a little bit like tingly for me. But I'll post a link to where you can get that. But it's a smoky earl grey tea which is the tea of the week because I'm trying to get into the season and the fall, so that smokiness just to me screams fall, okay. And something else that I want to introduce to the podcast, as we're here in the tea tasting room, is the. I'm trying to sing. You know we have the tea of the week and then we're going to have the health tea of the week, or of the month, rather, because I don't know if I can keep up every week with you giving you a health tea of the week. I'll see how that goes, but you let me know if you want a health tea or health tea of the month, or health tea or tip of the week.

Speaker 1: 4:43

But September is a very busy month, especially when you're a nonprofit founder working in the reproductive health space. There's so many things happening in September, but what I wanted to focus on is that the health tea of the month is that September is Sexual Health Awareness Month and, according to the World Health Organization, sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships. As well as a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. So definitely do some more research as it relates to what sexual health is and why we're bringing awareness to that in September. There's so many things happening in September, but I will share with you as we continue throughout the rest of the weeks of this month.

Speaker 1: 5:29

All right, so, my friend, today's episode marks the beginning of a new season and I think what better way to start than with a focus on self-care? And this September, I really want us to dive into the idea of prioritizing our health and well-being, from a mental and physical health to our emotional health, our financial and spiritual well-being. You know, we're just going to talk about how we can really create balance in our life. Sometimes I've had people tell me you know, how do I find a balance? And to be honest, my friend, I think I'm still working towards finding that balance. But one thing that I do know is that tapping into my mental health or making my mental health a part of my self-care routine, that has helped me to some extent with finding or achieving that balance. I won't sit here and say I've achieved that balance fully because, please, I would be lying to you. I have not, but I've just found a better way to incorporate or change my routines to make my life a little bit less overwhelming. Again, every day is not going to be the same, but when we think about our mental health and self-care you know, mental health, as we've been taught or as we're coming to know, is that it forms the foundation of our overall well-being. It's not just about managing our stress, but it's more so about nurturing your mind and allowing yourself time to process emotions in a healthy way. And some practical tips when it comes to mental health care. And if you listen to the podcast before you, some of these things that I'm going to say is just consistent throughout how we can continue to manage our self-care, how I put this into practice so that I can ensure that my mental health care is a priority and it's at least healthy.

Speaker 1: 7:12

You know you want to journal your thoughts. One thing about me, tanya, is going to journal, and sometimes, if you're like me, like sometimes our minds are full of thoughts and we need an outlet, and for me, journaling helps to release any sort of pent up emotions or even organize your thoughts. Now let me tell you this you don't need to write perfectly. I remember a while back, one of my listeners, someone asked me, one of my tea tasters asked me you know how do you journal? Because I think my journaling, I'm not journaling the right way. And let me tell you, my friend, there's no perfect way to write or to journal. So you don't need to write perfectly, because, at the end of the day, the writing, the journaling, it's for you, for you and on you, it's not for me.

Speaker 1: 7:52

Okay, I would encourage you to start with a gratitude journal, or even just call it like a brain dump, where you just jot down everything that's on your mind, without any sort of judgment. So you know, you don't need to have an introduction, a body, a conclusion. We don't need all of that. You don't need to have a thesis statement, we don't need. You're just going to write what's on your mind without any sort of judgment, without even overthinking, you know, because that, believe it or not, can help to clear any sort of mental clutter and it makes way for clarity. Sometimes I'll be honest, from my experience it can be confusing, if you're like me, when you think about a million and one things per second, not even per minute, per second. So sometimes it can be a little bit. It can be a little bit too much sometimes. So that's why I'm encouraging you to just jot down whatever is coming to your mind. That way, when you go back and read it, it can provide a level of clarity for you as well.

Speaker 1: 8:46

You may want to think about mindfulness and meditation. Mindfulness is about being present, and one of the things that I've been focusing on is trying to be more present in my life. Instead of thinking about the next and the next thing or jumping from one thing to the next, I am really practicing the art of just being present. So that can be as simple as paying attention to your breathing for a few minutes or practicing some sort of guided meditation. For me, every morning, there's an app that I use that I wake up and I spend at least two to 10 minutes doing these guided meditations, because that has helped me. In the beginning, I was only able to manage to do 30 seconds to a minute because I was not in that mind frame. I could not calm my mind the way I wanted to. It takes practice. It takes a level of consistency as well. So find an app that maybe offers some sort of short meditation that you can do anywhere, because this will help you to reduce the stress and also increase the ability to stay grounded.

Speaker 1: 9:41

And for me, another thing when it comes to my mental health care, or my mental health self-care, is therapy. Think of therapy as part of your self-care. It's a very powerful tool for us to maintain and elevate our mental well-being mechanisms. You know, if therapy because I will be mindful here, especially as a public health person you know therapy isn't going to always be easily accessible to many of us. That could be from a financial standpoint or just where you live, or it's just not feasible for you in this phase of your life. So I would encourage you to talk to a trusted friend or family member, or even consider support groups. You know you don't have to go through challenges alone or, again, you can go back to that first thing.

Speaker 1: 10:26

Talk about that journaling. Just write out how you're feeling, because sometimes the more we write, the more clear we can get sometimes, or we understand our thoughts or even our thinking process as well. So definitely, if you're not someone who has access to therapy, you may not be ready. Because for me before I started therapy, because for me before I started therapy, I was like no, I don't need therapy, I can just write and I can do X, y, z. I was like no, at the time. I was not ready for it then, so I relied heavily on my adrenaline. So I'm encouraging you again talk to someone who you trust, who you know has the capacity to have a conversation or to entertain or just to even be there or support you in that way, the way which you need them to. If not, you know what? Rely on that journal For me.

Speaker 1: 11:11

I used to push through stress, thinking I was being strong Like you could not tell me I was not Thanos or Hercules, okay, or even Hulk, but over a period of time I realized that by way of my migraine, I realized that, you know, my true strength comes from acknowledging when I need help, wanting to be the savior or the person that was going to show up and be there for everyone. You know I had to acknowledge when I need help, because if you're like me or were like me, you know you don't like asking for help because you think people are going to judge you or it's just you think it's a sign of weakness, my friend, no, no, no. True strength comes from when you acknowledge when and where you need help. And for me, I've been fortunate and blessed enough to have siblings or close friends who I could trust and I know would support me. But it came to a point where therapy was just a game changer for me. It helped me to process my emotions and understand even how past experiences were affecting or were affecting my present day mindset, and I've grown so much as a result of that. So you definitely want to.

Speaker 1: 12:10

When we talk about prioritizing your health and well-being and I know I've told you this before, I know you've probably seen and heard this before, but definitely make your mental health care, or make your mental health, ideally, a part of your self-care. Then there's the importance of physical well-being. You know our bodies need care too. Physical self-care doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming. It's just really about finding the balance and taking small, actionable steps that help you feel like your best self. We talk about living our best lives and feeling like our best self. You definitely want to ensure that you're incorporating movement into your day and, if you're like me, I've been seeing this on my social media on my TikTok, on my Instagram of the people that I follow because I make sure I created or curated my feed to follow people who I admire or I'm inspired by or motivated by, because, you know, social media can be good or bad, but one of the things that I've been seeing the people that I follow is that they're talking about incorporating movement into our day.

Speaker 1: 13:08

You know, for me, I was going to gym three, four times a week. I was working out with a trainer, three, four times a week and that felt really liberating, felt really good, not only from a physical standpoint but also a mental standpoint. So, again, everything is connected. When you think about it, exercise doesn't have to mean like an intense gym session, my friend, or you're not having to train for a marathon, just that small, simply start small. Whatever. It is five to 10 minutes of stretching in the morning to wake your body up, or that's taking short walks throughout the day. Now the temperature are cool, temperatures are cooling a little bit here, just a little bit. It's still warm for me, which I love, because I'm not ready. I'm not really a winter fall girly, but I'm trying to be that, but I can't. I'm from the Caribbean, that's not going to happen, but I'm just trying to take a short walk throughout the day.

Speaker 1: 14:00

What I realize I've been doing now because I haven't been actively going to the gym like I want to, that's for a number of reasons that, but I'm getting back to it Like September is the month I'm getting back to it. One of the things that I realize I've been doing that whenever I work from home. The days that I'm home, I take like a 10, 15 minute break and I walk around my neighborhood, walk around my complex, just so I can get that vitamin D, get that sun, just to get outside. Cause one thing I realized, like one thing about me I'm going to be inside, okay, when everybody's outside, I'm going to be inside. I would be in my house for an entire week if it were up to me. Not for many like I'm Saturday person, but I like being at home.

Speaker 1: 14:29

One thing I'm going to do I'm going to be at home, but I realized the importance of walking around and just going being outside for a few minutes, because it can really be refreshing and it's great for mental clarity as well. Again, if you work from home, try standing up every hour or doing a few stretches at your desk to keep the blood flowing. We got to keep those blood flowing when it comes to our physical movement, so you want to incorporate movement into your day. If you're a gym girly and you go to the gym four, five, six, seven days in a week, then that's good. Teach me your ways. I'm not there. I'm still a three to four day type of girl. But for those of us who, given what phase we are in our life, just start small, walking, going outside, stretching for 10 minutes. You'll see how much that does wonders for you, not only your mental health, but for your body as well.

Speaker 1: 15:17

One of the things that I've been prioritizing has been rest and sleep, because one thing I'm going to do, I'm going to lay down. I saw a tip at the end of the day that's saying you know one thing about me, child, I'm going to lay down, I'm going to find me a cute or comfortable blanket and I'm going to lay down. And I ended up reposting it because I'm like that's me, because one thing I'm going to do, I'm going to lay down. But I did have a bad habit of laying down and still doing work, whether it's on my phone or my laptop, because I just again, you know, I'm a girl that has a non-profit organization that's growing. I'm a girl that has a podcast that's growing and I have visions and big goals and dreams for these things. So I used to quote unquote, lay down while I was still doing work on the computer or laptop but thought that was me resting.

Speaker 1: 15:57

But no, rest and sleep are like a pillar when it comes to our physical health. You know, many of us aren't even getting enough sleep, you know. So think about establishing a bedtime routine that allows you to unwind, no screens for at least 30 minutes before bed. You know, try reading For me right now I'm backing my reading back. It took me at least three months to finish reading a particular book, and that wasn't because I mean the book did start off slow, but my attention span was not there anymore as far as reading. I was just on the go, grinding, grinding, grinding. I'm like you know what? No, I can't do this. So I established a routine where I would read 30 minutes to an hour before bed. So then that would eliminate how much screen time I had as it relates to being on social media or on my phone.

Speaker 1: 16:39

I'm consistent with my meditation these days and of course you know you want to take a bath, a nice warm bath or shower, just to decompress and just signal, send that signal to your brain. You know what. It's time for us to rest, because really and truly, when we get a good night's sleep, it tends to recover your mind and refresh. So don't underestimate that importance. Granted again, it may sound easy, but I know it's not easy for many of us for so many different factors. But just try your best to be more intentional when it comes to prioritizing rest and sleep and nourish your body with some good nutrition.

Speaker 1: 17:16

For me right now and I think I've shared this on the podcast that I have high cholesterol. I'm too young to have high cholesterol. In my opinion, the way my cholesterol is high right now, it's so concerning, like beyond concerning right now. But I'm working with it. I'm working it with my primary care provider. I think it's not necessarily my diet. I'm thinking it's more so my medication that I'm taking for my migraine, but I'll talk about it on another episode. But definitely think about overhauling your diet so that you can make an impact when it comes to your physical and mental well-being.

Speaker 1: 17:44

So, you know, add more whole foods. I'm someone who TMI. I've experienced or have I'm not going to use the word suffered, but I've had when it comes to constipation. That was a part of my life. Like me, not being constipated was like oh, am I normal? That's how bad it was. But I've started adding more whole foods, like you know, eating more fruits and vegetables, the lean proteins and adding more whole grains and fiber to my meal.

Speaker 1: 18:10

You know hydration is going to be key. I've been trying to do a liter of water a day for the last couple of weeks now. Some days I miss, some days I miss them, or some day I am following through. So just make sure you're drinking enough water throughout the day. Do not underestimate the power of water. So when you make little adjustments, you know, like cutting back on these processed foods and sugary drinks, that really and truly will have an impact on how you feel physically and mentally. Take it from me, girl here in the tea tasting room, because for me, me and eating I don't know but as I improved my diet and I started drinking more water and just removing some things from my diet, I have had more energy and I've just felt better from a physical and mental standpoint. So you definitely want to incorporate these things Because I think for me, for me you couldn't tell me that I had to I thought I had to work out for like an hour every day to see results and sometimes having that mindset in the past that just kept me from doing anything at all, because one thing I'm going to do, I don't have an hour to be working out or going hard, you know.

Speaker 1: 19:07

So now I just find ways to find ways that make me feel good, by stretching out, like I say, going for walks or training, working out with my trainer when I can, but I'm not going to push myself. One thing we're not going to do is overdo it. Okay, we are not going to overdo that. I want to talk about our emotional health, because I've had several conversations over these last couple of months when it comes to emotional maturity or emotional health. And you know, understanding our emotional health is it's really about understanding and processing your feelings. Many of us, sometimes we have a hard time because we weren't really given a toolbook to talk about or learn how to process our feelings. We weren't given that. So it's really about recognizing when something is off and then taking the necessary steps to address it. So, rather than ignoring it or pushing through the discomfort, you definitely want to just address what's going on. So practice self-compassion.

Speaker 1: 19:55

We often extend kindness to others Hello, there me but somehow forget to show it to ourselves. Okay, me, one thing I'm going to do I'm going to extend the most kindness to somebody and in the past I have often forget to show it to myself and even sometimes to this day, as I'm talking to you right now, I still don't often show myself that kindness and I've been working on that, actively working on that. So you know, when you make a mistake or feel like you've fallen short, ask yourself. And mistake or feel like you've fallen short, ask yourself and that's what I've been doing recently to try to break that habit. Like, would I speak to my friend or my partner the way I'm speaking to myself right now? Absolutely not. You're going to be gassing your friend up. You're going to be gassing your girl up, gassing whoever up, giving them the more you know speaking life into them, but then yet still, when it comes to you, you're so harsh on yourself.

Speaker 1: 20:38

So definitely let's work on replacing negative self-talk with positive affirmations, because these can really shift our mindset. And just tell yourself, you know what? Because my thing right now is that I'm doing the best I can, anything so much as how you're doing today, tanya. I say I'm doing good, no more to complain, I'm doing the best I can. Or sometimes I say it's okay to make mistakes. I mean, granted, I'll be honest, I don't want to be making mistakes, but again, it is okay to make mistakes and then just release that idea of perfectionism, because that can be emotionally taxing. It's just too much For me. I had to remember that because you don't have to be perfect to be valuable. I'm going to say it again you don't have to be perfect to be valuable. So remember that. So just set realistic expectations for yourself, focus on the progress, not perfection, and just give yourself permission to just be. Just be human. Okay, just be human and then just find a way to release any sort of pent-up emotion. You know, whatever that may be. That could be art, music, talking with your friends, even therapy For me sometimes.

Speaker 1: 21:39

What I'm realizing now? I'm reclaiming my joy in the sense where the things I'm just finding, things that like what, what are? Music, for instance, is an outlet for me if I'm feeling my feelings and I put on some music right now I'm trying to get back into my tv watching phase of life, because I don't know when that phrase ended, honey, because there was not a tv show on tv that Tanya did not watch. You know, granted, as you mature and you have more responsibilities, life happens. But watching TV shows or movies really brings me joy. Reading ever since I finally finished that book that I was reading for at least three months. I've read four books within the last two weeks. No, I'm not saying I don't want the book to at least come for me, but again, reading especially when a book is good reading just brings me a level of joy. It helps to stabilize my emotions. So you definitely want to find an outlet to just release that pent up emotion.

Speaker 1: 22:29

I used to strive for perfection at one point when it came to everything that I did, but then that led to burnout in 2022. That led to frustration. So now I'm just letting to let go and just do my best Again. I'm just doing the best I can, and that has helped me to be a little bit more softer and kinder to myself and just giving myself grace when things don't go as planned. So I hope you extend the same to yourself Now.

Speaker 1: 22:54

The next thing I want to talk about when it comes to our health and well-being is financial health. Now I'm going to try to be as vulnerable here, because me and the word finance, we don't go together. We do not go together at all. But financial stress can affect every other aspect of your life, but taking control of your finances can be incredibly empowering, you know, because financial stress is about creating a healthy relationship with money, so it doesn't necessarily become a source of constant anxiety, which that happened to me. Bit money, so it doesn't come. It doesn't necessarily become a source of constant anxiety, which just happened to me, and that wasn't because you know the lack. It was more so maybe my, my, my bad money habits, whereas that bad money spending or wanting to take care of everybody and then leaving myself completely dry. So you definitely, when we talk about health and well-being again, the self-care, the getting your nails done and doing xyz, the going to therapy and managing your emotional, work and mental well-being and your emotional well-being, you know our health and wellness. When we talk about that too, that should include financial health, your financial self-care.

Speaker 1: 23:52

Another thing that has helped me in recent time is creating a budget. Budgeting can seem overwhelming. When I say that has helped me, I'm talking about like, literally like so, so recent that I'm still waiting to make sure that it is working. But creating the project can seem overwhelming, but it's one of the keys that I'm realizing that when it comes to achieving any sort of financial well-being, you know you want to track your expenses, you track your spending because the woochaddle the netflix, the hulu, like hulu just announced the update updating their prices the netflix, the hulu, the peacock, the apple tv, the hbm, everything that I have. Like you see, it's one. I just want to track your spending for a month to see where your money's going and then from there you can create a simple budget that includes your essentials, like you know your rent, utilities, groceries, whatever it is that can allocate your money towards any savings or any tests as well.

Speaker 1: 24:41

But I'm no expert, I'm no pro, but I just know that as I continue to grow and want to become, you know, focused on my health and well-being, I'm realizing that I cannot be healthy without having a good and proper financial self-care practice as well. But I will have someone on here to come and talk about these things because, again, I'm no pro. I'm still in the process of testing this theory to make sure that it works out for me. But I just know that the stress and anxiety that I've had because the one lesson that I know my father has taught us when it comes to saving, budgeting and hunting the money right, that lesson just obviously flew over my head for so many different reasons. But just start by. You know, and things are hard in this world, you know it's easy for me to sit here and say, oh yeah, create a budget X, y, z. It's not easy to do that, especially when you're operating with an income, where you have you may have children, there's so many different things so it's not easy. But I do encourage you. It doesn't matter. Even if you're making $5 every two weeks, you sit and you budget that $5 to make that $5 work for you and your family.

Speaker 1: 25:43

Address the bad money habits. I've had to have a coming to Jesus moment, not only with myself but with my family, because, again, my spending habits, my money, I just had bad money habits and it's embarrassing to even say this to you, my friend, but it's the fact, it's just the fact of the matter. It's just I had bad money habits that put me in positions that I had no business being in. But again, you know, in life, you, you live and you learn I had to create an awareness around spending money. So then that wouldn't try and make make you make like a conscious decision. So one thing about me I'm impulsed by sometimes, or you know, it does just find ways to address that, that habit. You know, once I finally sat down and had a common decision, with my father especially, you know it made me feel validated, or just made me feel better about the decisions that I'm not going to be making. So then that way I can reduce any sort of anxiety that I may have, so definitely want to tap into when we talk about self-care and health and well-being.

Speaker 1: 26:41

Your financial health also is going to be key to that journey as well. And then you know, last but not least, your spiritual health. That is key, like the role of spiritual self-care. Spiritual self-care isn't just about religion, because that's a very touchy topic, but it's not just about religion. It's about feeling connected to something that is bigger than yourself. My friend. You know, whether that's through faith, meditation, nature or just a sense of purpose, spiritual health helps to ground you and it does provide a deeper meaning to your life. And one of the things that I've been doing over this last few months, as I continue to pick myself up and put whatever broken pieces together, is just engaging daily practices that truly feed my spirit. I am going to do I'm a person that in the mornings I do read my Bible, I have my devotions, I play my gospel music.

Speaker 1: 27:34

You know I have a whole in the morning routine as it relates to feeding my spiritual well-being as I get ready to start my day, and then what I do at night as well. So spiritual self-care can take many forms for you. For some it might be prayer or meditation. That's for me. For others it could just be spending time in nature. I know of an individual and I'm pretty sure she'll hear this episode as well she does her morning ritual at home, then she does her hiking, she spends time in nature. So that's reflect the what these values mean to you. You know you can read a spiritual text. Like I said, for me again, I'm reading my bible, I'm doing the bible app, even though I have beef with the bible app because they they can be bullied sometimes when it comes to reading that scripture of the day. But that's a whole different conversation. I'm sure you can relate if you are bible app reading, girly.

Speaker 1: 28:20

But just dedicate a few moments each day to just connect with your spiritual set. It's very, because we're all, we're very spiritual beings. We just need to tap into that aspect of ourselves, just go deep within and find something that you can believe in, and just look within to see you know whatever that looks like for you. Just look within yourself. One thing you want to do again when it comes to this spiritual health is just practice gratitude.

Speaker 1: 28:43

Gratitude is such a simple yet powerful practice that really can transform your mindset. It has transformed my mindset. So just take a few moments each day that could be in the morning, in the middle of the day, at night and just to reflect on what you're grateful for. There's an app that I use and I can't remember the name right now, but it's an app that I use every morning. It asks me what are you grateful for? And sometimes in the beginning, when I first started using the app, I would be basic and I'm grateful for life, food, whatever. And it's not that it's basic, because these are things that I am grateful for. But over a period of time of being consistent, I just found that my mindset was shifting, you know so gratitude really does shift your focus from what you're lacking to what you already have, and that is, to me, a very major part of achieving any sort of spiritual well-being.

Speaker 1: 29:36

So you definitely want to practice gratitude as well, and then look for community, whatever that community be. We talk about the village. That could be anything. And then look for community, whatever that community be. We talk about the village, that could be anything. If you find comfort in community, you know, look for groups or organizations that align with your spiritual beliefs and just surround yourself with like-minded individuals. Like we underestimate the power of surrounding ourselves with like-minded individuals, these people can support you and help you to go on your spiritual journey and just throughout life. So, again, that could be a faith community. It could be a meditation group, a walking group, whatever it is.

Speaker 1: 30:07

Just find, create your own community as well, because, to me, going deeper in my faith has given me a level of peace and perspective, especially when it comes to challenging times and, believe you me, we're in the ninth month of 2024, and I experienced some challenges from January. You know what I mean. And going back to basics because I'm in my going back to basics era of life right now the things that have worked, the things that really brought me peace, joy, happiness, whatever it is, and just going deeper in my faith. This has given me a level of peace because and of course, my therapy, because old Tanya, new Tanya, the way how I handle certain situations is just totally different. It has helped me to let go of any sort of control and just let me get to a point where I now trust that things will work out as they're meant to, because in my mansion life nothing happens before it's time.

Speaker 1: 31:02

So for me, spiritual self-care is about quieting the noise and just finding that stillness. Just be still and know, you know, whether through prayer or reflection, just be still and know. So as we wrap up, you know, self-care is about finding that balance. Each part of your well-being, my friend, you know that's your mental, your physical, your emotional, your financial and and your spiritual. They play a role in your overall health. So when we talk about your health and wellness, of course you know that comes down to your going to your doctor appointments and what questions you should be asking your care provider, and I'm going to talk about that on the next episode. But self-care is just really about balance. So when you nurture all of these areas of your life like, think about your self-care on a deeper level and go beyond the surface level of putting on a face mask, drinking some tea at night, lighting your candle, reading the book, go a little bit deeper, you know. And when you nurture all of these areas, you create a foundation for a much more fulfilling and grounded life. Take it from me. Take it from me.

Speaker 1: 32:01

So this September, I am challenging you. This September, let's even throughout the rest of the year as we prepare for next year, I am challenging you, my friend, to adopt one self-care practice in each area, just one. I'm not asking for too much, just one. It doesn't have to be anything major, life-changing, just small steps that can really and truly lead to big results. So, whether that's actually going back to journaling, if you stopped or if you've never journaled, picking up a book, just get a book, pray over the book, or just make this book to be a manifest, whatever it is, and just journal. Whether it's budgeting, that can be something small, or if it's just practicing gratitude, just start where you are and just give yourself the grace to grow, my friend, and give yourself the grace to grow. And, yeah, we have wrapped up the first episode of September. I am so excited for what's to come.

Speaker 1: 32:51

But thank you for tuning in, my friend. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of T-Bit Tanya. Remember again, self-care isn't selfish, it's essential, and that's from a holistic standpoint, not just a surface level aspect of it, the holistic aspect of your health and wellbeing, is essential. So take this time, or take this month even, to just care for yourself in a way that you haven't in a long time. And, of course, if you resonated with this episode, you know, tell a friend and tell a friend, share a friend who could use a boost when it comes to self-care. Until next time, take care, stay well and I'll see you here in the Tea Tasting Room next week. I love you for listening. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Tea with Tanya. If you like this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Don't forget to follow on Instagram at Tea with Tanya Podcast. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Tea Talk newsletter and, of course, rate on Apple or Spotify and subscribe wherever you listen. See you next time. I love you for listening.