Pilates. The single most fabulous way to come into alignment with oneself. Most Wednesdays I take a pilates class at my gym. The teacher is beyond amazing. It is as if we are one, experiencing what it’s like to move our bodies this way. It is a delicious time-out in the middle of the week, a gift I give to myself as often as I can.

Exercise can be an act of self-love, an empowering part of your self-care program. After all, our bodies are the temples of our soul. And when we care for them, great things can happen! Take your feet, for instance. Have you thanked them lately for carrying you every which way? Or your hands? What marvelous instruments they are! They can do all kinds of things (such as playing Mozart ~ yes, I am still just shy of heaven after that Salzburg concert. Sigh.). Or what about your ears? Have you shown them appreciation for all that they do day in and day out? What do you tell those ears of yours? Have you really listened to what you say to yourself?

“I don’t have time to exercise, eat well, sleep enough, have fun, fill-in-the-blank…”

My guess is you have said one of the above a time or two. I know I have.

Taking care of oneself is a fundamental principle in life, yet so often we are torn between our own needs and the needs of others. If you are a helping kind of person, you may make decisions based on the welfare of everyone else and not on your own. That might work well for a while, but soon enough you may start to notice a soul-level wear and tear that can lead to extreme exhaustion and even burnout. That’s where Slow can truly help.

There is Slow in the word ‘no’. As my friend Donald Pillai so brilliantly said recently:

[L]ife is not about being in ‘yes’ with others as much as it is being in ‘yes’ with yourself.

That includes saying ‘no’ to certain things, even if you could do them. It’s not about the ‘could’, but about what’s most important.

If we are going to change the world, we need our rest, nourishment and a high level of fun to sustain us for those times when we need our energy the most.

If you could do just one thing to take care of yourself today, what would it be?