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

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!

Thank you so much for the likes, love, and comments you leave. Not only does it mean the world to us, it helps other women who need to hear it be able to find it.

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---CONNECT with Deborah Edwards---
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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---
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Facebook Group (Creative Self-Discovery Lab): https://www.facebook.com/groups/creativeselfdiscoverylab
Website: https://www.debbiepearson.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiepearsoncoach/

Episode Transcript

Debbie (00:00):
I'm Armika, o Deborah it's been a minute.

Deborah (00:07):
Yeah, I'm loving that we're back from hiatus.
We're going to be back in theShero Cafe being fed and sharing
and loving, and I'm justexcited to get back started.

Debbie (00:21):
And inviting everybody to the table.

Deborah (00:23):
Exactly.

Debbie (00:25):
So we decided to record this episode because we were
talking about different waysthat people practice self-love
and self-care, and I had.
I was noticing that there's aprogram that I love to teach but
that people have a reallychallenging time or at least

(00:48):
it's challenging for me to getor it was to get them to that
program.
It's like I just want to say dothe program and you'll, you'll
be better.
But of course it n say thanthat, but it's like, but they're
like.
No, I, I'm too upset, I'm toooverwhelmed, I'm too whatever.
And it occurred to me likethere's this energy inside of us

(01:13):
that is it's too much, we'reoverwhelmed, we're stressed,
we've got anxiety, and so a lotof people practice self-care in
a variety of ways, and I knowthat there's some traditional
ways, like some people think,and there's nothing wrong with
this, but like to go get amani-pedi or go get a massage,

(01:33):
and maybe we do need that,there's nothing wrong with that.
But is it sustainable every day?
Is it sustainable on a weeklybasis?
I mean, for some people theanswer could be yes, but there's
other possibilities.
So I thought maybe you wouldthrow out, maybe some things
that you do in self-care andthen we'll keep going with it

(02:09):
we were talking about in ourconversation earlier, is that
really healing um cannot happenwhen you are in a in a
stimulated uh or state.
um, when you are in a calmerstate.
hat's when healing can occur.
That's why much of our healinghappens when we're sleeping.
That's why, a lot of times whenwe're sick, the only thing that
we want to do is sleep, becausethat allows your body to

(02:30):
regenerate and to heal.
So, with self-care andmindfulness, some of the ways
that I really love to reallycreate that calmer state, of
course, is meditation.
That's my number one, and partof meditation can be breath work

(02:50):
really getting your body tosettle down by focusing on your
breath.
Some of the other ways is justplaying, just playing and
dancing and, you know, justgetting that energy out so that
you can, you know, come back toyour body, and that allows the
space with self-care and there'sso many others.

(03:11):
I think there are as many waysto to really get ourselves calm
as there are us, right?
Sometimes a bath for me is whatit takes to get me calmed down,
right.

Debbie (03:26):
nd I love that.
You said meditation, butthere's so many ways to do
meditation and, you know, Ithink a lot of us picture the
guru sitting in the lotusposition with their legs crossed
or whatever.
But I recently was talking tosomebody.
We're actually doing an email.
She signed up for a course andwe're doing something called

(03:49):
creative stress release.
Creative stress relief, whichwe'll talk about in a minute.
But the word that she used wasmeditation in motion and I, for
me, when I was walking, I didthat long walk where I was, you
know, walking every day, everyday.
It was like that was meditationin motion for me.

(04:11):
I love walking.
I do go into a meditative stateunless I'm walking my dogs and
they stop me every five secondsand when they pull that, that
leash and it just jerks me out.
Oh I can't wait to bring themback home so that I can go back
out again, but I do take themfor about 30 minutes, so.
But it's like meditation inmotion is also a place your

(04:36):
brain can go where I'm notreally sure a different way to
say this, but it's like yourlimbic system can calm down.

Deborah (04:46):
Right.

Debbie (04:47):
When the limbic system is calm, however, you get there
right, and there's so many waysto get there.
Then you can learn new stuff,then you can access those parts
of you, then you can maybe, youknow really get into that
problem solving mode.

Deborah (05:05):
So and yeah, and what I call that, when you're in those
meditative states, when you'recreating those practices, is
creating space for other thingsto to happen.
Because when you're in agitatedstate there's no more space.
You build it up with the, withthe anxiety, but when you're in
agitated state there's no morespace.
You build it up with the withthe anxiety, but when you're

(05:26):
doing these other things, you'recreating space for that
creativity to come in.

Debbie (05:31):
For that you know the thoughtfulness yeah, and a lot
of um neuroscientists will talkabout this is a great way to
solve problems.
So you have a situation, somekind of problem.
You just can't figure out howto get your team to work better

(05:52):
together, how to get some morerespect from your teenager.
You know a situation going onwith a loved one in some way.
You know a situation going onwith a loved one in some way.
It's to focus on the questionof.
You know what might be a way toxyz and fill in that blank, but

(06:17):
don't try to find the answer.
Yeah, be in the question.
That's what they be in thequestion and then do something
mundane.
So this is what theneuroscientists say do something
mundane, go cut some peelpotatoes you know fullf clothes
but don't do it with a podcaston it's to let yourself quiet
down.
So one of the things that Ilike to do is a process called

(06:38):
neurographic art and it's.
It's just a way.
You don't have to have anyskills at all.
If you can write the letter sand the letter o, you're in, but
basically you just write, theydo these curved lines and then,
wherever they cross, you kind ofcolor them in.
It would be easier to just seeit than for me to try to explain
it.
You know, on a podcast.

(06:58):
But it's like in other areaswhere it's not filled in with,
say, black ink or blue ink orwhatever color you choose, then
you color.
You might color with oilpastels, you might color with
watercolor, you might color withum pencils or markers or
whatever your choice is.
And in this coloring, in thisfocusing on you know rounding it

(07:24):
here and you know filling inthis area there your brain is
actually moved away from thestressfulness of the situation
that you're trying to find ananswer to or that is creating
stress in your life, and you get.you focus.
And that focus allows the partsof your brain that can figure

(07:47):
out those problems to begincoming up with its own solutions
without the conscious mind inthere inserting the um
previously agreed upon ways ofbeing that it should be.
You know the information we getfrom our parents, from our

(08:09):
friends, from wherever it isthat we think things are
supposed to be a particular way,and then it allows the brain to
create and come up with otherpossibilities.
And that doesn't mean you'regoing to solve every problem.
I don't I don't mean to say itlike that, but you've.
You've opened up that space forthat opportunity to happen.

(08:30):
And even if you don't get theanswer, you just had a lovely
lovely quiet meditative momentthat your brain loves, so it's a
servic .

Deborah (08:44):
There are times when I'm like having a conversation
with someone and I cannotremember something.
Like you know a, a song or alyric or something like that and
I'm like, oh well, I'm gonnajust 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 sohard to have that come to mind

(09:06):
and then five minutes later, ohyeah, there it is.
Is this kind of the same thing?

Debbie (09:13):
It's kind of the same thing and I don't really know
how the brain works that way.
I just know that the quoteunquote, forcing to try to make
your brain think of the thingit'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

(09:34):
pressure is like the elevatedstress and again, when we're in
some form of stress, we justcan't really do a good job.
Now there's times when stressis super important, Like if
you're in a dangerous situation,right, Life threatening,
physical threatened, but noteveryday life.
You don't need that.

(09:56):
But so many of us lived in thatheightened state.
So when we do, we're alreadyheightened and we're like, oh, I
can't even get that word, youknow, and we're just all even
higher tense and it just itmakes it worse.
It's the same thing If you'relike, oh, man, I wanted to tell
you something and now I can'tremember, you know, and it's
like that same thing.
We're already in thatheightened state and so that

(10:18):
it's like it's getting blocked alittle bit and so, just like
you said, don't focus on it.
When I think you said let it go.
I think let go of of the forcingis what you're talking about
Right and just continue withyour conversation and more than
likely it will come back.

(10:39):
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, verysimilar.
It's a limbic system and allthe chemicals that are being
released from the brain to tryto help protect us from
something, something you thinkis a danger, but it's actually

(11:03):
not so yeah it's challenging,but it's also incredibly
wonderful when you can startstart stopping, so go ahead.
I can see you want to saysomething.

Deborah (11:16):
So I understand that you offer sessions in this.
I'm super excited to experiencemy first session.
Excited to experience my firstsession because I love, first of
all, being creative and I am sointerested in seeing how that
process is going to work and youknow.

(11:37):
So then do you show up with,show up to one of your sessions
with a specific question or howdoes that work?

Debbie (11:52):
well, I call the classes creative stress relief, because
there's a lot of ways to becreative 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 somethinglike overtly physical, um,
we're not going to have a dancesession for an hour.
That's not how I am, more thanlikely.
I know some people are like,why not?
it's like because I'll be, but,um, more than likely it'll be

(12:16):
some kind of an art type ofthing, 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, andit's like forming it in with
plastic.
It's plaster but you useplastic and you can put it over
any bowl you want and theplastics over that so it doesn't

(12:39):
get the bowl dirty whatever,and you know.
So I, what I do, is I give youa list of supplies.
More often than not, it'spretty usually under 20 bucks,
but you can go, you know you canbuy more, but I keep it very
limited and that allows peoplemost people to be able to
purchase it.
But what we do is it's it'slike we come to the session and

(13:04):
we settle down and we settleinto our time together.
We may be quiet for threeminutes, I may pull a card and
whatever card comes up.
We talk about that.
If I didn't ask you to come witha situation, there may not be a
need for the situation.
This may be just how to releasestress, but not try to solve a

(13:27):
problem, but just a way likenext week you're stressed, maybe
do this particular activity tohelp decrease that stress.
In this case, I'll put somedetails in the description box
for this episode, because thereis something coming up in
October.

(13:47):
But in general, people can goto my website, which is
debbiepearson.
com, and then click on the linkCreativity, and that's going to
be the Creativity link or tab iswhere they can find out more
information of what's coming up.
But yeah, so I'll leave it atthat.

(14:08):
That way I can put the detailsin there, because I don't know
when people are going to listento this particular one, so I
didn't want to.

Deborah (14:13):
yeah like, but I mean, this is going to be an ongoing
offering that you have, so theymay be.
They will always be able to goto that link to see what's going
on right now.

Debbie (14:25):
Absolutely, and that's why.

Deborah (14:26):
I just pointed to the link you know, and I, being a
self-care coach, am alwayslooking for new ways because all
of us connect with differentways of doing things, and I
think I invite people to reallysee what works for you.

(14:48):
So this is just anotheropportunity for me even to try
something different.
I love doing art and I inviteour listeners to check it out.
I think it's going to be somuch fun.

Debbie (15:01):
It really is.
It is very calming, it's veryrelaxing, it feels good.
We share whatever we can in thetime allotted.
And then we have the website,facebook group, where there's a
thread, you know, and it's likepost that class that sessions
artwork here.
And I say artwork again.

(15:22):
It could be a collage.
You know putting words together.
It could we might do a digitalvision board.
I mean, there's just so manydifferent possibilities that I
didn't want to call it art, butso 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 seewhat you're going to do.

(15:45):
And it's just, it's a lot offun, very relaxing.
People do seem to enjoy it very, very much.

Deborah (15:55):
Cool.
Well, I'm looking forward to itand I invite our audience to
come check it out.
And, as always, we invite youto love and care for the shee on
you.

Debbie (16:09):
bye bye, everybody.