8
2023
Why Self-Care Is Important for Everyone, Including (and Especially) Parents
Parenthood can be rewarding, but it can be ever too busy sometimes. Between being our children’s chauffeur and managing other to-dos, some days can be too overwhelming until we don’t get a minute to ourselves.
Self-care and mental health go hand-in-hand. Neglecting one can have a negative impact on the other. Parental stress or burnout may get out of control if we don’t handle it well.
Why Making Time For Yourself Matters
Self-care is not selfish. It has everything to do with health and wellness. In fact, self-care is important for parents to not only meet our own needs, but also our family responsibilities. Only by taking good care of ourselves can we take better care of our children.
For Darling and I, we indulge in massages to help us relax, relief stress and rejuvenate.
What To Expect From Your Massage
We don’t stick to any particular types of massage. We usually just go with the flow and often just drop by the wellness center nearest to us.
HEALTHLAND FAMILY WELLNESS CENTRE
We usually go for our massages when the boys are in school. This also means we get to enjoy discounted Happy Hour rates.
HEALTHLAND HAPPY HOUR RATES
At Healthland, they have separate MALE and FEMALE only rooms but I would usually request if they can put both Darling and I together in a room which they usually do.
VIP Room
Exclusive LADIES only room.
Foot massage room that looks like a cinema with a big screen in front.
Darling and I went for Thainess Oil massage recently. This massage involves massaging of warm aromatherapy oils into the skin for a soothing, relaxing effect. It is ideal for relaxation, stress relief and soothing of aches and pains. I pair this with lemongrass oil for detoxification while Darling went with lavender oil for calming effect.
Foot wash before our full body massage session.
For oil massage, we will need to be undressed (you’ll be provided with a disposable underwear with towels draped over you during treatment).
Our session commenced with our therapist applying pressure to relax and rejuvenate our entire body. A mix of deep pressure, gliding, rolling, stroking, rubbing and stretching movements using the palms, thumbs, elbows and knees are used in combination with the application of (warmed) base oils over the whole body.
When you find a practitioner, who is attuned to how you are tolerating the procedure and adjusts the pressure based on your reactions, the massage can be quite relaxing.
At the end of a full body massage, I feel completely relaxed and restored – just about ready to roll into bed and take a good nap.
Once I’m properly rested, I am ready to face my challenges again and be a better parent to my children.