Shen Dove

personal style, musings and inspiration

Birthday Reflections

Today is my Birthday. I’m not where I thought I’d be at this age, but I guess I’m where I’m supposed to be. I feel blessed and grateful for another year on this Earth. Since a birthday is somewhat like a personal new year, it feels right to set some intentions for my year (8 of them since I was born on the 8th day of the month).

1// Set Boundaries and Keep Them. Be intentional about setting up boundaries around my time, energy, and space. The older I get, the more I realize how important boundary setting is.

2// Show Up For People In My Life. It’s really easy (at least for me) to get wrapped up in day-to-day life but I need to remember to check in on my community more to see how they are doing. I’d like to aim for more in-person meet-ups and less phone or text touch-bases this year.

3// Break Down My Goals into Small Manageable Steps. Naturally a big picture thinker, this year, I really want to focus on breaking down my goals into smaller more manageable steps that I can track.

4// Delve More Into Learning About Wellness and Spirituality. I have a long list of books I’ve bookmarked that I want to delve into. But I’d also like to research deepening learning by taking classes and workshops. I feel called to learn more about herbs and yoga in particular.

5// Speak Up For Myself Even If It Feels Uncomfortable. I want to continue to practice activating my Throat Chakra by speaking up for myself and being less shy. It’s not the easiest but so worthwhile. I’d also like to explore more opportunities to speak in front of people because that is something that really makes me feel uncomfortable, but it’s good to do things out of your comfort zone sometimes. FYI that the Throat Chakra is driven by the principle of expression and communication.

6// Travel (Even) More. I enjoy travel and I’d love to manifest more travel opportunities into my life! Here is my 2018 travel destination bucket list but I’d welcome opportunities to travel to numerous places some of which are: Marrakesh, Sydney and Melbourne, Bali, Tokyo, Bahia, Sao Paolo, Lima…I could go on.

7// Balance Discipline with Going with the Flow. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself in the last year and recognize that I can be really rigid about specific things like my daily routine, wellness habits, among other things and too flexible around people pleasing practices.

8// Manifest. I believe in setting intentions an manifestation and I look forward to seeing things unfold that I’ve been calling in for all areas of my life from career, to financial, to romantic relationships, and family.

 

I’m looking forward to great things happening in my personal new year!

 

Monthly Wellness To-Do – March 2018

In 2018 I want to take my wellness habits into my own hands and if you want to do the same, take part in a monthly wellness to-do. Before I go into what this months wellness to-do goal is, I want to take about overall wellness. It is something that we all would like to achieve, mentally, physically, emotionally, we all want to feel a sense of wellness within our lives to help navigate our way through, unfortunately, that can be hard to come by especially with all the stress that is happening around us. That is why small goals are a good thing to set out, achieving small things can add up bit by bit resulting in a level of wellness that can support us. You don’t want to take on too much at once, so taking small steps is always the best thing to do. If that means being aided by some of the best CBD oil UK products on the market alongside this goal-setting, then so be it. More people than you may know are doing this now because this form of remedy and treatment has become vastly popular in recent years. You see, natural remedies are something more people are looking towards now because they feel that natural is best. Marijuana product buying and prescribing is on the rise, from strains such as gorilla glue 4 to CBD oils for certain ailments, so much can be done with natural medications now that can help us. It is also becoming much easier to consume marijuana and make the most of its health benefits, as more and more products are being created. For example, you can now vape different strains (you can visit https://www.canadacannabisdispensary.co/product/lit-vape-pen-refill-cartridges-1000mg/ to see which strains are available). Anyway, without further ado, let us get onto this months wellness to-do…

This Month’s Wellness to-do: Focus on Financial Wellness by setting two Savings Goals: 1) A practical goal for your future, and 2) for something that brings you joy.

A study out of the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis found that future-minded people who contributed to a 401(k) were more likely to take steps to improve their health (source). Financial concerns can manifest in your physical body in various ways from generalized anxiety to much more serious issues. This month, I want to start giving myself financial peace of mind by focusing on increasing my emergency fund and also planning to incrementally increase saving for travel which brings me a lot of joy. I’m also going to be researching how to buy shares uk because while they’re high rich, they can also be extremely high reward. Join me this month on establishing some savings goals! Your source of joy savings goal may be to save for a designer handbag purchase or to save for a new piece of artwork. Your practical goals could be anything from saving for a house down payment to saving for longer term goals like building a college fund for your children or for a stress free retirement.

Previous 2018 Wellness To-Dos: January 2018 | February 2018

[Image: Unsplash]

Podcasts to Listen to Now – Part IV

Podcasts remain my go-to way to while away my commute time. Every few months I’m adding and sometimes subtracting defunct podcasts from my list. In case you are looking for some interesting podcasts to add to your queue, see my current must-listen list below.

Thirst Aid Kit – This podcast is like the best of the exhaustive convos you’d have with your single friends (when you actually have the time) about your crushes. I love the fact that they write a piece of fan fic for each episode that listeners can weigh in on to choose their favorites. I’m not even gonna admit how long I spent scrolling through the podcast’s Tumblr…Must-Listen Episode: Can’t Choose One…Listen to the entire first season!

 

On She Goes – It’ not so easy to find travel and lifestyle content that revolves specifically around women of color and that’s why I enjoy this podcast. The short vignettes of travel tips from a women of color perspective and and interviews of women of color have definitely inspired me to add a few destinations to my travel bucket list. Must-Listen Episode: Season 2 Episode I Can’t Get My Hair Wet

 

Hey Girl Podcast – Self-care, inspiring and sometimes poignant stories on loss, love and everything in between from interviewees, encompass this podcast. I’ve been following Alex Elle on IG for a while and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy her thoughtfully done podcast. Must-Listen Episode: Episode 16: Dana on Self-Awareness Through Yoga

 

 

The Naked Beauty Podcast Hosted by Brooke Devard – Beauty, Fashion, Skincare are some of my favorite content topics so of course I’d enjoy this podcast that revolves around those topics! Brooke, the host of this podcast has really interesting guests. Must-Listen Episode: Moving Beyond #BlackGirlMagic Ft. Lindsey Day (Founder of CRWN Magazine)

 

 

The Nod – This podcast ells the stories of Black life that don’t get told anywhere else.These podcast episodes are well produced and I usually end up learning some little known fact about notable figures in history. Must-Listen Episode: Ready, Set Buy Black

 

Self Love: 14 ways to Celebrate Yourself on Valentine’s Day

Romantic love is amazing! But don’t forget to show yourself some love and attention this Valentines Day. So though I don’t take much stock in “made up” holidays like Valentine’s Day, I like any excuse to practice and promote self care and self love. After all, your relationship with yourself is just as meaningful and important as your relationships with your romantic partner, children, friends, community, etc. Read on for some ideas on how to show yourself some love and appreciation this Valentines Day.

  1. Give yourself a pat on the back by writing a reverse bucket list about your accomplishments.
  2. Take a some time to sit in stillness and Meditate.
  3. Call or text your person/people. It’s so easy to forget to check in with your loved ones and
  4. If cooking is relaxing for you, Cook yourself a meal either from scratch or from a meal kit.
  5. Order your favorite meal from your favorite local restaurant. If you’re feeling social, you can sit down to dine or if you’re not so social, order for takeout.
  6. Go on a solo date, see a movie that has been on your watch list for a while, buy yourself something like the best pocket pussy and end the day by indulging in self-pleasure.
  7. Re-read a childhood favorite book. For example now is the perfect time to start re-reading before the film comes out next month!
  8. Watch your favorite comedy show, series, or stand up routine. Laugh out loud over silly humor.
  9. So many of us are sleep deprived, so take some time to get much needed sleep.
  10. Exercise outside by doing things like taking a walk, jogging, hiking, or doing a short HIIT workout.
  11. For the introverts: Give your self at home spa treatments like pedicures and face masks. You can get a nice selection of items you’ll need from your local drug store or if you have more expensive taste, head to the closest Sephora to stock up on Korean Beauty favorites. You could also give yourself a sauna session. If interested, you may want to check out this portable sauna for the same.
  12. Clean your space (or hire someone else to help if you can).
  13. Get yourself flowers from your local Mitcham florist with all your favorite blooms (even an inexpensive arrangement from the grocery store is just fine), and place them somewhere you’ll see them regularly.
  14. For the extroverts: Host a dinner with loved ones and be the life of the party with music/dancing, board games, or other fun activities.

Image Source: Unsplash

Monthly Wellness To-Do – February 2018

 

In 2018 I want to take my wellness habits into my own hands and if you want to do the same, take part in a monthly wellness to-do.

This Month’s Wellness to-do: Switch out one personal care product for a natural/non-toxic/less toxic one.

Your skin is very absorbent, so it ideal to be more aware of the ingredients of your personal care products. But this can be daunting, so focusing on one product category at a time can be more manageable. This month, I’m researching natural fragrance options. I want to find a perfume I absolutely love that’s at least less toxic even if it’ on the pricier side. I’m looking for a less toxic fragrance that would be ideal for the spring and summer months (I’m so over winter!). I also love natural oils so it would be great to find an oil based option as well. If you want to join me in this to-do but aren’t into fragrances, I suggest starting off with exploring natural deodorant options (this one is my current favorite).

Previous 2018 Wellness To-Dos: January 2018

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