Sisters-in-Service
Are you a women veteran who feels unseen and unheard? Do you struggle with finding your purpose after service? Sisters-in-Service is a podcast that gives women veterans the platform to talk about those exact issues and more. Hear from other veterans, military spouses and Veteran Service Organizations (VSO) just like you that have overcome their transition from the military. Every Tuesday this podcast encourages women veterans to stand up and be counted because as a group we have a voice. From your host - Cat Corchado - The Voice Connecting Women Veterans
Sisters-in-Service
Unwrapping Self-Care: Navigating the Holidays with Grace and Wellness"
Feeling overwhelmed by the holiday hustle? Discover the secrets to maintaining your sanity while hosting festive gatherings with me, Kat Quartato. We'll explore how to manage the stress of endless preparations—from orchestrating large family dinners to the frenzy of gift shopping—without sacrificing your well-being. Recognize the telltale signs of stress like a racing heart or shallow breathing, and learn practical strategies to keep them in check. I'll share the transformative power of setting boundaries and the liberating act of saying no, empowering you to reclaim your holiday joy and peace.
As we embrace the holiday season, it's essential to prioritize self-care, understanding that time for yourself is a necessity, not a luxury. Learn how to gracefully navigate social obligations by setting firm boundaries, like deciding when to unplug from socializing and ignoring calls after hours. I’m excited to extend warm wishes from my family to yours and invite you to explore fitness options like a complimentary week of small space Pilates. Join me in teasing an exhilarating January 2025 fitness challenge, and remember to prioritize self-care, family, and fun. Let’s ensure this holiday season is one filled with joy, balance, and wellness.
Welcome to Sisters in Service podcast. Most of you know me as a strong advocate for women veterans in being recognized not only as veterans but also as women who are changing the world through our passion of serving even after service. This podcast is my passion, by telling all the stories of military brats, military spouses, active duty and veterans, not to forget the veteran service organizations that help us along our transition journey. I want to thank you in advance for listening. I hope that you will join me. Every week, a new podcast and episode comes out every Tuesday, so I hope that you will join and I hope that you enjoy. This podcast is brought to you by Small Space Pilates. Are you ready to get fit and fabulous from the comfort of your own home? Look no further than Small Space Pilates. With live online Pilates and strength training classes, a video library and a no perfection allowed policy, you can achieve your fitness goals without ever leaving your house. Click on the link for your complimentary week and start your journey to feeling fabulous today.
Speaker 1:Welcome everyone to another segment of why Not? Wellness. You know me, I'm Kat Quartato, your movement specialist. It's a few days before Thanksgiving and I thought it would be apropos to talk about some things that might help us get through the holidays. Now, if you're lucky and you have a family that you know, everything always goes well and everyone wants to help out, then maybe this isn't for you. However, if you are that person that gets dumped on what I mean by dumped on is that everything comes down to you. Everyone's coming to your house. You always host Thanksgiving and or Christmas dinner. You always are the one doing the shopping. You're the one, I mean, you're doing all the things right. So in why Not Wellness today, we're going to be speaking about how to take care of you yes, you and I'm not going to say self-care, because I think the term self-care has become so overdone, right, and I want you to be able to recognize when that happens. So we're going to talk about putting down some boom gates. We're going to talk about saying no, maybe even sharing some of these activities. So welcome to why Not Wellness. This is where I get to dive into the heart of health and fitness, bringing you insights, tips and conversations to I don't know, talk about and reach your journey. Who knows, find something new.
Speaker 1:So I'm embracing the festive spirit with this episode called Unwrapping Self-Care, navigating the Holidays with Grace and Wellness. So we're gearing up for the season of joy. Yes and no, it's depending on what your definition of joy is, but it's crucial to remember the importance of taking time for ourselves. This is a go, go, go, do, do, do season. Unless you say no, we're not doing that this year. So let's explore how to maintain our health and fitness goals while soaking in the holiday cheer.
Speaker 1:So, to start off with the importance of self-care. Well, okay, I hate self-care, I don't know what else to call it, you guys. But the holidays can be wonderful. I love the holidays. I love this whole Christmas season. I'm a big Christmas person. The holidays, decorating, the food, all of it.
Speaker 1:However, if you, like I said before, are those people that everything gets dumped on you, then it's time to take a step back. So what are these tips for recognizing signs of stress? Well, we know, at a heart rate's going up, you think you have everything for dinner and then someone says, oh, by the way, we forgot blank. Can you go get it? Or oh, we can't have dinner at our house. Can we have dinner at your house? And I'm not talking to dinner for four or five people, we're talking eight, 10, 12, 20. Okay, that's stressful. So I want you to be able to recognize when your heart rate is up. You're doing this shallow breathing. You just feel yourself closing in like this and it sucks. It really does. And so what I want you to start thinking about is right now, not when we get to Christmas, but right now. Are you stressed Because Thanksgiving's just around the corner? These are the same feelings you're going to have during Christmas. Only now we got to buy Christmas gifts. You got just around the corner. These are the same feelings you're going to have during Christmas. Only now we got to buy Christmas gifts, you got to do the wrapping, you got to do the things, and it's a lot.
Speaker 1:So let's talk a little bit about this word I don't want to say which is self-care. So we have to have, we have to find balance. We have to and I know that you're like oh, that's another word and it is. But understanding, when you are up to here, as my mother would say, I've had it up to here with you okay is when you say, okay, I need a day, I need an hour, I need 15 minutes to breathe, and when I say you're breathing, you're in the bathroom with the door locked, okay, saying mommy's not available for 15 minutes.
Speaker 1:You know, alternate nostril breathing, just slowing down your breath. Maybe it's taking time to go outside you don't have to walk All the walking would be great, but just being out in the elements, just breathing the fresh air, realizing that you just got stressed Maybe you just yelled at someone that you didn't mean to yell at because you're stressed, take care of you. I would love for you to write down a list of things that you could do in one to five minutes. Maybe it's stretching, maybe, or longer. If you only have a few minutes, then alternate nostril breathing is amazing because it reduces the stress on both sides of the brain simultaneously. It's my favorite thing to do.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about balancing our festivities and our fitness goals, so I'm not going to sit here and preach and be like, oh, watch your calories. Blah, blah, blah. Okay, yeah, that's all true, but it's also the holidays. You guys, I love the pie, the cookies, the pudding, the, this, the that, the things. I love all of it. However, I'm very cognizant of what I eat and when I eat, and what I mean by that is I go into the holidays knowing that my goal is not to gain any weight. So, rather than thinking about oh, how much am I putting on my plate, why don't we balance it out with some fun activities?
Speaker 1:Take the kids outside Maybe you've got visiting kids. Take them out on the playground, you know. Swing with them, you know. Walk with them. Walk with your family. Say, hey, let's do a family walk. Let's start a tradition. You know, maybe you're walking by yourself, maybe you're out kicking the ball around with some of the kids.
Speaker 1:Find different ways to be active without it being fitness related. Okay, kicking the ball around me, roller skating, you know, taking a walk, you know being mindful. I think that's when we think of all these things as have tos, and you don't think of them as have tos, but it's. I have to do this in order to get to here, and it's like the next thing, the next thing, the next thing, and that's when we start feeling this stress. So I want you to feel ways. I want you to know about ways that you can be active without thinking about the fitness goals and the heart rate and the all the things. So doing some of these things is really a nice way to get your family involved.
Speaker 1:Take the whole family out there. Some of them people can't play. Let them watch from the window, you know, and you're out there and you're doing those things and I have to tell you this story. So you're probably one. Well, I'm not good at kickball, I'm not good at this, I'm not. So let me tell you this story.
Speaker 1:My husband not my husband, my son actually was a skateboarder back in the day, loved skateboarding. All the kids would come over, watch skateboarding videos, all the things. So I decided I wanted to try getting on a skateboard and I did. For about half a second I was on it and I fell off in the grass. But I fell off in front of not only my son but probably six or seven of his friends. I thought, great, fast forward. About two weeks later they're back at the house and I thought, oh, here we go. They're going to laugh at me and you know, and I was okay with that. All they remembered was the fact that I even tried to get on the skateboard. Oh, my mom would never do that. So don't think about it as if you have to be good at it.
Speaker 1:Be a kid, go out there and play like you were a kid. I don't mean move like a kid, I mean play like you're a kid because you know what You're building memories Five, six, 10 years down the road. Remember when you went outside and kicked the ball with us, or you took us outside and we were swinging, or we played on the playground. Kids love that stuff. They don't remember that you fell. They don't remember that you know you kicked the ball and you know it didn't go anywhere or you missed it. They don't remember that you fell. They don't remember that you kicked the ball and it didn't go anywhere or you missed it. They just remember the fact that you were out there.
Speaker 1:All right, so let's talk about making time for yourself. You have to carve out this time. Look at your schedule. Maybe you're one of those people that maybe you're not having anyone coming over, but you've been invited to all of these parties. Okay, I can tell you one thing when I am in a situation where there's a lot of people and it's back-to-back parties, I need some me time. I need some space. I need to go in a room where it's quiet and I can just read. Maybe I can play. I don't know what that game is bubble something, bubble stuff. I play it on my own phone. I don't even remember the name of it.
Speaker 1:But just time to not be people-y. We need that time to not be people-y because it reignites that engine. It gets you to reset and you're like okay, I'm ready to go again. And so it's wonderful being together with your family. It's wonderful eating the good food and watching the old movies. I love all these old movies. The Christmas movie and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer yeah, that old thing. Yes, I still watch those. Those are making memories too.
Speaker 1:So I want you to have the sense of well-being during the holidays. I don't want you to be like, oh, I can't wait till it's over. Make a memory, take pictures. Here's something you might have that family member that always tells the same joke every year, or that family member that always gets in an argument with someone in your family, or maybe it's a relative that's just cranky all the time. Embrace all of that seriously, because there's going to come a time when one or more of those people aren't going to be around and you'll say remember when.
Speaker 1:That's when perfection comes in, when people talk about oh, when this happens, it'll be perfect. When this happens, I'll be happy. Just watch what happens, take a moment and sit back and say I am grateful for my family being here, all of them. I'm grateful for being able to sit down and eat with them. I am grateful for all of them. You guys know this. You know this, but put it into play.
Speaker 1:So, as we wrap up today, taking time for yourself isn't selfish, it's a necessity. The holidays are a time for celebration, reflection and most important here comes that word again self-care, by finding balance and setting boundaries, also known as boom gates ie, I will not take calls after eight o'clock, I will not party after well, whatever that is for you, I'm not going to put a boob gate on that and, embracing the joy of the season, you can navigate the holidays with grace and wellness. So, from my family to yours, I wish you a happy and healthy and harmonious holiday. Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for more episodes because I'll have another one of these during the Christmas holiday. Oh yeah, that's the biggie.
Speaker 1:So for those of you that are maybe on the fence about fitness, not sure what to do, you're not sure where to go, let's have a conversation. I do have a free week of small space Pilates where we do weight training, stretching and Pilates, and maybe I'm not your flavor and I'm okay with that, but let's talk about it and find out how I can get you started. But let's talk about it and find out how I can get you started. Also, stay tuned because I'm going to be having a January 2025 11 minute fitness challenge coming up. Oh, I can't wait to share it with you guys. So, until then, take care of yourself, take care of your family, have fun, think about you. And this is me, kat Corchado, your movement specialist, signing off for now. So happy holidays, Thank you.