Yesterday I went to Buttermilk Spa in Milton, NY and spent three hours in the afternoon getting a deep tissue massage, foot rubs, facials, and just hung out at their wonderful property. It made me think how lousy I’ve been with taking care of my body over the past years (before I got back into working out again last summer), not listening to the signs when I needed some pampering, relaxation and treatment – not to mention just taking time out to lay down and just enjoy BEING. We’ve only got one body, we’ve got to treat it as best as we can! That means also being conscious of what we put into our bodies in forms of nourishment, getting sufficient vitamins and minerals and keeping hydrated. For years I believe I neglected all of the above, hence gained 30 lbs and got more and more miserable. Until one day I looked at a photo of myself and was caught thinking “Who the hell is this woman?”. Thank goodness I came to my senses, and I know that the path I’m on now, is where I belong and one I will continue to walk on for the rest of my life. I never want to go back to that life or person I was a few years ago, neglecting myself and putting myself last. Thinking everyone else was more important than me. This may sound selfish to some of you, but to me it’s a vital way of thinking for me to continue being the best that I can be. Once I started exercising regularly and gained the passion back to be healthy and fit, everything else in my life fell into place; my marriage became stronger, work got busier and my career more successful and I am now surrounding myself only with positive people who love life just as much as I do. It’s wonderful! So I suggest to each and every one of you: Don’t say you don’t have “time” to take a few moments out of the day just for you; to do whatever you feel like, even if it’s nothing. It’s important to maximize life’s opportunities, and be grateful for what we have, not always complain about what we don’t have.
I had several epiphanies at that spa yesterday… the most important one was not to feel guilty about being a bit vain or ‘self important’ when it comes to where I want to be both in health and mind – this way I will have a LOT more to give to my family and friends and I will become a more positive and enriched person to both myself and the people around me. Go out there now and feel life to the fullest!! 🙂 A few shots of the beautiful spa I went to below:
sunnyandfit.com 
Well said, couldn’t agree with you more. You better take care of yourself because no one else is. Unfortunately, I think alot of people like doing the whole martyr bit, poor me crap, to get sympathy, seems to make them feel better about themselves. Personally, I can’t stand that and find myself getting irritated listening to someone go on about how they haven’t had any days off etc., to me that just shows stupidity.
Hiya! I’m so glad you had this treat. Even having a day off and relaxing at home can’t compare to a relaxing spa session where someone else is making you feel good!
It’s funny you should mention being fit and vanity in the same post because I have the same thoughts some times. I feel self conscious at times because I’ve moved past the “lose weight” phase, and because I’ve moved past that point I wonder if I’m vain. But I’ve decided that since I made the decision to do something about my image (as you did), I shouldn’t feel bad about what I’m doing or the people around me who haven’t and what they think (especially when you invite them to workout with you, and they say “no!”).
Thanks for your comment Elizabeth, and yes – we get so easily affected by other people’s opinions and comments, the key is to just keep doing what feels right for YOU. Research what you put into your body, experiment with work outs, etc. in a safe manner, and there’s nothing to worry about! And so what if you’re vain – when you look good, you can afford to be a little vain! LOL So keep going – if it makes you feel great, that’s what counts! x
Mikaela, yes it’s kind of like all the comments I get :”Oh I wish I had all that time to work out, I wish I had arms like that” blablbala.. Like my girl Pauline says “WISHING won’t get you those arms, WORKING at it will though!!”. 90% of people are talkers, not doers! There’s another saying I like and that is “You have one thing in common with highly successful people: 24 hours in a day”. So make the most of it!! 🙂
There is another way to look at it instead of vanity. The amount of work you put your body through you gotta take care of it or it is going to crap out. For top athletes massages etc. are a part of their training. For my iron man training my coach told me to get a weekly massage. When I worked with the show jumpers the pampering and care we gave those horses were top notch, and it made perfect sense considering what they were expected to do. But it still took me a long time to realize I needed to do the same for myself once I got into marathon running. So to hell with what anyone else says and keep at it guys!
Good point Mikaela, in fact I believe my coach too gets weekly massages – I had a bunch of knots all over my body from lifting, and although I only recently got into spending as much time stretching as I do working out, I still have a long way to go to ‘smooth out’ all the adhesions, etc. that form in the body due to the weight lifting. Thanks for your support as always and hope you are doing well over there! xx