A Reflection on Self Care, Devotion, and Listening Early

The other week, my sinuses became the messenger.

At first, it was subtle. A bit of pressure. A sense of congestion. A quiet request from my body for slowing down and tending. And like so many times before, I muscled through.

As a mother.

As a business owner.

As someone holding space for others.

The obligations were loud. The body was quiet. So I kept going.

There is a particular way many of us learn to override ourselves. We convince ourselves that tending later will be enough. That rest can wait. That nourishment can come after the to do list is complete. But the body does not operate on productivity timelines. It speaks in sensations, signals, and needs that ask to be met in real time.

With a little space, I can see clearly that had I paused when my body first whispered, the reality I found myself in days later would have been very different.

Five minutes would have mattered.

Five minutes in a warm bath.

A towel draped over my head.

Steam rising.

Deep breathing.

A gentle hum vibrating the sinuses and softening the nervous system.

When I finally allowed myself that moment, everything shifted. My breath deepened. My body softened. My system remembered safety. Nutritive teas followed. The neti pot became a ritual rather than a chore. Care stopped feeling like something extra and returned to being something essential.

And with that care came something else I had forgotten. Joy.

When the body is overwhelmed, joy is often the first thing we lose access to. Not because it disappears, but because the nervous system no longer has the capacity to receive it. Self care is not indulgence. It is the doorway that makes joy possible again.

This is what embodied devotion looks like.

Not grand gestures.

Not perfect routines.

But small, intentional acts of listening and responding.

Devotion to the body is saying yes when it asks quietly, rather than waiting until it has to demand attention loudly. It is remembering that care does not need to be earned. It needs to be practiced.

As we approach a new year, many people feel the pull to do more, be better, push harder. What if instead, the invitation was to listen sooner. To respond gently. To commit to the kind of self care that nourishes rather than fixes.

On December 28, I will be holding space for an Embodied Devotion Somatics and Self Care Workshop from 1:30–3:30 pm, closing with a self care commitment ceremony to welcome 2026. This gathering is not about rigid promises or resolutions. It is about choosing a relationship with your body rooted in presence, compassion, and devotion.

A moment to pause.

A moment to listen.

A moment to commit to yourself in a way that feels sustainable and true.

Sometimes five minutes is all it takes to change everything.