Northern Colorado’s BIPOC Alliance joined Sun Breath Yoga owner and instructor Jessica Lucey and Whole Being Coach founder Kris Monkou to share their own interpretations as to why it can be hard to keep up with self-care habits. The Sept. 23 event was designed to help people understand the complexities behind what self-care is and a few simple methods to aid the process.
In the workshop, Lucey and Monkou explained the layers that encompass self-care. They delved into physical, emotional, energy, wisdom and bliss levels of the self and how to nurture these levels. They also highlighted the importance of not trying to fix everything at once, noting it’s OK to start small.
“Start with awareness,” Monkou said when examining a holistic approach to self-care. “Start with how you are feeling. And then, you know, find a system that works specifically for you.”
For some, the fact that this event centered BIPOC experiences was the key reason they chose to attend.
“I love the idea that it was (BIPOC-focused),” participant Kora Bonomo said.
Lucey, who has worked with the alliance before, chose to incorporate this focus for the event in order to create a welcoming space where people felt comfortable sharing their experiences.
“Self-care and the kind of blocks that happen in the BIPOC community are slightly different,” Lucey said.
She said she wanted participants to be able to speak freely and have a space to explore the various ways people from different cultures view self-care.
Another struggle highlighted was the belief that the time and effort self-care requires can lead to burnout, something Monkou said is due to a lack of setting boundaries and prioritizing the self.
“We can see it as a lack of commitment to (oneself),” Monkou said. “Whether that’s people-pleasing or over-giving, versus actually being in tune with what the self needs and what you need as a person.”
Lucey said the self-care industry mainly focuses on the physical aspect of it, such as working out or using a variety of products for dieting, skincare or living a “better life.” However, Lucey and Monkou said they are trying to inform people that healing goes beyond the factors of physical health.
“There’s also that mental, emotional piece that people are now starting to become aware of,” Lucey said. “I do not think that this bliss, body, spiritual layer gets nourished enough.”
During the event, the instructors explained how self-care can be as simple as taking a walk in nature to help nourish physical and mental health. Another recommendation was meditation, which they said can aid the layers of energy, wisdom and bliss in the body. They shared resources people can look into for help, such as a reiki or a yoga studio but explained it is important to have help from either a professional or someone who cares enough to help with accountability.
Lucey and Monkou stressed how self-care looks different for everyone; it is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Regular exercise does wonders for the body and mind of some, but for others, it may not be the key to success. Some people may find they have a hard time with meditation while others enjoy the peace it brings.
“I wanted to introduce this framework because it’s how I see all of self-care,” Lucey said. “When people are coming up to me sharing … ‘I can’t do this self-care thing.’ They’re not counting all of these other things that encompass the ways that we care for (ourselves.) There’s more than what the self-care industrial complex has to offer.”
Reach Claire Nestor at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
