MSI Press Blog

  Your Self-Care Bucket: Fill It First  Self-care is anything you intentionally do to nourish and renew your mind, body, and spirit. It’s not like you practice it once and then you’re good to go for the next two years. It’s the accumulation and constant replenishment of sustainable self-care practices that can help you stay well physically, emotionally, spiritually, and beyond. I often describe this accumulation in terms of a self-care bucket. Visualize an empty bucket in your favorite color or pattern. We’ll call this your self-care bucket. Now visualize all the self-care practices you do every day or every week. Every self-care practice represents a drop that gets added to your bucket. For example, if you exercised today, add a drop to the bucket. If you got eight solid hours of sleep last night (way to go if that’s you!), sprinkle in another drop.  Eventually, your bucket will be so full of drops of self-care that the accumulation of drops overflows, spilling out into

Name: Julie M. Gentile Book: 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas Date of Interview: June 10, 2019 Who are you? What do you want readers to know about you? I am a full-time working mom, certified and Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher, author of the book 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas (MSI Press), wellness speaker, and creator of the blog Stand Up for Your Self-Care . I am on a wellness mission to inspire other moms to have the courage to stand up for their self-care. Why are you qualified to write this book? I have two young children and I work full-time, so I understand what it means to be busy in the modern world raising little ones. I have been leading yoga classes since 2011, and I have authored numerous health and wellness articles for multiple publications and websites.   What is the message of your book? What should be the take-away by readers? Everyone deserves more self-care. Whether you dedicate an hour to exerc

  Excerpt from 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas by Julie Gentile -  Introduction  I wrote what you are about to read at the center of my very full life as a mom of two young children, working full-time as a marketing and communications professional, and leading yoga classes as a certified and registered yoga teacher. At that time, my husband was also working and going to school full time. “Full” is the key word here. With full hearts and full plates, we were bursting with busyness.   Many days pushed me beyond my limits, bringing me to tears of exhaustion and left me wondering if I was living life to my maximum potential. I was overcome with responsibilities that pulled me in multiple directions, but in me remained my ultimate duty to take care of myself. How did I do that as a working mama in an era where I was available via text message, phone, email, and social media?  I called upon my yoga and meditation background to help. It responded loud and clear: Take i

  From Julie Gentile -  May Is the Month for Moms to Begin Prioritizing Self-Care May is an important month for moms. In honor of Mother's Day, Mental Health Awareness Month and National Women's Health Week, May 14 to May 20, there are many reasons to start an exercise routine you've been thinking about to help you energize, or to spend an afternoon at your local bookstore to restore and reset.  As a yoga teacher, author and full-time working mom, I've learned over and over again that there is no such thing as a perfect schedule. Juggling multiple responsibilities is all about the art of prioritizing what needs your attention now. I structure my day by prioritizing what matters most, and self-care is at the top of my list.  I wrote my first book,  108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas ,  during the evenings when my youngest child was a baby. When my second book,  How to Stay Calm in Chaos: An Everyday Self-Care Guide , was published a year and a half later, we

  From MSI Press author Fred Craigie --  Permission to Rest: Reflections for International Self-Care Day Frederic Craigie, PhD Frederic.craigie@gmail.com Self-care is vital for a sustainable and meaningful life. Some approaches and perspectives on self-care may feel arduous and unattainable. I have always had plenty of aerobic exercise, but I struggle in my semi-retirement years to get the strength-building exercise that I know I need.  Self-care, though, also has to do with the personal values, priorities, and perspectives that we set for ourselves. My friend and faculty colleague at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, Siri Chand Khalsa, MD, MS, speaks of her journey with Covid. Like many of us, including me, she tested positive for Covid, but as the days and weeks progressed, she realized her symptoms weren’t going away. In the early days of the pandemic, Dr. Khalsa was one of the first people to experience what we now call “long Covid.” She suffered from migra

Sent to the printer this week:  108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas  by yoga instructor and guru Julie Gentile. Already available for pre-order on Barnes & Noble. As a mama with a life full beyond belief, do you find yourself too busy to take good care of yourself? Whatever your situation, you deserve spectacular health and wellness. As a mama, your life is full beyond belief, so full that it’s easy for you to forget about self-care. With all of your responsibilities, you’re pressed for time in a major way. But if you don’t take great care of yourself, who will? This guide is your ticket on how to learning to live well as a modern mama. With Millennial working mama, certified yoga teacher, and widely published author, Julie Gentile, as your personal wellness mentor, this book coaches you along your own authentic wellness path. Using 108 writing prompts and self-care practices, yoga poses, meditation, and breathing exercises, Julie shows you practical ways to

  When times get tough and everyone has to look out for everyone else -- helping children, older parents, neighbors, and others, the most forgotten person is the self. Yet, taking care of the self can be the single most important thing you do in order to be able to care for all the others who need your help, regardless of your role in their lives or relationship to them. So, start out the week being good to yourself. Here are some books that can help.     Mama, do you find yourself too busy to take good care of yourself? Whatever your situation, you deserve spectacular health and wellness. With Julie M. Gentile as your personal wellness mentor, this book coaches you along your own authentic self-care path. Using 108 writing prompts and self-care practices, including yoga poses, meditations, and breathing exercises, Julie shows you practical ways to live well that only a mama modern would understand. Become the self-care goddess you truly want to be—you’re worth it! A Woman’s Guide to S

  Back Story of 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas From the author: The Story Behind the Book: How Self-Care Helped Me Achieve My Dream of Writing My First Book Julie M. Gentile It started between an inhale and an exhale on my yoga mat. My idea to write a book for other busy moms like me trying to live well was planted in the pause between both parts of the breath. I had just had my second child and had become more aware of the options busy moms had to manage their full plates. One word about being a busy mom immediately came to mind: Overwhelmed. I knew I couldn’t manage my own busy life without self-care by my side. Since becoming a yoga teacher in 2011, I was already practicing a variety of nourishing practices to feed my mind, body and soul: getting quality sleep, staying hydrated, practicing yoga, meditating, exercising, journaling, eating more plant-based foods and reading uplifting content. These practices helped me pause enough to get glimpses of how I co

Julie Gentile, author of the much-awarded book, 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas , recently wrote a column, " Tune into Your Bliss Breath ," for Mindful Movements . In it, she reminds us that every bliss breath is an opportunity to pause and notice, to learn about what helps--and what happens when--you relax. Read Julie's column to read understand what she means by bliss breath and how it can help you relax. Indeed, this is a welcome post in these stressful times. Many thanks to Julie for sharing it. About Julie Julie M. Gentile is a full-time working mama, certified and Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher, author of numerous health and wellness articles, and professional editor and writer. She has been practicing yoga and meditation for a decade and leading yoga classes since 2011. Her journalism background and her own wellness journey have shaped her recent work to inspire others to stand up for their self-care. Julie’s book,  108 Yoga an