It’s my birthday week, and I want to share with you one of the biggest gifts that I have given myself: My Relationship with Me.

My relationship with Me is one of the most important aspects of my life which I believe to be the foundation of a satisfying life… and gut health.

I inevitably coach my gut health clients on it because the relationship that we each have with ourselves determines the state of our health.

Gut health requires a process of learning how to listen to one’s self, one’s body, one’s truth, one’s gut instinct, and one’s energy levels.

There is a big listening component in the journey of healing one’s gut and ultimately living in alignment that fosters a healthy gut.

Everyone’s gut would benefit from a certain gut health outline; but then there are individual needs, sensitivities, and uniqueness.

Gut health is a journey of getting to know one’s self.

I think this is the heart and meat of gut health.

My Relationship With Me

I had a wild decade in my 20s, wild not by normal standards. I lived, worked, and studied at two different retreat centers for a total of 5 years; Body Mind Restoration Retreats in Ithaca, New York, and Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.

I spent these years getting to know myself. Getting to know what I wanted, what I felt, and what I thought.

I also traveled in my 20s to Brasil and Australia; I believe that traveling is an incredible opportunity to get to know one’s self.

The gift that I want to give is the powerful tool of honing in and knowing what you want.

Not what you are supposed to want, or should want, or have to want….

What you truly want.

By Questioning and letting go of all the should and have to.

Getting clear on Your Want.

It is a process.

I coach my clients on how to use their true wants to guide them in their life.

Often we are weighed down by a pile of confusion about what we think we want or what we have been conditioned to want.

For example, people pleasing, avoiding confrontation, and tolerating aspects of your life; these all lead to a small life.

Breaking out of shoulds and have-tos opens the door for a bigger life.

This path is more challenging upfront, we have to tell the truth not only to others but also to ourselves. There are some layers of inner work here.

I, as a mom of a little one, have had my relationship with Me on the back burner for the last couple of years.

Wow, do I miss my relationship with Me. Having a bit more time recently, to be with myself, has been a game changer.

So this week being my birthday, I am heading to the hot springs to celebrate and cultivate my relationship with Me.

I encourage you to find some time for yourself, to be with yourself, and to cultivate a deeper relationship with yourself.