How many times have we told patients you must take care of yourself first, so that you can take care of others? As students and health practitioners this is advice that we need to put into practice in our own lives.

Last week were midterm exams, which means a lot of late nights and early mornings. Between school, work, seeing patients in the clinic and other commitments I was exhausted, to say the least. Friday was my only day off that week, so I had plans to execute a small to-do list. However, when I woke up my body said something different, I felt drained and knew I needed to sleep in. We all have to listen to our bodies, even if it is not convenient. That day I slept in, relaxed, did a bit of yoga, opened a bag of seaweed flavored potato chips, and then watched a few episodes of this new series I started.

I think as students we plan out which days we study; however, we often forget about our recovery process. For many of the classes in this program, there are exams every 5 weeks. So, my advice is to make room on your schedule for self-care and recovery. Make it a priority and write it in your schedule, book a massage, go for a walk, make an acupuncture appt, meditate, exercise. We must ask ourselves what steps can we take to allow our lives to be more balanced.

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