You Can't Pour From an Empty Cup

 Guest Contributor: Melanie Platt

www.perfectpelvicfloor.com 

Health – what does that mean in today’s world?

It includes so many different areas of our life – more so today than ever before. With the rising stress levels, high expectation levels (often placed on us by ourselves) multiple roles in the family and the constant view from society that we should be doing more.

What does health mean to you?

Does it mean being able to run 5km? Prepare and eat a balanced healthy meal 3 times a day? Having time to look after your mental health with journaling or meditation? Does it mean you’re fulfilling what your gut is telling you to do? Or does it mean you have mastered mindfulness and can be present in your surroundings each day?

Throughout my professional career of 12 years as a Physiotherapist it has involved helping people find their health, specific to them. Injury free, living their best life. However, on a personal level it’s something I’ve been interested in my entire life. Including exercise, nutrition and more recently mental/emotional health.

The reason I went into women’s health in particular was I noticed that women were consistently putting themselves last in their families, always the last to seek help with anything medically and putting everyone else’s needs first. This is something I felt really strongly about changing. So I started teaching pelvic floor exercise classes for pregnancy and post-natal women to help them find themselves, and to feel like they could do everything they wanted to. At the time this wasn’t readily available and I’m so glad to see many more programs like this aimed at helping women around today.

I believe health encompasses all of the above. And it’s not something we ever attain and get to the end of. It’s a journey and a process and what’s important is being able to love yourself while you are on this journey. No more guilt for putting yourself first, just start a little list of the things you love doing and do more of them.

You can’t pour from an empty cup. Yours needs to be full first.