How This Mom and Entrepreneur Sneaks Self-Care Into Each Day

• Updated on: 2022-05-19
• Read original article here

Boutique fitness brands, clean eating programs, and subscription-based meditation apps may lead you to believe that prioritizing self-care and wellness is only possible through dedicating a great deal of money and time, but that’s not necessarily true. The reality is that tiny time investments, like a 10-minute stretching session, and slight tweaks to your habits, like skipping screen time in the morning, can make a big impact on your overall state of being. Bonus: Often, all that comes at little to no expense.

This focus on the small stuff is something Angie Tebbe, the founder of holistic and affordable supplements brand

Rae Wellness (none cost over $15), lives by. She’s long prioritized and practiced wellness; growing up, she was the “weird five-year-old meditating in the middle of Fargo, North Dakota,” she recalls. However, after a pivotal point in her retail strategy career in corporate America, Tebbe realized she needed to recalibrate her well-being journey.

After 15 years of working up the corporate ladder, Tebbe was offered her dream job, but one that she felt would be all-consuming and leave her little time for herself. “Every time I thought about taking on the new role, I started getting nauseous,” she recalls. Tebbe couldn’t understand why she was physically rejecting the idea of taking her dream job. “I was asking myself questions, like, ‘What is wrong with me?’” She realized she had been burning out, both physically and mentally. Tebbe not only turned down the job, she also quit her corporate trajectory entirely. And she determined that her heart and mind were being called to something greater, a career that honored well-being—not just her own, but that of others too.

This led to Rae Wellness, which she designed to enhance the body and mind from the inside out. At its core, Rae's philosophy is to make well-being easy to incorporate into your day to day life. “I believe wellness shouldn’t have to be a full-time job or expensive,” says Tebbe. Beyond making her products a part of her routine, she has six key ways she supports her own well-being as an entrepreneur and mom of three—and how you can, too.

As someone who has practiced mindfulness for many years, Tebbe knows that relieving stress is essential to staying positive. “The mind is the director of everything,” she says. “We are our harshest critics.” From a young age, Tebbe’s parents taught her to release negative feelings and thoughts. She notes that your way to “get it out” may look different from another person’s strategy, but it’s important to find a way to purge your stress and find calm.

Tebbe’s go-to outlet is yoga nidra, which she does every single night for 10 minutes, regardless of where she is in the world. “It's an ancient practice that allows you to focus on relaxing every body part that you have,” she explains. “It gives me very, very restful sleep.”

“Every day looks a little different for me, but the thing I don’t do is open my phone and check my notifications right away,” she says. “That is an absolute no for me, because it changes my thought process, almost putting me into a position of observation versus action.”

Instead, Tebbe—who is an early riser—takes those first few moments of the day to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and practice gratitude. “I need to make sure that when my kids wake up, I'm actively with them, not thinking about world news,” she says. "By the time they wake up, I want to greet them in the most amazing, prepared way to start their day.”

It’s a known truth that physical activity can release tension, but you don’t need to dedicate an hour or spend money on a fitness class to do so. Walking is one of Tebbe’s favorite ways to move her body. “Walking is an easy one, and it works the mind and body together,” she says. “I find it helps deepen my breathing and quiets my mind, and gets me out in nature.” Tebbe, who lives in Minnesota, never misses a day of getting in her steps. In winter, “I’ll put on every piece of clothing that I own to walk for five or ten minutes,” she explains.

“When you do things small, there's an easier way to high five yourself than waiting for the big moments,” she says. “Choose your goal and tie habits together—those incremental things that take you literally 30 seconds.”

For example, when she was pregnant with her third child, she felt she was losing her fitness, so she decided to start doing push-ups while waiting for people to join her work calls. Before she knew it, she was doing 20 push-ups every hour.

Dark chocolate is a favorite indulgence for Tebbe. In addition to its delicious flavor, she also loves its health benefits. As studies have shown, it’s loaded with protective antioxidants and can release three “happy hormones”—dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins.

While there’s a great deal of value in carving out time exclusively for you, there’s also something to be said for working on wellness with those you love. As a mom to three sons, Tebbe finds it’s often easier to involve her children in those moments of mindfulness. For example, she loves to bring them with her on those aforementioned walks, especially after dinner. Tebbe also makes it a point to read to all three kids every night. “That is solace for me, but also for them,” she adds.