Take care of you
‘Look after yourself first’ kinesiologist Yasmin Darwish’s instructed Matthews Steer’s Women
in Business (WIB) as they enjoyed their last gathering for the decade, and prepared to set
sail into the ‘20s.
Darwish, a Melbourne-based kinesiologist who dedicates her career to helping high-
achieving women live lives they truly deserve, says that with burnout on the rise in today’s
have-it-all do-it-all society, self-care has to be the priority for women looking not just to
survive but to thrive.
“Looking after yourself is not selfish, it's about enabling yourself to be the best version of
yourself for the people around you,” says Darwish, speaking at Matthews Steer’s WIB
Christmas high tea.
“You can’t take a breath out without taking a breath in.”
Darwish, who began her career as a receptionist at a recruitment agency, and as a flight
attendant, has experienced stress and burnout personally. She turned to kinesiology when
her personal and career demons left her feeling unfulfilled, anxious, stuck, and desperate to
find a way forward.
“My kinesiologist helped me recognise that I cared about other people’s opinions, and that
got in the way of making decisions that were right for me."
"As women, we take on a lot, whether that’s in our family life or our careers. We have so much going on for us, but in this day and age, when we are in this constant go, go, go, go, busy mode".
“When you take the time to do what's right for you and you look after you, everything else also gets looked after.”
Darwish says stress is the body’s way of trying to communicate, “People stress differently. A shoulder stresser is carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. If you feel stress in your lower back, you’re feeling a lack of support or financial pressure. If you’re experiencing stomach issues when you’re stressed, ask yourself: ‘what is it that you can’t stomach’?”
She says that for people to perform at their optimum, it’s critical that they take active steps to mitigate stress and avoid burnout.
“When you're burnt out, you can't be the best version of yourself and you can't give what you want to give to everyone else."
“In my wildest dreams, I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn't for my kinesiologist and my kinesiology journey helping me to understand what's going on with me, and helping me to do the inner work.
“When you do the inner work, everything on the outside falls into place.”
Yasmin Darwish’s tips for avoiding burnout
Learn to say ‘no’
“When you say ‘yes’ to others make sure you’re not saying ‘no’ to yourself,” says Darwish.
“We’re all human and it can be hard to say no to friends and family, even when we’re busy, but ask yourself what you’re saying yes to, and whether it’s going to put you in a bad position mentally, physically or emotionally.”
Listen to your body
“We use our subconscious mind 90 percent of the time in our conscious thoughts, 10 percent of the time,” says Darwish. “Your body is trying to say, ‘Hey, listen to me, there's something not quite right here, you need to take the time to listen to me. You need to take time to nurture me’.”
Practice self-care
“Self-care isn’t selfish, it's about looking after you, and it means different things to different people” says Darwish. “Think about what self-care looks like for you, and what self-care practice you can do, whether it’s on the weekend, or after work.
“Take some time to look after yourself so you come back in 2020 feeling rejuvenated, empowered, and know that you can absolutely tackle anything that you want for the new year.”
Get some sleep
“How many of us don’t get enough sleep, or just feel like we’re constantly thinking, thinking, thinking,” asks Darwish. “Try to keep your sleep consistent, and switch off from your social media, your mobile phone or your laptop at least an hour before you go to bed. And keep a journal or write a to-do list for the next day so that you go to sleep feeling like you’ve got all those thoughts out of your head, and stilled your active mind.”
Be grateful
“Write down one thing you’re grateful for every single day because once you start to get into the habit of gratitude, you start to really feel empowered, and you go to bed with a grateful heart,” says Darwish.
Meditate
Meditation allows you to connect with your inner self, it allows you to feel relaxed and grounded,” says Darwish. “when you start to connect with yourself you think about things and tackle things very differently. You don’t into things with this constant fight or flight response, and a reactive mindset.”
Set intention
“Setting intention each morning sets the tone for the rest of your day,” says Darwish. “Benvery clear what you want in life, whether that’s daily intentions or broader life intentions. Write down what you want to achieve for 2020 and get very clear. When you set intentions,
things start to appear for you.”
Darwish says anyone is capable of change, and can live a less stressful more balanced life, it just depends on their preparedness to listen to what their body is telling them.
“I truly believe you can see changes immediately, but if you’re not ready to deal with a particular situation it can take a little longer. It depends how open you are. As people we supress things and don’t work through things, and we end up getting to breaking point.
“The first step is recognising what your body is telling things and the second step is taking some action to get to the core of them.”
Staged in partnership with Essendon Fields, Matthews Steer’s final Women In Business event of 2019 was attended by 80 women.
“Matthews Steer is no ordinary accounting and wealth business, said General Manager Catherine Duncan, who heads up the WIB program, “our purpose is ‘to
empower our communities to live their potential’.
“For us, WIB is about building a community of professional females; creating a space for women to surround themselves with other great women, to inspire each other, to believe in themselves, and to provide a valuable sounding board with which to share their challenges and opportunities.
“Like all the generations of women who’ve gone before us, today’s women have aspirations. But today, more than at any other time, we have the power to make
those aspirations our reality.
“Our conversations are the building blocks that continue to open up choices for women, and I’m looking forward to keeping those collaborative conversations
happening, and to expanding those choices for all of us, as we head into a new decade.”
If you’re interested in joining Matthews Steer’s Women in Business group, please email events@matsteer.com.au
If you’d like to learn more about how kinesiology can help you grow, be the best you can be,
and live the life you truly deserve, visit Yasmin Darwish’s website.