Today’s post features a few key takeaways from a recent Wellness Your Way podcast interview.  Find the full episode here, and be sure to subscribe to Wellness Your Way so you don’t miss future episodes!

Guest Bio: Dawn Renee

Dawn Renee is a Holistic Caregiver and Energy Doula – an energetically connected holistic mentor caring for carers. She cares for those who care for people dealing with chronic or terminal diagnosis, with a deep understanding of ALS/MND. She reverse engineered caregiving when she found herself in a bed for 30 days unable to move, and now shares that with others. The past 12 years she has devoted to helping Caregivers find their energy while advocating for them and their needs. She is passionate about holding space and empowering caregivers to work with natural elements and holistic approaches to find their energy, overcome burnout and create a map to optimal wellness.

Top Insights from Dawn Renee’s Interview

1. It’s hard to care for yourself when you’re caring for someone else. Whether that’s a child, someone with an illness, or someone who is elderly, it can feel like you must be available 24/7. However, setting some boundaries is essential for both of you.  Listen to the episode to hear how Dawn Renee almost hit rock bottom and had to set boundaries with the person she was caring for.
2. Taking care of yourself in the morning – even before you get out of bed! – is essential. Dawn Renee practices, meditation, breathwork, drinking water, and stretching even before she gets out of bed each morning.  Actively committing to herself that it was important to do these things before serving others changes the way she shows up all day!
3. Time in nature heals. Humans need to go outside daily. There’s so much energy in nature that is available to take in, but if we don’t get outside, we miss it.
4. Focusing on the joyous moments we can extract, even in tough times, is important. Even during emergency situations, Dawn Renee practices “collecting moments of joy” throughout the day and doing whatever she can to focus on those.
5. Focus on the next step, not the end goal. We sabotage ourselves when we only stay focused on the end goal – it can be overwhelming.  Instead, just focus on the next step.
6. Ask for help. It is essential to ask for help to give yourself time off – ask for help with cleaning, cooking, or covering for you on vacation.  You are human, and you need time off.
7. As a caregiver, you must give yourself love – for your benefit and theirs. You will better serve others when you feel whole.  Let me say it again: you will better serve others when you feel whole.
8. ALS is a terrible condition in which you lose musculoskeletal control, but mental faculties stay. Western medicine often says there’s nothing we can do to slow progression, but there   Dawn Renee worked with her PALS (person with ALS) on detoxing heavy metals, improving food quality, reducing viral load, tracking symptoms, working on mental health, PEMF mats, hydration, nature exposure, mineral supplementation, essential oils, and more, and these all helped tremendously.
9. If the mind is not willing, nothing will happen with the body. We need to be willing to heal and excited to live. When we are, our bodies can do amazing things.
10. There is always something we can do. You get to decide which story you want to write each day – a story of sadness, or a story of joy.  Dawn Renee shares how she used this practice to step out of her own depression.

Want to hear the full episode, including why Megan was disheartened by writing her Masters’ thesis, Dawn Renee’s 7 steps to self-care, how breathwork matters for health, and so much more?

Head over here to catch the full episode with Dawn Renee!

Now it’s your turn!  What is one thing you learned from this interview?  What’s one thing you’re committed to changing after learning from Dawn Renee?