IN~Power hour: 21 days to a happier, healthier more grounded YOU.

"Whole Being" Self-Care is essential for vibrant health, emotional healing, life balance, stress management and experiencing deeper fulfillment, happiness and joy.

I believe, and know to be true from my own personal experience, that the key to being well, and in a balanced, calm, grounded, healthy and happy state is taking care of my mental, emotional, physical and spiritual self on a daily basis. It is an art, and requires constant awareness and attention to meeting my own needs, and caring for myself with love and respect for my body.


It is not one thing that we do on occasion that leads to improved health, and greater happiness, but an accumulation of smaller, consistent actions we take from moment to moment, day to day.

 I receive immense fulfillment from my self-care and spiritual rituals, and have witnessed how powerful this is for many people I know, and clients I work with. I have watched women bloom like a lotus flower once they begin making the transformation from living feeling like their external world has the control over their feelings and experiences, to going to a quieter, more self-honoring, self-loving place, through learning to honor and tend to their own nurturing and self-care. I now have the privilege of being the guide to others seeking what I have been seeking my whole life- a deep connection to my inner self , a soul connection. A connection to something bigger than myself or what I can actually see with my eyes. Something that can not be explained but only experienced. A level of healing and peace that is the result of going within, on a daily basis, and putting myself first. A thirst for a greater experience and a deepening of my inner life, and consciousness.

The following self-care challenge is inspired by and adapted from author Jack Canfield, with a few added twists. :)

The intention of this challenge is to help you get into the daily habit of caring for yourself, on a mental, physical, emotional and spiritual level. Committing this time to yourself may bring up feelings of guilt or discomfort, this is normal if you are not used to giving to yourself in this way. I suggest that you continue this challenge for the full 21 days, so that it becomes habitual, and you can begin to see the positive effects of being consistent, and showing up for yourself every single day in this self-loving way. Play around with the time of day, and the sequence in which you do these practices.

For 21 days, choose 2 of the suggested practices below (40 minutes total time). Even better, is completing the full hour if time allows. Commit to doing a minimum of 2 practices daily, and get ready for some radical changes!

The IN~POWER hour:

You will need:
60 minutes
A timer/clock
A quiet space for your reading/ reflection portions
A journal or notepad
Positive, inspiring reading material (books, magazines)
A fireplace, stainless steel bowl or tin foil*

Mental & Emotional ~ Read or write  (20 minutes)
Option 1:

Depending on how you are feeling, you may feel like clearing any negative thoughts, or emotions rather than just reading. If so, you can spend spend this time doing a mind dump on paper for (set a timer for 10 minutes). During this time, just purge everything that is weighing on your mind, with the intention of releasing whatever negativity is within you onto the paper. Do not over-think it, or get hung up on feeling like you can't think of anything to write. Let go of self-

judgement and do not worry about grammar. Now..please keep an open mind about what I am bout to suggest. For best results- burn it (or shred it if burning safely is not an option) right after you are done. The most important thing is that you dispose of what you wrote, as it holds the emotional energy you are intending to clear. This exercise, of writing and burning is a powerful practice. I have personally had amazing results, and every person I have prescribed this to as homework in my personal life, and coaching and counseling practice. Many say they feel like a huge weight is lifted each time they do it. It is a way of clearing the negative, toxic emotional clutter so we make room for experiencing more positive emotions. It is a practice you can return to again, and again depending on what is happening in your life.
After you are complete, you can spend the rest of the 20 minutes reading something, or just sit with whatever emotions have come up from the exercise.

Option 2: spend the entire 20 minutes reading something that inspires you and feeds your mind with uplifting ideas and makes you feel awesome. 



 Physical ~ Movement: (20 minutes)

Spend 20 minutes exercising. As long as you are moving, it all counts! Go for a power walk, do some running intervals, go for a mindful walk, do yoga, dance, walk on a treadmill or other indoor cardio machine, lift weights. In the colder months I like to work out in my home exercise room, and move outdoors as the weather gets warmer. But do whatever you want! This portion is best done at the end to help clear anything that came up for you during your writing or meditation, but play around with the order and see what feels best for you.

Spiritual~ Prayer/Meditation  (20 minutes)

Spend this time beginning with a prayer to whatever feels right for you (The Divine, Universal Intelligence, Spirit, God) Light a candle, some incense if you wish, play some music that feels relaxing and peaceful to you, or just sit in silence. There is absolutely no wrong way to do this, so find your own way to get connected.

If Prayer is for asking,

Meditation is for listening.

Once you have concluded your prayer, begin your meditation for the remainder of your 20 minutes. Get comfortable, sitting up or lying down and just connect you your breath, and whatever is going on within. This is a time to just be with what is. Notice what comes up. You may be surprised by tears, or a feeling of sadness, perhaps anger or agitation. You may feel like  you are jumping out of your skin having to sit until the timer goes off..that is OK! Just sit with it, notice it. This is what meditation is. It is not complicated, but it is life changing when we make it a habit to spend some time with our inner selves every day.


And that's it! Carry on with this for 21 days straight, and this will likely become your favorite time of the day. This is the perfect way to carve out a quality 60 minutes, just for yourself, and if you are consistent and it becomes a daily habit that you carry with you after the 21 days, your life will change in amazing ways to be sure.

* If you do not have anything to burn your writing in, you can create a ' burning bowl' using tin foil. Make sure it only has a small opening so that embers and sparks can't escape! Safety first, if you can not safely burn your pages, use another method to dispose of your work.

~Leanne


Leanne Oaten
Registered Holistic Counsellor| R.P.C
 Visit my website and download your free eBook today!