7 minute read
Self Care: Show yourself some love
LIVING | HEALTHY
Self Care
Show Yourself Some Love
STORY BY RACHEL MADISON
Self-care is having a moment. It has grown in popularity in recent years, but when the pandemic hit in 2020, it became that much more popular. While dealing with the stress of a global pandemic, working from home or not working at all, homeschooling children and trying to balance it all, self-care become even more critical. And self-care isn’t just about getting a massage or a manicure—it’s about mental well-being, too. Check out what some of our Best of Liberty Hill winners for 2021 do to show themselves a little self-care. Voting for the 2022 Best of Liberty Hill opens in late February, and winners will be announced in the May edition of Liberty Hill Living.
Holly Johnson Warrior Wellness
BEST PERSONAL TRAINER
Practicing yoga might seem like a given for a yoga instructor, but for Holly Johnson, it is her greatest and most consistent form of self-care.
“I can make it as easy or challenging as I’d like; it always fits my needs,” she said.
Holly Johnson, owner of Warrior Wellness. Holly was voted Best Personal Trainer by the Liberty Hill community in the 2021 Best of Liberty Hill awards. PHOTO BY STACY COALE
Johnson said she also knows that sometimes self-care needs to be quick, easy and accessible, so she does the simplest act there is -- she just breathes.
“Simple, I know, but so effective,” she said. “Most Americans are taking shallow or ineffective breaths. It’s one of my very favorite things to teach people to do correctly. I use a deep breath, or five, to calm myself, center, focus, maybe speak some life or truth into a moment, and enjoy all of the physical benefits that come along with a healthy breath.”
Johnson said as cliché as it sounds, self-care is extremely important because no one can successfully pour from an empty cup. “To invest in the things that are important to us, we have to be investing in ourselves,” she said.
Warrior Wellness | 606 Rolling Hills Road 808-640-6477 | warriorwellnessbyholly.com
Brylee Burich - Royal Bliss Day Spa
BEST ESTHETICIAN
When Brylee Burich isn’t at her spa doing facials, you can find her on the back of a horse. “Horses are like my therapists,” she said. “I was raised around them and have had them my entire life. I really like to spend time with them. Even if it’s dark, I’ll go out and sit with them while they eat.”
Brylee Burich, owner of Royal Bliss Day Spa. Voted Best Esthetician by the Liberty Hill community in the 2021 Best of Liberty Hill awards. PHOTO BY STACY COALE
While just being with them can be enough, Burich said riding her horses is the best form of self-care because there’s too many things to worry about while she’s on the horse to worry about anything happening in life off the horse. “If I had my choice, that’s where I’d be all the time. Self-care is all about showing yourself some grace and some love in areas where you may struggle, so being with my horses helps to clear my head,” she said.
Burich added that she knows she performs at her best when her mind is clear. “If you have a lot of stress or things on your mind, that’s in the back of your head and you’re not performing your best,” she said. “We all need to have an outlet; otherwise, things will just boil up. Selfcare is about physical and mental wellness.”
Royal Bliss Day Spa | 3103 Ranch Road 1869 (512) 548-6733 | royalblissdayspa.business.site
Ket Vora - Absolute Nails by Ket
BEST NAIL SALON BEST NAIL TECHNICIAN
For Ket Vora, cooking is self-care.
“It relaxes me,” she said. “I was taught how to cook by my great grandmother, so every time I cook it brings me a kind of calmness. It’s rewarding to put this and that together and make it taste good.”
Ket Vora, owner of Absolute Nails by Ket. Ket was voted Best Nail Salon and Best Nail Technician by the Liberty Hill community in the 2021 Best of Liberty Hill awards. PHOTO BY STACY COALE
Not only does cooking relax Vora, but it also helps to boost her mood. Certain dishes she cooks from her Laotian heritage, like crunchy fried rice, remind her of good times from her childhood, which can be a huge stress reliever. “Cooking just brings a lot of good memories. Dishes my grandma made when we were younger remind me of happy times. She’s been gone since 2004, but I always think of her when I make her recipes. It’s funny because I used to hate cooking while I was growing up, but now I love it,” she said.
Cooking, like doing nails, is also a creative outlet for Vora. Most of the food she cooks and shares with others comes from Laos-inspired dishes, like lop and pho, but with her own twist.
“I’ll do lop tacos or pho spring rolls,” she said. “It’s amazing that cooking and being creative can bring so much happiness with something so simple, but when people eat my food and love it, and I’m able to share my recipes with them, it just makes me happy.”
Absolute Nails by Ket | 14745 West Hwy. 29, Ste. B (512) 367-3067 | absolutenailsbyket.wordpress.com
Amber Jackson - Pure Remedy Massage
BEST MASSAGE THERAPIST
For Amber Jackson, when it comes to self-care, there’s nothing better than a hot bath with Epsom salts and various essential oils, like peppermint, clove and eucalyptus. “Taking a hot bath is my all-time favorite. That is something I regularly do. Sometimes I’ll have a glass of wine with it, but I’m also a huge fan of drinking lots of water and staying hydrated, because that’s something you can do no matter how busy you are during the day,” she said.
Jackson said essential oils have several health benefits -- and they just smell good, too. “The peppermint, clove and eucalyptus blend has countless benefits and smells great together. That’s the signature smell that I use in my [massage] shop with our hot towels,” she said.
Amber Jackson, owner of Pure Remedy Massage. Amber was voted Best Massage Therapist by the Liberty Hill community in the 2021 Best of Liberty Hill awards. PHOTO BY BH PHOTOGRAPHY
As a massage therapist, she understands that self-care and massages go hand-in-hand. “People look at it as fluff or luxury, or doing something special, but it’s really more about body upkeep,” she said. “If we want our bodies to be able to work for us in our day-to-day lives, then we need to take care of them. You only have one body, so the more that we can do self-care, the easier it’s going to be for us to do daily living.”
Jackson is also a big believer in foam rolling when she doesn’t have time for massage. “Foam rolling is a way to get a massage when you don’t have someone to give you a massage,” she said. “It’s huge for recovery from daily life. Self-care is body upkeep. It’s not a luxury, it’s necessary.”
Dana Clark - Dana’s Salon
Pure Remedy Massage | 100 E. Myrtle Lane, Unit D (512) 456-8171 | pureremedy-massage.com
BEST HAIR STYLIST
Self-care for Dana Clark (pictured below, center) comes in a couple of different forms. On the weekends, it’s Jeeping with her husband. And the rest of the week? That’s reserved for watching her favorite mystery shows on television and reading mystery novels.
Dana Clark, owner of Dana's Salon. Dana was voted Best Hair Stylist by the Liberty Hill community in the 2021 Best of Liberty Hill awards.. PHOTO BY DANA CLARK
On Sundays, Clark and her husband typically spend the day in their Jeep. “We like to go cruising in the Jeep. We usually go on a Sunday morning, and we’ll get breakfast somewhere at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and then we’ll just take random county roads and cruise and see where we end up,” she said.
“I like ‘Castle’ and ‘Murder She Wrote’, and I recently watched ‘Bridgerton’,” she said. “I love watching older movies and shows. The women back then were so strong -- I couldn’t do it. Of course, I like murder mystery books, too.”
Outside the hair salon, life is all about friends and family, said Clark, especially after the uncertainly 2020 brought to the world, which is a form of self-care all on its own.
“Self-care is just good for balance in your life,” she said. “People need to spend time with their family and friends. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself.”
