The Necessity of Great Self-Care

Mona Dan LAc., MTOM, Herbalist, Acupuncturist and Founder of Vie Healing Acupuncture

Instagram: @viehealing | viehealing.com

Daily self-care has become my go-to to get myself centered and balanced. Depending on the day, there are certain rituals I like to do to remind myself of why I work in wellness. Working full time, developing a brand, being a mama to a precious little two-year-old and also a wife can really take you away from yourself, and before you know it, you’ve become a totally different person and have no idea why. This is exactly what happened to me and what made me make sure that I don’t let myself get lost in the mix.

Teas, adaptogen supplements, my afternoon cup of coffee and bath. These are rituals I stick to religiously. I look forward to enjoying each one with a little extra time to just ground myself and chill. Every morning and evening, I enjoy a blend of organic tea. My favorite is a light green tea base with added herbs to either boost my energy or calm me down. The adaptogen supplements I take build blood, give me energy and assist me with responding to the stressors around me. They build on themselves and teach the body how to relax and respond to stress better. My afternoon coffee is the highlight of my day, every single day. Aside from the antioxidants in coffee, it just brings a sense of happiness. And finally, my nightly bath/shower cleanses my body from all I did and interacted with in the day and brings me back to myself. It’s a nice way to take a few minutes to just enjoy the warmth, wash away the day and reset for my night. Hot water on the body assists with shifting the body to process mode and away from our fight/flight responses.

Facial love. I love doing this at night before I fall asleep right after a shower or bath. I put a mix of some of my favorite oils—pomegranate, jojoba, walnut, orange—on my face and do five minutes of facial cupping. After the cupping, I gua shua for a minute and end off with jade rolling. We have 43 facial muscles, and because of that we hold a lot of tension in our face. Using a gentle facial cup to avoid any capillaries, I massage my face from the bigger muscles to the small ones and relieve all the stressors I’m holding in them. The best part is, this assists lymph glands with waste release, boosts blood flow, enhances elastin and collagen, and gives an extra glow to the face.

Aside from my weekly acupuncture sessions that help reset my nervous system, I also have a weekly reset during one of the days of the weekend. I unplug from the rest of the world to be fully present with my family. I enjoy this so much, because I truly feel this is what resets me and gives me a sense of when the week starts and finishes. Being present from breakfast, lunch and dinner and all those little moments in between makes the day move slower and with so much meaning.

Altogether, I have found that adding these little rituals brings a smile to my face and reminds me of who I am and what I love.

Mona is an herbalist, acupuncturist and founder of Vie Healing acupuncture, a holistic MEDSPA in Beverly Hills, specializing in Chinese Traditional Healing, acupuncture, massage, cupping, moxa, reiki and self-care products, with a second location in West Hollywood opening soon.