Interview with Raina Rooney by Bri Ryerson, Wellness Operations Intern

Raina has compassionately guided & empowered hundreds of clients to transform their health and well-being through positive psychology-based practices & evidence-based stress reduction techniques. In her 1:1 bespoke coaching program "Burned Out to Balanced", Raina supports you in using practical tools, daily routines, healthy eating, mindset exercises & self-care practices to raise your awareness & examine how you can live a healthy lifestyle even in the midst of stress, overwhelm & busyness. 

Raina has her BS in Health Sciences & extensive accredited health coach education. Raina has been practicing as a Board Certified Health Coach (NBC-HWC) for 5 years in her own practice & primary care clinics. She is passionate about sharing & exploring ways for overworked professionals to create sustainable healthy habits that shift them from feeling stressed & burned out, to having a sense of balance by reclaiming their energy, confidence & productivity in both their personal and professional worlds. 

When she’s not hiking, playing in the ocean, or catching international flights, you can find Raina drinking a green smoothie, rollerblading, and spending quality time with friends and family. You can learn more about Raina and her perspective on self-care here: What is Self Care? 30 Min Presentation - Logy T… . You can also follow Raina on Instagram by her handle @raina.rooney or on LinkedIn.

Self care is an important part of reconnecting with ourselves in this post-pandemic world. Moving from remote to in person, zoom meetings to face-to-face, and integrating back into a wide open society can cause feelings of stress and anxiety. How do we fight this stress in a healthy way? One way to do so is through self care. I met with Raina, a National Board Certified Wellness Coach, to learn more about how we can buffer those feelings of stress and anxiety by practicing self care.

Self-Care in Society

“With the past couple of years during the pandemic, people started emphasizing self-care more and more… but what did it really look like?” Raina says. Companies have started to create wellness programs for employees along with more flexible work schedules. Some companies such as LinkedIn have also started implementing company-wide shutdowns as wellness days for employees. This, however, does not mean that we are practicing self care. Everyone is busy and society has created the idea that self care is expensive, selfish, and that there is no time for it. These barriers created by society prevent people from practicing the self care that we truly need.

Definition of Self Care and How Stress Manifests

Raina defines self care as

“The practice of taking an active role in protecting our own well-being, pursuing happiness, and having the ability, tools, and resources to respond to periods of stress so that they don’t result in imbalance and lead to a health crisis.“

She explains that stress built up from a lack of self care can manifest both mentally as well as physically in our lives. We see this stress manifesting physically through a lack of energy, weight fluctuations, and being sick constantly. We also see a lack of self care manifesting mentally through things such as a lack of motivation or irritation. Raina has a workbook dedicated to the different dimensions of wellness, where she guides readers through the balancing of these emotions and how self care can revitalize different aspects of your life.

Self-Care in a Chaotic World

It is important to take moments to yourself, Raina says. Implementing small things such as “mindful moments”, where one takes a few minutes to themselves to practice mindfulness before a meeting. Sometimes it’s the small things that really make a difference with self care. Taking the long way home or to the bathroom, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, doing breathing exercises at your desk, or even turning your phone and computer off for a couple of minutes can really help reset your mind when life is too chaotic to spend hours practicing self care. “After a busy day, I’ll try to plan something at the end of the day or end of the week that I can enjoy and look forward to,” Raina says, whether that be a friend-date or going on a walk while listening to her favorite music or podcast. The small things help us get through life’s busy moments and “refill our cup” so we are refreshed and ready to tackle the tasks ahead of us. One of Raina’s tips is implementing quick check-ins while being busy to ask yourself what you need at this moment. “‘What do I need right now? Do I need a sip of water, to eat, to take some deep breaths?’ Asking that question will surprise you at what comes up that you need because our bodies are smart”.

For the larger acts of self care, body movement such as dance or walking while listening to music can help us release tension and stress built up after a long week. Other practices can include baking - one of Raina’s favorite things to do is baking with healthier ingredients - getting outside in nature, or even watching videos while meditating. Another important act of self care that Raina suggests is reading. A book that Raina has really enjoyed and recommends for those looking to reflect and build on their self care practices is From Coping to Thriving: How to Turn Self-care into a Way of Life by Hannah Braime. This book talks a lot about the difference between long-term and short-term self care and how self care is not the same thing as a coping mechanism. 

Being able to balance large and small acts of self care in this crazy and chaotic world can help us balance the stress of life and work. Taking mindful moments and asking ourselves what our body needs in the moment can make a large difference in our stress and anxiety levels, even with it being a small thing that is overlooked by many. Putting our minds and our bodies first through the implementation of long-term self care acts is important to ensuring we are able to manage our stress in this post-pandemic world.

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Project Passport is a proactive mental wellness company that aims to bring mental wellness retreats, workshops and other services to company teams. We also help individuals create joy in their lives every step of the way. To learn more about our company retreats and services, click here. Our travel retreats will resume in the future as the world reopens.