Here’s why Michele Obama believes self-care rituals are important for all women to follow

Being the former First Lady, and acting as such for 2 whole presidential terms, as well as spearheading the Obama Foundation alongside her husband and 44^th president of the United States, Barack Obama, it’s clear that Michelle Obama sometimes needs to take some time off for herself, so that she can rest up and go back to making a difference in the world.

She wants women to feel empowered

During a Q&A session that took place at the 25^th anniversary Essence Festival, the first African-American First Lady spoke up about the importance of putting yourself in your own priorities list especially as a woman. “We are so busy giving and doing for others that we almost feel guilty to take that time out for ourselves” is how the Harvard graduate described her experience with the subject at hand.

In a powerful segment of her speech, which puts into perspective the true power of a woman’s influence in her family, she says, “We still control what happens in the household.  If we don’t have our act together as women, mothers, and grandmothers we still aren’t gonna be able to get our kids on track, so we have to start having some conversations, number one, about why it is so hard for us women to put ourselves first.” Obama has always been an important supporter of women’s rights and fought for them, so that women will be treated as equal to men by our society. 

With emphasis on how women can take better care of themselves, she continued by saying, “I mean, we’re living in a world where we as women are so devalued, we have trained ourselves to think we don’t deserve it, that we don’t even deserve to take care of ourselves.” Obama attempted to clear the air around the subject, and make it obvious to all women watching that they need to have a good sense of value and respect for their own selves and each other.

She took to Instagram to spark discussions

Later on, Obama posted a clip from her speech on Instagram, where she also inquired about the self-care rituals that others go through to keep themselves feeling well. The ex-First Lady urged women to search within themselves, and share their resolutions so that everyone can learn from each other and cultivate a healthier environment.

Here are some of the responses:

• “After a long week at work and taking care of everyone else,I hurry to Dunkin Donuts and get a kids scoop of a favorite ice cream then go enjoy a movie that I wanted to see(cry or laugh) then go home” was how one person dealt with difficult times.

• A more adventurous individual said, “Plan a couple mandatory trips each year.”

• Mothers had this to say: “I’m learning to be a little bit more selfish. It’s hard because I am a mom of three. The oldest is 26. But I also have a 15 and 10 year olds. All young men!”

Among the responses, there were a lot more unique answers, but it seemed like the most common ones ranged from learning to say no, practicing sports and yoga, and even setting up new boundaries for themselves and their environment. Unfortunately, a fair number of women admitted that they didn’t take the necessary measures to keep themselves happy and well-rested, and although they admitted that they realized the importance, none of them seemed to have a clue on where to begin. For what it’s worth, we believe that taking a small break to rediscover your wants and needs is how everybody should start…

What about her own rituals?

You may be wondering, “How does Michelle Obama go about self-care herself?”, and if you are, here’s what we know. The woman in contention for the ‘most influential woman’ title often likes to take some time to meditate close to nature. In another post that she shared on the gram, she was pictured performing the therapeutic exercise close to green scenery and under the shade. In the next photo, Obama was seen taking a walk by the soothing sea along with some company. In addition, she described how “whether it was going to the gym at the crack of dawn or finding an extra moment to unwind in my favorite chair, in order for me to be at my best for others around me, I needed to find some time for myself.”