How charity work in the Dominican became an inspiration for P.E.I. self-care expo

Nicole Walsh says she had "an awakening" of sorts when she went as part of a charity group to build a home for a family in the Dominican Republic.

"I got to meet a lot of people living there and in very different circumstances than us here in North America, and just learned a lot — appreciating what you have, and taking care of yourself, taking care of the people around you," she said.

"I realized if I don't take care of myself and do what is right for me and my wellness and my health, whether that's mental, emotional, physical, whatever, that I can't give 100 per cent into helping others."

With that in mind, the Cornwall, P.E.I., woman is helping to organize self care expo in Charlottetown on Saturday.

The expo will focus on three areas of health — physical, emotional and mental. There are scheduled events throughout the day, including demonstrations, speakers and vendors.

Physical self-care could be anything from massage therapy, to exercise, to taking a dance class or getting your hair done, Walsh said.

But she said the trend in self-care is more toward mental and emotional health — "meditation, energy healing, really trying to work on self growth, self love, which is all part of being well and doing self care."

The surface-level stuff is really good and it's really important too, but I think the trend right now is people are digging a lot deeper.— Nicole Walsh

"The surface level stuff is really good and it's really important too but I think the trend right now is people are digging a lot deeper. They're looking into why they do the things they do, how do they overcome what's holding them back internally, and then kind of try to find ways to connect with their intuition."

Not 'masculine enough'?

Walsh said from her experience organizing the wellness expo, more women seem actively interested in self care. But she is seeing a shift, and hopes more men will take the opportunity on Saturday to see the benefits of self care.

"There's a stereotype unfortunately for men that some of the stuff maybe isn't masculine enough which to me makes no sense. We all need to take care of ourselves, every person out there, whether you're 15, 50, 80, male, female, it doesn't matter."

Walsh said the people she met in the Dominican may not have the same luxuries as people in North America, but she was inspired by how they always made time for self care — whether it was relaxing, meditating or playing a game with the children.

"They would take the time through the day when they needed it," Walsh said. "The work they're doing every day, just to get the basics in life, takes a lot out of a person."

They key to self care, she said, is not only finding what helps you "refuel" and be happy, but actually making the time to do it.

10 to 20 minutes a day a good start

"That sounds pretty simple and basic and it kind of is, but that doesn't mean it's not hard. It is hard to find the time and find the energy to put in to ourselves.

"If you can do 10 to 15, 20 minutes of self care a day, if you take that time to find something that makes you happy, and kind of reenergizes you, that's where you can start. It doesn't have to be anything major, doesn't have to be a major shift in your life or routine."

The self-care expo takes place Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. upstairs at the Confederation Court Mall. Tickets are $35.

Walsh said the proceeds will go toward Passion For Impact, a team of Islanders who will travel to the Dominican Republic in 2019 to build a home through the Canadian charity Live Different.

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