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Springtime Self-Improvement. Let LOVE Be the Current of Change. An excerpt from the April Newsletter.

Writer: Tara Lee Clasen
Tara Lee Clasen
Apr 7
4 min read

Updated: Aug 26





An excerpt from the April 2026 spring newsletter.


We have entered that special time of year when the world is bursting with new blooms and the energy of new beginnings. It calls us to pause and ponder, "How can I use this motivating spring energy to “improve” myself in-the-now, and keep that change growing throughout the rest of the year?"


The first step is to contemplate the word “improve”and our relationship with it. The word “improve” can trigger negative feelings. “Self-improvement” can come with a feeling of pressure, and online, the self-improvement space can be quite toxic.


What is important to realize is that how we show up and embody a goal, and how others embody a goal, do not have to be the same. Ask within, “Are the negative emotions or the pressure I feel coming from my goal? Or is that coming from a complex relationship with media and culture? Will these feelings or a sense of pressure keep me from the reward, the result of a worthwhile pursuit?”


My belief is that we are on this Earth to improve, and it is our culture’s relationship with “self-improvement" that comes with an emotional price, an energetic drain, and swirling thoughts of doubt and anxiety.


 The goal can be to improve an aspect of your health, but the emotions you have assigned to it can be unhealthy and trigger additional mind-body stress and resulting symptoms.


 And let’s just say it: women typically equate self-improvement with weight loss. To improve your health, you may need to lose weight, or you may need to gain weight. Those are both equal paths and part of having a human body. And it is fine and wonderful to focus on those goals. But we must carefully examine how our minds interact with those goals.


 Are we joyful in our pursuits? Or do we have a goal in mind that comes with a nagging feeling of guilt, shame, and remorse?


Body-shaming is not just something that happened in the 90s. It is happening all over social media, constantly, endlessly. THIS IS NOT AN ANTI-GLP1 STATEMENT; notice how clear I am trying to make that point. I am here for you meeting your emotional and physical needs. But there are certain GPL-1 companies that are viciously targeting young girls. You can read a post about my thoughts on Willow Health HERE


You can take medicine, take healing herbs, you can increase your walking, you can go to a barre class that challenges you, you can want to get stronger, or lose weight, or gain weight, and you can notice how this culture affects your relationship with those goals.


With intentional exploration of your thoughts and with the vigorous countering of affirmations, you can begin the journey of losing that nagging feeling of shame. Shame does not help you lose weight or aid in your self-improvement journey; shame is the metaphorical weight that keeps you from rising to your goals.


Should you now feel bad about feeling bad? No! Haha. Feeling bad is also human, but again, you need to notice if you are in the cultural cycle of feeling bad while struggling to improve something about your life. That is a cycle of nonsense, but we have all found ourselves in its orbit.


What needs to improve the most in your life is the mindset that you take into your goals.


This spring, the biggest self-improvement promise you can make to yourself is to realize your mindset and gently nudge yourself to a greater sense of love. Love is the underlying current of every-single-change you seek. Literary, even if the change is taking vitamins, which kind of seems like a mundane change, you do it with love. Some women are going to take vitamins and feel guilty; they were expensive! Are they the right ones? Why didn’t I do this sooner! Stop, pause, notice, and restart. A fresh mindset. Taking vitamins or drinking more water is a practice…a routine of love. “Big” or “small” affirm your actions.


Our minds—trained into doubt—will give us so many reasons not to feel joy.


Go outside and look at the blooms, listen to the birds, and check in with your senses. How lucky to have this human body! Set a spring goal to improve something for the health of your physical and emotional body. The goal could be to take liposomal vitamin C. A goal could be to do a daily 10-minute scalene-muscle-healing breathing practice (see scalene muscle post HERE) Improvement may mean telling a friend you are going to say a positive affirmation and asking them to hold you accountable. Maybe you want to sit in on a church service or sit in a quiet space with other women. Self-improvement is any specific love-based action, but it often provides a broad sense of well-being.


 To sum this up, improvement for everyone means noticing our guilt and reminding ourselves that it is not an inherent part of the journey. It is a learned response. Let’s let our collective affirmations unwind guilt from our otherwise joyful spring goals!​






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This is the cover to The Elemental Woman book. A book on Ayurveda focused on women's health.

The Elemental Woman

A Conversation for the Modern Western Woman Inspired by the Healing Wisdom of the Ancient Eastern Sage




This shows the cover of Food & Mood Journal. A mindfulness journal for women's health to connect emotions and food.


Food & Mood Journal

 A tracking guide to connect the food you eat, the emotions you feel, and increase the feeling of deep self-love





This imagine show the cover of the Mindful Movement Journal. A mindfulness journal for women's health that connects emotions and movement and fitness.


Mindful Movement Journal

 A tracking guide to connect the motions you make, the emotions you feel, and increase the feeling of deep self-love






This image shows the cover of Basic Ayurveda. This is a hard cover women's health book that is a colorful refine guide to the main The Elemental Woman book. The Elemental Woman is a women's health book.

Basic Ayurveda 

The Elemental Woman Supplement Guide







About the author:

Since 2004, Tara Lee Clasen has been assisting women on their healing adventures. As a woman-focused physical medicine provider, also trained in Eastern medicine, she knows transformation is possible and knows that with reflection and self-love, your future is full of bright possibilities.





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