Overwhelmed? Rekindle Your Flame

How busy are you these days? Is life feeling pretty full and fast? I’m with you! This is when the things I need to do, have to do, and want to do all start getting mixed up and more than a few things fall through the cracks. Sometimes, the first to go are the things that I know need to stay in place. In case you’re like me, let’s remember together.

When life gets busy, we have to double down on minding our health and good habits. 

I had a student once say to me that she “and Beyonce have the same amount of time each day, it just depends on what they do with it.” I’m not sure what the connection to Beyonce is…perhaps we could all be queens and rock stars if we wanted to? Regardless, the sentiment stuck with me. We each get the same 24 hours. We can DO THIS.

From working one to one with hundreds of clients and students over the years, I’ve learned that, for most of us, when we get busy and stressed, we drop the things that help us cope with stress the most. 

• We lose sleep, 
• move our bodies less, 
• and drop the routines that give us support. 

So which one slips for you when the going gets tough? I could raise my hand for all three. 

In this week’s podcast episode 27, Overcoming Overwhelm and Inertia, I talk about working with a client who was suffering from scattered energy and life frustration, and we likened her experience to needing to rebuild her fire. Her pilot light had gone out, and nothing was lighting her up or moving things forward. The joy of life was getting hard to access! We started employing a few tricks of the yoga trade, like establishing a routine and moving daily, and she’s building her fire and feeling better already.

Building and embodying a strong fire, an appropriate fire, is a chakra three, Manipura, activity.  It requires discernment, right action, and proper boundaries. And I believe the proper boundaries begin with yourself! Tend to your routine first. Are you going to bed on time, moving your body, and eating regular meals? If not, choose one of those and start there. I promise, things will start to fall in place, you’ll have more and better energy, time will expand to the work allotted, and your list won’t seem as daunting.

Also, drop what you can from the list.  Bring out your inner Beyonce and become the queen of your schedule. Don’t give into fear (chakra one), guilt (chakra two) or shame (chakra three) about making life simpler. Remember?? Effort AND ease. 

Just like taking a child's pose in the middle of class, inspire us with your courage to do less. 

May you feel empowered to reignite your flame, be picky about how you spend your time, and get some well earned ease to balance all your efforts.

Much love,

P.S. You can always start with the Ayurveda-based morning routine I created. Catch the video and download the PDF for Get a Morning Glow at the bottom of my Yoga Therapy page.