Our dog is brilliant at knowing what he needs to balance his system.
A dip to cool off on a hot day, a full body shake after a stressful experience, time on his own in an empty room when he wants space, to be right up next to you when he doesn’t.
If he’s cross, or frustrated, or scared, or overwhelmed by his surroundings, there’s generally a clear reason.
There’s a simplicity to it. Noticing when he’s out of balance and finding what he needs to come back to it.
One of my favourite parts of a yoga class is the beginning.
Coming in, finding a space, sitting down, and then lying down – the lovely feeling that there is nowhere else to be, nothing else to do.
My back takes a breath, my body relaxes, the snow globe of my mind settles and clears. All in the space of a few minutes!
A simple act, that feels like it shouldn’t do much, but seems to work magic on me.
So now I do this more often.
Mine is this picture.
In a cosy chair, in a lovely cafe, with a delicious coffee and some spaciousness - to write, to read, to reflect - to pause before I get back to work and life.
It’s also yin yoga, and a great book, or a jigsaw puzzle, or walk in the fresh air with a podcast, a dog, and/or a companion.
In the last couple of years, it’s even been a night away just for me - to be in my own space, to follow my energy, without being in charge of anyone except me.
It’s useful to know that these things help restore my energy levels, so I can have them as a menu to choose from when I need them.
Otherwise, when I’m tired, it’s too easy to slip into activities that feel like a break but don’t actually do me any good.
(Of course, sometimes I still do this anyway, we’re all a work in progress!).
We spend a lot of our lives consuming our worlds. Information, learning, conversations, content - words, both online and in real life.
It can mean our thinking brains are on the go a lot - interpreting, digesting, processing. So when we want to relax, it can be hard to step out of that mode. We can turn to more words, on a screen or on a page.
I’m one of those people - I always have a book on the go - but sometimes I already have enough words in my head!
This is when I reach for a puzzle.
Do you have a lot going on in your head right now?
I do.
We have two teenagers, each doing big exams this year.
Work is busy in a brilliant way.
I’ve said yes to a few things that feel good scary.
Some things are closing and others are beginning.
My brain is busy busy whirring away with ideas...
…and I also feel a strong desire to rest.
What to do?
Are you out of alignment?
After a few niggles resurfaced recently I booked myself in for a physio MOT.
I was expecting to have a few small adjustments.
A once over to iron out any little things before they became bigger. A self care top up.
It turns out my ribs were completely out of alignment!
For a long time I’d been walking around slightly twisted to the left. Compressed on one side, with my poor neck constantly stretched to try and keep my eyes level.
Yikes.
And yet it hadn’t felt ALL wrong.
It hadn’t felt completely right either, but my body had adapted and was doing a brilliant job of keeping me upright.
Until it got too tired and started to send out some signals.
How do you know when it’s time to take a break?
It can be so easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of life.
To keep going, even when we feel exhausted.
To bounce from high to low with the support of sugar and caffeine.
To not even realise that we need to stop until it’s too late.
The topic of how to manage energy - both physical and mental - has come up a lot in coaching recently.
How to be productive without burning out?
How to know when to push on and when to take a break?
And how to do so in a sustainable way?
It’s a topic that’s close to my heart.
