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!).
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.
How does your energy work over time?
Do you wake up every day, every week, of every year with the same amount of it?
Or does it ebb and flow?
With times when you feel you could take on anything, times when you need to curl up and hibernate, and times when you just want to get outside and play?
Like the seasons of the year, most of us vary. We don’t all have access to the same amount of energy all the time.
And yet we can expect that we ‘should’, and feel surprised that we’re not operating at our ‘usual’ capacity.
This is me right now. Really ready for a hammock!
A few months ago, I booked a hotel and went away for the night.
Just me.
I walked there, took chocolate and a good book, and did nothing except relax, read and be in my own company.
I don’t think I said a word for hours.
It was a wonderful treat. It felt indulgent and exciting (and maybe a little weird?).
And it was EXACTLY what I needed.
