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.

The power of a change of scene.

I wrote this in Brighton, where I spent a couple of days working by the sea recently. It was a wonderful experience.

Not just because it’s a beautiful place, but because it was a retreat, a rest and a re-energise all in one.

So how did I end up there?

“Perfect!”

I realised recently just how often I say this word.

I say it when I’m happy about something - it means great, wonderful, so pleased.

I say it when everything is tidy and organised.

I say it when a plan comes together and things slot into place.

I say it SO much!

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.

When I’m coaching with someone - and when I’m being coached - there can often be a sense of stuckness.

We know what we need to do to move forward.

To get closer to where we want to be.

And yet, we don’t do it.

Sometimes we can be stuck with our foot on the brake, teetering on the edge of a step. Worried about making a mistake or going in the wrong direction.

Sometimes we can be stuck with our foot on the accelerator, not daring to slow down because we think we don’t have time. Scared that if we stop things could fall apart.

In the worst cases, it’s both. Pulling us in different directions and adding to the overwhelm.

It’s so easy to find ourselves here. Stuck between speeding up, and slowing down.

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!

When you feel like there’s a right answer to something, and you’re not sure what it is, how do you feel?

Energised and open? Excited by all the possibilities?

Probably not.

Stuck? Anxious? Scared of getting it wrong? Worried you’ll make a mistake that can’t be undone?

More likely!

Often we can get really stuck trying to work out the right answer to something.

Which way to go? Which direction to pick? Which option to choose?

It can feel black and white, as though one way is good and the other not. As though there’s no going back. The decision making process can feel tight, and stressful.

These types of right/wrong choices can come up in coaching conversations. Often around the big things, but often about the small things too.

I’ve just finished a yoga class where I experienced really strong feelings of anger. And it was brilliant!

When I was a little girl I was super connected to my anger. I could feel it freely and easily - and often did.

As I grew older I lost my connection with it.

I wasn’t sure how to express it when I felt it (because good girls don’t get angry), and eventually I wasn’t even sure how to recognise it.

It got jumbled up in my body with other emotions.

Until recently.

Until I felt A L L the yoga rage in a hot Hatha class with the fabulous Vinna Barber.