Some days I feel like I’m dragging my feet and want to crawl back in to bed. Close the blinds, shut the door, snuggle up my cat and pull the fuzzy fuzzy blanket right over my head. Forever.
Especially in February, which always seems like the bottom of winter to me.
Can you relate?
Feeling like this and having to look after a small child or just get all the things done can be such a slog.
So today I’m sharing some quick strategies that I use on the regular to get me moving, grounded and back in touch with myself.
Sometimes all it takes is a few 2 minute breaks scattered throughout your day. If your kids are small and underfoot, you CAN train them to leave you be for those 2 minutes, cause they will have a much funner parent after. Do not wait till you have alone time. They can wait. Honestly.
Some of these practices will resonate with you and others won’t.
Try them out, keep what works toss what doesn’t.
Side note: You don’t have to wait till you are feeling depleted to use these. They can take an average day and make it excellent!
Sometimes all it takes is a moment to sink into something that gives you pleasure.
That might be:
- A cup of tea or coffee, feeling the warmth between your hands, the smell and feel of the steam rising off of it. I invite you to settle down in a favourite spot and really get into it.
- Something delightfully sensory, like caressing your face and neck, touching something soft, scratching your back, rubbing your hands or feet together, massaging in moisturizer.
And whatever else brings you joy.
I personally love to wear super soft fuzzy leggings and rub my thighs here and there through the day, delightful for my hands, delightful for my thighs!
It’s easy to skip this, thinking that you need x amount of time to really get a big hit of whatever it is that brings you delight and reminds you of who you are.
It’s a trap!
A tiny bit sprinkled through a day goes a long way.
I’m often surprised by how invigorating smell can be.
I’ve started adding this into my days recently. I’ll rub a drop or two of essential oil on my hands with a drop of carrier oil to dilute and cup my hands together 6-12” from my face while I do some nice slow smooth breathing through my nose. Enjoying the smell and letting it fill my awareness.
For invigoration I use peppermint and sweet orange mixed.
For anxiety, stress and overwhelm I use lavender and clary sage
But use whatever smells you love. That’s the whole point!
A couple minutes of bringing awareness to your breath can change everything.
No need to wear the glasses and nose, but dressing up can be exciting and make you feel good!
Here are a few ideas for ways you can shift your breathing.
For calming and regulating
Slow and soft inhale and exhale through the nose.
Place your awareness at the nostrils noticing the sensation of the air moving through the nostrils OR on the way the breath moves the body. Can you feel it in your lower back, your sides and your belly equally?
Alternate nostril breathing
Use the thumb and fingers of one of your hands to alternate blocking one nostril at a time.
It goes like this. Block right nostril, inhale softly and slowly through the left nostril. Unblock right nostril, block left nostril, exhale through left nostril, inhale through left nostril. Block right nostril, exhale through left nostril then start at the beginning and inhale through left nostril.
For amping up and energizing
Breath of fire
If you look this up on the internet you will see people doing this crazy fast.
You do not need to do that, it takes practice, so go a speed that works for you! Start really slow.
The main idea is the breath travels through the nose. You exhale strongly out the nose like you are trying to get snot out of your nose and allow the in breath to come on its own. The strong exhales through the nose will make some sound. See if you can find a rhythm and stick with this breathing pattern for a minute.
Try to isolate the movement that happens from the breath of fire in your lower torso. Your shoulders shouldn't really move but each exhale will have a corset like contraction around your sides back and belly which releases on the inhale.
Give it a try, and as I said earlier, no need to do it super fast, it is still energizing when done slower.
It shouldn’t be stressful. We all have enough of that in our lives.
Boogie down to a song of your choice.
I recommend that this be an expressive exploration of your body. Move however your body wants to no matter how weird that may seem. Your body knows how to unravel itself when we get curious, and explore outside the boundaries of what our brain tells us to do. I find slow lyrical music to really helps me get immersed in this.
Of course there is a time and a place for a vigorous pumping loud dance party as well, you will know which one you need!
So there you have it.
Some simple suggestions you can add to your toolbox to help energize and balance you on those days that you can’t even.
Let me know how it goes.
Donyne works with moms just like you to get them connected to their body and overcome pain, leaking and instability, so they can finally do the fun things they want to. She works with people in person in the Comox Valley, British Columbia and online all over the world.
If you are feeling stuck and want some support to heal physical issues left over from pregnancy and childbirth, finally get movement and exercise into your life, or get strong without creating any more physical issues, pop over to the other pages on my website. You can learn more about me and my work here or current packages here.