What do you need, right now?
This question has become vitally important during these tumultuous times. How often do you take time and space to ask that question of yourself? Are you able to hear the answer?
Back in early 2020 many of us were living like ducks, calm and serene on the outside and paddling like hell underneath to maintain, keep from drowning and continue moving forward.
To maintain the demands of life, you may have detached from your body, your inner wisdom and truth.
Now that life has changed, have you been able to reconnect with yourself or is the pressure, stress, anxiety and fear heightened more than ever?
My old (pre-pandemic) life was full and I flowed between expectations and responsibilities often without much awareness or time for reflection. I was focused on the things I believed I should do. I wasn’t asking myself whether or not I even needed to..
Even the daily or seasonal wellness practices that I used to support myself were part of my to do list and often added to my sense of overwhelm. Meditation, movement, journaling and healthy eating were often neglected or became hurried rhythms in my very full days.
When everything you know, love and lean on for support and routine gets swept away all at once, it can send the most grounded and balanced person swirling. Waves of emotion can wash over like a storm battering the beach, flowing between feelings like grief, joy, fear, anger, hope, love, frustration, depression, peace, anxiety or confusion at a dizzying rate.
Or you might drift for days, stuck in the same pattern, with no relief or hope of rescue in sight.
Maybe you’re just as busy as ever
You could be someone whose work demands are as intense as they’ve always been, but now you’re adding full time schooling and childcare into the mix. Either way, most of us have experienced painful separation from our support systems and routines.
When you’re missing your community and friendships and your immediate household relationships are experiencing a whole new level of stress and pressure, life can just feel harder. Where do you go for self care when the gyms, chiros, spas and counselors are also closed?
Have you found new ways to support and nurture yourself or are you just grinding, adding more to your plate and feeling like a volcano about to explore under the uncertainty and stress?
Anchor Yourself in Rhythms
Daily Cycles and Rhythms, Seasonal Cycles and Monthly Cycles all dramatically affect our energy, activity and attention. Instead of fighting nature and yourself, you can learn to lean into the wisdom and teachings of nature and use it to ground and connect yourself to something bigger than you.
I consider anchors to be practices that stabilize you and help you feel grounded and secure. Like a tree with strong roots, the more grounded and connected you are to things outside yourself, the more resilient you become to weather life’s storms.
While there are so many self care practices that can support you, these concepts help us anchor in something larger than us, that honors our bodies, the passing of time and helps us connect with the outside world (even from the sometimes isolating comfort of our own homes)
What support do you need?
If you were to ask yourself what you need and let your brain take over, I suspect you’d have a list miles long of all the things you “NEED” to feel better. What if you take a few deep breaths and ask yourself what can NOURISH you best right now? If your inner guidance system is responsive, you might hear a notice a small, quiet voice inside asking for rest. Or yearning for a conversation with a close friend. Maybe your soul is yearning to go outside or to play with your kids.
Sometimes that inner knowing is fully aware you need more movement, water, veggies or less alcohol. All of these are vital and important activities, and play and pleasure are nourishing for your soul.
Can you ask for support?
None of us were made to exist in a bubble. We are communal beings and we need each other. Our social programming tells us we should be independent, strong and self reliant. That needing or wanting support is shameful. Most people are much more comfortable giving than receiving.
How do you feel about asking for support? Are you willing to invest in support? If so, what does that look like for you? Are you willing to invest in some areas but not others? It’s much more socially acceptable to seek physical therapy for an injury, but therapy for mental health support isn’t.
Here’s what I’ve realized. Most of my clients are strong, capable and amazing warriors who have suffered silently, been broken down and burned out. They have a passion for supporting others and they make a difference in the world, in large and small ways. In order for them to continue to give at such a high level, without becoming completely depleted, it is imperative that they nourish themselves deeply.
Pouring into yourself creates an overflow that can easily flow out into the world.
Erica Jones
If you’re like me this pandemic has cleared away so much garbage and obligation from my life. It has cleared away so much that wasn’t important or aligned with my heart and soul. It’s also been deeply confusing and anxiety producing, knowing that I need to let go of what was to create something new, but it’s also powerfully exciting to be in the position to do what feels right (maybe for the first time ever)
This is a time when we are needed to bring our fully expressed and passionate selves into the world to support each other. It is a time to find a new balance between giving and receiving. If you want to get deep nourishment and support for your Mind, Body, Heart, Spirit and Energy in a multidimensional, integrative way, I’d love to talk and explore how I can help you. If you want to know even more about my skills and experience, visit my bio here.