Some days, I’m ready to rip my hair out.
Seriously, this roller coaster of a pandemic is having a blast, pushing my buttons one day and giving me a tiny sense of calm the next. Are you feeling me?
These are tough times. We all know that. And we all know that our stressors are unique to us, for reasons only we understand. The fact is, we stress when we are triggered by things that aren’t aligned with our deep core.
You know how I feel about stress and women. Stress is a killer, literally. Yet we often don’t give ourselves permission to reduce it.
“I need to get __________ done before I can relax.”
“So and so needs something, so I’ll get to me later.”
“I’m fine.”
Where does all that leave us? Suffering from covid stress plus self-induced stress.
Sadly, we’re not likely to get any relief on the pandemic side of our stress for awhile.
But the self-induced stress part, that relief lives in you. Girl, you have the power.
The power to begin to challenge your excuses!
What if you knew there was no longer a choice to be made between the needs of others and you? What if your life depended on starting to say yes to yourself?
What would you do differently?
You could begin to understand things that are aligned with your deep core. Things that make you calm. Things that allow you to breathe. Things that build your resilience instead of kicking it in the shins.
A walk, a run, a tree-hugging exercise.
An online yoga class, a virtual visit with a good friend (or 4!), time soaking up what may be the last of our summer sunshine.
It’s up to you to know what you need. All you have to do is ask yourself what winds you down and brings you relief, then get on it. I know it’s a huge shift when we’re all conditioned to be that natural nurturer and caregiver, but this is your lifeline not just right now. This is your way through your stress forever. Email me if you want some help figuring it out, that’s my jam!
I have my go-to stress relief activities, and you’ll know this if you’ve followed me for awhile.
Dance-it-out!
It’s a place to let the stress just flow out of you as you move your body into different, self-aligned, positions and contortions. It doesn’t matter how you move, it’s just about moving. And if the music soothes your soul or makes your feet start moving, even better.
Might as well crank up the tunes and get your shake and shimmy on! In the kitchen, in the shower, in your car, all places where I like to rock it, although in pre-covid days I was known for dancing in grocery store aisles too!
Now it’s your turn. Shake that booty over to one of my favourite dancing songs. Be ok on your own, but if your family is like mine, you won’t be alone for long!
And hit reply, telling me that you danced-it-out and share your best dance-it-out song. I’m working on my next playlist.
We may not be in complete control right now, truthfully we never are in complete control. There will always be something that triggers our stress.
Where we are in control, is of ourselves, our choices, and our self-induced stress.
What are you waiting for? James Brown could be in your kitchen right now…
