This weekend was LOOOONG. It was month four of our yoga teacher training and we went through 4 full classes and an inversion module in addition to teaching circles, yoga anatomy, and assists/adjustments lessons. Not to mention my wonderful hubby surprised me by coming in to town on Saturday night and we all went out to celebrate my besties 28 birthday! (ughhhh we're getting old, but that's another issue altogether haha)
Needless to say I fell asleep at like 9:00pm last night and slept like a rock! But I still woke up tired and groggy. I think everything as far as getting ready for our move to Japan, keeping up with work, doing yoga teacher training, caring for four crazy fur-babies, finishing thank you notes (yikes, I swear they're coming y'all!), all of the weddings and social engagements we have, being a long-distance wife, and just remembering to breathe really caught up with me this weekend. I've been so gung-ho about getting everything done recently that I have barely stopped to take a minute to just breathe and relax, which may be why my meditation plan is all over the damn place.
Now don't get me wrong! I choose to do all of this and I loove it all but sometimes we need to take a step back and just chill. This is definitely something that I need to work on, but being able to recognize this feeling before having a meltdown is progress for me haha!
So, in order to get myself back on track today I decided to turn things down and just focus on the three R's that we use when sequencing a Moon Salutation: reset, reconnect, and refuel.
The first thing I did was take the dogs on a long walk and, don't freak out....I left my phone at home! Having that time to be outside in nature without any technology is really, really important. We're all so plugged in all the time, and I am especially guilty of this, that it can be pretty rare to go more than a few minutes without looking at a screen. We hear a buzz and immediately look at our phones, or sometimes (like Jess in New Girl) we have a 'phantom buzz' and literally nothing happened but we STILL check our phones!
After our walk I came home, took a long, hot shower and opened all of the windows. Then I rolled my yoga mat out and put on some music. Two of my favorite playlists to listen to when I want to focus inward are actually soundtracks from two of my favorite movies! Amelie and Pride & Prejudice (the one with Kiera Knightly...sorry Colin Firth). Today I went with Amelie, which is actually a beautiful soundtrack to do some yoga flow to, you should give it a listen :)
Then I took about an hour to do a little free flow, easy yoga stretching. Whatever feels good and healthy for your body, it doesn't even have to be an actual yoga asana, just get your body moving and focus on your breath. Even if you just lay down and do legs up the wall with a little pranayama, it will make a world of difference!
Afterwards, I was able to sit down with my planner and get organized for the week ahead. Now I know that TIME is the biggest scheduling factor that most of us struggle with when it comes to taking a few moments for ourselves, but it is SO important to take care of yourself mentally and physically! We should all strive to set aside a few minutes everyday for ourselves to refocus.
I was listening to the most recent podcast by Rachel Brathen (known as Yoga Girl) the other day and she was giving her list of tips and tricks to get started, or maintain, a regular yoga practice and her number one tip was: roll out your mat. This simple act will ensure that you spend a little quality time on your mat. Even if all you do is lay there and breathe, that is totally fine!
Maybe yoga isn't your thing! Maybe reading a book and drinking a hot cup of tea relaxes you :) Or going for a run! Whatever brings you peace and helps you reset, refuel, and reconnect you mind, body and soul is exactly what you should make time to do!
So, keep breathing, make time for yourself, and make sure you have some wine in the fridge because tonight is the first night of the Bachelorette.
Cheers!
Em
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