Have you ever felt depleted, without energy and resentful towards others?
Have you ever found yourself postponing your self-care practices (like Yoga practices, a bath, a walk, a break) or rushing through them because you thought “I don’t have enough time”?
If yes, well, I know what you are feeling and probably thinking.It’s a mix between anxiety, guilt, powerlessness and tiredness.You know that those practices would be good for your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing, to fill up your cup first – but somehow there is always something more important to do, take care of and accomplish.
A LOT of times I felt trapped in the following cycle:
- I plan my Yoga or self-care practices
- Thought – I don’t have enough time for me
- Emotion – Anxiety, Annoyance
- Behaviour – I skip, rush though or postpone my practice
- Outcome – I feel guilty, blame myself and I am still stressed out.
If you see yourself in this cycle, well this blog post is really for you. If we ignore these red flags in the long run, we enter in a state of chronic stress with burn out as a possible outcome. Self-care is not something else we “have to do it”, but it should be something that comes from a place of deep self-nourishment and love for ourselves. Next time try to shift to “I have to practice Yoga” to “I want to practice Yoga and take care of myself”. I am sure you would feel completely different.
Click here to read my story about burn out: https://corpogiardino.ch/my-burnout-story-yoga-is-now-as-a-form-of-prevention/
Women as main caregivers
Expectations of our society
I know this is a tough topic for most women.
We have been programmed genetically and socially to be the main caregivers in family, community or workplace. For thousands of years we had to sacrifice our wellbeing, needs and self-expression for others.
This topic is interesting on a social, cultural and mindset level as these aspects are so embedded in our society and culture that we don’t even see them anymore.
Of course the root cause of this behaviour can be connected to different aspect of our life – not only in our society – but here I can share my experience and the one of women role models I saw around me as I grew up.
If I observed my own behaviour, for years I put myself a lot of times as last thing in the evening or in my to do list. Self care was non existent and I used unhealthy copy mechanisms. It felt unnecessary and something I didn’t need.
The outcome?
- I repressed so many emotions, feelings, anger, resentments.
- I didn’t have any energy left for myself, my job, my passion or other interests.
- I disconnected from my own true source of power, independence and respect.
And nowadays, if a woman is claiming her space, energy and resources back- there is still someone calling her: selfish, ungenerous and greedy. We need a shift in mindset at all levels, and I feel in my bones that we are going towards that direction. We are clearing the path for our daughters and sons.
And now, let’s dive deep in how Yoga can support us in refreshing our physical, emotional and mental energy.
Ps: did you know we are gathering together for an online Yoga Retreat for Online for exhausted strong and passion-driven women who want to stop for a weekend the daily hustle & busyness, reconnect to themselves, strengthen their mind and nourish their body & heart? Click the Picture below to learn more about it!
Yoga as Nourishment for our Wellbeing
Let’s go through this process together.
My vision is to support you in creating wellbeing practices that you can integrate regularly in order to keep a nice and steady balance.
To break the stress point on a regular basis, so that we don’t accumulate stress, tensions and resentments in ourselves and explode (or burn out) all together. In this way, we can keep nourishing ourselves and at the same time giving to our community, family, working space – with the same joy, commitment and passion.
How? FILL YOUR CUP FIRST!
Before we see together what you could do to replenish and nourish yourself, I invite you to block time in your calendar for yourself, preferably always at the same time.
For example, I always practice in the morning between 7:30 and 08:30. What would work for you, considering your job, family or life commitment? What is realistic for you?
Now we can dive deep!
Move your body – Asana based practice
When we move the body in a conscious and mindful way, we can process our emotions, feelings. As we pay attention to our needs and modify the practice according to them, we can then feel rested or more energized.
If you need to energise your body, Sun Salutations are a great simple and effective practice to begin with:
https://corpogiardino.ch/morning-boost-yoga-the-power-of-sun-salutation/
If you need to rest and restore, then Yin Yoga or restorative in the evening are super effective.
Breathe – Pranayama-based practice
When we regulate the breath with the mind, the mind shapes the breath – but at the same time the breath shapes the mind. Mind&Breath are deeply connected and influence each other. Breath is a powerful tool to calm and soften the active and spinning mind.Sometimes it only takes 5 minutes to reset our entire system.
Have you ever tried?
If you need some inspiration, check a simple Breath Practice to stress relief: https://corpogiardino.ch/breath-for-stress-relief/
Journal + Affirmations
Writing down how we feel, what we need and strategies to meet our needs can help us:
- to process what we are experiencing
- to let go what is an extra overload and re set priorities
Affirmations are extremely powerful to reprogram our mind. With affirmations we can set up intentions and set up the tone of the day.
These are just few examples of how we can integrate Yoga daily to create and keep balance in our life.
If you want more inspirations, scroll down to download a list of 20 Inspirations to fill your cup.
Your next step to fill up your cup and nourish your wellbeing
#1 Practice anything you read above: Asana based practice, Breath Work or Journaling.
Share with us in the comment how you felt and your experience!
#2 If you are curious and want more inspiration on how to fill your cup and nourish your well being – SIGN UP BELOW TO RECEIVE 20 INSPIRATIONS TO FILL UP YOUR CUP
#3 Share your experience with us in the comment below.
What did you do to take care of yourself? How was your experience?
How can we support you even more?
with lots of love and gratitude
Andrea
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