Do you sometimes burn the candle at both ends in your daily life? You work so hard that you’re barely making it through each long day, let alone having energy to enjoy a nice evening with family?
It’s certainly okay, it happens. There are times in life, when we need to push as hard as we can. It’s one of those times for us at the bakery these days. We have lots of new projects and it’s been taking all we’ve got.
The other day, I clocked out after a long day and was just exhausted. The brain was a total mush, feet were burning from standing all day and eyes popping from staring at the computer. I also felt amped up and not sure I could sleep.
To alleviate the pain in my feet, I mustered some remaining energy and started my go-to yoga routine. The routine takes only about 20 minutes, but I haven’t done it for a week. The moment I sank into that downward dog, I immediately felt relief.
The pain in my feet went away, the zinged-out feeling subsided, a sense of calm and pleasant tiredness overwhelmed me. I was completely in-tune with the yoga movements and afterwards, I felt incredibly refreshed and rejuvenated. I slept amazing that night.
All of us know that balance and self-care are important. Yet, somehow, it’s so easy to forget, ironically especially in the times that we absolutely need it the most. The times when we’re pushing after our goals as hard as we can.
My self-care routine consists of 3 Ms, based on Dr. Chatterjee’s book on stress solution:
- Movement is usually yoga for 20-30 minutes.
- Mindset is usually reading an inspiring book for 10 minutes or doing a gratitude exercise.
- Mindfulness is a simple breathing meditation for 10 minutes.
I’ve been neglecting this routine for the past couple weeks, telling myself I don’t have time. But this approach simply doesn’t work. We all need to carve out some precious time for ourselves and even 5 minutes on each “M” will make a world of a difference.
It will restore our mental balance, adrenal and other hormonal levels, help get a good night’s sleep and overall it’ll facilitate recovery, both mental and physical. So the next day, you can get out there and chase your dreams!
Do you have a self-care routine? Please share with us by replying to this email! We’d love to do another post with more self-care routine examples for people to try!
With love and care, Lacy and Jan
