I am no stranger to burnout. I’ve dealt with it a couple of times in my life. I’ve noticed it when I’m under a lot of stress, not honoring my divine feminine energy, Not taking time to honor myself and do my self-care practices, and when I don’t take time to rest properly.
I would say for me these are the biggest culprits and challenges I face when it comes to self-care. When it comes to daily life especially in certain seasons of my life stress is hard to avoid. It’s hard for almost anyone to avoid with technology and daily activities and the mindset that staying busy is key at all costs. Even to our health. I love technology (obviously, I couldn’t have this blog without it.) But, I used to be addicted to it and never took a break. I’ve been off social media again these past few weeks. Mostly due to getting sick. A major sign of burnout for me.
I also notice burnout more when I’m not honoring my divine feminine. This includes honoring my cycles and cycle syncing. And taking a break when I feel run down. When I’m constantly in doing mode even when I feel like I need to step back and take a break I can feel that I’m too in my masculine. Then all of a sudden I get hit with illness and my body forces me to slow down. Which is what happened to me this month. Last month I was so ready to get sh*t done and this month I’m completely burned out. My body is still fighting illness. I know this extra rest is needed right now. But, I feel this pull between wanting to get things done and diving into my masculine energy and my feminine energy forcing me to slow down.
When I don’t honor myself or take time for my self-care practices. Sometimes I put myself on the backburner and focus more of my energy on others. There is nothing wrong with this but like everything in life, there needs to be a balance. Last month in my premenstrual phase there were days when I wanted to say no to people and focus on my self-care practices but I didn’t listen to that nagging feeling. Something I’m working on. Even when I could feel dis-ease coming on and knew I needed to slow down but I ignored that feeling and then got hit really hard. Every time I’m burned out it just shows me, even more, why I need my self-care practices and why boundaries are so important.
Which goes into my last major cause of burnout which is needing to rest more. Especially in our premenstrual phases if you are a woman. And during the first two to three days of menstruation. Rest is so important. I was completely irritable last month and I realize it’s because I was saying yes when I wanted to say no and not resting enough. My body was also having none of that and then decided it would force me to get some rest. That’s why I believe balance is so important and listening to our bodies is so important.
>>>>If you are new to a self-care routine or are currently burned out. For me, this includes fatigue, illness, anxiety, and depression. But, if you have any physical health or mental health issues you should go see a doctor. But, if you know you need some more self-care in your life or just to reduce stress there are many ways to go about doing this. I obviously recommend a self-care routine. When I’m sick or burned out I will take time to research different things. When I’ve been out of my feminine energy I will just rest and ideas always come to me about how to tweak or create a self-care routine.
I’ve studied a lot of things. I’m always researching and new ideas are always showing up in my life when I need them. But, if you don’t know where to begin the first thing you can do is surrender to the divine. What works for me may or may not work for you. So asking God, Goddess, or the universe what is best for you is always a good place to start. I remember the story of Gabby Bernstein one of my favorite authors and a teacher of The Course in Miracles Talking about how she was led to study the course.
I first heard about The Course In Miracles From Marianne Williamson and started watching her weekly talks on The Course. For someone who is filled with anxiety, the idea of choosing love over fear filled me with a sense of comfort immediately. And that miracles are available to anyone at any time filled me with a sense of hope. It took me a few years to pick up the book. I finally did on kindle. I’m still working my way through it but I know that one day I will get through it. Whenever I open up the lesson something beautiful and appropriate for my situation always jumps out at me. It’s like the book knows what I’m going through. That’s a miracle itself.
Since then I’ve had many miracles. Some have been on a physical level but most have been on an internal level.
I remember when I was led to study Kundalini yoga. Which was originally from hearing about it from Gabrielle Bernstein. But, then I found YogaGlo which was recommended to me and realized they had online Kundalini Yoga classes I could do at home. I don’t believe in coincidences and this is how things have lined up for me beautifully over the years when I trust and surrender to the universe.
The second thing is to create a list. I love lists. Whenever an idea comes into my mind or I hear about something I write it down immediately. Then I research like crazy to see if something feels right to me and to know what I’m doing before jumping in. Obviously with something like yoga if you can find a way to get guidance if it’s in person or online that is always a good idea. Or if you can find a book on the topic. And always use your own common sense. If something feels off then it might not be right for you. I’ve studied different practices tried them and they just didn’t feel like it was for me. There is nothing wrong with that. There are only so many hours in the day.
Make a list of what appeals to you, Research, and then come up with a list of how these practices might work for you. Would it be better for the morning or evening? Do you have 10 minutes or an hour? Maybe some practices you reserve for when you have more time and one or two practices that are non-negotiable. I’ll be sharing my specific practices in the blog posts coming up to give you some ideas. Some practices I only do when I have more time and some practices I do every day even for only 5 minutes. I also like to switch my routine up every few months. Either when I hear about something I didn’t know about that I would like to incorporate into my routine or to switch things up if I feel something is not working or even to keep things fresh so my routine doesn’t feel stale and boring. Your self-care routines should be a lifestyle, not something you dread doing. If you are struggling then I would suggest looking into what the reason could be. Are you trying to do too much? are you not resting enough? are you feeling your feelings or just using your self-care routine as another way to stay busy and numb? I’ve been guilty of doing those things and that is not a good way to stay balanced.
To start off with pick a handful or less of practices. Maybe you spend an hour in the morning doing yoga and then do a 15-minute meditation. Maybe you only have 15 minutes in the morning. I love Flowdreaming or doing some Tapping/E.F.T when I only have a few minutes but I still want to do something. And Soul writing is a big morning practice for me even if I only have 15-30 minutes. I’ll write more about these in my next post.
If you find more things that appeal to you then write them down. I like to use my menstruation/inner winter time to reevaluate where I am at with my goals and my self-care practices. I use this downtime to do any research or find out information I might need for the new month. And I set new goals for the month. This is also one of my self-care practices. And is apart of my cycle syncing practice.
Then pick a day to start your practice. It does not have to be a Monday. 😊 It can be any day that fits your schedule. I love Sundays and call them my soul days. I don’t take a soul day every Sunday but I love taking a Sunday to just let myself rest and focus on some sacred self-care. You might get up a little earlier if you have to go to work. I’ll give more tips on getting up for your morning practice in the next post. I would say try your practice for a minimum of a week. If you could do it for a month that would be even better. Then make changes to it as you see fit. Or maybe it works great and seems to be the right balance for you. You will probably tweak it over time like I do. Or maybe you have one or two things that are non-negotiable and you don’t feel the need to tweak it. But, it’s okay if you do. No one is exactly alike so it’s all about finding your own balance and what works for you.
What is your non-negotiable self-care practice?
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