BALANCE
ENERGY & REST
During this stage of a woman’s life the shift of hormones, mood, emotional tones and physical energies can often make us feel out of balance. We may expend too much energy in physical or mental activity resulting in us feeling depleted and overwhelmed. Or we may not engage enough in physical and mental effort and are left feeling lethargic, slow and lacking in motivation.
The perfect balance point is different for every woman. Some of us need more lift our system whilst others need to lower, slow their system down. There is no one size fits all prescription to practice. There is no one size fits all prescription to practice.
If you don’t already have a good sense of your natural rhythm of rest and energy you might consider taking a mindful practice to help you uncover it. Then you can tailor practice to suit your individual need.
Reflections
This week you might enjoy taking some time to reflect or inquire into your relationship with trust. Here are some ways you would bring it alive this week.
Journalling energy & rest. One easy way to become more present to your energy levels is to journal. It’s simple. Every evening reflect on your day and write one line down for the following
How you slept the night before
What you ate during the day
What activity you did during he day e.g. work, gardening, socialising
Whether you rested that day e.g. sat and read, watched TV, meditated
What emotional or mental influences there were that day
Where you are in your menstrual cycle/ moon cycle (if already in
menopause)What your mood was like today e.g. use three words to describe it
What you feel your energy level was e.g. low, medium, high
There is also an excellent free app called BALANCE APP which helps you log lots of information, you may like to try it?
Journaling can help us see our energy patterns. After a few weeks or better yet a few menstrual/ moon cycles, you’ll see how these patterns affect your energy cycles.
You may notice
That there is a certain time every day you feel tired
That you may have been ignoring physical cues that your body needs rest
That you’ve been pushing through, taking coffee and sweat treats to keep on going
Or, you may feel that you have only been resting and not doing much to lift the system and create energy?
Remember, whatever you notice or don’t, be kind. Self-reflection can all to quickly turn into an exercise of I shoulds or worse, negative self-critical talk, ‘I’m lazy’, ‘I’m always tired there must be something wrong with me’.
Remember, whatever you notice or don’t, be kind. Self-reflection can all to quickly turn into an exercise of I shoulds or worse, negative self-critical talk, ‘I’m lazy’, ‘I’m always tired there must be something wrong with me’.
2. What’s my relationship to rest? Be comfortable. Tune into the breath. Ask yourself 'What does rest look like to me? What does it feel like I my body? How available is rest to me?’
3. Get active the rest. I invite you to do some strenuous physical exercise for 15-25mins then to stop and to lay down in a comfortable supported position and do your IMAGINED SLEEP practice. Notice if moving and being active then helps you to settle into rest more easily?