Five Things I Do When I Feel Out of Balance
/Hi everyone,
2023 is almost over, and I know that for many of us this wasn’t the easiest year. For me it was definitely one of the most challenging in a number of ways. I can share that by November I felt absolutely defeated. I wasn’t sure how I was going to move on, but I knew that if I didn’t, everything and everyone I cared about would be affected. When I feel overwhelmed by life, I recognize that it is time to slow down drastically and re-access my priorities to know where my limited energy should go.
I’m going to share a list of five things I do when I’m feeling down in the hope that it could help some of you.
1. As I already mentioned, the first thing I do when I notice that I’m seriously out of balance is to slow down. I decide that nothing is more important than taking things one step at a time. I clear my schedule of anything that isn’t urgent or highly important. On difficult days I clear everything from my schedule, even the most important and urgent things. I’m in survival mode and whatever is not critical for my survival will have to wait. I allow myself to stay in bed and not to eat unless I feel hungry. I even skip doing things that usually fulfill me and make me happy, like going for a walk. I admit to myself that even that is too much for me at the moment.
2. I become very humble. I recognize that I don’t know where to go or what to do, that my feelings of sadness are flooding over me. I try to see the situation from the outside to have more compassion for myself. I admit that things are rough and that it makes sense to feel the way I feel. There are times in life when everything is simply too much.
3. I prioritize cooking. Although cooking is not something I have a special talent for, when my body is running on empty I know that I need to fuel it with the best foods. I use the healthiest ingredients and eat only fresh, homemade food that I prepare myself. It is simple, basic food that has one purpose only: to nourish me. Soon afterwards I feel better physically, even if my mood and overall appetite for life is still low.
4. I actively seek help. I connect with people who are good to me, and I seek professional help (even though I always have my regular crew of teachers, mentors, therapists, and coaches who help me on a regular basis). In certain cases I go back to someone who helped me in the past that I think can help me again. This always proves to be a good decision.
5. I tune in to my body. I carve out time for free-form work and I go with whatever comes up. Sometimes my body tells me that it only needs rest and I will not do much other than Hands over Eyes or Floating Eyes. However, usually my body will come up with interesting images and movements, some of which I have never experienced before. It’s often mind-blowing and relaxing at the same time.
When I wake up one morning and I crave being outside in nature again, I know that I’m on my way out of the darkness. I go for a walk, and I find that my back is straighter and my shoulders lighter.
What I most want to get across is that when I turn inwards and connect with my body, I get all the comfort that I need, and new answers full of wisdom appear. Unlike wisdom from the outside, this inner wisdom is simple and makes it easy for me to move forward with confidence.