GIVE YOURSELF SPACE
Hello there and happy Tuesday! I hope this week finds you giving yourself the space to pause and reflect. I'm drinking my trusty Irish Breakfast Tea this morning and thinking about stepping back to look at the bigger picture.
This week is a busy one for me. Lots of performances, work deadlines and classes kicking off again after being sick for a few weeks. A few days ago, I hopped onto my calendar to look at what was ahead of me and I started to stress out. I stressed about getting it all done the way I wanted to get it done, getting it done in a way that other people would be happy with, and getting it done with enough time to spare so that I could catch my breath. In the end, I found myself saying "I just need to get this week over with."
And then I paused. I sat back, took a breath (good old yoga training kicking in) and looked at the schedule again. Pretty much everything on there was something I love to do. I am lucky enough to have a life where I spend time teaching and performing and being inspired by amazing people along the way. I get to spend time sharing with and cultivating a community of people who want to connect peacefully with their bodies. And I cap it all off with extremely funny people who leave me doubled over with laughter. This is what I have worked hard for. So why was I wishing it away?
It's true that I am a homebody who loves to spend time in my comfort zone with a cup of tea and a good book. But somewhere along the way, I convinced myself that this was the primary part of my personality. But that simply isn't true. Because when I really give myself the space to look at my life, yoga, fat activism and comedy are also my comfort zone. They just show up a little differently and with a more buzzy energy. So it's time to change the narrative.
I have made a promise to myself. I am not going to look at this week as something to get through. I am going to embrace every moment (even the anxious ones) and thank my lucky stars that I get to live the kind of week that I used to only imagine for myself. I am going to be present and grateful, I am going to share and laugh, I am going to breathe and pace myself, and then I am going to end it all with a cup of tea and a good book.
I want to treat every day like the gift that it is and do my best not to rush through it. I will report back with the results next week. :)
As always, I'd love to hear about it! Do you ever find yourself wishing time away? Do you rush through things that you actually enjoy and then wish that you had slowed down? What's one thing you want to slow down for this week? Let me know in the comments below.
As you move through this week, remember to treat yourself and your body with love, respect and kindness.
Much love,
Helen xo