If today finds you feeling tense, especially if that tension is related to being overwhelmed, you can help relax your mind and your body by getting moving.
You can take Martha’s December 8, 2020 advice and ‘Stretch, stretch, stretch. She had some great suggestions in her post so check those out and, as a bonus, here are some stretches I like from Doctor Jo.
If stretching isn’t appealing right now, you could give this video from Dr. Bri a whirl. She’s a pelvic health specialist and in the description of this video she reminds us that mental tension can result in muscular tension – even in the muscles of pelvic floor.
It might seem odd to worry about the tension levels ‘down there’ when your brain is in a whirl but I guarantee that if you are focused on releasing that kind of tension, your brain will be distracted from your to do list for a while.
If you aren’t up for Dr. Bri’s video today, maybe this tension releasing meditation will be helpful to you instead.
If you are so tense and overwhelmed that neither stretching, movement, nor meditation feels like the right thing to do right now, consider making a paper or digital list of all the tasks and ideas that are swirling in your head right now. Just the action of getting all of that info out of your head will probably help. And once you can see it in front of you, you will probably realize that you are asking way too much of yourself – you are only human (I assume!) and you only have so much time and energy.
I know that when there are so many important things to be done and it feels like you are the only one who can/will do them, it is easy to get stuck in ‘just push through’ mode but I’d really love to see you take a close look at that list and see what you can ditch, what you can scale back, and what you can hand off to others. Maybe some people will be cranky with you about that but I’d rather have you have to deal with a few cranky people than for you to arrive at the end of the year worn out, tired, and sad with no energy to enjoy yourself.
Besides, often people are using crankiness or disappointment as a way to guilt you into doing stuff the way they want things done or, worse, into doing things that they just don’t want to do. You don’t owe cranky/disappointed people every last ounce of your energy – although I totally understand the times when it takes less energy to just do the thing than it does to deal with their crankiness.
There’s no judgement from me – you do what makes the most sense to you and gives you the most mental space as you move through the month.
Just know that you have the option to say no to cranky peoples’ requests.
And, whatever you choose, please be as kind to yourself as you can in the process. ⭐💚
About Making Space 2022
In December 2020, Fit is a Feminist Issue blogger Martha created a tradition – a series of reminder posts to take good care of ourselves during this last month of the year when it is far too easy to get swept up in your to do list, no matter what you are celebrating or not celebrating. Last year, it was my turn and after an introductory Go Team post called Give Yourself Some Space, I created a series of reminders called ‘Making Space‘ that offered a suggested short exercise video and a suggested meditation in case you needed an easy way to find space for yourself in your schedule.
For 2022, I’ll be doing the same thing but I’ll also be including a link to Martha’s post from the same date in 2020 and I’ll offer a few extra ideas for relaxation, creativity, and self-kindness here and there.
These posts are not about insisting that you do more, more, more during this busy season. Instead, I want to encourage you to remember that there IS a *YOU* who is doing all of the things and you are worth taking good care of.
Perhaps the things I suggest aren’t what you need in the moment. That’s totally ok. Perhaps you can use something else to create some space, something that will help you feel more relaxed or more in charge of your day.
