advice · holidays · meditation · self care

Making Space 2023: Day 6

Since we have already focused on hands, let’s put our best foot forward for Day 6.

If you aren’t up to putting your *best* foot forward, just put your okayest foot forward or just put one foot in front of the other.

The idea that we have to be at our best all the time is nonsense.

Sometimes we are at our best, sometimes we are at our okayest, sometimes we just show up, and sometimes we choose to rest – all of those things are good choices, depending on the day and on the resources available to us in the moment.

Wow, that was kind of a long tangent from an offhand segue from hands to feet, hey? Such are the perils of reading my writing!

So, before you can put any foot of any kind forward, it’s a good idea to make sure that our feet are rested and relaxed. That’s where this video from the Yoga with Bird YouTube Channel comes in.

The still image for this video shows the instructor, Bird, sitting cross-legged and massaging her right foot with both hands. She is sitting on a brown yoga mat and there are plants in the background.

I have been running (ha!) with the feet theme so I wanted to use a walking meditation for today but I was concerned about the lack of inclusivity in that idea. So, you can imagine how thrilled I was to find this meditation from the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability‘s channel that is actually inclusive of people who use wheelchairs or move in ways that don’t include walking.

The still image for this video is a photo at ground height, with a path and plants seen through the silhouette of the wheels of a wheelchair.

About Making Space 2023:

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. 

In 2021, I started doing daily December reminders with a post called Give Yourself Some Space,  and that’s how the ‘Making Space‘ December tradition began. Throughout December 2021 and 2022, I wrote a short post that included two videos – one for exercise and one for meditation – and a bit of encouragement for you to make space for yourself at this busy time of year. 

These posts are not about cramming more things into your month, they reminding you that there IS a *YOU* who is doing all of the things and that you are worth taking good care of.

Perhaps the things I suggest aren’t what you need at 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. Just do whatever you can to give yourself a little more breathing room.

Personally, I am trying to Finish 2023 Soft so I am putting conscious effort into resting whenever I can. My overjangled nervous system needs a chance to unjangle and that process may look different every day. 

So, some of these posts may be long and some may be short but please know that every single one of them is written with the hope that you can find a little ease in your day, whatever that looks like for you.