I hope that today finds you with at least a little time to yourself, even if it is just taking a little extra time with your cup of tea, a little longer in the shower, or going a little slower when doing some routine tasks.
I know I am not alone in this but I hate, hate, hate to feel rushed so when I am feeling hurried, I always try to figure out small ways to reduce that feeling of pressure. Sometimes, taking my time at the grocery store or choosing a slower way to do something helps my brain to recalibrate and see the difference between feeling rushed and any actual urgency.
I know that isn’t the same as actual rest or actually changing my to do list but when I am in the thick of things, I may not have the time or brain space to do either of those.
And I also know that some of you may not have the freedom or capacity to change the order or nature of your task but I hope that you can be kind to yourself about the facts of your day, that you can eke out a few minutes rest, and that you can recognize that feeling rushed at a busy time is not a personal flaw. You are doing what you can with the resources you have and that’s all anyone can do.
Whether you are rushing, relaxing, or doing something in between today, I wish you ease in your mind and in your body.
May you have a little more space when you need it.
Here’s today’s movement practice:
This video from Yes2Next is called “Easy 5 min Wall Pilates Workout (No Weights): For Ages 60+ and Beginners” and the still image shows the two happy-looking participants in a very light squat with their arms slightly extended behind them. Their photos superimposed over a purple wall and they are standing on a wooden floor. The participants are a mother/daughter pair and the Mom, an elderly woman with short grey hair, is closest to the camera and is wearing a black track suit. The daughter, who is middle aged, is in black leggings and dark peach t-shirt.
And here’s today’s mindfulness practice:
The still image for this Headspace video “Grounding Exercise for Racing Minds” shows a cartoonish yellow circle with googly eyes looking upwards and the the left. There is a white circle and a dark orange circle layered around the yellow circle character and the background of the image is a warm orange. The video title is on the upper left with the first few words in white and the last two in yellow.
Welcome to another year of finding some space for ourselves and our needs amidst the hustle and bustle of the end of the year.
Whether you are celebrating a holiday this month, whether it is the last month of the year, or whether it is just a string of ordinary days in an ordinary month, the ambient hurrying stressfulness of this month can get to us all.
In the face of all of that, my Making Space posts are not about giving us something ELSE to do.
Instead, I am hoping they can be a reminder that you deserve space in your own life, that you don’t need to dedicate every second of every day to everyone else’s needs and wants.
I want to encourage to take a break in whatever form works best for you whether that includes the exercise/meditation videos I share or something else entirely, I am wholeheartedly encouraging you to make more space for yourself in your own life.
That might mean saying no to some things.
It might mean choosing not to do some other things.
It might mean scaling some things back.
It will definitely mean being kind to yourself.
So, with all of that said, let’s get started on the Making Space 2025 project with some stretching and a short meditation…or with whatever makes you feel like yourself today.
Wishing you ease 💚
Your movement practice for today:
This video 5 minute Daily Stretch is from Kayleigh Cohen Strength. The still image shows the instructor in a black shirt and green leggings in their living room with their arms stretched over their head. There is a dog sleeping on a green couch in the back on the right and on the left is some wood paneling and some plants.
And here’s today’s meditation:
This Meditation for Deep Calm is from Sarah Beth Yoga and the still image shows the instructor from the waist up sitting with their head bowed and their hands in prayer position in the centre of the screen. In the background, which is slightly out of focus, is a yoga mat, a coffee table and some plants.
PS – Katy Bowman of Nutritious Movement is hosting an advent calendar of exercises again this year. Her 2025 focus addresses the stress that tech can put on our bodies.
I knew my 16-day trip to Egypt with 3 midlife friends would be a fun, budget-friendly adventure, but it also became a test of stamina and strength for me.
We had no tour big bus providing a comfy, air-conditioned bubble. Rather, our ambitious travel schedule took us through half the country, hauling our backpacks up modest hotel staircases and navigating every natural and human-made obstacle in our path. Although we had quiet evenings, including a few days by a rooftop pool, by day our bodies were moving in lots of ways.
Our first of many tomb and temple visits, the burial chamber of Bannentiu, 26th dynasty (Roman Era) in the Baharia Oasis.
Bodies in Motion
In the desert near the Baharia Oasis we climbed up (then surfed down) sand dunes. In downtown Cairo, the honking cars, uneven pavement, and throngs of moving people in the street demanded constant physical manouvering. We toured ancient sites out in the hot sun, including Luxor’s Avenue of Sphinxes and Aswan’s Forgotten Obelisk. We also used steep ramps and narrow tunnels inside multiple tombs and pyramids, crouching under low ceilings carved over three and four thousand years ago!
Folks climbing a ramp in one of the Giza Pyramids, built for Pharoah Khufu in the 2500s BCE. Kim said the ramps were put in after her visit 16 years ago: before it was just dirt.
As well, we hiked three silent, stunning canyons in the South Sinai region that shimmered white, red, and multi-coloured in the sunshine. The next day, after a caravan of camels and their handlers got us most of the way up Mt Sinai, we used 750 steep steps to get up to its peak.
Riding Asfour (the Second), a 7-year old camel up the first 3000 steps of My Sinai was a highlight. And although Asfour did most of the work, my legs were still sore the next day!
Later, it was a relief to float face down in the salty water of the Red Sea over the most beautiful coral and schools of fish I have seen. We snorkelled twice: off the beach in Sharm El Sheik and off a glass-bottom boat in Hurghada. But even in and near the water, I had to be thinking about dehydration and sunburn.
Kimi and me snorkelling just off the beach in the Red Sea. Video by Lisa Porter.
Getting hurt could mean getting stuck. I nearly did a few times, once when I mildly rolled an ankle in the Coloured Canyon and when I jammed a finger on a tomb doorway at the Saqqara necropolis. But it felt good to keep moving. At least twice we saw a tourist who seemed unprepared or was having great difficulty getting through the tomb shafts.
Kim and Lisa going down the low-lit ramps in what I think was the Step Pyramid, built for Pharoah Djoser in the 2600s BCE. Video by Kimi Maruoka.
We covered thousands of steps per day, even on our 2- to 7-hour travel days. At the last minute I decided to leave my fitness tracker at home, and I’m glad I did. It helped me to make sense of how I was feeling in my body rather than by stats on a screen.
Rope repelling, then a rebar ladder, just to get down into the White Canyon. Our guide admitted he used this to judge hikers’ readiness for this canyon.
Caring Co-Travellers
And my body did feel many things, as I was under the weather for a good part of the trip: first menstrual cramps, a head cold that turned to cough, then mild heatstroke after the first time snorkeling, and finally a stomach bug. On my worst night, I laid awake shaking with chills, sipping tepid tablet-purified water, and waiting for dawn (or death, I had thought self-piteously).
A short video of Cairo’s downtown streets at night. Our group kept close watch on each other to avoid getting lost or run over.
But I survived. As a white, English-speaking tourist with a credit card and travel insurance on a holiday, I was never really in serious danger. I saw many Egyptians who may have been facing economic hardships and health risks I will never have to deal with as a middle-class Canadian.
Nevertheless, I am so grateful for my three travel buddies, who showed each other constant care throughout our journey. We divided snacks, each bought rounds of water, shared everything from tissues to electrolytes, and carried the mood for each other until someone sick (usually me) recovered.
A cat next to my day pack and water bottle. I stayed hydrated with old and new friends!
Kim, who had planned the travel and booked the local guides and drivers, happily made last-minute arrangements to help me join later when an early morning tour of Isis Temple in Aswan wasn’t possible for me. This caring company was the heart of my trip.
Me in a feeling-better moment, making silly Instagram poses with the backdrop of the Red Canyon behind me. Photos by Kimi Maruoka.
Proof of Life
I believe that our greater exertions paid off in greater fun. In exchange for living out of packs and in our sore, dust-covered bodies, we got to see and sleep in neat places, including under the desert stars, where we felt extremely lucky to be there, together and alive.
Our remarkable view of the white desert at night. This photo was not taken with a black/white filter.
There’s a certain idea of midlife that says to slow down, be careful, rest more. This trip refused that. It demanded and invited all kinds of motion, reminding me how much the body can still do when it must. It turns out that I was strong enough for Egypt.
Lisa and Elan racing (falling?) down a sand dune in the White Desert. Photo by either Kim or Kimi.
And by the end of the trip, I used nearly every pill I’d packed and every muscle I had. But getting over everything became part of my adventure story. I came home with a mildly sprained finger, hardwon but still overpriced souvenirs, and a feeling that my flawed and frustrating body could still bring me much, much joy.
Our fearless foursome trekking in the desert. To borrow a phrase from Kimi and her sisters: “We did it!!”
My partner and I took our bicycles on a short holiday road trip across part of Ontario, Canada to visit family and friends. It wasn’t a cycling holiday, but it was a holiday that involved some cycling. Road trip cycling was a new experience for us recent owners of a road bike (me) and an e-bike (my partner). Among visits, dinners, and museum trips, we managed to get out 3 times in 6 days.
Road trip cycling gives you a new way to explore new places. On ours, the weather was beautiful and the locations were scenic. After a few times, we got bike and gear extraction and repacking with the SUB down to a science. But it wasn’t issue-free.
A relatively new road cyclist training with a club, I was excited to explore longer paths mapped by other cyclists using my Ride GPS app. But I mistakenly assumed I would be leading the rides. I didn’t recognize it right away, but it turns out my partner had their own ideas about which way and for how long we should ride, decisions made more by feeling and impulse.
Our differences of opinion led to some frustration. The GPS-marked paths I chose sometimes had some longer-than-comfortable gravel stretches or were busy with “walkers.” The random paths my partner chose led to dead ends or us dodging traffic to cross busy roads. One time we each doggedly took what we thought was the best route … and lost sight of each other (phone call, waiting). Another time we got different advice from hotel staff on how to best get our bikes out of the underground parking lot, so we each stubbornly took our own ways up topside.
When cycling alone or with a club, I have learned, there is generally a single and shared vision of the ride. When cycling casually with a partner in new places, the path, duration, and speed must all be negotiated. You’d think we could have just laugh it off at the time, but when one of us had felt really uncomfortable based on a choice the other had made it wasn’t always easy to find levity.
Next time I will still plan our rides with maps, but I will also try to go with the flow, communicate more, and keep upbeat when something unexpected happens. Maybe we agree to alternate who lead the rides. Maybe we each get one “turnaround” audible per ride if things feel bad for one of us. Holiday road trip cycling is not only enjoyable; it can also be an interesting test of a partnership!
Who leads when you ride casually with a partner, family member, or a friend? How do you negotiate differences?
A map of Belleville with a red line marking the path riddenA map of Wolf’s Island with a red line marking the path riddenA map of Ottawa with a red line marking the path ridden
Welcome, dear readers, to high summer! It’s July 13, and all the produce is out-producing itself, offering us loads of opportunities for new and perennial favorite taste experiences.
Yes, I know this is not a cooking or gardening or farmers’ market blog. But here’s the deal: I am saddled with a flare-up of sciatica (likely brought on by too much air travel and car travel, but wha’cha gonna do…). This means it’ll be a couple of weeks before I’m okay to resume summer outdoor activity. For now, I’m enrolled in physical therapy, which is good for me if not good for the season. Sigh.
But, in keeping with the brightness and warmth and availability of copious amounts of beautiful fruits, I’m, literally making lemonade out of lemons. And other cold yummy summer beverages. Here following, several recipes and beverage projects I’m engaging in these days.
First, I always make sure to have plenty of freshly-brewed iced tea on hand. This means heating water in a kettle until boiling and pouring it into a container (I use a marge metal bowl), and then dipping tea bags into it to infuse them. I leave them for 5–7 minutes, then remove them. Once the tea has cooled, I transfer it into a pitcher for the fridge. It never lasts more than a day or two, so it always tastes very fresh and looks clear.
I use Earl Grey tea, but you can use anything you like, caffeinated or non, black, green, herbal, whatever.
Just. don’t. use. instant. Ever.
Potential variations: you can add sugar to the bowl before the boiling water, or honey (as I prefer). Amounts vary according to taste. You might also add a handful of fresh mint leaves if you like, taking them out with a strainer within 15–20 minutes. You can also leave the tea unsweetened, and make simple syrup for people to add to their glasses to taste.
Earl grey iced tea in vintage glasses with cute paper straws. I don’t use straws and any glass will do for me.
Basic simple syrup recipe: combine one cup sugar (any kind) with one cup water in a small saucepan. Heat up the pan and stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Take it off the heat before it boils. Then let it sit and cool. Put it in a container with a lid in the fridge. It will last several weeks.
Variations on simple syrup recipe: you can add so many things to simple syrup, like mint leaves, lemons, lime, basil, other herbs, you name it. Make sure to strain them out before storing in the fridge. Feel free to go wild. Here’s a link to some interesting syrups you can try. One I love is this tea-infused one, which I add to beverages other than tea…
Second, it’s great to have fresh-squeezed lemonade around as well, as it can form the base of fun fruity concoctions. There are loads of recipes online, but here’s what I do:
make simple syrup with 1-1 water and sugar
squeeze maybe 6–8 lemons, enough to have at least one cup of fresh lemon juice
mix together one cup of lemon juice, one cup of cold water, and 1/2 cup simple syrup.
Then add water to the mixture until you like the taste
serve in glasses with plenty of ice, mint leaf or raspberry or lemon wheel or something else festive
tip: maybe leave the mixture a little strong, as serving with ice waters it down a bit
Variations on lemonade: you can use mint simple syrup to make minty lemonade, or add pureed strawberries to make strawberry lemonade.
Fresh lemonade in vintage glassFresh limeade in old-fashioned glass.strawberry lemonade in lowball glass.
Or, you can use my list, substituting limes for lemons, for fresh limeade. It’s more work, as it takes more limes, but it tastes dee-licious.
Another pro tip: get ahold of a very good lemon/lime juicer for the job. Flimsy ones will just irritate you and make you give up and blame me. Here are ones I recommend:
This is what I use– buy a sturdy one!Wirecutter likes this one. Meh, but YMMV.For those looking to get an extra workout while juicing.
I don’t have a view on electric juicers. Readers, anyone have expert knowledge on this?
Third, you can combine the beauty of fresh ice tea with the tart sweetness of lemonade to make a drink called The Arnold Palmer. Yes, it’s named after this guy. He was a very great golfer. And, in the 1960s, according to this wikipedia article, he ordered a drink at lunch in Palm Springs made with 3/4 unsweetened ice tea and 1/4 lemonade. As the story goes, a woman copied his ordering the drink one day at lunch saying, “I’ll have that Arnold Palmer drink, too.” And so a drink was born.
These days, the drink is very commonly served in the summer at resorts and warm-weather locales. A variation of it with half iced tea and half lemonade is more popular, but you can be your own judge.
The Arnold Palmer, half and half version, with striped paper straw and lemon slice optional.
Fourth, and general variation on any of these beverages: you can add some razzmatazz by pouring a float of seltzer (or prosecco, or ginger ale, or whatever alcoholic or non-alcoholic bubbly you like). In fact, a version of this drink has its own name: the Raspberry/Lime Rickey. Just make whatever simple syrup you want, add lemon or lime juice or ade, and then froth it up with whatever bubbly you want. I love them- they say old-fashioned New England summer to me.
Fifth and finally, there’s the wonder of the homemade agua fresca, a Mexican beverage that you can make wherever you are. If you haven’t heard of this or tried it, you’ll soon very very glad you read on. Here’s some information from this article in the Mexico News Daily, and some pictures they shared of the wide variety of aguas frescas available:
Refreshing and flavorful, aguas frescas are a treasured part of Mexico’s gastronomic heritage. Sold widely by vendors, shops and restaurants, the non-alcoholic drinks are instantly recognizable.
People have been flavoring water with fruit and flowers in Mexico since ancient times…Many of the popular aguas frescas found in Mexico today — notably, jamaica and horchata — were made possible by the trade network the Spanish established during the colonial era. However, [many] aguas frescas developed regionally [with] grains and legumes like barley and alfalfa to nuts and seeds like almonds and chia and flowers and spices like hibiscus and cinnamon. Fruits were even more frequently used, of course, thanks to a natural bounty that included introduced plants like grapefruit, mango, melon, orange, papaya, passionfruit, peach and local ones including sapote, soursop, guava, tejocote and xoconostle.
from article: you can find aguas frescas in markets and street stands across Mexico. (Margarito Pérez Retana/Cuartoscuro)
My introduction to agua fresca came at La Tacqueria in the Mission District of San Francisco. You must go there if you are ever in San Francisco. The cantaloupe version is still my favorite. But I’ve made several kinds at home since then.
Unlike say, lemonade or limeade. agua frescas are made by pureeing actual fruits or vegetables (or combinations), then adding simple syrup and either lemon or lime juice. You put the whole mixture through a fine sieve (or cheesecloth, depending on your temperament– I go with the sieve), add water to taste, and there you have it– a pure, refreshing elixir of summer produce, made just for you.
A variety of agua frescas– cantaloupe, waterlmon, honeydew, and mango. But you can use all kinds of produce, as well as mix and match.
You’ll need a blender (or vitamix or food processor of something that will seriously puree your ingredients). Here’s a good recipe and guide to aguas frescas. But all comes down to this:
find some fruit or veg you want to make a beverage with (I’m trying cucumber mint next week)
peel, seed and slice it
puree it in your pureeing contraption with some water (1–2 cups?)
add some lime or lemon juice (a few tablespoons?) and puree again
adjust as needed, adding simple syrup if you want more sweetness or a different flavor
pour into container to chill for an hour in fridge
use in two days (but that really won’t be a problem)
Aguas frescas are their own world, and you can read more about them here to start if you’re interested.
Pro tip: if you have leftover sliced fruit that is maybe not as sweet or soft as you would like, puree it with some water and lime or lemon juice, and voila! instant agua fresca. Throw in whatever you want. The difference between smoothie and agua fresca is one of degree, so you are the boss of your ingredients and consistency.
Last comment: I hear from Samantha and Sarah that the muskmelons will be in season when I visit Ontario in August, so we will make muskmelon aguas frescas! Yum. Will report back.
Dear readers, what summer fruit beverages do you love and/or do you make? I’d love to hear any tips or recipes you might have to share.
In the past couple of months, I’ve spent more time in airports than I have since before the pandemic. Family events (happy and sad) and work trips necessitated flying more, which put me in the position of noticing upgraded features of airports that made my time there more (or less) easy on my body, my mood, and my needs for decent food and a place to land while waiting.
Interestingly, the Washingon Post has also been thinking about airports, and they recently published a piece on the 50 best US airports. I’ve been to 16 of them. Lots of them are smaller regional airports, like Richmond, VA, or Portland, ME. Others are alternatives to the big airports in big cities, like Love Field in Dallas. What’s so great about airports when they do things right?
For me, one of the most soothing things about great airports is what they lack– noise. At the Portland, OR airport, I found a soothing lack of muzak and blaring pop music emanating from the stores. Even the passengers seemed muted as they rushed to their gates. Yes, there were the usual baby grand pianos in the public spaces, but even the folks playing them chose low-key tunes. And no one was playing “Piano Man” by Billy Joel, which (in my opinion) the FAA should ban from all airport spaces. Fight me…
Music and quiet are all well and good, but one thing we really need while traveling is a place to sit, collect ourselves and our belongings, and prepare for the on-board segment of our journeys. Both the Charlotte, NC and the Columbia, SC airports have white slatted rocking chairs all over the place for our comfort. Yes, they get snagged by savvy travelers, but turnover is constant, so a little vigilance will definitely pay off.
A lineup of rocking chairs in the Charlotte, NC airport.
I love it when an airport has stores or food venues that are local to the area. In Portland, OR, there was a airport version of Powell’s books, at which I perused many interesting titles and bought one (even though I had a fully loaded Kindle and a book already in my backpack). There’s something luxurious-feeling about picking out a book on the fly (yes, pun intended). FYI, I bought The Fox Wife, sort of a historical fantasy mystery novel– definitely outside of my usual genre choices, but eminently suitable for a long plane ride.
By the way, The Milwaukee, Wi airport has a used bookstore (why aren’t there more of these in airports??) and also a local coffee and breakfast burrito cart. Oh, and a ping-pong table, fully stocked with paddles and balls. I think they might also enlist volunteers willing to play with solo travelers, as I was on my own that day.
Speaking of entertainment, that’s another thing great airports offers. The Portland, OR airport (which ranked #1 in that Washington Post article) had an actual movie theatre, playing short films for passengers looking for a little respite from the light and the gates. Here it is:
At first I thought this was a fancied-up bathroom entrance, but it’s an actual movie theatre. Wow.
And that brings me to the most replenishing thing about good airports: their art! I love me some large-scale (or any-scale, really) airport art. Airport art takes you out of your rushing, tired mindset and offers an alternative perspective, if only for a few moments. But those few moments really refresh me every time. My favorite all-time art installation is in Atlanta, called Flight Paths. Here’s what it looks like:
The ceiling of Flight Paths–shapes and colors and sort sound. Photos by me.Passengers enjoying the lights and shapes and sounds of birds and forest.
Charlotte, NC airport also uses abstraction and nature to catch passengers’ attention and imagination.
You can look closer here. What do you see?A large-scale cloud scape of blues and whites , with lots of room for imagination.
I find airport art, both grand and modest, a welcome shift from my head-down-gotta-get-there state of mind. Good and thoughtful airport planners know this, and they provide.
Readers, what are some of your most favorite features of airports? I’d love to hear from you.
I know some people start them earlier, like December, or even October. I don’t think we’ve ever suggested November. November is the worst month of the year, in my books. It doesn’t need any additional pressure.
And then there’s the very late start crowd who declare January to be a free trial month and skip straight to February 1.
I’ve also been enjoying and admiring Christine’s rebranding of January as Planuary, the month where you do all the work to set yourself up for success in the year ahead.
Of course any day of the year can work. Just ask Catherine!
But still, it’s true for most of us that the start of the new year looms large as the fresh page and a new beginning. Yet there are also parties on January 1 and some of us haven’t returned to work yet. Betwixtmas lingers.
I think, for me and let me recommend to you, the new year actually begins the first Monday in January.
Why?
Monday is, in my books, the best day of the week, full of energy and possibility. The first Monday in January has all sorts of extra Monday energy.
Compare that to starting anew on Wednesday, when January 1 actually fell this year. Wednesday? That blurry middle of the week humpday isn’t meant for fresh starts.
Also, there are lots of parties on new year’s day. The gym is open only for restricted hours and my gym had limited group fitness classes, which were all full.
So for me and my resolutions which are really just a re-upping of my commitment to mostly ongoing goals and habits, it’s January 6th when stuff gets real. Join me!
Or not. You do you. Whatever works. Use a tool if it’s handy. If not put it back in the box. That’s the spirit around here.
But for me, for a few years now it seems, the first Monday after January 1, is the start of the new year.
Well, here we are at our very last day of Making Space in 2024.
I hope that my posts throughout December gave you a little room to think, a little room, to breathe, and helped you have a little more space for yourself in your own life.
And I hope that my enthusiasm for your space-making efforts helped you to feel supported and helped you to find a little more ease as you made your way through the month.
As we move into a new year (and as I move into creating Go Team! posts for January), I hope that you can take some of that spirit of ease, that sense of space making, that determination to create a little more room for yourself, into your day-to-day.
I truly wish more ease, more relaxation, more personal energy, and more of whatever kind of space you want for yourself for you in 2025.
As I often say in people’s birthday greetings – May the year ahead bring you plenty of time to spend as you choose and may you have plenty of energy to enjoy it fully.
And since this wouldn’t be a Making Space post without some suggested practices, here are a few for you to choose from. (And, as always, you are free to choose something else entirely – you are the boss of you!)
For today, I decided to offer a variety of things – some are long, some are short, some are relaxing, and some are energizing. It’s a ‘take what you need’ kind of thing around here today.
First up, we have our movement practices.
Here’s a relaxing Vin Yin- Relax & Flow 30 Minute Yoga Practice from Yoga with Adriene.
still image shows the instructor lying on her back on a yoga mat with her legs bent at the knee and leaned to one side while she rests her hands on her belly.
still image shows the instructor lying on her back on a yoga mat with one knee bent (foot flat on the floor) and the other leg bent with the bottom of her foot pointed towards the ceiling and she is holding that foot in both hands.
If you are looking for some extra oomph, this Energy Boosting Cardio Jumpstart – Total Body Warm Up from Fitness Blender might be just the thing.
still image shows the instructor standing with one foot further ahead than the other and her arms are in positions they might be when running – one bent at the elbow at her side and one bent at the elbow in front of her.
If you are looking for a longer workout, this PS Fit30 Minute Energizing Cardio Workout with Amanda Butler is worth a try.
still image shows three happy looking people in exercise clothes demonstrating exercise punches towards the camera
And here are our mindfulness practices.
First up, in case you have a little extra space (or need a little extra space!) we have a 20 Minute Meditation for Inner Strength and Peace from The Mindful Movement
still image shows a photo of two mountaintops on the right and an expanse of pale blue sky on the left and overlaid on the image is the logo for Mindful Movement (overlapping Ms with a purple lotus on top and the word Meditation beneath) and the words Mountain of Strength.
If you are looking for a shorter meditation, then Circles5-Minute Guided Mindfulness: Relax, Recharge, and Refocus could be just the thing!
And if you aren’t looking for movement or meditation but you want to have something kind of friendly on in the background while you read, rest, do crossword puzzles, or do some handiwork, I have been really enjoying The Dead of Night‘s Ambience videos this month and you might like them too. (If that channel’s videos don’t draw you in, there are tons of other ambience channels you can explore.)
still image shows an animation of a roaring fire, a purring cat, and a cup of tea in a candlelit room that seems inviting (at least to me!)
And that’s it for our Making Space posts for 2024.
Here we are at the last Monday in 2024, the last Monday of this Making Space series, and at the beginning of one of those weird feeling weeks because somehow today is supposed to be a regular day but tomorrow night is festive and Wednesday is a whole new calendar year. Go figure!
So, on a pretend-normal day at the beginning of an odd week, I’m recommending that we create space for ourselves by having some extra fun.
Yeah, I know, you probably have to work or maybe you are thinking about future things, or planning how to spend New Year’s Eve, or juggling various things for kids, relatives, and yourselves, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t add some fun.
Not ‘feels like a whole other job’ level fun, but something that feels doable.
Maybe you blast your favourite music in the car on your way somewhere.
Maybe you draw on your post-it notes for a few minutes.
Maybe you have something special for your lunch.
Maybe you watch a cartoon with the kids over supper.
Maybe you play a board game, or tell some joke, or read a funny book.
Maybe you call a friend and keep each other company while your do some filing or do the dishes or fill out grant applications.
Maybe you gather a few favourite memes and send them to your friend group.
Maybe you lie on the floor with your dog and tell her that she is the best pup.
Really, you can do anything at all as long as it falls into the range of ‘fun and not very much hassle to arrange.’ After all, this is about creating SPACE not about creating extra work.
However you decide to add extra fun to the last Monday of the year and the first day of this odd week, I wish you ease in the process.
And, of course, I offer a couple of possible practices in case you want to create space with movement or with mindfulness. Remember, that these are just suggestions – you are the boss of you!
Our suggested movement practice for today is The Most Fun 15 Minute Cardio Dance Fitness Workout EVERThe Studio by Jamie Kinkeade (I don’t know if it’s the *most* fun ever but it IS pretty enjoyable!)
And seeing as we are working with fun as our theme, here’s Add Fun to Your Life (Guided Meditation) from Inner Space Meditation. We might as well add fun wherever we can, right?
As we get closer to the end of 2024, the posts about resolutions, making changes, and “self improvement” are getting more frequent and more intense.
If planning new things is appealing to you at the moment, then have it.
I don’t object to the practice, I object to the idea that we have to have everything figured out right now, that we have to take ourselves away from holiday, end-of-year mode and jump right into something new.
And I hate the ‘do it now!’ ‘last chance!’ ‘be better!’ tone of a lot of those posts.
Please don’t let all that pressure crowd into your space.
It’s ok to be seeking rest, to be reflective, to take things as slowly as feels right to you. It’s ok to keep making space for yourself to be the way you want to be right now.
And whether or not you feel like moving into goal-setting mode, please remember that there is nothing wrong with you, that you aren’t a project, and that you do not need to be fixed.
If you want to add something new to your life, if you want to change something about your systems or your processes, or you want to make your life better in some way, and the new year seems like a good time to do that, please forge ahead.
Just be kind to yourself in the process.
But if all of these posts and ideas about resolutions and changes just feel like more pressure and if they make you feel like you’re not getting enough space, then you don’t have to change anything.
You don’t need resolutions just because there’s a new calendar year.
You don’t have to be on a constant mission of self improvement.
You do not have to add more tasks just for the sake of adding them.
And if you think you might like to make some changes, or to add some more interesting things, some more fun or some more challenges to your life, you do not have to start on January 1.
You can pick a convenient time of your own choosing when you feel you will have the resources to follow through on your plans.
As you may know, every January, I write a series of Go Team posts that are about encouraging you to start the year with self-kindness, to be realistic about your interests, your capacity, and your time, and, if you are trying to build new habits, that it’s ok to go gently.
Within those posts I like to remind people that I’m there to provide support and encouragement, not pressure. No one has to start anything new in January. They can start whenever they like.
Personally, while I start some things in January, I have also labelled the month as Planuary because that’s when I like to sit down and think about the months ahead the best I can.
So, keep in mind that this is your life and these are your plans.
Trying to cram yourself into someone else’s idea of what you should do won’t leave you with a lot of space for yourself.
So I hope that you will reject, to the best of your ability, any outside pressure to proceed in a way that doesn’t serve you well.
I hope you’ll take up the space and time that you need to figure out what you want to do and how you want to do it.
And I wish you ease throughout that process.
With all of that said, let’s check out the suggested practices for today. After all, we need space both now and in the future and sometimes we have to work on both of those things at once.
Our suggested movement practice is a Short Wake Up Flow from Yoga with Adriene
Still image shows the instructor in a low lunge with her hands in prayer position in front of her chin/chest. She is on a yoga mat in front of a window. The words ‘Wake Up Flow’ are overlaid on the image.
And our mindfulness practice is Evolving Through Life’s Cycles from Great Meditation
Still images shows an cartoon-style illustration of a young person with long hair sitting cross-legged with their arms resting on the tops of their legs, fingers curled, hands are palm upwards. There are illustrations of swamp-style plants in the background and around the edges. The title of the video is in dark green in the upper right.
