Here’s to Early Wake - Ups
Last week I started my day around 5 am so that come 6 am, I was to lead a hearty bunch of learners in my Cultivating Calm Micro-class. Yay! Early mornings the darkest week of the season so far! LOL. It's actually not that bad - especially given this bunch of super-heroes!
Why was I so excited about this? I love learning and helping others learn. It's both my passion and one of my superpowers. In working with students, teachers, yogi, and coaching clients, I hear almost universally that people are busy and overwhelmed. And if you're reading, I bet at least some of these ring true for you:
You have trouble staying focused on what you need to do.
You find yourself overwhelmed with to-do lists, calendars, and the dreaded alert notifications.
You have trouble finding enough hours in the day to do it all and/or sleep.
You find yourself easily agitated - by others or by yourself, or you're just "not really there" when you want to be.
You find yourself thinking critically of yourself or others.
You find yourself reacting in ways that make you later regret those words or actions.
You feel like you just need to get away from it all."
Maybe things are just off, and you want to feel calmer. I get it, I really, really do!
I've been practicing and teaching these things for years, and I still have days that I feel some of these things.
But I know it doesn't have to be this way.
With practice, we can cultivate calm at the moment. And that one moment becomes two. And two become three. You're smart, you get the math here, right? Things build with each small step.
What begins to happen with practice, even micro-practices are that we start to change how we respond to stress as it bubbles up. I don't want to freak you out with a bunch of science right now, but I just have a little faith in this idea. Each time you do something, like practice being mindful, your brain in quietly building neural pathways that will lead it to a calmer place when you need it. Small changes lead to more significant changes in our minds and bodies.
The first step is often the hardest. When we put some small boundaries on life, that allows you to take a few minutes to yourself. It's not always easy. Like the choice to NOT Netflix or have a second glass of wine, so you can go to sleep early enough to get up early (trust me, I have THAT conversation with myself OFTEN!)
When I first started, I got up crazy early and wasn't always thrilled with an alarm going off "in the fours," as my son used to say.
I didn't like that slogging around in the dark to find a spot to meditate.
I would sometimes forget. Or I would check my phone instead, and then, whoops, I was out of time to myself and had to get the morning and the kids moving.
The biggest roadblock was telling myself I "couldn't "be mindful. I've always been a Type A, Busy Beaver." Even my old report cards hinted at my propensity to move too fast or without thinking.
Later in life, people would compliment me on "all the things" I had going on, but that tone of their voice or that casual side-eye told me maybe it wasn't a compliment?
So, I began this narrative that I am always busy, and if you're working, then HECK, you can't be mindful, right? (And that was just one narrative in a whole anthology of stories I told myself. Talk about a fixed mindset!)
But I was wrong.
I found that practicing mindfulness brought me back into the flow of life. I could think more clearly, and I wasn't flipping my lid so much. Heck, once I middle school and high school, my kids said, "you seem a lot more chill lately, mom!"
I'm here as proof that while many of us are busy, Type A folks, we can find - when we deliberately carve out - small pockets of time to cultivate calm.
The first round of this class filled up and went swimmingly. But it will be offered again in 2020 - so stay in the loop for when it opens again. Simply drop me a note here.
Ooh…. and BECAUSE several people asked for a way to share some of these practices with their kids, I’ve got something to offer you as we move into all the holiday festivities.
Wouldn’t it be nice to find a little more calm and presence so you can enjoy those ones you love this holiday season?
I'm working on a NEW micro class designed for parent and child. Watch for details next week on this micro class in your inbox. (Not subscribed - be sure to do so right here if you want the deets!)
