Here we are: Day 1 of another Insight Timer challenge. I hadn’t planned on posting daily through this one, but today’s meditation changed my mind. The Voice in the introduction said, “So many of us are always available, never switching off, and never saying no” and we don’t just stop. Our bodies don’t remember what that feels like, which really resonated with me – and a lot of people that I know would probably say the same.
Ella Mills, our first teacher of the program, reminds us that we’re not alone in this. She says that when we say we’re ‘resting’, we’re not really resting. We might be sitting down, but what are we doing? I don’t know about you but sometimes when I need a ‘break’ I scroll, I play some kind of brain game on my phone, or I journal. Rarely do I just stop. Ella says that we need to truly stop, even for just a few moments, so that our bodies can come out of the constant state of fight-or-flight and re-learn how to rest-and-digest. She also tells us that we don’t have to do this perfectly, that it’s ok for our minds to wander, and that the most important thing is to simply “show up”. We have to give ourselves permission to rest.
Today’s meditation was just the introduction, and it was fairly short. Less than 10 minutes. Ella leads us through the act of simply noticing different things and allowing ourselves to melt into the chair or bed. A few deep breaths. She asks us to soften or jaw, our shoulders, to just let go of anything we’re holding onto. Then she says, “You have nowhere to be, nothing to do right now. Just be.”
I think that’s what really motivated me to post about this challenge. We’re always on the go. We’re always doing things for everyone else. We always have somewhere to be. The calendar is always full. So, in my mind, there’s the real challenge: put yourself and some time to stop on the calendar. Take advantage of a moment to yourself. For yourself. No one is going to do it for you, nor is anyone going to make sure that you do it. If you’re like me and secretly need that little nudge or feeling of permission from someone else, if only to give us that sense of relief or affirmation that we’re not being totally and completely selfish, here it is . . .
I GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO STOP.
I GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO SIMPLY BE.
RIGHT HERE.
IN THIS MOMENT.
I hope that you join me on this challenge. Put yourself on the calendar.
#youarenotalone
#youareworthy
#10dayburnout&exhaustionchallenge
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Wholeness Health and YOU! 