What’s wrong with blue anyway?
So, this week started with “Blue Monday “swiftly followed by what some have dubbed “orange Tuesday “(but that’s another story).
The idea of Blue Monday originated as a promotional stunt to sell summer holidays. The company claimed to have calculated the most depressing day of the year using an equation which considered factors like weather, debt, and motivation levels.
Now admittedly the 3rd Monday in January for us here in the northern hemisphere isn’t exactly inspiring. Its normally quite dreary weather usually wet and still gets dark early but to label a day and pre-empt our response in terms of being “blue” isn’t helpful.
Yesterday I spent time with a friend, catching up on news and events and sharing some food together. I saw it as an opportunity to practice a little perhaps of what I preach. Self-care doesn’t have to be running warm baths accompanied by soft lighting and music or booking that exotic holiday “to get away from it “. Believe me “it” whatever that might be will still be there when you return. Perhaps changing our response to it, is what might be important. To be mindful and to give ourselves the pause to reflect. That might mean that you book that once in a lifetime trip or it may be something much less costly and simple. Sometimes self-care is doing the simplest things like just sitting with a friend, allowing the mess and chaos around you and appreciating a cup of tea offered with kindness, or taking the dog for a walk and being thankful for a warm coat.
“It’s not the big things that add up in the end; it’s the hundreds, thousands, or millions of little things that separate the ordinary from the extraordinary.”
-Darren Hardy
Self-care is finding balance
Self-care is central to lasting change on a daily or by hour-by-hour basis. It’s what keeps us grounded, flexible, and resilient when things get tough.
Self-care looks different for everyone, but the goal is the same: balance.
I led a lovely women’s circle on Sunday in the surroundings of Cocoon in Holmfirth and asked the question to those who attended “what brought you here?” now those answers remain confidential to that circle but what I can say is that there was a commonality amongst everyone’s responses … taking some time out for themselves, even if it was just for a couple of hours on a Sunday. Nothing that complicated, we didn’t aspire to end world poverty in our affirmations, nor did we completely change the direction of our lives, (well I certainly didn’t, I can’t actually speak for the other people there) but we made some small promises of what to let go of and what to aspire to in the coming weeks.
I finished the day with a self-led yoga nidra … dropping off to sleep, not by the light of an electronic device but by deep restorative and meditative practice… and I slept so much better for it. (one hour of yoga nidra is equivalent to 4 hours deep sleep)
So, my question to you is “What can you do for your self-care?”
Why I do the work I do...
Hopefully you’ve found this post interesting and I hope it gives you an insight as to why I run Heartfelt Ways.
Find out more about what I offer here at the Heartfelt Ways Centre in terms of mindfulness, wellness and healing or contact me to discuss a service. I’d love to hear from you.
email: vanessa@heartfeltways.co.uk
