Self-Care Tune-Up/ Learning from a Summer Cold

Let’s check-in:

How are your summer practice goals and intentions going? What self-care systems have you been leaning into?

I have a confession: my plans for summer have taken a completely different turn, but it is turning out to be a huge learning and growing opportunity, especially for my self-care evolution. (Silver-lining!)

You might remember from the seasonal check-in, or from past years, that I like to take the summer to enrich my own practice. During the summer months, I like to go deeply into my own interior geography with new experiments, and without any need for the practices to come into the classroom anytime soon. Learning for its own sake is one of my most treasured values, and I try to make such learning a part of my regular self-care strategy.

Without going too far into my teaching methodology here (that will be another post AND another course for later this year), I planned to do minimal teaching this summer and focus on a few personal projects and refill my own well. Well, a few WONDERFUL opportunities came my way early in the summer, and things got rearranged a bit. Even though I was diligent with my regular self-care systems, as it can happen when we push too hard for too long, I wound up with a nasty cold.

THE SELF-CARE SILVER LINING OF A COLD

Being any kind of sick is the worst, isn’t it?! Yes. Totally. It is also, however, an opportunity to really watch the mind and all of her hijinks, to observe some of our most deeply-held thought-patterns in action AND to put together a “Lessons Learned”-style report so that we can take better care of ourselves in the future.

What I was doing all summer:

+ POSITIVE HABITS +

• Daily rhythms: barefoot before breakfast, tongue-scraping, oil-pulling, body-oiling, hot water toddy, lots of butter, dancing, yoga, meditation.
• Laughing. OH MY GOSH have I laughed this summer. YES.

– MISCHIEF MAKERS –

• Not enough childcare at the times I needed it. My 5 year-old has been in several camps this summer, but only for ONE WEEK did I have childcare during the times when I was scheduled to teach. Otherwise, she came with me or went home with friends after camp. This was a stressor for me.
• Too much mental energy. I had some really great opportunities to work this summer, but they required extra time in my head after a big year of teaching, when I knew I needed to be more in my physical body.
• Not enough unscheduled time.

What I’m learning:

1. The beauty of a cold is it will tell you in no uncertain terms that “No, you cannot take on one more thing. You actually only get to lie on the couch and watch ‘Grace & Frankie’ today.” Message received!
2. When you don’t feel well, the essentials reveal themselves: nothing extra. Really nothing extra.
3. Personally, so many of the little lies I tell myself about how important it is that I complete things by a certain time or attend certain events start to reveal themselves as untrue. I have an opportunity to examine the values that support those repeated thought-patterns. (If this sounds interesting, have a listen to Episode 202.)

What I’m looking forward to:

• RESTING the remainder of August, because I am SO EXCITED FOR SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER!
• Registration is now open for the Whole Yoga Fall Immersion: YOGA SUTRAS. In this immersion, we’ll drop into the NECTAR of the Yoga Sutras. Want to bring your practice and life into full, gorgeous alignment? This is for you. School starts September 21. Learn more here.
• <<<FOLLOW YOUR RISE>> our retreat in the desert is filling up! Join us October 13-16 in Sedona, Arizona for yoga, meditation, hiking, rest and connection. Learn more here.

Let’s check in. Talk to me about your seasonal practice and life goals and intentions. I’m all ears.

• email: love@samadhirush.com
• voicemail: speakpipe
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