Man, these past two weeks at work have been exhausting. Purely exhausting. It’s been tense, we’re short-staffed at the moment, and it’s full of deadlines. And also getting ready for our upcoming March Endo events is equally poopy-outty. I’m sleeping at night, but don’t feel rested when I wake up.

I’m wiped.

I’m excited about March 16th and March 30th. So, no regrets. But it’s important to realize that when you’ve stretched yourself too thin or have too much on your plate that you MUST focus on some sort of proper rest and relaxation.

Make some “Me” time. Set down everything else. Breathe. Let it all fall away.

So, if you’re like me today and you’ve just reached a point of pure exhaustion, let’s do this together:

“Relaxing the shoulders is vital for relaxation in general. However, owing to the effects of gravity, relaxation is problematic unless we let the shoulders remain in their natural place. Let the shoulders drop, or settle in harmony with gravity, into their most comfortable position. It isn’t too difficult to do this for a moment, but to sustain this condition unconsciously in our lives is another matter. We raise our shoulders unnaturally when we lean on a desk or hold the telephone between our shoulders and ears, when we are shocked by a loud noise, and who knows how many other times throughout the day. And the unsettling of the shoulders doesn’t have to be large to produce anxiety, stiff necks, and headaches. Just slightly raising them will create tension, and this tension throws the nervous system out of balance.

When do we raise the shoulders in daily life? What are we feeling at that moment and leading up to that moment? Remembering that the body reflects the mind, and that the raising of the shoulders not only creates tension but also is a physical manifestation of psychological tension itself, what are the roots of this tension? Bringing the mind into the moment, let’s observe ourselves in a state free of preconceived ideas or beliefs. Don’t guess at these questions. Observe yourself in relationship to others and the universe” 
― H.E. Davey, Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation

It isn’t much. But it’s a little. An easy, non-time consuming, quick way to take a moment, draw a breath, and relax those shoulders.

That’s one step. The rest we’ll find time to relax a step at a time. Sometimes we cannot control our outer-stressors. And deadlines must be met. But today? Today I can do this.

Breathe. And drop my shoulders.

I hope you have a beautiful weekend. And find some time to just relllllaaaaax.

Much love to you. Lisa.