Healthy Habits and Fulfillment – Part 9.a of 9 – Grounding Practices

When I started this blog series 9 weeks ago the world was in a different place. Personally, I was full of bright-eye optimism completely oblivious to what was about to happen. The word and phrase for 2020 will undoubtably be unprecedented and social distancing. And every single one of us has been affected – it’s … unprecedented. Where do we go from here? How do we keep ourselves from going crazy at home all day? Well, the last question of this series can help. I am not going lie, like you, these last couple weeks have been a challenge. I’m an extrovert - I get my energy from being around people. I don’t mind periods of being alone and since becoming a mom I appreciate them more. But really, I get my energy from connecting with friends, going to the gym and doing a class with a group, or having a playdate with another mom and her kids. Now that everything has changed and the things that give me energy aren’t readily available, I really have to look inwards to figure out what I need to get through this time.

This is the last question Mandy Balak and I discussed at The Ace Class Coffee Talk at Community Natural Foods.

 Do you have any grounding practices that bring you back to yourself when you’re in moments of chaos? What kind of values-check rituals do you integrate into your day-to-day to ensure everything you’re doing aligns with who you are?

Welcome to moments of chaos, right? In my own world I went from happily working part-time for a handful of trusted clients on Friday March 13 to basically having no work on Monday March 16. Boo. I don’t know if I would call it chaos or the complete lack of chaos that feels chaotic. I like to be busy and I really love the situation I had created for myself working part-time and staying home with my boys part-time. I did decide this year that I was going to expand my work into a different space and that is still going to happen. Last week I abandoned my grounding practices completely drank wine every day, slept until the boys woke up and didn’t do anything to move my work forward. I didn’t feel grounded and it manifested itself in me feeling pretty depressed. I was on day 42 of my personal challenge to mediate every day and then for two days I just didn’t bother. It was the start of what could have been a major downward spiral. But because I have grounding practices in place that are always there for me, I was able to pull myself out before my husband had to have an intervention. Here’s a breakdown of what works for me to stay grounded.

1.    Connecting with friends – I don’t think I realized HOW important this was until these past 2 weeks. Staying connected to my friends is EVERYTHING. So, if you’re my friend and I seem a little annoying it’s because I’m filling up my friend tank. My poor husband can only take so much.

2.    Exercise – I pride myself on my fitness. I was in a really good groove of yoga twice a week, a group training class and at least one other class a week. I really hate working out at home. But after a week of not getting any exercise other than walking outside with the boys I knew I had to change my mindset about it. So, while not my preferred method there are so many options online that I’ve made it a non-negotiable.

3.    Meditation – I’ve been meditating somewhat regularly for about 7 years. I used to be a part of a meditation circle once a week and it was a magical experience. A lot of people like the idea of meditating but aren’t sure where to start. And in the coming weeks I’ll write more about how to get started on meditating. I started a challenge last year to try to meditate every day for a year. And if I missed a day I had to restart. As mentioned above the most days I had done in a row was 42. But week of staying home with the boys and feeling uncertain got the best of me and I just didn’t meditate. But each day is a new day and I’m already back to 5 days in a row.

I’m going to save the second part of this question for next week: What kind of values-check rituals do you integrate into your day-to-day to ensure everything you’re doing aligns with who you are?

I’ve been paying attention to this while I’ve been stuck close to home and really discovering what my triggers are. I’m noticing what keeps me motivated, when I procrastinate and when I throw my plan for the day out the window. Stay Healthy out there everyone. Now more than ever it is important for us to come together to reach a common goal. And that goal is being able to leave the house freely!

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