Life Balance....

As AndBreathe... I am constantly reminding people to look after their wellbeing, to focus on creating a balance in their lives and to prioritise their mental health. So this week as I found myself feeling a bit anxious and stressed, I sat myself down for a bit of a talking to!  Setting up a new business was never going to be easy. Also being someone who historically has always taken on too much, been a high achiever and been extremely self-critical, I took a few steps back to remember why I was here in the first place!  

First of all, I returned to 16G (16 Guidelinesfor a Happy Life) and picked the card 'Contentment'.  I was clearly not feeling this, so was interested to read on...

'Contentment is a state of mind that has nothing to do with money, objects, or other people. Nor does it concern itself with how much we have, or how little. Instead, it’s about finding a point of stillness within ourselves which allows us to be quietly happy whatever our situation might be, and to be at peace with who we are.

How do we experience contentment? It can be as easy – and yet as radical – as taking a breath in, and deciding to release everything that makes us feel anxious and dissatisfied as we breathe out. Try settling deeply and quietly in a traffic jam, in the middle of an argument, or when tears are close. Let the commotion of the world simply come to rest. Is it possible to taste the experience of surrender and release?

Unless we learn to live in the moment, and to accept it as it is, we may never function well or feel fully alive. Contentment releases us from the restless desires that drive us blindly forward, and which prevent us from being open to the needs and gifts of others. It frees us up to direct our energy in fresh and more conscious ways. Can we discover how to enjoy contentment despite the hurry and worry of our contemporary existence?'

That gave me food for thought! It was then time for my daily yoga with 'Yoga with Adriene' and I laughed out loud when I saw the title  for that day's video, 'Yoga for Insecurity'! Following that I pulled out another tool from my toolbox which is going to the hills. I am so lucky to live close to beautiful hill walks and was quite quickly at one of the summits  of Bennachie (see the picture at the top of this post).  By now, the anxious feeling was settling but the very fact I had felt like this, still nagged at me, so I settled into a self-led EFT/Tapping session.  Why didn't I start with EFT?! Yes, I tapped on that too!

So, where am I now?  Yes, I still feel that setting up a new business is challenging but I am back able to look positively at the bigger picture again.  New schools have signed up for Pawsb Mindfulness sessions this week, new clients have been in contact and musically (the other part of my life) there have been several positives as well.  We're all human, it's how we deal with the ups and downs that matters.  Having a variety of tools in my toolbox has helped once again and I know they are there any time I need them.  What are your tools?