Riding The Wave
Photo: Derek Elvin Photography
It is nothing short of an understatement to say that there are a substantial amounts of ups and downs with COVID. Whether it’s physical, mental, emotional or spiritual, nothing is off limits. How do you navigate through the continual roller coaster of emotions?
Self-Inventory - A great tool when starting your day, starting a project, doing work, home schooling your kids, is a self-inventory. Take a few moments to scan your body to see what’s going on for you. How are you feeling physically? Did you sleep ok? Are you sore from yesterday’s barre class? How is your brain doing? Are you able to focus with work? Do you feel foggy or sharp? How is your emotional health? Do you feel calm or anxious today? What’s going on for you? If you have a spiritual practice, how is your soul? Doing a self-inventory can be extremely helpful because it is a few moments to notice and acknowledge your current experience. This is also helpful because our experience is continually changing. Quickly scanning and making a note of where you are at can help with where to go. It can be helpful to identify it with a number on a scale of 1-10… I usually like to say that 1 is a sad panda and 10 is that we’re all in Disneyland, but you make your scale your own. For example, writing this post, I feel like an 8.
Self-Compassion - It’s important after your body scan that you don’t make things mean anything or don’t make your number mean something. We want to avoid statements such as, ‘I am a 3 today but was a 7 yesterday! Why is this happening?!’. The number is simply information for you. Treating yourself as kindly and gently as you do your friends and family is important because you deserve that love too. When I teach classes, I try to remember to encourage participants to meet themselves where they are at that day. If you are exhausted and anxious, the most compassionate thing you can do for yourself in class that day is take it easy. Do what you can. Maybe the win for the day is logging into Zoom and seeing some familiar faces. This is not the time to kick the shit out of yourself. Your nervous system may be on overdrive, so one more hard workout may only make things worse. With fitness culture generally being to “crush it!!'“, or “no pain no gain”, leaves no room unless you are at your peak. If you feel like you’re running at a 3/10, then do your dance or fitness class in that same space… expecting a 9/10 effort for yourself may only turn your day from a 3 to a 2. On the flip side, self-compassion may also mean having higher expectations for yourself. If you feel energized and focused, it may be time to tackle some things in life, get the most of your fitness class, etc. This may be the time to start new projects, go the extra mile with work, etc., if you’re feeling in the space to do so. Self-compassion can also mean having higher expectations for yourself, working towards your hopes and dreams, and being disciplined, if you’re able.
An example of this, I was having a particularly difficult week a couple weeks ago, so I spent an entire week making a 5,000 piece puzzle. My capacity for anything besides teaching classes was almost at a zero. Instead of forcing myself to do anything, I was compassionate to the situation I was in. By the last day of making the puzzle, I was ready to be done and get back to things. I was not hard on myself for ‘wasting a week’, I was actually quite proud that I made a puzzle I have been hanging onto for three years and for treating myself as gently as I could considering the circumstances. I made sure to reach out to support, including my psychologist, and feel all my feelings, and made a plan to move forward. I am feeling energized, and more like myself and am now moving forward in that direction. While the scale is so different for all of us, this is just a personal example of the ebb and flow I experienced.
Riding The Wave
Just like the waves of the ocean, so too are our experiences with life. There may be storms or calm waters, ebbs and flows, ups and downs, and that is life. There will never be a hurricane forever, nor will there always be sunny skies; however, learning to ride the wave can be the kindest thing you can do for yourself. Meet yourself where you are at, stay connected with others, and take action or maybe inaction from there. The only thing that stays constant is you.
Grab your surfboard and whether you are hanging on for dear life or about to catch a wave, enjoy the ride.
xoxoxo
-Brigitte