When You Feel Heavy: Why Stillness Is the Medicine You Need
There are eleven months standing between us and last January. In those months, you may feel like you've lost some steam. Your circumstances may look different than you had expected or hoped them to when first you jumped excitedly into this year. You may feel tired, even a little hopeless, like your mind and body are trying to wind down with the season but your schedule won't let you. Like you should have accomplished more or are running out of time.
If any of that resonates, you're probably feeling a little heavy right now. I'm here to tell you you're not alone in that place. The last few months of the year, especially with colder weather and shorter days, often make us feel tired, foggy and directionless. The constant drive to productivity and perfection are exhausting.
The best thing you can do is extend yourself a loving hand in the form of self compassion.
Stillness is incredibly powerful. Not only is it where great answers and solutions come from, but it's the healing place we go to rest and reset. Most importantly, it's where integration happens. The year thus far is a culmination of both great and difficult experiences. It's crucial to sit with those experiences, to be truly present with them, to pull from each one the lessons and emotions they carry. To celebrate the memories you've made before carrying forward. If we keep running, this integration doesn't happen and life simply passes us by.
If you're too busy for stillness, carve out five minutes a day. If you have the opportunity for stillness but are fighting it because it feels foreign and threatening, start with five minutes a day of allowing it to be ok to slow down. Add meditation, journaling or tapping. Allow your time to be completely unstructured for a while, letting creativity take over until your imagination becomes active again.
If you stop moving long enough, you give your mind and body a chance to catch up.
As we've talked about before, progress isn't always visible. You don't have to show the world how much you can accomplish 100% of the time. Creating stillness outside of productive time gives your entire being an opportunity to embrace the transformation that happens when you digest life properly. Far from being counterproductive, this is an integral part of growth.
Take five minutes after reading this post and take a few deep breaths. Let your shoulders down. Let your jaw relax. Notice what feels heavy, outdated, or unnecessary — emotionally, mentally and energetically. Before you take another step forward, release what no longer serves you. Let go of what no longer belongs in your experience. Give yourself permission to feel a little lighter.
This is your homework:
Spend five minutes a day in silence and ask yourself: "What am I ready to set down so I can rise lighter?" Then breath. Let stillness do its work.
As counterintuitive as it is to slow down when you feel pressured, or eliminate distractions when you're feeling down, adding quiet presence is in fact the most powerful way of releasing these so you can walk forward into your future unencumbered and ready to take on the next task.
