January Pause
Rest & Reflect This Month
January is a time of deep winter. It calls upon us to pause & reflect instead of jumping into the new year with new ways you are going to change. So many times new year resolutions are made with great intentions but are rarely sustainable and carried our beyond a month or two.
Use January instead to pause and reflect. Pausing lets your nervous system relax from a hectic holiday season. We forget this. We are not meant to continually producing. Just because we live in end stage capitalism doesn’t actually mean we have to be productive every waking minute. Nor do we have use deep breathing and mindfulness so we are MORE productive (that’s capitalism subverting mindfulness). Our nervous systems are stuck in fight, flight, freeze or fawn and I believe the way we unstick ourselves is by routinely pausing. Creating time and space for ourselves to just be. Be in silence. Be without being interrupted. Be surrounded by nature. Be without a screen in front of us (this actually stimulates the nervous system). Learn to be present in the moment. Not be thinking about the past or the future. Be where you are. Practice this as you walk to your car. Read a book in the evenings instead of doom scrolling. If you are too tired to read, then lay on the couch or floor and practice some breathing. Dr Andrew Weil suggests these three breathing techniques, The Stimulating Breath, The 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise and Breath Counting to counter stress and anxiety.
Ways I reduce stress is by reading a good book, taking hot baths with my favorite curated bath salts (aka I make my own now), take a walk outside even if it’s really short but being present and not in my head and using herbal body oil twice daily.
Reading a book allows our nervous system to calm, our breathing to deepen, it is not as stimulating to our brains the same way as screens. We can temporarily escape from reality without numbing out. Public libraries give us access to free books so they’re not hard on the wallet.
I really try and take a hot bath weekly now. In the winter it’s a great way to warm up my bones and the water is so soothing. Make a ritual out of it by lighting candles, adding your favorite scents (use essential oils, not synthetic since you don’t know what’s in them) along with bath salts and set an intention as you get into the water. Have the door shut and play relaxing tunes. Stay until the water cools.
If you’re busy and burned out, even being present while you walk to your car to and from work is beneficial. Look at what’s around you, look at the sky, say good morning to the sun and good evening to the moon. Take some deep breaths, feel the air come into and expand your lungs. Exhale fully.
I started body oiling in 2020 when I made St John’s Wort Herbal Body oil by infusing St John’s wort flowers into organic olive oil after starting one of 10 online herbal courses (this one from Kami McBride). St John’s Wort is a nervine, which means it relaxes the nerves. When I started regularly using this oil, I realized how heavenly it is on stressed out and tense muscles. It melts the tension. I now use it most days after my morning shower and I can tell when I don’t use it. I use my Tension Release Oil at night on my lower legs, feet plus neck and shoulders. This is a combination of St John’s Wort oil, arnica oil and lavender oil (all infused into organic olive oil). The arnica works on inflammation and the lavender helps with sleep and stress. I wish I’d had this when I was on the floor or had clinic all day as it gets rid of the achy feeling from being on your feet all day.
These are just some examples of how you can rest and relax in January instead of heading off to the gym or radically changing your diet. Do some resting, curl up under a blanket, stare at a candle, put up fairy lights in your house. Also, get a massage, start red light therapy, go to a spa (if you haven’t done a Korean spa, I 100% recommend it-it is amazing with hot rooms with different elements and their pools-go by yourself or invite some friends).
Use January to sink into yourself. To NOURISH yourself. To SOOTHE your nervous system.
#JanuaryPause