Restorative Practice: Why we need to stop forcing ourselves.
What’s it mean to restore?
In yoga, we have restorative practices that give us the support we need to restore, or heal, the body and mind.
So much forcing happens in life. Get the next promotion. Be an emotionally intelligent leader, always. Run a little faster. Make more (and more) money. Be the most engaged, caring parent. Force. Force. Force.
Welcome, Exhaustion.
Exhaustion on every level — mental, emotional, and physical.
And, yes, even in yoga this happens. Pulling. Pushing. Stretching. Pain. Yikes! These are the moments to remind ourselves that forcing isn’t the answer. There’s a big difference between forcing and expansion.
When’s the last time you felt exhausted?
Let’s chat about this.
Forcing is simply forcing. It’s using an insane amount of energy for something that isn’t ready to happen.
It’s going solo as an entrepreneur when you don’t have an idea. You try to force the idea. The right idea. The perfect idea. The most lucrative idea. Creativity doesn’t come from forcing. Hello, Mental Exhaustion.
It’s being that leader that forces empathy for your team when you don’t have any emotional “fuel” left to give. You’re running on empty and you have no empathy for yourself, so your self-talk becomes self-criticism. And let’s face it. If you’re really honest with yourself, most of us do this every day. Hello, Emotional Exhaustion.
It’s making yourself touch your toes. You force your fingers to move towards your feet, although it burns, and not the good kind of burn. You might be left with a pulled muscle or a limp in your walk for a few days. Hello, Physical Exhaustion.
Expansion has nothing to do with forcing. It’s moving towards your goal from a place of support, of clarity, of patience.
It’s wanting to go solo as an entrepreneur, so you dedicate time to play with new ideas. To create. To test. To have clarity to the extent that you can (this doesn’t mean perfection). Expansion of the mind.
It’s striving to be an emotionally intelligent leader, but knowing that it starts with yourself. You can’t give something that you don’t have. It’s knowing when to take time to care for yourself, so you can empathetically lead others. Expansion of your emotional energy.
It’s coming from a place where you’re growing long to work towards your toes (it took me 3 years to get there!). To go slightly beyond your comfort zone but knowing the limit. Expansion of your physical limits.
This is why we need our own kind of restorative practice. To come from a place of expansion to heal the mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion. And, just maybe, to prevent it altogether.