Overwhelmed and laying on the floor.

Not one of my favorite feelings.

Although, for a long time I ignored or tried to numb my feelings (to little actual success) so I am happy to have the hard ones just as much as I am happy to have the fun ones.

If we numb the frazzled, anxious, unsure, sad, scared, or bothersome feelings we numb the joyous, excited, warm, hopeful, and happy ones too.

The key is leaning into our practices so that the pendulum shift from the icky side of the spectrum to the enjoyable side is less dramatic. 

As my teacher Manorama says we find the point and set course towards it. If we keep our aim on the point we will go off course less.

So these days when overwhelm starts to creep in I remind myself of some key points. Perhaps they will work for you too.

Key Points:

1. I tend to take on too much. This is usually related to fear about finances, wanting to support someone I love in an amazing project, or getting swept away in excitement or inspiration.

2. I tend to lessen my self care when overwhelmed, even though I know that adding in extra self care practices actually increases my productivity, creativity, and peace of mind, and allows me to help care of others in a much greater way.

3. I have a very high tolerance for stress, and thus don’t make changes until a critical point is reached.

Do any of these resonate with you?

Check in with yourself next time that you are feeling overwhelmed. Look for patterns.

Yogic philosophy teaches us about samskaras, impressions left in our minds as a result of existence. They show up like patterns or grooves in our lives.

One of the blessings of being human is that we have the opportunity to deepen our awareness about our patterns and then take action to overcome them. When we take responsibility for our experience we can co-create it. 

Changing and overcoming our patterns is sometimes easy – when we are ready and the most right action is clear – and sometimes it is more difficult or a continual journey.

In regards to the pattern of overwhelm I like to sit myself down and answer the following questions:

Questions:

1. (a) What would you choose to do right now if money wasn’t a concern and if nobody would be let down? (b) How can you do that now, or do something that brings the essence of it into this moment?

2. What is on your to do list because it feels like a “should” but isn’t actually crutial?

3. What can you delegate to someone else?

4. What have you been putting off that has been taking up bandwidth in your mind, and can you do it now to free up space?

4. What matters the most in your life, not on your to-do list? Put the focus on that.

I hope this practice helps you as much as it helps me.

Movement and Meditation are also amazing for getting back on point after overwhelm.

Check out this quick simple asana sequence with my teacher Sharon and friend Jessica or this easy meditation with my friend Alexandra to get started.

Also, please share with anyone who could use a little help lessening overwhelm and getting back on point.

Much love,

Katie