How to turn your Summer Glow on?
Time to exhale…Summer is finally in full bloom! At least in the Northern part of the Globe where I am at. This is the time to re-group, recharge and get back to feeling like “yourself” again after a busy year, eh? Or…
During our short Summers and vacation time there is this dream of doing-it-all and having-it-all; the fun activities, the social contacts, the nature experiences, the fantastic love life and as well to as well de-stress, rest and pamper yourself. However, it’s easy for your overactive brain, stand-by action mode and stressful thoughts and patterns to still be pretty much lurking under the surface and in the back of your mind. Keeping you feeling stressed, anxious, low in energy and like you’re not enough during this the freedom seeking season of the year. Holding you back from doing those things you’ve been thinking of.
How to balance the doing and the being? How to break old patterns? How to be more peacefully grounded, joyously lit-up, ignited, turned-on, glowing and ready for Summer adventures?
Well, how about trying a couple of these nine steps out this week and see what happens…..
1. Allow yourself to let go of control
2. Let a spiritual practice be part of your daily routine
3. Move your body
4. Mind what you eat and drink
5. Sleep and replenish
6. Get oiled up and energized!
7. Embrace nature as your healer
8. Figure out your purpose and heart’s calling
9. Seek professional support
Intuitively, which ones are on the top of your list to take action on?
Let’s dig deeper in to each step and also see what kind of loving action you might be willing and ready to take this week:
1. Allow yourself to let go of control and simply BE you and DO you whatever that might look like. You are often your own toughest judge. Decades and generations of internalizing from what upbringing, society, cultural and peer pressure dictates are stored in your body and system. Will you be a victim of your own strict rules and are you also allowing the critical voices and discontent of those around you to dictated how to life your life? Take inventory of what is driving you! How free are you to live your life on your own terms
Love Work Action - On an empty paper, draw a vertical like in the middle; to the left you write what you feel you “have” to do this Summer and also those fun things that somehow seems like a burden. Things that have you feeling stressed, frustrated and like a duty more than something joyful. Go for feeling and intuition rather than intellect when doing this exercise. Allow your mind to rest and for deeper layers of you to emerge. Also jot down, who do you perceive is saying you “have” to do this? Or that you have to do it in a certain way? On the other side of the line you write for each thing, what you desire instead. Become clear of what your longing is. Now, what is an action step you can take today and this week to let more of what you actually desire and long for take form instead of what you feel pressured to do?
2. Let a spiritual practice be part of your daily routine – Yes, as holistic beings, accessing that spiritual core inside will help you to more easily exhale, de-stress and actually find peace of mind and in your body. Your spiritual core is your treasure chest where your hidden gems are accessible. The ones that can support you to create an even more desired reality within as well as around you.
Love Work Action – Meditate daily for 10 – 20 minutes. Even 5 minutes daily can and will be a turnaround if that’s what you manage to do for starters. Set the alarm on your smartphone and sit with a straight back and neck in a crossed legged position, or feet flat on the ground, palms resting on your thigs facing upwards. Take long deep breaths in and out through the nose. The breath going all the way down to your stomach. Focus on your breath and the air going in and out through your nostrils. If you desire to intensify the exercise, you can turn your inner eye gaze up to the so called Third Eye, your 6th Chakra, situated between your eyebrows and a bit further in. Seat of the pineal gland.
3. Move your body – Motion creates emotions and gets you out of stuckness and supports you to get rid of stress, anxiety and tension. Know that traumatic and challenging experiences and unprocessed feelings get suppressed and stuck in the body, and by moving your body you initiate flow both in your body and as well open up to more easily let go of unprocessed feelings. In other words, it’s as important for your emotional wellbeing as for your physical body to move your body.
Love Work Action – Write down the answer to these questions; What would be a fun way to move this Summer? What would be playful? What would be a loving and non-stressful way to move my body? What do you long to try for the first time? What would you like to do again that you haven’t done in a while? Do you like to do it by yourself or ask a friend or two to join? Or maybe join a club or some group activity of some sort? Make sure you move that precious body of yours and know that your entire being will thank you for it! Here some International guidelines for exercising and keeping a healthy body and being: https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_adults/en/
4. Mind what you eat and drink – You are what you eat. Well, haven’t we all heard that before. Still it is true, your food and beverages determines the fuel, nutrition, energy and health of your body and being. Think twice; is that thing you are about to put in to your mouth something that will heighten or deplete your energy? It your choice. For sure, it’s great during Summer and leisure time to let go of strict rules and so on, still all this deliciousness that we so easily indulge in eating and drinking when so to speak being off the hook and celebrating might not be the best for our holistic wellbeing.
Love Work Action – If you are feeling down in energy and stamina, irritated and not motivated to do all those fun things you’ve been dreaming on, time to take stock on how you’ve been eating and drinking the last couple of days. What might you tweak in order to feel better? Maybe add a better breakfast, drink more water and make sure to have somewhat more regular meals? How about also to introduce a day or two per week all vegan, green and gluten free? Make a test and see how you feel afterwards.
5. Sleep and replenish – Are you getting enough sleep? It’s easy for those extra late hours to creep in during vacation and lighter evenings and suddenly you’re not quite the morning person you might normally be. Still the alarm sets off now and then as you have things to do and take charge of also during Summer. Sleep deprivation takes its toll on your body, energy levels, focus and your emotional wellbeing.
Love Work Action – Become aware of your sleep patterns the last week or two. When did you go to bed and when did you get up? Ideal according to Indian medicine Ayur Veda, is to go to bed at 10 o’clock PM and wake up at 6 o’clock AM. This will support your body and its functions and your overall wellbeing the very best. How can you adjust the time you go to bed and wake up to be a bit more loving to your body and system? What would that look like?
6. Get oiled up and energized! – There are a number of ways to infuse and manage your energy levels. One easy tool to integrate in to your daily life is essential oils. I.e. 100% all natural plant energy medicine to support your physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and energetic wellbeing.
Love Work Action – Find out what would be in your ideal all green natural home pharmacy this Summer. Do you desire to de-stress? Feel calm? Sleep better? Get more energized? Bring you happy on? Turn your sensual seductive self on? Or is focus what you crave? Are cleansing on the inside or in your surrounding called for? Whatever you desire, there is actually an oil or two for that.
7. Embrace nature as your healer. You probably are aware of how healing and soothing it is to get in contact with nature. It’s like an exhale and meditation in itself. Still we often are so busy, time and energy constrained, and preoccupied, that we don’t take the time or allow ourselves to go there.
Love Work Action – Don’t take the short way, instead take the green way this week. When you are going to the bus, subway, train or the beach, take the path where you pass more nature than usually. Actively decide to be in nature for a longer time at least two times this week. You might be going to the beach, for a hike, take a boat trip or who knows to a park or a Zoo? Allow the sensation of nature to fill your senses, breath it in and savor the sensation of it in your body and brain memory.
8. Figure out your purpose – You know what, it might be that you are extra tired , feeling hollow and unfocused right now because you’ve lost touch with what is meaningful to you and what your heart and soul long for and is crying out for. You might feel a bit, or a lot, lost. Do you know what your soul purpose is? If not, time to find out. Yes, really, we humans are so much more than mechanical mental machines. What better time than now when you have more time and space at hand to actually connect to yourself in a deeper way and get a hold of what your purpose and direction is from this point on? Or simply crave, and create space, in order to reconnect to yourself and find out who you are and where you are going.
Love Work Action - Do a brainstorm and jot down on a paper what seems meaningful to you. What would bring you joy to do and create in life? What do you do when you find yourself in flow? What would feel good to do in order to somehow serve other people? To serve society at large? What would make your heart sing and your energy to rise? There you have some clues. Be curious to go through your note and circle the top five that speaks to you the most. Rank them. What are your top three ones?
9. Seek professional support – Do you sense you can’t seem to be able to rock the boat of bad habits and patterns by yourself? Are your energy levels low and fluctuating? Do you sense that your self-love, self-esteem and self-care needs a serious boost? Is stress, burn-out symptoms and ascension symptoms eating at you? Are your desires and passions cloudy, still you just know deep down that you desperately long for something else, but what? Or, do you know your calling but are afraid of taking the steps and are bewildered on what and how to go about to make it all happen? Does your personal and professional life need a makeover? Do you long to feel lit-up, turned-on and glowing by life? Then I suggest you get professional support, whether it is by a coach, therapist, healer, body and health practitioner of some sort or a mix.
Love Work Action – Contemplate on what your most pressing needs and desires are right now. What can support you to get out of stuckness and in to a more life affirming, expansive and joyful experience? Take action to seek out professional support this very week. Even if it’s to book an appointment for after you are back home after your vacation.
Wishing you a beautiful Summer! Be curious to explore what more this adventure we call life has to gift you. The time is now. Live it. Breath it. Dive in to it with all of your senses. ☀️💓
Lisa
P.S. If you have questions around these steps or if you feel called to explore getting my support to turn things around for the better, I’m here. If the urge is there, it’s time to claim yourself. Let’s have a heart-to-heart chat. I invite you to message me and I’ll get back to you - http://bit.ly/2yeuMfF
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