Health Hack: The Habit of Resting and Relaxing

Hey you! I’m Talking to YOU!

If you are a mover and a shaker with 1,000,000 daily tasks, a busy business owner or someone who longs to have the energy you used to before fibromyalgia, guess what?  You need to slow down once in a while.  Just as it is important to get good sleep each night, it is important for our health to get rest during our day also.  I’ve got a hack for doing just that!

If you are healthy but burning the candle at both ends or, really, if you are human, your body and mind need moments of rest during the day to stay at peak performance.  

I have a special note for people with fibromyalgia, who my heart goes out to because I had fibro for 11 years about 20 years ago. Listen up: DON’T take to your bed.  Being in bed during the day is depressing and isolating. “Taking take to your bed” sounds like you are living inside a dusty Victorian novel.  Beds are for sleeping or for ill people in a hospital.  THAT IS NOT WHO YOU ARE.  

Make SLOWING DOWN Inviting:

Find or create a cozy place in your home or in your yard or office to take a breather.   If it is a space at home, you can make it MORE than in an office.  Regardless, make a space that is COZY and therefore WELCOMING and COMFORTING. This is important if you are someone who likes to be in constant motion and über productive.  If you create a space that is so INVITING you will LONG TO GET THERE and therefore be more likely to GET THERE. It’s a way to create a new habit. Make it inviting.  If you are stuck at home with a fibro flare up, creating a healing space alone will boost mood and give you a fun project to work on!

Make the SPACE:

There is one rule for every item in your Slow Down Space: Every. Item. Brings. You. Joy.

Designate a comfortable chair with maybe an ottoman, a couch or a daybed in a corner.
Add in your favorite lamp, your favorite throw blanket and pillow, your favorite side table, a plant or flowers.
Add in a diffuser and your favorite mood-boosting and relaxing essential oils such as Lavender, Citrus Bliss, Wild Orange, Elevation, Balance, Peace or Cheer…

Place a small cup next to the diffuser so you can go fill it up to put in the diffuser easily.
Make a shelf, tray or altar with things that make you smile, give you hope, inspire or recharge you when you look at them.  Pottery, cards, pictures and knickknacks that you like.

HUNKER Down:

If you have some extended down time, like more than a minute to breathe in and out to the count of four OR if you are in the middle of a fibro flare up and getting up and down is irritating, GET ALL SET UP.  When I get to get to my favorite space, I’ve got a good book, ear buds or podcasts, maybe my laptop, a journal and a pen that writes smoothly and some music.  Have your Hydroflask, tea or coffee. If you paint or are artistic in some way, even knitting or needlepoint, collect what you need to create and keep them in your cozy space. This way you have everything you need and you are more likely to get to the business of mindfully relaxing.  for a FREE WORKSHOP which lays out the formula to get over fibro, watch here: https://www.thefibrofreedomformula.com .

Set a SLOW DOWN GOAL:

If slowing down is hard for you, set a goal for when you will get to that space daily.  Sometimes I only get to my favorite chair to actually sit down for five minutes while the kids are doing homework and Cheer is diffusing to keep them happy during the witching hour.  And guess what, it’s just five minutes, but it is divine because I got to that moment I was longing for. I stand up to finish cooking dinner and I feel like a hero because I loved on myself a bit.  I also have more patience and everyone is grateful for that.   

xoxo ~Amy