Frazzled

It's been one of those long-haul periods of work and activity with 12 consecutive days of regular classes, an advanced studies module, a writing deadline, the creation and affirmation of a new retreat to Iceland and an amazing Kirtan to welcome the Winter Solstice! In addition to work, our family decided it was time to relocate our Mother to a new care facility and, as timing sometimes has it, we moved her the day before the Kirtan gathering. The night before her move, I felt frazzled. As I thought about this weeks theme, I looked up the word frazzle: cause to feel completely exhausted; wear out. Yep, that sums up how I was feeling. 

Now mind you, everything that I had undertaken was deeply gratifying-deepening students and mentees knowledge around chanting, meditation, the Sutras and good back health with the advanced studies course; raising over $1600 through the Kirtan for the Alzheimer's Association with a packed house and high energy and vibration; connecting with a new organization called "The Travel Yogis" who create adventurous yoga retreat itineraries to amazing destinations; and finding a better solution to meet my Mom's ever-changing needs. It all felt good in my bones, although I was bone-tired with it all being piled up on top of each other in a short period of time.

My thought for the week is recognizing when we feel frazzled and doubling down on what we know to do to avoid the slippage toward feeling completely fried. Yes, I've put frazzled on a continuum of energy ranging from rested to frazzled to fried. We want to avoid getting fried from our own life-choices, but we need to know what frazzled feels like as to not step onto the slippery slope. For me, it's noticing how tired I am when I stop doing. So taking moments of pause are a way of checking into that. Another signal is realizing that everything feels back-to-back with little or no time to return a call, have a bite to eat, or a feeling that I've been talking and interacting more than usual. Simply noticing these cues can help us avoid becoming fried.

As we're heading straight toward the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, we need to be careful as it's notorious for knocking us off balance. According to Kate Smith Jamison, an Ayurvedic practitioner from Ireland: 

"Ayurveda sees winter as a delicate balance between VATA - the space and air dosha/humor that dominates in early winter, which is cold, wispy and dry, struggles to sit still, thinks all the time and in excess tends towards anxiety and insomnia - and KAPHA - the water and earth dosha that increases through late winter and into spring which is heavy, cold and clammy, could sit still all day and in excess tends towards lethargy and over-attachment."

Early winter is the time to focus on not elevating vata and with that being the case, sticking with a regular daily practice of slowing down, gentle yoga with twists, forward folds and long savasanas (relaxation), cooked and lightly spiced foods as well as oiling our bodies with sesame oil can support us in staying away from the fried end of the spectrum. For me, I take these practices into deep consideration as well as knowing that what lays ahead over the next couple of weeks is a quieter time. I have some time scheduled off from work due to the holidays and have intentionally kept from over-committing both socially and physically. I will allow myself to sleep as needed and trust that I will walk into the new year feeling centered and ready to meet what comes next.

Mind you over the past few days, I haven't felt the frazzle, so I'm grateful to what's already in place. I know that many people cycle into and out of more hectic and chaotic states, so if all is peaceful in your world keep doing what you're doing. I hope you allow some time for yourself over these holidays so you too, can greet the new year from a place of excitement and open-heartedness.

Peaceful and Happy Holidays to all!