3 Unexpected Ways to Infuse Health into Your Creative Career
My summer has been FULL! |
Full of beauty, full of friends and family, full of business, full of books, full of colorful and creative adventures and things, full of love, sweat and tears, but most of all…
full of life.
However, during the past week my life has also been full of anxiety. Because, life doesn’t always feel great.
I’ve dealt with anxiety my whole life and as a kid I even had stomach aches as a result. As an adult, my anxiety affects my digestive system. Does anyone else have that issue? 🙋🏼♀️
The anxiety comes from me not wanting to feel my feelings. When hard feelings come up, I have a tendency to resist them.
So even though my summer has been full of excitement, it’s also been full of struggle and really uncomfortable feelings alongside those happy joyous ones.
And if I am being completely honesty, even some of those happy joyous ones have been a struggle, too 😣
For years, I used drugs, alcohol and food as a substance to numb those feelings. But after getting sober 8+ years ago, I shifted my mindset and allowed myself to embrace the ugly cry face of Lauryn. And that part of me still judges her so harshly.
My inner critic is a beast. She has a whip and tells me I’m not doing enough. So then I drink more coffee and my nervous system goes, “Woah what are you doing to me?!?”
My response?
“Oh hey girl, just chill.”
But the reality is, how?!? Oh yeah, I think I need to cry. So I put my phone on airplane mode, turn off the tv and put a meditation or mantra music on.
Life is never going to be perfect. Life is more like 50/50 and the best thing to do when life throws more of the negative parts your way, is to just have compassion for yourself.
Hold yourself like the sweet child of this earth that you are, and say:
IT’S OK TO FEEL THIS WAY.
It’s ok to feel any way your body needs to feel. Be with those feelings, don’t rush them.
Our bodies are intelligent, they speak to us in many different ways. Let your body speak to you, and know that it doesn’t have to make sense.
We’re all dealing with a variety of different challenges. There is beauty in learning those challenges… even though it doesn’t feel that way sometimes.
If you’re struggling, and you’re feeling upset, angry, sad… you’re not alone.
If you're struggling, and you’re feeling happy, joyous and excited… you’re also not alone.
Just know even when someone is posting highlights of their life on social media, they’re still dealing with challenging moments that life regularly likes to test us with.
The best thing you can do is arm yourself with the right tools to tackle whatever comes your way to help you manage a busy work and life in a healthy way…
What’s in my toolbox?
1. meditation and visualization
Visualization is super powerful! 👁👁 When we visualize an action, the same brain regions are stimulated as when we physically perform an action, Because your brain is training for actual performances!
To your brain, thinking about waving your right hand is the same exact thing as literally waving your hand.
There’s also research that shows mental practices are almost as effective as a true physical practice.
I like to use visualization when I’m in a meditative state, or listening to meditative music. If I’m feeling stressed or tense, I’ll put on some meditative music and imagine a vacuum at the end of my feet sucking out all of the stress from my body. Or I’ll imagine the anxiety or frustration leaving my body as I exhale and send it into a golden river to disintegrate.
It’s a great way to clear any negative energy out of the body!
Here are some of my favorite meditative recordings:
🎵 Nu Meditation Music: Healing Sleep Music
🎵 All of TBM’s Deep Imagining Meditations: Here’s a free one to try out!
🎵 Madhur-nain Webster: Sodarshan Chakra Kriya
🎵 My recording of: Jessica Snow’s Aries Meditation
2. Supplements and Herbal Remedies
Supplements are a great way to help feel more balanced during stressful or difficult times. Here are a few of my favorites from Anima Mundi Apothecary! ***Please check with your health care provider before taking anything that you are unsure about interactions with medicine you might be taking.
🌱 Mucuna Pruriens: Known as Nature’s “Dopa-Bean” | Dopamine + Serotonin Booster | Nootropic | Adaptogenic Legume
🌱 Reishi: Spirit Nourishing | Calming | Immune Protection | Fountain of Youth
🌱 Cacao: Food of the Gods | Super Antioxidant | High in Iron and Magnesium
🌱 Blue Lotus: Flower of Intuition Tea | Promotes Relaxation | Third Eye Opening
🌱 Happiness Powder: (My personal new favorite!) Caffeine Free Herbal Coffee | Energizing | Serotonin + Dopamine Mood Booster | Liver Detoxifying
3. Movement
Moving your body not only feels good but helps release endorphins, which trigger a positive feeling in the body.
Here are my favorite healing ways to move my body:
👯♂️ HIIT Workouts - (High-Intensity Interval Training) This involves short bursts of intense exercise alternated with low-intensity recovery periods
👯♂️ Walks or Hikes
👯♂️ Freestyle Dancing. 30-second dance party, anyone?
👯♂️ Sex - Yup this one can be very healing if done correctly 😉
Need more ideas on how to infuse health into your busy creative career? Send me a message and let’s chat about it! If you’ve got some of your own tips and tricks, leave a comment below. I’d love to hear it!