A Way to Embody Ease
(Photo by Radek Grzybowski on Unsplash)
Recently as I was practicing a mindfulness exercise I started to fall asleep. Then my mind snapped into high-alert to wake me up. This happened over and over. Start to drift off - pop back to hyper-alert. Relax and almost doze off - snap! wide awake. When I told my teacher about it she said that it points to Overwork. It’s like my body/mind only had two ways of being: asleep or in high-gear.
Can you relate? I think a lot of us run this way most of the time stuck in high-gear and only turning it off when we’re asleep (if we’re lucky).
It would seem like high-gear would be useful. It helps us get things done. It keeps us on alert for trouble and helps us put out the fires as they get started. Some folks even believe they thrive on it. But. It’s also exhausting. It pulls our energy reserves. It runs us ragged until the only option is to collapse.
And it would seem that sleep would be useful. Of course sleep is useful, it’s a foundational building block for a healthy life. But. It isn’t useful to be falling asleep when your intention is to be awake and conscious.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with being in high-gear or with going to sleep. But when your repertoire for going through life only has those two options, you’re limiting yourself. You may never have considered this, but when you’re in high-gear mode getting things done, there’s no room for self expression. And going through life half-asleep doesn’t give you enough energy to be your true self.
What’s worse is knowing that this is exactly how our culture likes us to be - getting things done without question, and half-asleep so we don’t start creating something new. All the while being in high-gear and not sleeping well are playing serious havoc with your body/mind. Are you cool with this? Because I’m not.
BETWEEN HIGH GEAR AND ASLEEP
There is a way of being in the world where you’re not in high-gear AND you’re awake and attentive. I write that because I know that some people haven’t even considered that it’s possible not to always be moving, doing, and putting out fires. But just imagine having energy that isn’t frenetic. Energy that is grounded and consistent. Energy that you can consciously direct into whatever you’re doing without becoming immediately depleted. That energy is found in the mid-point between high-gear and fast asleep.
To get there, you’ll need to downshift. It requires you to intentionally slow down your pace. It will ask you to build in breaks in your day. And to add things that bring you enjoyment but may not make you any money. The downshift includes inviting sustainability, nurturance, and true thriving into your life.
What would that look like?
Here are some ways that my clients and I have explored downshifting:
Taking walks in nature and purposefully stepping away from the phone
Not working after dinner and taking an entire day off on the weekend
Stepping away from screens for extended periods
Practicing Active or Restorative Yoga
Pausing to do something enjoyable in the middle of the day : Read a chapter in a book, dance to a great song, have lunch with a friend
Knitting by the window without the TV on
Sitting quietly in nature for 10 minutes a day
Meditating or Practicing Yoga Nidra
Staring out the window
Playing an instrument with no pressure
A 15-minute art project with no end goal
What you’ll notice about each of these is that they aren’t about rushing or pushing. They’re about slowing down but not sleeping. They include getting quiet. They invite inner and outer stillness. You’ll find that they give you a way to be in awake in the world without overworking.
A useful downshift is like the spaces between these words that you’re reading. It helps to make everything else that’s going on easier to understand and deal with.
The other thing you should know is that your high-gear mind is probably going to fight you on this. It will come at you with negative thoughts and stories to try to stop you. It will also make you feel anxious and uncomfortable when you DO take time to downshift. This is to be expected from a brain that is used to going 3,000 miles a minute. Persevere through the physical and mental discomfort to give yourself the downshift because what’s waiting on the other side is worth it, I promise.
IT LEADS TO EASE
The middle that we find as we downshift is EASE. It is that sensation of being alive, attentive, conscious, and clear. When you embody ease you are ready and relaxed. Life still happens, and you still do many, many, things every day. Only now, you do them with ease not overwork because you’re no longer in high-gear. This is ease that invites your authenticity out. It makes you faster to laugh, more likely to play, and just more free being yourself. When you’re at ease, your magic shines through.
Ease may feel a long way off from how your life is going right now. That’s ok. That’s why we start small with the downshifts. Maybe it feels like you can only commit to one downshift a week. Then start there and make it a priority. Notice how you feel afterwards. If there’s a tiny bit more ease, that’s enough. Over time you can add more mini-moments of being awake without overworking.
Eventually embodying ease will come more naturally. So even if you can’t be in ease all the time, at least you’ll have moments of life that feel easeful. And that’s how transformation takes hold: Small movements repeated again and again that build your life around embodying ease, authenticity and peace.