Bramacharya: Protect Your Peace
I was exhausted. My body was achy and tired, my mind was foggy and emotionally I felt raw. I would cry at any minor inconvenience. My energy well had run dry and yet I was still trying to drink from it. Or more accurately, I was trying to fill everyone else's cup from that depleted supply and completely forgot that I also needed to drink.
Bramacharya, or energy moderation, is one of the Yamas in the 8 limbs of yoga. The Sanskrit translation really means "moving towards the divine" as in the divine inner balance of energy. For the ancient yogis this was often thought of as "right use of energy", meaning putting it towards spiritual efforts over worldly efforts. To the modern yogi this means protecting our peace, not over-indulging or over-exerting ourselves, and refilling our own cup.
In an effort to protect our inner balance of energy we need to be mindful of who and what drains our energy and set healthy boundaries so we are not depleted. Notice when your energy is going outward trying to make others happy or comfortable but is leaving you feeling drained, unhappy or uncomfortable. This was certainly the case for me.
Practicing energy moderation for me required re-prioritizing, schedule and lifestyle changes, and intentional effort towards saying and doing less. "This is not going to be easy," I thought to myself with a sigh as I massaged my stiff achy neck. But I noticed the results almost immediately.
As I brought more awareness to where my energy was going I noticed I was wasting my energy on over-explaining myself, over-thinking what my intuition was telling me, and over-exerting my body to complete all the tasks on the to-do list in one fell swoop when I easily could have delegated or post-poned tasks. Not having clear energetic boundaries was impacting every realm of my life and every layer of my being.
I was even draining my energy when I thought I was relaxing because my stress response was to over-indulge in sweets, binge watch and not prioritize sleep so I was never refilling my energy source. Instead of focusing on satisfying the immediate cravings of present exhausted Ren, I needed to think of future Ren and what she would need to feel her best.
Future me was so much more relaxed when I did that - visibly so! And present me felt a sense of pride and deep self-awareness for making healthy choices and upholding my energy boundaries with myself.
Try These 3 Practices:
1) Mindful Consumption: Practicing moderation with food, alcohol, caffeine, media, and material goods is one way to bring mindful awareness to your stress response and where your energy is going. Setting a boundary with your self to not have that late in the day latte, or stop scrolling before getting into bed seems simple but could make a huge impact on your energy supply (and your sleep!).
2) Protecting Peace: Set boundaries around the people, places and actions that drain mental or physical vitality. Uphold these boundaries as an act of self-love. This might look like saying no or not right now to a project or asking a friend to meet tomorrow when your schedule is lighter.
We can also protect the peace of our home space, our work culture, our children, and our planet by upholding boundaries that prioritize peace, love and understanding. This might look like asking others to remove their shoes before coming in your house, stating we don't speak like this at our workplace or in front of our kids, or asking others to recycle, compost, bike to work or otherwise protect the peace of planet earth. None of these asks are out of line, but we often prioritize others comfort and say nothing when it's just as easy to say something.
3) Self care practices that nourish and replenish your well of energy - Make time in your daily schedule for something that boosts your energy. Try taking a 5 min dance break, a walk through a park, have a healthy snack, a meditation break, practice the breath of fire pranayama or take a power nap. Bring awareness to the signs that your energy is being depleted and act before the well runs dry. Common signs that energy is depleting are irritability, foggy brain, body aches, sugar or caffeine cravings, anxiety, a sense or unnecessary urgency, feeling overwhelmed, or feeling like you are the only one doing everything. The signs for each person will be different, but when we bring awareness to them we can break the cycle and nourish ourselves.
I hope you are able to nourish your energetic supply this month. One thing that works without fail to replenish my energy is Yoga. A good yoga practice works every damn time. So put yoga on your daily list of To Dos, and when someone asks you to have a late meeting and it conflicts with your yoga practice you simply say "that doesn't work in my schedule. Can you meet another time?" and protect your peace.
Hugs,
Ren