Nurturing Burnout
In this practice, we come together to hold space with burnout, learning how to use meditation to explore and assess the effect of burnout on the body. Through the act of holding space, we are inviting in self-compassion and self-love, an authentic and truthful version of self-care. This practice opens with a 5min discussion on meditation and mindfulness as a means to detach ourselves from the "thoughts of burnout" in order to explore and recognize burnout in the body and its manifestations. Then, we will enter a guided meditation, using a body scan as a means to relax the body and explore burnout. By dropping into the body and the breath, we learn how to allow the body to tell us what type of post-practice self-care is required, if any, following self-compassion and self-love. The practice ends with a few short reflection considerations.
Transcript
Today we'll be we'll be taking some time and holding space to find that balance,
Find that inner peace,
And really find the breath.
So again,
I thank you very much for being here today.
Before we maybe get into a little bit of a practice,
Which I'm really grateful to offer today,
Maybe we'll talk a little bit about burnout,
But I think we'll talk about it from the perspective of how we can try to detach ourselves from the idea of burnout.
We know what burnout feels like.
We know the ramifications on our physical health,
Our emotional health,
Our mental health.
That's a very common part of the dialogue around burnout.
But I think what we sometimes should bring attention to is this idea that burnout also happens when our mind continues to just go and whir and spin its wheels,
And the mind will tell us narratives.
And a narrative that will come out is the narrative of burnout.
That is not to suggest you're not experiencing burnout.
But what happens is that instead of dropping back into the body,
Instead of dropping back into the breath,
Is that we end up getting caught up on the narrative of burnout,
Which actually,
Accidentally,
We end up then perpetuating burnout even more.
And so this is where the practice of mindfulness,
The practice of meditation comes in.
It's not just about feeling good and feeling better.
It's about a practice.
It's about training ourselves to,
When we start feeling burnt out,
Instead of getting trapped down that rabbit hole of all the thoughts of burnout and all the ramifications and consequences of burnout,
Instead,
We can detach ourselves from our thoughts,
Detach ourselves from that narrative,
And then really turn our attention inwards.
Turn our attention back into the body and really nurture what we need when we're experiencing burnout.
What mindfulness allows us to do is to detach,
To come back to the body,
And to explore with curiosity.
And in this way,
We can actually understand,
Well,
Where is burnout in the body?
How does this feel in the body?
And when we can understand that,
When we establish that relationship with the body,
We start understanding what we need to do to nurture burnout.
Whether it's,
Okay,
Maybe I need to go and maybe I need more sleep.
Maybe I need to take a bath.
Yes,
These are all things that we can explore that can help us.
But in order to do those things,
We have to make sure we can come back to the body and really be truthful about what we're experiencing,
What burnout feels like in the body,
And how we can nurture that.
And that nurturing is when we can start acting,
Engaging in certain practices,
Creating certain rituals.
And that's also a very well-known part of the dialogue around burnout.
There's lots of information around self-care,
Self-love,
Developing rituals,
Journaling,
Meditating,
Taking baths,
Candles,
Et cetera,
All of which are great.
But if we don't take the time to drop back into the body and to develop that relationship,
We don't know how to use those tools or what tools work best for us when we're experiencing different parts of burnout.
Burnout can be not enough sleep.
Burnout can be not eating properly.
Burnout can be taking on way too much.
And all of those things have very specific root causes,
But they also manifest differently in the body and might require different tools.
So again,
When we practice,
When we hold space with the burnout,
When we understand burnout in the body,
We come back and we start understanding,
Well,
How can I nurture this?
And this in itself is an invitation for compassion and invitation for self-love.
And that invitation is sometimes so much more powerful than any other tool or practice or ritual in your external environment.
Sometimes it really is just dropping into the body,
Holding space,
And then creating space with the breath to simply be and allow for whatever is present to be there.
So to start off,
We're going to come into this practice today.
You're welcome to return to this practice at any point in time.
You can also find some of my other practices on the free insight timer app,
But most of them,
Again,
Especially when we're talking about burnout,
It's really going to be about coming back to the body,
Holding space,
Creating space,
And then nurturing and inviting in that self-compassion,
That self-love,
And then deciding afterwards if we need to use other tools,
Other things in our external environment to really support us.
So before we get started,
We're going to take a moment here and we're just going to notice the breathing pattern.
We're not going to judge it.
We're not going to react to it.
We're just going to notice it.
What does the breath feel like?
What is it doing?
Is it moving fast?
Is it moving slow?
Is it choppy?
Is it steady?
Is it in and out?
Are your inhales longer than your exhales?
These are just questions.
These are just observations.
We're not going to stress.
We're not going to react.
We're just going to observe.
We're going to notice.
We'll start paying attention.
We might tune into the heart rate as well.
We might notice its patterns.
What's the heart rate doing?
Is it moving fast?
Is it moving slow?
Is it palpitating?
Is it steady?
And really just noticing,
Really just allowing.
We're not in a rush.
We're not judging.
We're really just starting to come back to the body.
And as we're doing that,
We might look around the room we're in,
Which is actually very important.
It signals to the body and to the brain that we are in a safe space.
That I'm in a safe space.
The body is in a safe space to just allow,
To let go,
To surrender,
To allow for whatever is present to simply be there.
So nice and easy,
Maybe allowing the gaze,
Just to wander the room.
And when you're ready,
Maybe we'll allow the eyes just to stop and really gaze at something that maybe is inspiring.
Maybe it's a plant in the room.
Maybe it's a painting on the wall.
Maybe we're looking out the window and there's a tree outside or the sunrise or whatever.
Anything that might inspire you,
That maybe brings you a little bit of joy.
And we'll really just take that in.
Maybe feeling the lips turn up into a bit of a smile and really breathe in that inspiration,
Joy,
Lightness,
Just feeling it.
And when you're ready,
We'll come back to center here,
Making sure the eyes are somewhere staring at a gaze in front of us.
We want to be eye level and nice and easy on that next inhale because we're still tuning into the breath,
Into that heart rate.
On that next inhale,
We're going to allow the eyelids to flutter.
Flutter closed here,
Dropping further and further into the breath.
Just observing,
Feeling that heart rate,
Dropping further and further into the breath,
Noticing that heart rate,
Even noticing that the breath,
How it intermingles with that heart rate.
The breath,
How it intermingles with that heart rate.
Noticing that when the breath slows,
The heart rate slows and steadies.
And noticing that the mind tends to follow suit.
The thoughts may also slow.
And we'll continue dropping further into the body here,
Maybe bringing our awareness to the eyes,
Noticing any shapes or color variations in the eyelids here behind these closed eyes.
Maybe noticing any sense drifting in through the nostrils.
I happen to have a candle here.
So I saw a little faint hint of vanilla and maybe noticing any tastes.
Maybe you just finished a meal or a snack.
Maybe you just brushed your teeth.
Maybe you had a sip of tea,
Just noticing any presence here.
And turning our attention to sound,
Noticing any sounds in the room and really trying to get beneath them,
Trying to find that quietest sound in the room below any hustle and bustle,
Below the buzzing of the room,
Below the heating and ventilation,
Really searching for the quietest sound in the room.
Here,
Holding this space.
Once again,
Feeling the breath.
We'll bring our awareness to the top of the forehead.
And maybe on that next exhale,
Smoothing any crinkles on the forehead here,
Really relaxing the body.
Bringing our awareness now to the eyebrows and the eyes.
Once again,
On that exhale,
Releasing any tension,
Smoothing any crinkles here,
Moving down into the cheekbones and the nose,
Unlocking the jaw,
Even allowing the tongue to rest on the bottom palate.
Moving into the chin,
Maybe ensuring it's just slightly pointed down here so we keep the neck and spine in alignment.
And then moving down to the shoulders,
Just feeling them relax,
Releasing any tension,
Moving down into the upper arms.
The lower arms.
Into the lower arms,
Into the wrists and hands and fingers,
Just allowing them to relax.
And then we'll move into that upper body,
To chest here,
Feeling the expansion on that inhale and that release on that exhale.
Moving into the upper back,
Moving into the lower back and even the stomach region.
Moving into the trunk.
The trunk tends to be a tender area.
We tend to hold some of our sensitivities,
Some of our traumas,
And we tend to let go of some of our emotions.
We tend to hold some of our sensitivities,
Some of our traumas.
They tend to always be hiding in this area,
Especially when we experience burnout.
They might start trying to tell us about our fears and insecurities,
All of which are very human and huge parts of the human experience.
They might accidentally fuel many of those narratives.
So we want to pay close attention here,
Really just allow the breathing to release any tension in this area,
To really hold space,
To provide a sense of comfort to these fears and insecurities that we acknowledge their presence.
But we don't need to dive into them.
We don't need to give them free reign,
Especially when we're experiencing burnout.
And so we hold space.
We drop into the breath and we allow for them to be there.
We don't dismiss,
But we might not engage.
We'll just observe.
And on that next exhale,
We're going to move down into the thighs and hamstrings,
Releasing any tension here on that exhale.
And moving down into the knees,
Shins and calves,
The ankles and the feet,
Toes.
And we'll pay close attention to the body here,
The relaxed body,
Feeling the breath move through the body with ease.
Miring all the space we just created just through the breath.
Maybe noticing here,
Reflecting on what areas in the body were the most tense,
Maybe noticing how burnout manifested in these areas of the body.
And just holding space,
Allowing for whatever is arising to simply be there.
Observing,
Not engaging,
Not reacting,
Just holding space and honoring.
When we honor what is present,
We can honor the space.
We can learn to befriend,
To hold our burnout in whatever ways it manifests,
To simply acknowledge its presence without getting caught or trapped in it.
When we find stillness and presence and slowness,
When we create space,
We also create opportunity.
We create opportunity to understand,
To engage differently,
And to act,
To have a choice in how we act.
To pause and to hold space is an act.
Not only that,
But it is an act of self-love and compassion to create that space with the breath,
To hold that space with all that arises,
To hold that space with all that arises,
To come back to the body.
We'll hold this space for a minute more.
And when you're ready,
Bring the awareness back to our external environment.
Maybe pausing in gratitude here as we do so,
Grateful for this space,
Grateful for the breath,
Grateful for the opportunity to create space,
To honor this part of the human experience.
Maybe we'll feel the floor,
The cushion beneath us,
And maybe we'll wiggle the fingers,
Wiggle the toes,
Slowly coming back to the physical environment again.
Maybe a little wiggle of the shoulders,
Even moving that neck from side to side,
Up and down,
And allowing the eyelids to flutter open.
Coming back to this physical space,
And maybe we'll feel the floor,
The cushion beneath us,
And maybe we'll wiggle the fingers,
Wiggle the toes,
Coming back to this physical space,
And pausing in this presence.
Maybe reflecting again on what the body needs.
Maybe it is more sleep.
Maybe it is hydration or nutrition.
Maybe it is that candle or that bubble bath or day at the spa.
Just a gentle note that none of those things will matter unless you take the time to drop into the body,
Hold that space,
And really invite in that compassion,
That self-love.
Those are all acts of self-care as well.
Now I invite you to reflect on this.
If you have a couple moments here just to journal what is present,
What is coming up for you,
What may still be taking up space,
And always ending with a quick note of gratitude.
And another gentle reminder that the breath is always here.
It's always something to come back to,
Can always bring you back home,
Back into the body.
Thank you so much for joining me in this session today.
I invite you to return as you see fit,
And please be welcome to step into your mindfulness journey in the fullest way possible.
Namaste.
