Lisa Byrne is one of my favorite health & wellness ladies out there. I don’t use the word “guru” often, but when it comes to teaching and supporting moms to be healthier and happier, Lisa completely deserves that title.

Lisa has been supporting mothers to eat healthier and take good, loving care of themselves through her deliciously inviting website: thewellgroundedlife.com. (For more background information on this wonder woman, check out an interviewI did with Lisa a few years ago.)

I feel so lucky to share this guest blog post with you on how to replenish yourself throughout the day. This is an excerpt from Lisa’s incredible new book, Replenish, which is available now. Love!!

What’s Likely Missing In Your Day

The following is an edited excerpt from Lisa Grace Byrne’s newly released book, Replenish: Experience Radiant Calm and True Vitality in Your Everyday Life.

Let’s talk about rest during the day. Ok I can just feel it; I can feel your eyes roll. I get how insane this sounds at first, it almost sounds like a joke to tell you to rest during the day. This is all the more why we have to talk about it.

Why do we expect our bodies to be run like machines? Why do we expect that we can go non-stop all day long and have any honest connections to the natural rhythms and cycles of our lives? And why do we feel so guilty when we slow down?

But even after we’ve come to terms with our natural need for rest and renewal throughout the rhythm of our days, we can still feel at a loss for how to prioritize it and fit it in. Here are some ways to begin to identify the patterns of overdrive that may have become established in your life.

I want you to think about when you naturally feel exhausted during the day.Where are your slumps?

Chances are they’ll be in one of two places. Either they’re during times when you have a moment to slow down and you feel like you just bottomed out. Like you spent the whole day carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders and now that there’s not an immediate fire to put out, you collapse.

Or it can happen right in the middle of the most intense parts of your day. During the morning rush when you’re still gulping coffee and trying to shake yourself out of sleep. Or maybe those after-school-into- dinner hours when everyone is in mental meltdown mode and life really picks up with practices, meals, and homework.

In each of these scenarios, when we feel excessive exhaustion surface, it’s a sign we’re burning out our adrenals. Over time, our adrenal glands simply can’t keep up and even when we need them most, they don’t fire up—making high-stress times even more intense and unbearable.

We’re not meant to race with our foot on the gas pedal all day long, yet we’ve completely lost this wisdom in our current culture. Even short breaks and small doses of limbic calming throughout the day make huge differences in our overall vitality. What if you took one day and wrote out an hour- by-hour schedule from waking to sleeping?

Now, before you fill in your day, first write in a handful of times when you will commit to taking a small break to mindfully relax, retreat and fill the well in some meaningful way.

Perhaps it’s sitting on the couch, eyes closed, feet up, and deeply breathing for five minutes. Maybe it’s getting on the ground and stretching or inverting your legs up the wall in a calming yoga pose for three minutes. What if you penciled in a ten minute walk around the block before the kids got home from school? Think about writing in your times of restoration first and then fitting in all that must be done in a day around them. For even one day, give it a shot and see what difference you experience.

One suggestion I give to moms who feel they’re at a loss for ways to slow down and take time to restore in the gaps of their day is to write out a “Mini-Renewal” list on a piece of paper and keep it on the fridge. I generally say have two columns. One column should be things that can be done in ten minutes or under, the other column is for things that can be done in thirty minutes or under. Keep a growing list of small tools and strategies you’re learning about in this book which can become little moments of replenishment throughout your day. Have it posted where you won’t forget it and when a gap opens in your day, you can look to the list for ideas and inspiration.

We live in a culture that reveres the out-breath, so it takes a conscious decision to shift the rhythm of your life to allow for both the in and out-breath to be honored. Thankfully our attempts at self care don’t need to be perfect before they can impact major change in our lives. The little you give back to yourself throughout the day, the more you are able to give your best to those you love.

Lisa Grace Byrne is a mother to three and founder of WellGroundedLife.com, an exceptional online community where she equips busy moms to live vibrant lives.  She is also a speaker, coach and teacher with a degree from Cal Poly State University in Biochemistry with an emphasis in Nutrition and Metabolism. She holds a Masters in Public Health from Boston University and is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and Columbia University.

 

Lisa’s debut book is now available!  Order your copy of Replenish: Experience Radiant Calm and True Vitality in Your Everyday Life before August 25th and you’ll be eligible for f.r.e.e. enrollment in her bonus class, 7 Days to Calm.  Get your copy & details here.