The last few weeks have been very challenging. The best term to describe my weeks of collective overwhelm is The Perfect Storm, sh*t show, or sh*t hitting the fan- this type of imagery is not the loveliest of pictures, so I’ll stick with calling it the Perfect Storm, or The Perfect Sh*tty Storm, lol. 

A Perfect Storm can mean several things:

“A particularly violent storm arising from a rare combination of adverse meteorologic factors.” Or “A particularly bad or critical state of affairs arising from several negative and unpredictable factors." Source

My Perfect Storm, with many unpredictable factors, started when our sweet Peggy had her surgery on April 27th. The surgery was a success, but we had many sleepless nights keeping an eye on her.   

Five days later, we both tested positive for COVID and had at least 1 week of severe symptoms. We are still recovering.

In the middle of this, Peggy required 2 emergency vet visits for high fever, aspiration pneumonia, and vomiting.

I developed a UTI.

I fell and sprained a finger and twisted my ankle.

After having to cancel many Zoom yoga and private group classes, miss the soft launch and official launch of a community project that I’ve been working on for months, and be unable to attend and give a speech at a dear friend’s memorial, I FREAKING LOST IT! 

I kept thinking, what next?   If there is anything good about getting COVID, it’s the inability to do anything and being forced to be with your annoying thoughts. I had no energy to read or watch a show for the first few days.   

When I feel stressed and overwhelmed by life, something in my self-care tool kit usually brings me back to equilibrium. However, all of my essential tools were not accessible because I was too sick to hike, meditate, do yoga, go to the gym, read, or get lost in an inspiring movie or documentary. 

After my meltdown, I asked myself, is there any opportunity to gain wisdom from this Perfect Storm of Mayhem?   I wanted to yell, NO, and why don’t you f-off, but I know that life events-the good, bad, and ugly, will always give you opportunities to learn. Have you heard the saying, “Your greatest tormentors are your greatest teachers?” I wholeheartedly believe this. If life is always lovely, perfect, and Pollyanna, you won’t have the opportunity to challenge yourself and discover what you're made of and how capable you are of surviving a Perfect Storm.  

I’m not saying you need to look for a Perfect Storm; please don’t, but life will always provide you with bumps and detours, and now and then, you’re going to hit a sinkhole. We’ve all had many sinkholes to dig ourselves out of, and if you approach these moments with an open heart and mind, you will flex your resilient muscle and understand yourself a bit more. 

Once I accepted that I could not do much, I looked around my living room and focused on uplifting things. When I first got sick with COVID, my cat Molly sat on my lap for days, which she usually has no interest in. She knew I was ill and wanted to offer comfort, and I couldn’t think of anything sweeter. Peggy was always close by, and it was nice to be sick with Ben; we discovered that there is healing in collective moans. One of the things that anchored me the most was an enormous blue spruce tree outside our window that I spent hours staring at and appreciating. I enjoyed watching many blue jays and cardinals jumping from branch to branch.

I also asked myself: “What can I do, and what do I need?" I needed to be my own lifesaver to pull me out of this Perfect Storm slowly. 

My lifesaver included:

• Connecting to my family and naturopathic doctors for advice, meds and supplements.

• Staying hydrated.

• Taking deep breaths when I took Peggy outside.

• Walking to the kitchen and back to the living room a few times daily. Any movement was helpful. 

• Jumping in the shower or having an Epsom salt bath with lavender essential oil.

• Relishing in gratitude over the sweet friends who dropped off flowers, soup and trashy magazines. 

• Focusing on gratitude after my meltdown. I’m grateful that I didn’t need to be hospitalized, I’m grateful that I’m recovering, I’m grateful for my friends and family, I’m grateful for my home, that I have access to food, that I am safe and secure.

• Rewatching seasons 1 and 2 of Ted Lasso. 

• Releasing the guilt I felt over cancelling so many yoga classes and being unable to participate in the community event.  I had to let this go.  It was not my fault, and my ruminations of guilt weren’t serving anyone. 

*

I’m not well enough to hit the gym and can only manage a few yoga stretches, but Peggy and I have managed a 10-minute walk each morning for the last few days—progress for both of us.   We’re hanging onto our lifesaver and moving away from the Perfect Storm. 

We always want to monitor our life's ebb and flow and adjust our self-care accordingly.  Commit to creating a self-care routine for yourself regardless of your situation and knowing that modifying and focusing on the basics may be precisely what you need.  

I love the phrase, “This too shall pass.” So, remember that whatever you are going through will pass or at least ease up a bit, and you will feel better.  You can always return to your self-care practices, or as I did, take the time to rest and do nothing because that is what I needed. You can revise your approach to suit your new needs.

My regular self-care routines have been derailed many times, and my established practice of many years was essential in helping me identify my needs in the last few weeks. My self-care practices gave me the awareness to notice what was happening and be confident to adapt, adjust and accommodate.  

If you are finding it hard to take care of yourself, ask yourself what are your basic needs and consider the following self-care tips:

·      Sleep

·      Stay hydrated

·      Eat at least one healthy meal per day

·      Get outside every single day; take a walk around a block, or run some errands  

·      Move; a 5 min walk or a few simple stretches 

·      Obtain advice from a Naturopath on what supplements will help your sleep and reduce your stress levels

·      Ask friends or family to run errands & do household chores

·      Learn to say no and limit your commitments

·      Do not take on any new responsibilities

·      Defer major decisions

At times, you have no control over what is unfolding around you; however, you always have control over your thoughts and how you respond. You have it within to ride out your Perfect Storms and find your lifesaver.

Let me know in the comments below the lifesavers you turn to during stormy times.

Peace & Blessings.

Anita  

County Yoga Loft

Zoom Yoga Class Schedule  

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