Dear Reader,
Happy Easter Monday! Before I left Dublin for the holidays, my schedule was beyond busy as both my personal and professional life escalated simultaneously. The media interviews for my book began, and I juggled my usual roster of clients and work commitments. On top of all of this, the pressing need, and above all desire, to visit my Dad in a nursing home as he recovers from his recent operation created the perfect potential storm of overwhelm.
In my many years in clinical practice I've witnessed many clients crumble after similar critical periods in their lives.
Adrenaline and necessity provide us with the fuel needed to get through such times, but it's in the aftermath, when the pressure eases even slightly, that many realize they're depleted. All too often, people wait too long to pause and can end up physically and mentally unwell.
Most of us tend to neglect our self-care practices precisely when we need them the most.
I found myself teetering on the edge of this same pitfall, thinking, "I have no time right now." However, no matter how busy I was, I was determined to maintain my regular yoga practice. This was my one non-negotiable. I knew from my professional experience that without it, I wouldn't be able to honour my family or fulfil my work commitments.
While I have various self-care practices, including meditation, hypnotherapy, and journaling, yoga is non-negotiable for me.
Bessel Van Der Kock's seminal book, ‘The Body Keeps The Score,’ elucidates what wisdom traditions have known for years: emotions and stress become trapped in the body, and to heal the body and cleanse the mind, we must unite them. Yoga, which means union, facilitates this process.
So, I pose this question to you. How do you cope when demands increase?
Even more so, what if those demands aren't short-term but chronic (ongoing), requiring you to constantly support others? Whether it's a demanding job, young children, or elderly parents, it becomes even more crucial to prioritise self-care.
Taking care of yourself when others need you most is paramount so that you can truly be there for them.
Never forget that the greatest gift you can give to others is a peaceful presence that opens the door to creativity, joy, and laughter.
As I write this, I'm on my sun-soaked balcony on Easter Sunday in Crete after doing some solo yoga. It may seem easy to dispense these words of wisdom when pressures aren't looming directly over me. However, when I am leading a retreat I teach my clients that while the importance of the time we have together is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and regather ourselves, it means nothing if we don't carry these lessons into our daily lives.
There's a story of a young American who went to Thailand …
to seek enlightenment. He loved meditation so much that he decided to become ordained as a monk. However, feeling that something was still missing, he asked his master what he should do to become enlightened. The master instructed him to go into a cave at the top of a mountain alone for as long as it took to transcend. Four months later, the young monk descended from the mountain, claiming, "I am enlightened now." His master congratulated him but reminded him that he needed to go to Bangkok to renew his visa or risk being asked to leave the country. The monk headed off on the long journey full of peace and tranquillity. After many hours of travel and a very long and chaotic queue at the visa office, he was told that his paperwork had been misplaced. The young man found himself thumping the table in a rage and it was at this moment that he realised what enlightenment is. It is not living a life without pressure, it is living a life that will inevitably have pressure in it with mindfulness and non-reactivity.
It's easy to be enlightened in solitude, but true awakening comes from embracing both the joys and sufferings inherent in each moment.
Deepak Chopra, the great spiritual teacher, asserts that living with joy is paramount, for to live without joy is a waste.
Search for joy, and you will find it.
If you're interested in exploring these concepts further, there are just TWO rooms left, at Light Up 2024, our seven-night immersive retreat in sunny Crete commencing on June 24th. It would be lovely to have you join a group of like-minded people awakening together. The theme for this retreat is self-compassion, and one of the most compassionate things we can do for ourselves and others is wake up to the nature of reality and who we truly are. To hear me talk about this in more detail you can tune into the latest episode of the Mind Full Podcast I recorded with Dermot Whelan. If you like a laugh, the Two Johnnies are on the same show as my good self.
Additionally, if you're keen on trying Yoga Hub, (five locations around Dublin), you can get a 20% discount off all their yoga class passes by using the code FIONAYH.
Last, but certainly not least, the publication of my new book, ‘Sleep Well’ is just ten sleep-well nights away! The book comes with eight brand new, free, hypnotherapy sleep-time audios aimed at helping you live with more presence, patience, and peace, whether you're on a retreat in the sun or navigating a challenging time in your life! I would be grateful if you pre-order it here as it will help the overall success of the book.