Last week, I felt very depressed (it was likely just PMS, but if you know, you know). I had no energy, no willpower to do anything, even (especially?) things that were good for me. I know myself now, and I know what lifts my mood. But most things felt too hard. So I took a moment to ask myself this question, which I think could help many of you take the first step in the right direction: “What is one tiny thing that you have enough energy to do, and that would make you feel better?” For example, I knew yoga would help. But I had zero mental energy for it. So I looked for something smaller. I decided to go for a short walk in the park. It doesn’t take much energy, and I know being in nature and moving always improves my mood. While I was walking, I could feel my stress level lowering. So I used that extra energy to do something a bit bigger: writing to a friend. That lifted my mood even more, so I did something even bigger when I got back home: I checked out a work task. It made me feel accomplished, so I found the strength to do a workout. And then my mood was back to normal. My point here is that our mood, our energy isn’t all or nothing.When you are feeling so down that you can’t get yourself out of that slump, look for the thing that would cost the lowest effort. And build on that. Each little step in the right direction will give you a bit more energy, a bit more confidence that you can get out of this dark tunnel. And all those little steps will compound and end up being a whole lot of self-care :) If you are reading this and nodding your head, and would like some support to make it fit your unique situation, I'd love to help. You can reply to this email with a few words about you, or answer these few questions. I'll come back to you asap, and we can see if we're the right fit. Om, peace 🧡 Clem PS: if you regularly struggle with getting started because you don't have the capacity to do it all, listen to this episode. I share some techniques that will help :) |
I'm a bilingual yoga teacher who helps people who sit a lot gain mobility, move without pain and reduce their stress.
If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen the little rant I had after one of my clients came back from their physiotherapist. Long story short, my client talked to their physio about their pain, and the physio was very dramatic and alarming about it. My client came out of this session panicked, wondering if they could even get better. Disclaimer: I would never question a medical professional's diagnosis, that's not what this is about. My issue is with the way this physio talked to my...
We all know that sitting for hours is bad for our health. Not only physical (increasing our risk of getting a heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, persistant pain, etc.) but mental. We're simply not made to sit so much. So why do we suck at moving more? My theory is this: We were told in our 20s that sitting is bad, but “an increased risk of heart disease” scares absolutely no one in their 20s. It’s too far away, too vague. We were also told we should start planning our...
I have welcome a few new members in Yoga with Clem which is always a super exciting time! New routines are getting built and we want to make sure they stick. I thought I would go over some key points to keep in mind when we start a new routine. This is important stuff for my new members but also for anyone who wants to start a healthier routine. Make it Simple Start small and simple. It's tempting to go all in right away, but real change takes time. Begin with one or two new habits to prove...