A Moment to Breathe & Tune In
Hello, friends! It’s time for another candid conversation with Coach Kiah. I’ll be honest, I’m in a season of burn out, feeling equal parts overwhelmed with gratitude and exhaustion. This week, I’m not here to give you any advice or tell you what to do. In fact, I’m going to do the opposite. I’m going to encourage you to take a moment to breathe and tune in to ask YOURSELF what you need instead.
In this episode, we’ll chat about:
A simple breathing exercise to help you tune in
The importance of honoring your needs
A poem from my dear friend Maddie
We are constantly flooded with noise and opinions from experts, self-proclaimed gurus, and people we haven’t seen since high school but still pop-up in our social feed. I wanted this to be an episode where I tell you honestly how I’m feeling this season while holding space for you to get honest with yourself too.
If I’m being honest, I’ve been in a season of burnout. I’m equal parts overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible opportunities that have been available to me and overwhelmed with exhaustion because life can be a lot to carry all at once.
To make matters worse, I sometimes shame myself for feeling that way. I mean, c’mon, I’m a coach and motivational speaker. I even made a Holiday Survival Guide to help people joyfully navigate the holiday season for petes sake! But alas, I’m human after all and we ALL have bad days and hard seasons, even coaches. While I am excellent at holding space for other people’s humanness, sometimes I forget to hold space for my own.
TAKE A BREATH & TUNE IN
It can be so easy to get distracted by what we “should” be doing based on the ideas and opinions of others. We look outside of ourselves to find out what the right thing to do is. But here’s the thing… only YOU can know what you really need. The problem is, we aren’t always great about being still and silent enough to ask ourselves and listen.
That being said, I want to invite you to try it with me.
Take a moment to take a few long, slow deep breaths with me. Place one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly and gently close your eyes. Inhale deeply and slowly for a count of four, holding for just a beat at the top, and release again slowly for a count of four. Repeat as long as you need.
In the stillness and quiet, ask yourself, “What do I need?”
Be careful to avoid the “shoulds” of what you think you should be doing, but really take a moment to ask what you need to fill your cup, feel at peace, and honor yourself.
Maybe it’s a glass of water. Maybe it’s a walk in the brisk air. Maybe it’s a call to a close friend. Maybe it’s a bubble bath and a good book.
I don’t have the answer, only YOU can know what you need.
Take a moment to ask yourself, listen, and then make time and space to honor that need.
JUST THIS
This last week, when I asked myself what I needed, it was a break. A break in my schedule with time for just me. So, I canceled an all-day girls day with my cousin Maddie, used my morning to reconnect with myself, and decided to do coffee with her instead. She was loving, gracious, and understanding as she always is. And y’all, it was exactly what I needed.
Maddie is the type of friend who sees my soul, who holds space for me to just be, without expectation or judgment. I cherish her with every fiber of my being.
At the end of our coffee date, she gave me a gift. It was a small jewelry box with a ribbon wrapped around it, securing a rolled-up piece of paper.
When I unraveled the paper, inside was a poem she wrote for me.
“When my heart becomes clouded with doubt,
And my mind questions, ‘What if?’
Though worry envisions a life without,
Still my soul reminds me, ‘Just this.’”
Maddie Mattina
After reading the poem, my eyes welled up with tears. I didn’t care what was in the jewelry box, the poem was enough.
But inside the box, I unwrapped a beautiful, delicate, rose gold bar necklace, with the hand-stamped words, “Just this.”
It was perfect. My mantra on a necklace around my neck to remind me of my intention for this season, for the new year, for my life - to be present.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
If you too are in a season of burnout, I want you to know that I see you. I feel you. You’re not alone. And I love you.
My hope is that amidst the heaviness of life, you can remember that all we have is just this moment. Let’s make peace with what happened in the past, peace with what is to come, and gratitude for what is here today.
I am wrapping you up in a big, warm hug from afar and sending you so much love this holiday season.
Love y’all with all my heart.
Coach Kiah