You know that best friend that you have known for 25+ years and each time you meet no matter how much time has passed, you can pick up right where you left off? Well this message is from mine ❤️.
I was drawn to this because of the message that she wrote in the card. It was such a great reminder that the “day to day” is taking its toll. She did not know it at the time, it was a simply lovely message from her, but it made me think…
As I thought of what she was suggesting: to be in nature, see friends, make food, notice the world, resist oppression and be loud about it I came to a conclusion, I was missing this. I got so lost in the mundane, the oppression of where the political, cultural, and spiritual landscape is right now, and two sets of aging parents. I was missing all these things that she spoke about! Especially being in nature, that has always been so strong for me, I had stepped away from nature and ritual to deal with aging parents, friends that drifted away, and I felt completely depleted and tired, it all came screaming home and set up house in my body.
The biggest strain is the mental stress that comes from aging parents. Some of you are there and some of you WILL be there, when parents become children and the children have to manage the parents, and this is big, so big!! I say this to let you know that it is a stressful time, a time when all your resources feel depleted, when you are addressing issues that take so much micromanaging! That role of caretaker is real!! Maybe, but maybe not on the level of physical care for someone, but just as stressful because you are trying to figure out something from so far away or just trying to figure out WHAT the problem is.
I say all of this so you know that when this happens it is about self care, it’s about nurturing yourself, your body and your mind. So go back to nature, look at the list Christine sent me and put some of that back in your life.
Most of all, be kind to yourself and your body.
Love and Light to you all…
JennyO
Freebie For This Month
Understanding the Caregiver Experience
Caregivers may experience:
- Emotional strain (fear, anticipatory anxiety, relief + guilt post-surgery)
- Physical exhaustion and disrupted routines
- Hypervigilance around medications, infection risk, and symptoms
- Identity shifts and isolation
Normalize this: Caregiving is both an act of love and a sustained stress response.
Practice: Pause after the exhale from 3-5 counts. Do this sitting, laying down, morning, noon, night. Anytime you feel any of the items listed above. 🥰
Corazón Yoga 