by Jessica LaGarde, Peace at Hand Massage Therapy
As small business owners, it is easy to give our business and our clients first priority, and to forget that taking time to decompress is just as much of a basic need as food and sleep. (And frankly, we don’t always do such a bang-up job of making sure those needs are met. Show of hands: How many of you have scheduled out a day and then realized that you forgot to account for time to eat lunch? Yeah. Me, too.) If we want to have a sustainable business practice, we need to take our mental self-care just as seriously as our physical self -care. When we squeeze a meeting into our lunch break or cancel our kickboxing class to fit in one more client, what we’re saying is that our client’s needs are more important than our own. What we’re doing is overextending ourselves, which can lead to our clients and our business getting less than the 100% that they deserve. That is not okay.
Even after we agree on that point, we need to figure out how to make it happen within the pesky 24-hour a day time limit in which we’re forced to operate. If we can’t manage to find time to eat a proper lunch, how are we supposed to find time to decompress?
The good news is that we don’t need a 60-minute massage or a half hour nap to settle ourselves down. All you need are ten minutes. Ten lousy minutes. I promise that somewhere in your day, there are ten minutes that you waste. Reclaim them, and then spending them mindfully relaxing. The mindful part is important. It isn’t enough to just not work. We have to consciously allow our system to settle down. This can look different for different people, but here are some ways that you might spend 10 minutes mindfully letting go:
Savasana: If you’re lucky enough to work someplace private, this yoga pose is a great way to let go, and a great substitute for a nap. Turn your cell phone to silent, and set an alarm for ten minutes. Lie on your back, arms and legs spread, palms up. Focus on your breathing, and on expanding your ribcage in three dimensions with each breath. Scan your body for any holding or tension, and visualize your breath filling those areas, one at a time. Let go. When your alarm goes off, slowly reintroduce movement to your body by wiggling your fingers and toes, stretching your arms and legs to make your body feel as long as possible, and finally opening your eyes. To get up, first roll to one side, then push yourself into a seated position before standing.
Breathwork: This exercise can be done anywhere from your office chair to a park bench or the table at Starbucks. Settle into your best posture, with feet planted on the floor and your weight evenly distributed between your sitz bones. If its appropriate, close your eyes. If not, let your gaze settle into a soft focus. Begin to breathe slowly and deeply, feeling your ribcage expand in three dimensions. Begin at the top of your head and scan your body for any areas of discomfort. Relax your jaw. Drop your chin to your chest and take your head through a few half circles. Allow your shoulders to roll down and back, sliding your shoulder blades down your ribcage and towards your spine. Release any holding in your abdomen. Continue scanning down your body, allowing your muscles to let go of any restrictions. End by feeling your feet rooted solidly on the floor, grounding you.
Make a List: Open a text document, or better yet, grab a sheet of paper. Make a list. Sometimes, writing down every little thing that you need to do is helpful. Getting it out of your mind and on to paper can make it seem more manageable, or at least free up some brain-space for other things, since you’ll no longer need to remember all of those details. Other times, its nicer to get away from our obligations, so you might try making a list of things that you’re grateful for, or things that have made you happy over the past few days. Leave the list someplace where you can see it when you go back to work.
Go for a Walk: I don’t mean go to the bank or pick up stamps. Go outside and walk mindfully. Feel your feet contacting with the ground and appreciate the fresh air that you’re breathing. Notice the sounds around you. Look up at the sky. Find a few details that you can appreciate, and that make you happy.
Make Some Noise: You might want to consider discounting this one unless you work alone, but it can be extremely cathartic. Literally, just make noise. First, make peace with the idea that you might feel a little ridiculous. Then, plant your feet shoulder width apart, raise your hands overhead and make yourself as big as you can, take a deep breath, and yell until you run out of air. Do this a few times
Engage Your Inner Child: This can look like many different things, but all of them can be helpful. Walk to the playground a go down the slide, or swing, or hang upside down from the monkey bars. Grab some crayons and paper and color. Cut paper snowflakes. Blow soap bubbles and then try to pop them. Whatever you choose to do, make it joyful.
None of these things need to take more than a few minutes, and what you do isn’t important. What’s important is that you spend five or ten minutes disengaging completely from your obligations, and bring yourself to being fully present in the moment. Let go of the idea that you “should” be doing something else. It may not feel like you are engaging in an activity that benefits your clients or your business, but by taking time to decompress and be more fully present, you will make yourself more equipped to take on the rest of your day and create a more solid foundation from which to do your work.
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Jessica LaGarde is the senior massage therapist at The Spa Room, a boutique spa in Tenleytown founded on the principles of authenticity, simplicity and self-expression. In addition to advanced training in prenatal massage, infant massage instruction, active isolated stretching and craniosacral therapy, Jessica is a massage educator. She has developed Massage 101 for The Spa Room and Physical Wellness for Handcrafters for The Yarn Spot in Wheaton, MD, and is a teaching assistant at Potomac Massage Training Institute.
Website: PeaceatHand.net | Twitter: @autumnbriars
Photo by A6U571N
