As I wrote about in my blog last week, we live among and in various cycles. Paying attention to these cycles, be it the seasons, the moon, your own… helps us live in a bit more harmony.

But as someone who has a lot of fire in her constitution, I don’t find it easy when I’m in the ebb of the cycle and not in the flow.  So I’ve come up with ways of making those times more easeful.

First thing I do when I feel I’m in a time of reflection vs action is that I take some time to do just that… reflect. I find I mediate more and spend more time in nature away from my phone.  I *try* not to attach expectations to the reflection time but often what ends up happening is that ideas start to come to me. I feel like reflection (I call it meditation too) is essential in helping us answer the questions we ask all day long (what should I do with my day, vacation, business, life, etc.). We are always asking questions to ourselves but how often do we stop to hear the answers?  It’s also a great time to visualize about what you want and send out those vibrations to the universe. Cause we all know about Newton’s Third Law right?

Second, I make sure I spend time away from my computer to just journal.  I have many journals for different purposes so I pick one and have it close by and sometimes even take it with me when I go out for a hike.  I sit away from my desk and just write, free form, no plan for 10-15 minutes or so. I learned this technique from friends who put me on to Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. I also use my journal to plan out any ideas that come to me. Right now I’m planning how to create a clickable calendar of yoga poses and breathing techniques for my members and also a 3 week free challenge to help us fall into Autumn with grace.  I write all these ideas down on paper, away from my computer.

A third thing I’m finding I’m doing during these times is resting more. Oh my…it’s only in the last couple of years that I’m really learning about the power of resting during the day… and now I’m embracing it. My 35-year-old self would’ve balked at the idea of a rest during the day!  I love the practices of restorative yoga and yoga nidra in the middle of my day. I usually rest for less than 30 minutes (20 usually) and while sometimes I fall asleep, a lot of times now I just go into this really deep rest state. It feels so good cause a) it’s the time the body uses to heal and b) it’s another time I often find clarity on something I’m wondering about.

And finally, maybe it’s avoidance of feeling uncomfortable in this state or maybe it’s just what occurs from all of the above… I just do something. Just one thing. Do a social media post about my business, review a project plan, write an email, clean up my inbox, etc. I just take a small step in the general direction I know I want to go in, it always makes me feel better.

I’d love to hear from you.  Do you have any suggestions for what to do when you feel you are in the ebb instead of the flow? And what do you think of my ideas above?