relax

Busy Bee No More

We hate getting a busy signal. We talk about someone being a busy bee, and we often claim we are too busy. Keeping up with the Joneses no longer feels like striving for the McMansion with a white picket fence, two kids, and a dog. Whatever your family or housing situation, lately, I feel like keeping up is about being busier than your neighbor. No one is forcing anyone to be busy, but there is this unspoken expectation that every minute must be filled or…or…or who knows, but it will probably be catastrophic.

Perhaps I’m the only one with the issue and I just revealed a personal complex, but I don’t think so. I don’t want to be busy anymore. When I was in my teens and twenties I loved having a full schedule that hopped from one activity to another. Now I require rest, but I still fill my schedule to an unmanageable capacity. I want a full life. I just no longer want to be constantly watching the clock and rushing from activity to activity.

The other night I sat outside with a neighbor who I’ve met a few times and we chatted for hours, uninterrupted, unworried about where we […]

Busy Bee No MoreMaggie Downie2018-01-13T15:57:56-05:00

Zentangle Better than Meditation

The PE Team and their Zentangles

Adult coloring books are all the rage lately. I snicker each time I see one because apparently part of me is still twelve years old, and that part imagines that I’ll open the “adult” coloring books and discover naked images to color in, but that’s never it. They are usually beautiful patterns or serene scenes. I tried it. I hated it. It felt like an added stressor, something else to do, and I always felt like I could have picked a better color. Plus, it’s boring. So I gave my adult coloring book away.

Meanwhile, in a similar vein there is Zentangle. While they don’t like the word “doodle,” conceptually, it’s basically mindful doodling. You wouldn’t think you need a lesson in how to doodle, but you do, at least if you want your doodles to look like art. The images you create look cool and intricate, even though the patterns are simple to make.

Zentangle Better than MeditationMaggie Downie2017-12-29T21:30:51-05:00

The Float

I’ve wanted to try a submersion tank for years, but I only just discovered there are some in Connecticut. A few weeks ago Matt and I were given a gift certificate to try Surrender to the Float in Guilford. I didn’t really know what to expect, but basically you strip (don’t worry you have your own private room), shower and then get into an oversized tub with four walls from the floor to the ceiling. Once in, you close the tank door and turn off the gentle lighting if you want.

You are suspended in very salty water set at body temperature in pitch black, and they suggest it feels like floating in space. You get an hour in the tank. It is meant to be relaxing and meditative. It was. I fell asleep. They claim you can’t drown in the salt, and I didn’t so anecdotally I support their theory.

Floating was definitely an interesting experience, but having been to the Dead Sea earlier this year, I was kind of disappointed. I’m a sinker. It’s hard for me to float, and when I sauntered into the Dead Sea I felt like a wine cork in water, more buoyant that I could […]

The FloatMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:11-04:00

What Can You Relax Right Now?

Our bodies need to relax as much as they need to workout. (Note: I’m writing this blog for me as much as for you because I’m not good at relaxing) But there are a numbers of ways or parts of the body that we can relax throughout the day without adding relaxation time to our already busy lives.

For example be a little more self aware. I often notice that when I brush my teeth my shoulder is shrugged up to my ear and I can relax it. The other day, I was driving when I noticed I was arching my low back in a very alert position. My low back was tight. I relaxed. I think when we start to pay attention there are a lot of moments during the day like this. It’s not necessarily hard to relax, but we do have to think about releasing the tension that creeps in.

Today, when you get into bed check in with your body. Are you really at ease? Have you sunk as deeply into the mattress and pillow as you can? Is your jaw tight? Are your eyebrows furrowed? Is there a part of your body you can relax?

When you exercise, […]

What Can You Relax Right Now?Maggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:12-04:00

Relax & Do Nothing

How nice it is to do nothing and relax afterwards.—Spanish Proverb

Not long ago in a yoga class, the instructor recited these words. They struck a chord with me, especially since I’ve been working on trying to be okay with relaxing and needing to rest. I wondered if I would ever get to a point where I was completely okay with doing nothing and resting afterwards.

Even as I write this there is a voice in my head that says, “That’s obviously not okay. Things need to get done.” And it’s not that I am incapable of doing nothing. I’ve gone away for the week to the beach. Although even there I usually run or read. Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever do nothing.

I guess I’m just still learning and working on finding balance in life. For the first time in my […]

Relax & Do NothingMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:34:29-04:00