Walk to Downshift

Stress makes me crazy. Literally. I want to sleep the second I get home from work and then when it is actually time to hit the hay…guess what, I can’t shut my brain off! It doesn’t make sense.

I wish I could drink and the calm continues. But alcohol just makes my brain depressed and my body tired. Besides that, I don’t need the empty calories..and I wake up in the middle of the night..and I can’t get back to sleep…My brain is on while my body feels groggy and heavy.

So..is downshifting an art? An art that I have a very limited talent for? Tonight for the first time ever, I got home and hooked up Stella to her leash and we went for just a quick walk around the block. It felt good. My neighbor does the am, before work walk and suggested the post-work walk…It seems so decadent, so self-absorbed, so selfish when there is dinner to be made, dishes to wash, laundry to be folded, and homework to help with. I wish I could turn my stress off with a switch.

During the summer, I began a meditation practice after my daily morning walk with Stella. About 12 minutes felt really good. I would walk for 30 minutes, do 15 minutes of yoga and then sit for 12 minutes of meditation. But my school year schedule doesn’t allow for this luxury. But I don’t make the time for this sane practice in my school year schedule.

#sidetrackedsisters #sidetrackedlisa #self #exercise #fitness #surroundings #cleaning #organization #food #drink