Stop what you are doing and go outside or near a window to get a breath of fresh air!
Take ten deep breaths.
Yup!
Now!
I have been called to create a new persona per se called The Techi Yogi, who’s vision is to help Stop The Burnout!!! It’s a little cheesy but I do think it is necessary. I see it everywhere… including myself. I have an iPad, iPhone, iPod, MacBook, AppleTV… Yes I love my Mac products, but with so many I’s, where am I?
I recently went to a technology conference in Miami and although the information and speakers were inspiring and riveting, I also couldn’t help but see into the future as to what all these devices and applications would do to our mental, physical and emotional states. I started to see trends setting with a higher amount of corporate clients reaching out in addition to CEOs starting private classes with me. They had tried so many other alternatives to destress and nothing had lasting benefits. Because the world is getting faster and faster and our brains are still human and can’t work as fast as the computers we’ve created, we get overwhelmed and put too much pressure on ourselves to do everything at once.
Most of our stress is caused by our minds being focused on the past or the future: what we didn’t do right or have held onto from past experiences, relationships or career mistakes, and what we still have yet to do with deadlines and so many tasks. We can’t even stop to take a breath for ourselves. It’s a go-go-forward-while-looking-back-and-regretting mentality. (Phew! That was a long hyphenated sentence. You might have to read that again to understand how my mind works.)
This kind of stress makes our bodies react and stimulate the aging process. Our fatigue, bad eating habits, lack of leisure time, lack of exercise, lack of connection to our families and friends is what will make us feel like a ton of bricks and burn ourselves out. Some of the ailments we use are also unhealthy and perpetuate further decay in the body like alcohol, drugs, prescription drugs, or any distraction that doesn’t help us center ourselves better.
We need to find balance by triggering our Parasympathetic Nervous System: your Relaxation Software so-to-speak. When I first started doing yoga I didn’t even know how to relax. I was a type-A personality that was always busy until I realized the importance relaxation had on my entire body, mind and spirit! It’s a skill we can all acquire so let’s let go together. (I hear some of you thinking, “Rina, you are still a type A personality” so just imagine how much worse I was before. 😉 )
Most of our day is stimulated by our over-reactive Sympathetic Nervous System: our Fight or Flight Software so-to-speak again. It is malfunctioning because it thinks that not sending an email on time is a stresser instead of how it was originally designed to react which was to flee from a lion chasing after you. Nowadays our “lion” is our cell phone dying thus our nervous system is burning out on this technological zapping. Taking mini breaks to reconnect within yourself and “reboot” is imperative for your system’s optimal health. If your nervous system is shot then your immune system also weakens and we are more susceptible to diseases and illnesses. I hate to talk about our bodies and minds like robots but unfortunately this is how it seems our society is headed; hence my “Stop the Burnout” vision! I myself love technology and enjoy its gifts. I think it is beautiful that us humans can imagine something and manifest it, but we also need to take responsibility with these gifts and use it in moderation. No cell phone can give me a hug when I’m sad or kiss my forehead when I’m sick.
We have to reprogram ourselves to see the bigger picture of how we are slowly burning ourselves out. We can make new habits that will guide us towards happier versions of ourselves with this deeper understanding.
System shutting down… Restarting life! (Okay that was beyond cheesy… but what do you expect from a human?)
Check out my quick sequence featured in Self Magazine Online to help refresh yourself.
