trying to be the General Manager of the Universe?

I laughed my head off the first time I heard that term. One of my favorite coaches from years ago asked me... 

"Are you trying to be the General Manager of the Universe?" 

Urmmmm...ya. I was. 

And pretty frequently, too! 

Don't know if you know this or not but...it's not possible to be the General Manager of the Universe. 🤣

Especially not when you have a crazy illness like Long Covid or ME/CFS/FM. In fact, chronic illnesses are one of the most amazing ways of showing us that we DO have to hand it over. That we ultimately don't have control over everything. 

Sure...we still take inspired action. We do the research, we stay abreast of the latest information, we attend classes and take courses that will assist us in healing and dealing. 

But we do have to let go of trying to figure it all out and let go of trying to FIX everything all the time because 1. it's exhausting (and we're already exhausted!!) and 2. ultimately...we can't MAKE it happen!

Also, trying to control or manage everything else in our lives (other than our health) becomes almost impossible. So another added "bonus" of being sick...we get to prioritize. (If you haven't downloaded the Self-Pacing Workbook already, I *highly* recommend it...it will help you prioritize big time.)

For many years now...I've given it up, handed it over, let go of trying to control everything. Let go of trying to control most things, in fact. Sure, I still find myself trying to sometimes. Sometimes I can tell I'm trying too hard to figure it out or to get better physically. But that's part of the fun of all of this...because we get to play a game with ourselves. We get to train our minds...bit by bit...to be our employees, not our boss. And part of that training is...to resign from being (or trying to be) the General Manager of the Universe. 

I challenge you to give it a shot. Even say it out loud..."I resign from the position of General Manager of the Universe!" And hand it over. 

I promise you...the sun is still going to come up in the morning. The flowers are still going to bloom. The trees will continue to grow. And other people will continue to do what they do. And YOU get to do what YOU do. 

Here are some yummy yoga practices to help you hand it over and to enter what I call The Fertile Void. Yin yoga is akin to Restorative Yoga. Both are doable for most with Long Covid and ME/CFS/FM. Just make sure to listen to your body and stop if it's telling you to. 

To determine which Phase you're in, try this quiz:  What Phase of Long Covid Recovery Are You In?​

​10 min Yin Yoga for Phase I (bedbound and housebound)

​45 min Yin Yoga for Phase II and III (if Phase II, stop your practice and take Savasana 15-20 minutes in)

Make sure to let me know how it goes for you in the Comments section!

Big love 🧡

Lorrie

The Power of Having a Morning Ritual

Ooooohhhh, it’s getting cold here! We’re well below freezing tonight and tomorrow night. I’ve tucked all the plants in and told them their bedtime stories, covering them lovingly with light blankets to protect them from the frost.

Right now I’m loving the cold weather. It means I get to start my ritual of hot hot morning baths, which is sooooooo yummy! I get up super early (around 5), turn on the heater in the bathroom, grab my Intentions/Appreciation journal and my favorite pen (very important), light some candles, turn on some soothing music, and draw my bath with the warmest water I can tolerate. Add in some epsom salts, baking soda, vitamin C powder, and essential oils (usually lavender…just can’t go wrong with lavender). And while the bathtub is filling with this delicious soothingness, I sit and write. I do this almost every morning. And if I don’t do the bath, I try to *always write down my intentions for the day and lots of things I appreciate.

Then, my sweetie and I meditate, do a short powerful workout and some yoga and…we’re off!

There is so much power in this simple practice. I’d gotten out of the habit of doing it for awhile and I can definitely tell a difference. We’ve talked about inertia before and this is the perfect example of how inertia can be our friend or our foe.

Have you noticed that if you wake up and immediately start looking at emails or are immediately bombarded with problems that the rest of the day tends to feel out of control and like you’re putting out fires all day?

Conversely…when you take the time…even just 15-20 minutes…to center and think about delicious things, your day will go much much more easily.

Since I’ve been doing my morning ritual again, my days have been absolutely PHENOMENAL!! All in all, it takes me about an hour and a half, but again, you don’t have to spend that long. I’m just finding that I’m having so much fun and reveling in the yummy yummy of it so much that I want to keep on with it! So sometimes I do.

If you don’t have a morning ritual yet, start simple. Meditate for 15-20 minutes and then write down 5 things you really love and enjoy.

If you’d like something that’s a little more substantial, here’s what I do just about every morning:

1. Write down my intentions for the day. These are BROAD intentions. Things like: “Today I intend to have fun.” “Today I intend to love and adore myself unconditionally as much as possible.” “Today I intend to focus on what it is I want.” “Today I intend to play.”

2. Spend 10 minutes writing down things I love and appreciate. These can be as simple as running water or oranges. Or it can be a person. Anyone! Maybe the lovely checkout lady at your grocery store. If you can, write down a few reasons you love and/or appreciate it/them.

3. I lurvs my hot baths, so when it’s chilly out I take one filled with the goodness outlined above.

4. Meditate for 15-20 minutes. This can be guided or not. You can listen to music if you’d like to…or not. I like to mix it up.

5. Do some exercise. I love doing my High Intensity Interval Training followed by a little yoga (some days I’ll do a full yoga class as well, but that’s a lot;).

There! Now…you are ready to start your day. Fully and completely. I know not everyone has the time to do that much, so take what you’d like from my morning ritual and create your own. It is SO very worth it.