Cut yourself some slack (and embrace the chaos)


This week, I want to encourage you to cut yourself some slack.

Letting go is a very popular concept, and for good reason: we're constantly pulled in all directions, and at the same time, we never feel like we're doing enough.

This leads us to have thoughts that are natural, but really not constructive, like: "if only life were simpler", "if only I had more time", "if only I had fewer things to manage".

But guess what? Life is chaotic. That's the price to pay for a rich life, surrounded by friends, family, with a fulfilling career and exciting passions.

What if instead of complaining and resisting... we learned to let go and accept that our lives have multiple facets and will always be a bit chaotic?

We can find our balance by developing resilience to this chaos, and by learning to stay calm in the middle of this whirlwind.

In this week's podcast episode in French, we talked about how a consistent and regular routine (even a short one) can serve as a refuge.

How our yoga mat can become a space where we develop tools to regulate ourselves and manage our emotions.

How we can acquire inner peace and the strength needed to face the chaos of our lives without feeling overwhelmed.

Does this resonate with you? I'd love to know how you handle the chaos of life, and how your yoga practice (or something else) helps you not feel overwhelmed.

Om, peace 🧡

Clem

Clémence Dieryck

I'm a bilingual yoga teacher who helps people who sit a lot gain mobility, move without pain and reduce their stress.

Read more from Clémence Dieryck

So here we are, over halfway through January. It's generally when we realise that "new year new me" didn't really come to be and that our lives aren't as transformed as we had wished. If that's your case, I want you to get rid of any guilt you might be carrying about this, and give you a few essential reminders you might need to hear right now. You don't need to go to the gym, run, or do anything you hate for your health You need to move to keep your body (and your mind) healthy, yes. But...

Do you know the famous psychological bias called "the sunk cost fallacy"? It's when you've already invested so much time or energy in a project that you can't bring yourself to abandon it, even when you know it's going nowhere. Once we know it exists, we start seeing it everywhere: our friend who's staying in a relationship that emotionally ended years ago, the degree we're no longer interested in but we're "too far in" to quit... We keep pouring energy into something because we can't bear to...

Where does it hurt when your back aches? In the last few months, I've had a few new clients who all pointed to the same spot: on their lower back, just above the hips. They all told me they had a back problem, which is the logical thing to think. But most of the time, the issue doesn't come from the back... but a bit lower. I know, you know, we all know that we sit too much. And when we do, our hips become tight and weak. They gradually lose their ability to both move and stabilise our lower...