hello beautifuls!
pandemic or no, these last few weeks of the year are always busy, stress-y, and sometimes heavy. we know stress accumulates in the body, and the accumulation of 2020 is a juggernaut of altered movement patterns, working from home (laptop on the bed... you know who you are), plus the physical patterns of anxiety, worry, fear, and grief. i know from zoombarre babes that many of us are dealing with new aches and pains or areas of concern, from sleepy hamstrings to sore necks. personally, this is the first time i've ever had jaw tension and clenching (and it mildly sucks) but the point is - it's not your fault. our daily lives have changed more drastically in the past 10 months than basically ever, and all we can do is the best we can to feel better.
to that end, today i humbly offer some posture-focused technology related advice, a virtual CBD Stretch workshop, and a recap of my end-of-year specials to help you help yourself to feel better now :)
break up with your phone
or, at least set and respect boundaries with it. thing is, many of us spend hours at a computer for work and then more hours on our smartphones (on which you're probably reading this now). smartphones are amazing, incredible tools, and i wouldn't give up my super-camera/baby photo storage/map/music library/source for layperson ayurvedic advice for anything, but i think that now more than ever we must be careful with our relationship to our devices.
i am of an age where i clearly remember life before cellphones (i didn't get one till i was in college, i think) and i was about 9 or 10 when my family got our first computer (my mother wrote the DOS codes for Tetris and educational games on a sheet of paper on the desk) and i find it a bit daunting to navigate the super connected, hyper-visible world of social media and smartphone/watches/etc. for my children. while that question is more than a little beyond the scope of this newsletter, one thing i know for sure is that growing up with too much technology leads to posture problems that are really, really difficult to solve, and i want my kids to be able to stand tall. thus, i know i need to model "device independence" for diego and ramona, to put my phone down and show them how to use technology as a tool, not as a crutch nor lifeline.
with that in mind, here are some shortcuts i use to protect my posture( and progeny) and spend less time on my phone:
- no phone the first and last hour of each day, or no phone 2 hours before bed
- no phone during movies
- use a screen time tracker
- check email only twice per day, facebook/IG once
note that i don't do all of these things at the same time, or even any of them every day. i try, though, and if nothing else, at the very least hold your phone UP to your face rather than hunching over to look DOWN at it.
on a separate note, babes, if i've learned anything from the past 11 months, it's that i have an abundance more to be grateful for than i do to be bummed or stressed about, though i know sometimes it's hard to keep that perspective. i just want you to know i am immensely grateful that you exist, for your loyalty and support, for your general awesomeness and that if i can help you feel the same, even a little bit, i've succeeded in life. you rule!
see you at the zoombarre,
Annie
