Yoga companion for Caregivers
Yoga can be your companion on your journey as a caregiver.
What is yoga and how can it be your companion? The definitions of yoga and companion make it clear. Yoga is defined as: a discipline that includes body postures, breath control, meditation, and is practiced for health and relaxation. Companion is defined as: one who serves as a friend or partner in something, someone who is with you. Yoga is not a friend or partner but after you begin to practice it you will understand why you might feel differently. Yoga does serve as a support that you can use for your self-care. Yoga can be with you as a tool whenever you need it for your health and relaxation. That is why I choose to think of yoga practice as a companion. I believe that it can be one of the most important things a caregiver can do for their own care.
I think most women are caregivers at some point in our lives The energy and patience needed to be a caregiver can be overwhelming. We put our self-care needs aside to care for others. Sometimes these things are forgotten and never returned to. Schedules are overturned without notice. Attempts to make a consistent schedule are interrupted by both urgent needs and attempts to simply gain attention. Live in caregivers like parents, spouses and family members can become worn out both physically and emotionally. How do we survive? How do we keep our sanity? And most importantly how do we appreciate all the blessings we have, including the person we love and take care of. For me it’s Yoga.
Self-Care is one of the biggest struggles for caregivers.
One of the biggest struggles for caregivers is maintaining your own health and well-being while caring for others. Lack of sleep, lack of exercise, poor nutrition, anxiety, and depression can your energy and ability to get everything done. It’s important to remember your health needs as well as the person you care for. Many of us find the job of caring comes to us unexpectedly. Usually, we don’t have training and might not know how handle it all. We can’t just give a 2-week’ notice when things get overwhelming. We need to figure out how to deal with the unfamiliar and difficult issues. This usually starts with how to care for our family members. This takes time, energy and never seems to stop. Appointments, referrals, meetings and more meetings. I found during this process there was not much advice about how to navigate and care for my family and myself at the same time. I always thought I could deal with my needs later. I thought to be a good mom I needed to put my family first and take care of myself later. I also felt uncomfortable asking for help from others. That didn’t work out so well. I was exhausted running to appointments and meetings, and I didn’t find the answers I was looking for. What hat running did was take something natural about being a mom away from me. Now that yoga is a focal point in my life things have changed. I feel more in control, normal and like other parents. We all have things to deal with and we all struggle. Asking for help is not a weakness, it’s a necessity. Yoga has taught me that people need each other, we are not meant to do everything on our own. Being a caregiver doesn’t mean you have to be there every moment and do everything. Part of the job is taking care of ourselves so we can be better caregivers. There are others who can help and support you. It took me a long time to realize this. Yoga and support from my family, my yoga mentors and teachers has helped. I have also learned to use the support of the internet to stay connected to peers and teachers to keep learning and growing in my knowledge of yoga. My yoga practice has sustained me and become my companion on my journey.
Think you don’t have time for yoga?
It’s true that as a busy caregiver there is little time to add something to your schedule. Myself along with many of my students struggle with time management. We’re not bad at managing our time it’s just that we never know what is going to come up next. Getting to a regular yoga class can be too much. Who can watch your family member? Will they do the same things you do? They are busy too and its hard to ask for help. All I can tell you is when I started to let go of trying to do it all myself, the answers started to come. It took me quite awhile to feel comfortable with the changes, but I also started to release some pressure that I didn’t know I was holding. I still have times where I feel exhausted and not sure what to do next. But I also have a strength and inner courage that I’ve developed, and I turn to that when I struggle.
Yoga Companion for Caregivers
I’ve created a private Facebook group called Yoga Companion. A place where I will share ideas and resources for you on your yoga journey whether you are a caregiver or just practicing yoga for your own sanity. I created it so we can connect and support each other. Each week I will add ideas for yoga, breath work and meditation that I have used myself and taught to my students. This is also a place for you to connect with others.
You can also come back each week for more blogs.