How a stressed woman balanced her emotions to develop a stronger relationship with HERSELF!

All it took was one simple change in her day that at first sounded silly but in the end, made an incredible difference.

Sally’s Story

**Name changed to protect privacy.

When I first met Sally, she was working from home, crawling right out of bed and going to work. She has a high-stress job that within the pandemic became even more stressful. She felt that she had no time for herself. No time to take care of her health and she was feeling it.

She would end her workday and just eat whatever she could get her hands on. She felt all the stress from the day and also often felt that she should “reward” herself for getting through another hard day. Needless to say, the pounds started to pack on. Her energy level was minimal. Overall just felt awful.

It was during that time she knew she needed a change or her health was going to continue to decline.

We started to chat about stress management techniques.

What has she used in the past? What worked well? What didn’t? (aka food)

She noted that she loves yoga. She would like to develop a consistent yoga practice. This will not only help manage her emotions/stress but also help manage her physical health.

She knew all of this. Like most people, Sally couldn’t understand why it was so difficult to just do it. She had everything you would think you needed to get started with her practice.

Determination?

Motivation?

Yoga mat?

Check, check and check.

It just wasn’t quite enough.

Sally started to feel down about herself. Her confidence took a bit of a hit which wasn’t helpful.

So, we went about it with a different approach and it made the BIGGEST difference in her life.

The Simple Habit Change

When I say it was a small change I mean it was a small change. This addition to her routine took approximately 10 seconds to start.

She committed to rolling out her yoga mat every morning on the way to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

That’s it. Simple, right?

I know what you are thinking because she thought the same thing.

“How is rolling out the mat going to help her actually DO YOGA?”

Good question! What this did for Sally is help her to get in the habit of starting the yoga practice. The first step to yoga is the mat.

Each morning she took that step.

If she did yoga, AMAZING.

If not, also AMAZING because she consistently stuck with the habit change.

In my world, we call this a win-win!

The first week or two was a little tough because she would “forget” to put it away in order to roll it back out in the morning.

But after about two weeks of rolling it out and then putting it away after brushing her teeth. She started to do a couple of poses before putting it away. Then a couple more. Then within 3 months, she was practicing yoga every morning.

Not only that, she was getting up earlier to make sure that she had enough time to get the session she wanted in for the day. Her stress levels started to come down because she started the day moving her body and focusing on herself. Her productivity at work increased too.

We then started working on habits that will ensure she is fueling her body with the proper hydration and nutrition to support her yoga practice. Boundaries were set with work. Her sleep improved. This is just to name a few of the remarkable changes that were made in her life.

Four months later she told me that she mastered a really tricky yoga pose and was even thinking about getting her yoga teacher certification.

She was down about 10 pounds. Feeling fit, energized, and confident.

The best win for me as her coach was reminding her of the Sally she was a couple of months before who felt that it was IMPOSSIBLE to build a strong yoga practice and gain control of her stress response. Not only did she make it possible but she proved to herself that stress doesn’t rule her life.

Want to find out how we can work together to find ways for you to find balance with your emotions? Book a free consultation call today!