Struggling to create calm as a highly sensitive person? You’re not alone. Many HSPs find it difficult to manage overwhelming emotions, sensory overload, and the constant need for control. This sensitivity makes it harder to embrace calmness, but with the right tools and techniques, peace is possible.
Over the years, I’ve come across a lot of advice about aligning with natural rhythms—circadian rhythms, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) clocks, Ayurvedic clocks—you name it. And while these ideas sound beautiful in theory, I’ve found myself increasingly frustrated. They just don’t work for me, and I’m beginning to think they don’t work for many people, especially those of us living with chronic illnesses. So I decided to research them and find out where these clocks came from.
Every day, I try to take a moment for myself—a simple reset, usually outside, where I allow my mind to race freely. It’s like letting a bunch of excited dogs loose in the backyard while I sit still, observing their frenzied energy without getting caught up in it.
I wish I could meet the person who first said that you need 30 minutes per day of self-care so that I could shake them and ask “why????”.
Finding a solid 30 minutes to dedicate to yourself is pretty difficult, especially in the lives of highly sensitive high achievers, am I right? Plus, not all self-care is made equal, and there are some things we think are self-care, but are actually not.
Let’s talk about it.
When you think of meditation, you likely think about someone sitting down on the floor, legs crossed, eyes closed, hands resting on their knees, breathing deeply and looking calm and relaxed.
But what if meditation didn’t have to look that way? What if all of the typical self-care practices could be adapted to what works for you, not what everybody else seems to be doing?
Yoga has absolutely changed my life, but not solely from the mat based asana practice. However, when I was first introduced to yoga that’s all I knew it to be! Yoga was where you went to feel calm, stretch and maybe get stronger depending on the class that you signed up for. Only after completing my yoga teacher training and teaching for a while did I encounter the complexities of Westernized yoga, which led me to question my role in perpetuating cultural appropriation. As my beloved practice crashed down around me, I was left to navigate the intersection of spirituality as an atheist, privilege as a disabled white woman, and authenticity in my desire to honor the true essence of yoga. This is a story of evolution, reflection, and the pursuit of truth.