Feeling the strain

Sometimes it can seem as though you are struggling to keep up with the demands that life brings you. You begin to notice physical symptoms of tiredness as well as mental ones and the more you try to keep going the worse they get.

Often, we try to suppress these symptoms, dismiss them and ignore them. Surely, they are a sign of weakness, a sign that we are unable to cope, a sign that we are falling short of the expectations from the rest of the world around us as well as our own expectations.

The truth is though, we feel these symptoms for a reason. The body is a very clever thing and it tells us when we need to give it some attention. Ignoring the signs it is telling us will only make it shout louder.

The thing is, the actual art of listening to your body is a lot easier said than done. How do you know whether a run is one thing to many for your body to deal with or a great way to refresh it? There are deadlines to contend with, family commitments, social occasions, people relying on you. With all these conflicting thoughts buzzing around your head how can you work it out?

This morning I was reading a great book called ‘Savor’ by Shauna Niequist. In today’s section she was talking about the need for ‘permission to slow down, to say no, to admit my fragility and exhaustion’. I think it’s important to realise that this ability to slow down is an actual necessity. Our body and mind needs to recoup, re-energise and re-connect.

When planning a training programme it is vital to include periods of rest where the body has the chance to recover from the stress it has been under. It is also the time where adaptation of the body occurs and the changes and improvements that you have been working so hard for take place. Your rest periods give the body the chance to recover, grow, strengthen and prepare for the next work phase ahead, playing an important role in injury prevention.

It is not a failing to be feeling the need for some time out; it is an important part of life. It is not only beneficial for you; it is beneficial to those around you. Taking the pressure off yourself, also takes the pressure off of those who may also be feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to attain such high standards. It also enables you to have more energy to give out to people.

In today’s section, Shauna Niequist used the verse; ‘Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.’ Ecclesiastes 4:6