I was in a conversation today with someone who was discussing how tired parents of young children get.  Lack of sleep along with long relentless days, emotional & mental demands from the children & requests for support & attention. You feel like you are just getting back to some level of normality when an illness or growth-spurt strikes & you get knocked right back to pure exhaustion again!

Its not just having children that can make people tired.  There are so many of us, in our non-stop western society, that are running with a level of tiredness. Jobs that demand extra hours or unsocial hours, a 24 hour culture with regards to shopping & socializing, supporting family & homes to look after.

So what can we do to help ourselves, to be less tired? (Well apart from Shiatsu massage of course!) We need to rest, particularly in these colder, darker days of winter.  My conversation this morning began me thinking about how to get real rest.  It is extremely difficult to do this within our busy lives.  My thoughts were regular support & ‘me’ time, Shiatsu, massage, pamper days. Also retreat time, either at an actual retreat or at a health-club, or a holiday away without anyone else. The thing I decide I would do, to help me rest, was to be more regular with daily practice.

Short spells of space can help to punctuate & regulate our busy lives. Meditation once or twice a day, yoga, Qi Gung or Tai Chi exercise for 5 or 10 minutes once or twice a day, resting with a towel over your eyes for 5 minutes a day. Sometimes my daily practise is consistent & in those times I do feel more rest & space.

I think I may go & book a weekend retreat too though! If you are interested in finding out if Shiatsu may help your levels of tiredness please contact me through the ‘contact’ me’ page.