All the kids are off to school again... Whether it's off to nursery or off in a different part of the country to university, you can't help feeling some kind of way about it. How are you dealing with it? Does the house feel empty? Do you have a bit of empty nest syndrome? You're not alone! Here's a small tip to help you deal with all the emotions that can arise when your kids leave home.
Mondays with Maya - Dealing With Empty Nest Syndrome and Staying Grounded
The top tip to dealing with empty nest syndrome is to not get too much in your head about the whole situation. How do we do this? By making sure we stay grounded.
I found that amongst the many yoga poses, downward facing dog is one of the most grounding practices and can help you feel centred even when there are big changes happening around you.
How To Do Downward Facing Dog
- Keep hands shoulder distance apart, rooting down through the base of the index finger knuckle to internally rotate the forearms. Squeeze the forearms straight. Roll the shoulders and upper arms outwardly away from the ears.
- Feet should be directly in line with the sit bones.
- To find the proper length in your downward dog, from hands to feet, come into plank pose, shoulders above the wrists and heels on top of balls of the feet. Without moving the hands or the feet, lift the hips up and back and come back into Downward Facing Dog.
- You can shorten the stance by bringing the feet in towards the head slightly. This makes getting the heels down to the mat easier and supports the shoulders a little more, but tends to make the lower back round whereas the normal longer stance allows you to keep the natural inward curve of your lower back.
- Bending the knees and tilting your pelvis and buttocks up towards the sky helps create the inward curve in the lower back. Keeping that curve, begin to straighten the legs and stop when your back starts to curve (if at all) in which case, you should keep the knees bent to avoid over-stretching the hamstrings.
- Your core will support your spine in this pose. Drawing the lower belly up and in and drawing the ribs in, push the buttocks to the ceiling to make sure you still have the inward curve in the lower back.
- Hold this pose for as long as possible, working your way up to three and a half minutes for maximum grounding.
- To get out of the pose, go straight into child's pose and relax there for a few moments before slowly getting up.
Let me know how you get on!
Love,
Maya x
P.S. Don't forget to try out my 7 Minutes, 7 Days, 7 Weeks of Mindfulness and Yoga with Maya Fiennes programme and connect with me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook where I'll regularly share free yoga and breathing tips and inspirations from around the world!