Return: Finding our Rhythm Again

Last month (August – Drift: Rest without guilt), we drifted away from our daily routines and now it’s time to find our rhythm again.  September is all about returning but not exactly as you were.  We’re returning from the freedom that we enjoyed over the summer and going back to work, to education and to our usual lifestyle with cooler weather and darker evenings. 

For some, it could mean a new school, new college, university digs, a promotion, a sideways move or a new home wherever that may be.  A new way of living perhaps - retirement, voluntary work or changing from full-time to part-time work.  Even programmes on the telly change - during ad-breaks, you get a little snippet of what is to come during the colder months. Whatever the situation, September is normally the month for a gentle reset into something familiar (‘Strictly,’ ‘I’m a Celeb’ anyone?). 

However, we don’t want to get to a point where, come December – the season to be jolly, ho-ho-no – we are burnt out and stressed again before the parties, family gatherings, buying presents and the dreaded C-word even start!  September can be a drain on the brain if you start going back to the pace you had before the summer.

Dance like no-one is watching!

Except the dog.

So let’s not whizz around this month.  Stop trying to do everything all at once and enjoy the little wins. You know the ones I am talking about – that first morning cuppa or being contacted by a friend or dancing around in the kitchen like a loon to your favourite song. 

One of the simplest ways to destress is to breathe – we all do that. Take a slow breath in and an even longer breath out. Slowing our breathing can help reduce our heart rate and encourage the body to relax. There are a few breathing methods out there, so pick the one for you (Box Breathing, Pursed Lip Breathing, 4-2-6 Breathing or 3-4-5 Breathing, to name but a few).

Perhaps that’s what returning to our rhythm is all about.  Not slipping into the rush we left behind before summer but deciding which parts of it we actually want to keep.  September doesn’t mean racing towards the end of the year as if our lives depend on it.  Just return to our routines, to familiarity and everyday comforts a little more gently than before – and bring some of that August drift along with us.