Now that your children are off to school, you may have more time to yourself, which can be a bit of a downer at first when you have been so busy and accustomed to being with your children during the summer months.  Other parents are more rushed because they now have their kids’ school and after school schedules and homework monitoring to support as well as their own work and home routines.  Either situation can be unsettling.  So what can you do about it?  Here are a few ideas to help you in your daily life.  Read through them and decide which  2 or 3 ideas you connect with and try them out. Figure out what works and when.

*  When you find yourself at home with your kids off to school, you might feel without purpose, your spirits might be low becuase you don’t have your ‘full time care-taking’ duties to perform.  If this is the case, Merudanda Mudra will help to lift your energies.  Here’s how to do it.  (There are no contraindications.)  Sit forward on a chair with a nice long spine with your feet planted firmly on the floor, knees over the ankles.  Feel yor sits bones pressed into the chair.   Turn your hands palms up.  Fold your fingers into each palm, thumbs pointing outward.  Rest your hands on your thighs so that the thumbs are pointing up.  Sit quietly and notice how this hand gesture helps to bring your energy up.  You’ll have more energy and feel your spirits rise.

*  If you are feeling uneasy, scattered, or frustrated, try Bhu Mudra.  It’s a wonderful way to get grounded and promotes a sense of security and relaxation.  Those who expereince anxiety will find it helpful too.  (There are no contraindications.)  Sit with a nice long spine on a cushion or a chair.  With your hands palms up, curl the ring and little fingers into the palm then place the thumbs on top of them, holding them down.  Extend the other two fingers outward, making a peace sign.  Next, turn your hands palms down and touch your fingertips to the floor, connecting to the earth. (Notice how your body makes a mountain shape: your arms are the sides of the mountain and the top of your head the peak.) If you are seated in a chair, imagine your fingertips extending to the earth.  You are plugged into the grounding, earth energy.

*  When you suddenly have more time, it is often easy to accomplish less.  Time gets away from you.   Why not get a sprial notebook and plan each day or week?  I like to plan for the week with a section for PHONE CALLS to be made and another for THINGS TO DO.  Then I prioritize them by writing the day of the week I plan to make the call or tackle the task next to each entry.  Of course, I cross things off when they are done and reschedule a call or task if I don’t get to it.  I love seeing things crossed off!   It’s a good visual for me.  If for some reason I add a task that wasn’t already on my list, I write it in at the bottom and cross it off too!  Why not?  I did it.

*  Take a brain break.  Yes, let your brain rest now and then.  You’ll be more productive at work and more present at home if you stop what you’re dong for a bit:  take a brief walk in the woods or around your yard, do some deep breathing, close your eyes and let your mind’s eye take you to a place you love to be.  You’ll be able to come back to your task or family more relaxed and refreshed, ready to move forward.

*  One of the best ways to calm yourself is to place your hands over your heart center, the middle of your sternum.  You might also place your hands where the uneasy sensation lives.  Besides your heart, it might be in your head or belly.  Keep your hands there until the sensation soften ore subsides.  Then take a couple of deep breaths.  At-easness will return, and you’ll be in a better place to carry on.

Using any of these tools will help you as you adjust to having your children back at school.  Of course, these self-care techniques will serve you well at other times in your life too.

Wishing you relaxed days ahead,

Sandy