+ Kundalini meditation for Burnout.
In today’s world, burnout has become an all too familiar companion for many people.
Burnout is a deep state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion. A depletion of your energy reserves that leaves you feeling fried.
Burnout is your body’s call to getting your needs met. It’s past time for things to change in your life.
Today I’m sharing with you the kundalini meditation for burnout, but first let’s look at burnout, what it is, how it happens and what we can do to heal from it.
How Does Burnout Happen?
Burnout happens as a result of ‘too-much’, too much work, too much intensity and too much stress for too long that eventually we crash into burnout. We have high allostatic load for too long and our body sends us a message that this is too much by shutting us down. We must listen and respond.
Burnout can happen from a misalignment of output and input of your energy. You feel like you’re giving more energy than you are receiving back. You feel like you’re giving more to something than you get out of it.
Chronic stress for long periods of time with no proper rest and recuperation will advantually result in burnout. When our body is in a sympathetic nervous system state (stress) for a long period of time, our body will try to slow us down or stop us (so that it can get the rest it needs) by bringing itself into a state of burnout – dorsal vagal response. Our body is crying out for doing less.
Some Signs of Burnout
- You’re feeling stressed and exhausted at the same time – fried and wired.
- You find yourself complaining about everyone.
- You find yourself resentful to certain people and situations. (your needs are not being met)
- Small tasks have become overwhelming.
- Everything irritates you.
- You notice that weekends don’t replenish you like they used to.
- You wake up after a nights sleep and feel exhausted.
Ways To Overcome Burnout
Burnout is not something you can simply brush off, push through or ‘just get on with it’. Burnout needs attention. Your body needs attention, it’s asking for help and it needs life changes.
Your soul needs to be fed but mostly your nervous system needs to heal and come back to a state of regulation (that lovely, calm place you used to be in).
Reclaiming balance after burnout means different things for different people but ultimately we need care and change. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Radical Self Care
First thing in healing burnout is to ask yourself ‘what do I need right now?’ and then go and get that need met. Wether it’s sleep, saying ‘no’ to something or someone, eating a healthy meal, sitting with a cup of tea (preferably herbal) or delegating tasks to others, this is what you gotta do to begin to reclaim your life back.
Continue to keep asking yourself throughout your day, every day, ‘What do I need right now?’ and get that need met. Slow down in your day (I walk slower now!), say ‘no’ or ‘I’ve changed my mind’, get more sleep, make a simple healthy meal, do nothing – just lie on your bed or on the floor and do nothing or sit in nature and watch the tress blowing in the breeze.
Do things that nourish your nervous system and that soothe you. Sprinkle these things throughout your day, every day. We are not designed to be constantly switched to ‘on’ mode.
Radical Assessment
Next, Do an honest assessment of your day to day life & of each area of your life.
- What is overwhelming you?
- What is the source of your stress?
- Who is the source of your stress?
- What are you doing in your life that, if you were being totally honest with yourself, is not true for you?
- What is too much for you?
- What is making you feel overloaded/overwhelmed?
- What can you delegate?
- Who can you ask for help?
- What environment(s) are you in that are not good for you/that drain & deplete you?
Identify the main culprits that have contributed to your burnout and begin to make a plan to change them.
Radical Change
Begin to create a plan of change. Decide what you are going to change in your life & look at how you can make these changes.
- What resources do you have to make this change?
- Who can help you make this change?
- What timeframe can I make this change in?
Recruit people who can help. Gather your allies and resources to help you make the necessary changes you need.
Bring Joy Back Into Your Life
Do more of what lights you up. Do more of what replenishes your soul. Do the things that give you energy & vitality. Bring back joy into your life.
- Laugh, Play, Have Fun.
- What do you love to do that you haven’t done in a while?
- What creative hobbies do you enjoy?
- Who do you have fun with and makes you laugh?
Maybe funny cat videos are your thing or colouring as a way to unwind, (or maybe both of these), the most important thing is to find your joy and do way more of it.
Catch the Early Warning Signs
Become aware of a few early warning signs for you that burnout is approaching. Think about the beginning stages of when you were getting burnout, what were you feeling? What kinds of things were you saying? Did you have resentment, anger, irritation? Were you complaining more? What bodily sensations did you feel? How was your sleep?
Having awareness of these early warning signs are the beacons for your future self to recognise as they start to happen and immediately you can make the changes you need before it becomes a problem.
Kundalini Meditation for Burnout
Below I am sharing with you the Kundalini meditation for burnout.
I practice this meditation when I feel the early warning signs of burnout approaching or if I’m feeling overwhelmed or stressed because there’s a lot going on.
The breath in this meditation is a variation of 8 stroke breath* and is hugely beneficial in releasing the internal stress you feel when you’re utterly exhausted, fried and stressed all at the same time.
I’ve even, at times, have laid in bed, lights out and done the breath on it’s own and I always feel so unbelievably better after doing just this.
Here are the steps for the kundalini meditation for burnout.
As always keep this in mind
If you’re new to breathwork practices or it’s been a while since you did one, take it slow and always check in with yourself, everything here are suggestions to the exercises and are wonderful tools to use but your body knows what’s best for you so always listen to yourself first. You can always take the exercise slow or cut the time or the amount of breaths so it works for you and over time build up your capacity.
Meditation Steps
- Sit in Easy pose or a comfortable position with a straight spine
- Rest both thumb tips of each hand at the base of the ring finger (Mercury finger)
- Bring the backs of your hands together at your heart centre
- Press the backs of your fingers firmly together, the backs of your hands will be loosely together, the main focus is that the backs of your fingers are firmly together
- Keep your forearms parallel to the ground, your shoulders are relaxed
- Bring your eye gaze (Dhristi) to the tip of your nose, your eyes will be 9/10ths open
- Inhale fully through your nose in 8 equal strokes
- Exhale fully through your nose in 8 equal strokes
- Continue for 3 minutes
- If you would like to continue this practice for a longer time you can practice for 7, 11 or 22 minutes
- To End: Take one deep breath in through your nose, hold the breath if comfortable for you for 5-10 seconds, Exhale fully through your nose. Repeat two more times.
Final Thoughts
Recovering from burnout won’t happen overnight but healing is possible.
Healing burnout is a combination of self care, awareness and making changes to what has burnt you out in the first place.
Healing from burnout isn’t a case of simply doing this meditation everyday for a few minutes while you continue to do the same things in your life that are burning you out. It’s more of a combination of things, of changes in your life that will ultimately bring you back to life.
I hope this post has served you well.
With Love
Heather xox
Some Links you might need:
Download The FREE Beginners Guide to Kundalini Yoga
* Check out my other post: 3 Kundalini Yoga Breathwork Exercises for Stress