Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is allow yourself not to be okay 💚✨

As you all know I like to keep things completely honest and the last couple of weeks have been incredibly difficult. I have been living with constant pain, my energy has been almost non-existent, and I have found myself travelling back and forth to hospital appointments, knowing there are still more to come.

There have been days where simply getting through the day has felt like enough and for me that has been really hard to accept. Not because I do not understand the importance of rest - I talk about it often enough! but because I genuinely love what I do and I feel I have worked hard to get where I am and I have not been posting as I usually do.

I love writing and sharing my Energy Whispers every week with you all.

I love supporting my clients healing through Reiki and energy coaching.

So, when my body says, "Not today," there is a part of me that wants to push through anyway (especially when I am blaming myself for overdoing it and not pacing in the first place!). But I have learnt over the years that my body is usually so much wiser than my mind and it always knows when I need to slow down.

The message I needed to hear.

This week's Energy Whisper could not have been more fitting.

✨Hummingbird Spirit – Be here now!✨

When you are in chronic pain and exhausted, it is so easy for your mind to race ahead with what you need to do. You start thinking about tomorrow, about next week's appointments, all the things you have not done and everything you feel you are falling behind on.

Before you know it, your nervous system is living in the future (listening to and believing your mind), feeling completely overwhelmed whilst your body is desperately asking you to stay in the present.

Hummingbird Spirit’s message  gently reminded me to come back to this moment, to literally be here now - to take a breath and give myself a break from the worry and the anxiety which is completely out of my control and bring it back one step at a time and one moment at a time to the only thing I can actually control – the here and now - the present moment!

Nature has become my medicine.

Yesterday, as I do pretty much daily - I pulled an angel card for myself. The message was beautifully simple - Nature.

I knew what it was telling me immediately, it was a reminder and it felt as if I was being given permission to stop trying to be productive, to take away the pressure and to just simply be. So for the first time in a couple of weeks, I went outside to the garden. The sun was just going down, and I just stood there barefoot on the grass with my headphones on my ears.

I breathed, I hugged the trees; I watched the flowers moving in the breeze and the fish swimming in the pond.

I noticed the birds singing, the chickens and the dogs decided to join me as I listened to the sounds of nature all around me.

And then something happened, I felt a deep sense of peace and calm, and then did something I haven’t done in a while - I started dancing to the music that I could feel deep within my soul. It was just me, the garden and the cows in the field next door peeping over at me.

For a few precious minutes, I was not thinking about hospital appointments or the pain, I was not thinking about what I was not able to do, about everything that still needs doing or what others expect from me.

I was simply present and do you know what - that was enough…

Protecting your energy is not just about resting.

People often ask me how I protect my own energy. The truth is, it is not just about taking a nap in the day (although I often need do this!)  - it is about pausing and asking myself what I actually need today.

Some days:

➡️that is self-Reiki or sitting mediating with my crystals.

➡️it is sitting quietly with a cup of herbal tea.

➡️a walk in nature (even if I can only manage the garden at the moment!)

➡️it is meeting with the girls and putting the world to rights with good old laughter – honestly, connection with people you trust is soothing for the soul.

Some days it is being by myself, dancing barefoot in the garden without caring who might see me or what they think - because protecting your energy is about nourishing your whole self.

✨Your body, mind, emotions, and spirit✨

Please know you do not have to carry everything alone.

One thing these past few weeks have reminded me of, is how important support is and I am so incredibly grateful for my family and my close friends.

For the people who have simply checked in to see if I am ok.

We as humans were not designed to carry everything on our own - asking for support is never a sign of weakness. Sometimes it is actually the bravest thing we can do and I really think talking it out is its own kind of medicine.

This is why I do what I do and why I absolutely love it!

People often think Reiki is simply about relaxation. It certainly can be deeply relaxing, but for me it is so much more than that.

It offers a space to pause, to breathe and to reconnect with yourself – your energy. It allows your nervous system to soften and feel safe, so it no longer needs to be stuck in a dysregulated state constantly trying to protect you.

Energy coaching builds on this by helping you understand where your energy is flowing well and where it may have become depleted or out of balance.

Together they both create space for awareness, healing, and gentle change. Not because suddenly life becomes easy, but because you begin to meet yourself with more compassion and less judgment.

A gentle reminder just for you…

If you are reading this whilst feeling overwhelmed yourself... If your body is asking you to slow down and you are finding it difficult to keep all those plates spinning...

Please know this - you do not have to earn rest, and you do not have to pretend you are okay when you are not.

You do not have to navigate everything alone and healing is not about being positive or pretending to be positive all the time.

Sometimes healing is simply allowing yourself to be exactly where you are. I ask you to just try taking one breath, one moment and one day at a time – you have totally got this!

And before I leave you today, if you are feeling emotionally or physically exhausted and would like some gentle support, I would love to be able to hold space for you through Reiki or 1:1 Energy Coaching. You're always welcome to get in touch for an informal chat to see what feels right for you.

Love & light,

Donna Marie x