I just googled the term ‘mojo’ to check I wasn’t being guilty of cultural misappropriation – I think it’s OK. I mean it in terms of that sense of ease and flow – magic even. Where all feels, if not effortless, then at least enjoyable.

We used to use it a lot in an online group for freelance journalists I was (and am still) a part of. Sometimes, our pitches would seem to get commissioned and almost write themselves. Other times, everything felt drudgy and we weren’t even sure if our emails were getting through to editors. Fortunately, there were enough of us that there were always some people who could remind us of basic self-care tools and the knowledge that it would get better.

The phrase popped back into my head the other week when I told someone, ‘I’ve totally lost my mojo’. I felt like I’d lost the will to live. Not in a depressed or suicidal way but in a depleted way. I’m aware that as a vegan, I need to be extra careful about ensuring a balanced diet and that week, I’d had a lot of ‘popcorn for dinner’ meals. I’d also been working around the clock too much. Again (self-care is my specialism, in part, because I keep needing reminding).

While I routinely encourage clients and students to connect with their cycles and rhythms, I know that I’m personally far happier connecting with the parts of the cycles where I’m feeling energised and strong and struggle more with the ones where, frankly, I need to rest.

Today’s a new moon which is a wonderful time to pause, reflect and ponder the newness we want to co-create in our lives. Ploughing on through these natural times for going inwards and reflecting and healing means we cheat ourselves of potential breakthroughs. If you – like me – struggle when you feel the lure of the duvet and wish life could be far gentler, I hope you find these tips helpful:

1. Rest. Stop. I know it’s hard. But when we don’t pay attention (I’ve learned this the hard way. A few times. It’s why self-care is so central to my work and life now), our bodies will force us to. Far better to take a little downtime and just stop rather than needing a far longer time out
2. Listen to your body – What does it need right now? Movement? Stillness? Food? Drink? Sleep? Even going to the loo? How often do you override your body’s signals? Again, when we do this, not only are we missing out on a lot of inner wisdom, but we often end up getting ill. Activity trackers can be great but do we really need them to tell us when to move and breathe and sleep? When we simply reconnect with our senses and honour our body’s signals, we’re reminded of how miraculous they – we – are
3. Listen to your mind – Mindfulness of the breath and of the body is far easier than of the thoughts because, in part, our minds move so quickly (READ MORE…). Even so, if you pause right now, what do you notice about the tone of your thoughts? Often, when we’re depleted and drained and most in need of some kindness and compassion, we instead attempt to bully ourselves. Is there a way you can make your self-talk more gentle and soothing?
4. Listen to your heart – Especially this new moon. What is your heart’s desire right now? What do you really want? How does it feel to give yourself permission to want what you want? Does it feel expansive? When you think of something you are planning to do, how do you feel in your heart of hearts at the idea of it? Does it lift? Sink? It’s not about becoming totally self-indulgent and ignoring responsibilities but by paying attention to what makes our hearts sing and doing more of those things, we increase our overall energy (READ MORE…). We become better at setting boundaries that protect our hearts and allow space for them to expand and love life more
5. Listen to that part of you that’s more than what you’re dealing with – How does it feel to connect with that limitless awareness? That expansive part of yourself? Your soul, spirit, Miraculous Self, Higher Self, Self… whatever you want to call it (READ MORE…). As you remind yourself that there’s more to you than whatever you’re bogged down with, you’ll reconnect with that deeper inner wisdom
6. Pause again – Think about your life and work and schedule. Have you been overdoing it? When you think of whatever’s on your plate right now, can you make life any easier for yourself? What can you cancel? What can you delegate? What might you have to do this time but say no to in the future? (READ MORE…)
7. Be extra kind to yourself – How can you allow yourself as much gentleness and rest as possible and ease back into the hecticness of a full life that you will enjoy again soon? It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. It may be simply staying in your cocoon and visualising how wonderful you’ll feel when your mojo returns again.

You might want to journal around some of these questions to ground them for yourself (it can be interesting to return to for next time the energy dips). And, as ever, I welcome your emails – eve@selfcarecoaching.net – and comments below.

Big love,