A while back I shared a list of resources that I recommend often for women working through fatigue and iron deficiency. Since we have been talking about running and burnout lately, I thought I’d curate my favorite resources for tired mother runners and active mamas who need a boost.
There is a lot of power in breathing, gratitude, nature, sunlight, and fun. While working on nutrition, sleep, and activity is first on the list of things I work on with clients, we also incorporate these seemingly smaller and overlooked things that are mostly free and can make a huge impact, especially when nutrition and rest get dialed in, but we just don’t feel quite better still.
If you’re already working on nutrition and are looking for additional ways to support your health, here are some resources to check out.
Resources for Tired Mother Runners:
This episode is fantastic for anyone who has dealt with a chronic foot injury.
There is so much out there about nutrition and food and diets, it’s hard to keep up with how and what we’re supposed to eat. Sometimes food itself is the stressor. If you’ve ever struggled with your relationship with food, this is a must listen.
3. The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again by Catherine Price
Do you have space for play in your day? There is a huge amount of benefit to be had from pure, unrestricted FUN.
4. The Practice of Groundedness by Brad Stulberg
Looking at life from a lens of presence over productivity and seeing the long term goals over the short term gains is huge for mindset and achieving your health goals.
5. Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
How we breathe and how much carbon dioxide our cells have to exchange more oxygen has a direct impact on oral health, cellular function, and sleep.
Our lymphatic system is a key drainage pathway for removing toxins and waste from the body. Manual lymphatic drainage or lymphatic massage is an excellent way to move lymph and improve drainage, and Leah has fantastic videos showing how to practice this at home.
This is my first recommendation for any burnt out client. Our cells need more than water, they need minerals to hydrate them, plump them up, and let them work their best. Adrenal cocktails, or mineral mocktails, are just a fun term for a beverage of sodium, potassium, and whole food vitamin C. Try mixing equal parts orange juice (whole food vitamin C) and coconut water (potassium) and stirring in 1/8 to 1/4 tsp Redmond’s Real Salt or Celtic sea salt (sodium). For more on what adrenal cocktails are and recipe ideas, check out this post.
8. Vagus nerve stimulation
Our vagus nerve is what connects our brain to the rest of our body. It’s helps regulate blood pressure, digestion, sweating, and heart rate, carrying motor and sensory information to our organs. When we have chronic stress, overload, and burn out, these signals can get mixed up. When our autonomic nervous system gets dysregulated, it is helpful to stimulate this nerve to get it functioning normally again. Humming, taking cold rinses at the end of showers, and massaging the upper ear can all help activate the vagus nerve. More information on this can be found here.
9. Journaling
Writing down all the jumbling thoughts in our heads, making lists of things we are grateful for, reflecting on our days, how far we’ve come, where we are going, can all help us to slow down, breathe more calmly, see the big picture, and focus on what matters. Processing our emotions helps us to release them out of our body and allows us to heal. I’m a huge fan of The Next Right Thing Guided Journal, but any notebook will work.
10. Walking
Walking is the most underrated form of exercise. And especially for runners, it can be hard to “just walk” sometimes. But when we are burnt out, injured, struggling with health or illness or eating enough, the best thing we can do is to slow down our activity. HIIT, group classes, even running can be too much on top of an already overloaded system. Sometimes the best thing we can do is listen to our bodies when they’re tired and get outside for a walk.
Do any of these resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts if you try one!
*DISCLAIMER: None of the links in this post are affiliate links, and I do not receive a commission from any purchases made from this list. I genuinely can vouch for these resources and share them solely because of their benefits.
