Plank Challenge: Betcha didn't see this coming...

I am sad to say I've had to put my plank challenge on hold... As I got started with this one I was actually starting to enjoy it, totally surprising to me. Unfortunately I haven't been taking care of my stress and anxiety levels as much I'd like to think I have been and it's created a lot of tension and stress in my core. So, in an effort to try to get back to level ground with my stress and anxiety, I am severely limiting my core workouts for the time being.

This might be TMI... My anxiety manifests in a variety of different ways and this time around it's manifesting in some unfortunate stomach spasms. My core muscles seem to be contracting at random points throughout the day. It's a fight or flight response but brought on by nothing other than anxiety. Not to downplay the anxiety, just saying that there is no real external threat.

What I am doing to heal... I have been putting more emphasis on self-care practices and creating boundaries in my work life. I am prioritizing my self-care activities that I love and that I know help while creating and sticking to boundaries with work. One of my favorites is putting my phone away at 9pm and not answering emails after 8pm. Yes, I'm notorious for answering emails at all hours of the day... It's VERY unhealthy.

How did it get to this point... I'm not perfect. SPOILER ALERT! But seriously, even though I preach about self-love and self-care, sometimes I don't create the best balance in my own life. I try to catch it as soon as possible and be better than the last time. I can say that I did catch this earlier than I have in the past and I believe I will benefit from that. By implementing things to take care of it now, I am already seeing improvements, wherein the past it would take at least a month before I'd start to truly feel like myself again.

The important thing... is to always be improving and remember that I am not perfect. Focus on how I can continually better myself and set myself up for success. If I were to beat myself up about this, it would only prolong my healing. Instead I get to learn from it and make necessary changes to be better.

Will I go back to the plank challenge? Of course! It's my intention to re-start this challenge completely from zero days about 5-7 days after I am feeling completely back to myself. So this might not look like a traditional monthly challenge. It may be a 28-day challenge starting right in the middle of a month. Either way, whenever I decide to start back up, I will make a starting, midpoint and ending post!