Maria Mayes: Hi friends, welcome back to Chakras and Chardonnay. It's Maria. Today's going to be a solo episode and I'm just grateful to be back. So if you're a regular listener, you might've noticed that I stopped releasing episodes. I have several interviews that still need to be released from last season, and I just stopped and let me tell you why I stopped.

I found myself at a place where I lost my vibrancy and my intention with this podcast as an offering to you is to show up in my full vibrancy. And when I can't do that, and when I'm not inspired, that's going to come through. So I chose to pause and rest and nest and nurture your nature. And now I'm back.

So I thought, what better way to [00:01:00] reconvene than talking through nurturing yourself through the early signs of burnout, which is exactly what I did. Now I'm not new to burnout. I'll share a little bit more about that down the road. But in this case, what is new is that the self awareness I have developed over years of dedicated practice.

Allowed me to see the signs sooner rather than later, which allowed me to take action sooner rather than later, and really allowed me to nurture myself in a way where I'm coming back more vibrant than ever. So. Let's talk a little bit about what my particular signs were. If you're new and don't know my background, I'm a meditation teacher, a mindfulness guide.

I teach practices that reset the nervous system, that regulate the nervous [00:02:00] system, that release stress. I do that primarily in a corporate and clinical setting, as well as some private, coaching and through an online studio. I had started this business in 2020 at the, end of a, tech career that had spanned more than two decades.

I had gone through my, um, second, uh, layoff and where I had to let go of the team that I was leading and then myself and found myself with an opportunity to decide now's the time. To really take this wellness practice, this workplace well being that I was already doing on the side and really make it my full time focus.

So that's what I did. And I started my company Take 5 LLC, which is really dedicated to bringing quick five minutes. Resilience building nervous system, [00:03:00] regulating practices to you, to the workplace in a way that's easy to integrate, and that can be really impactful when it comes to becoming fully present who wherever we're with.

So we'll talk more about take five later, but that's. That's where my path led. I then had gotten, recruited back into the tech space to, an adolescent mental health, um, provider and, , an app and, you know, it was just the right situation at the right time where here I thought I'd never go back into the tech world.

The ability to step in and make impact and serve adolescents who I'd been working with, um, in terms of teaching in the Behavioral Health Center, as well as, you know, raising two teens of my own right now. It just was so, heart pulling that I found myself back and I ended up finding myself back in that space [00:04:00] of middle management, leading small team, um, and doing that at the same time while keeping my take five business alive.

 I slowly started to reduce some of the services and not wanting to let go of all the services I offered through take five, but it was also burning the candles at both ends again, because the funny thing is, is when you are, or maybe not so funny, but if you are someone who has had a history of, um, super productivity, um, A work ethic that was ingrained in you deeply, , through your upbringing.

It's really hard not to fall back on old patterns. So whether it's numbing through alcohol or food or work. working too much. So I found myself working too much. Um, and so divine intervention came through as I was going through some [00:05:00] early signs. There was some reorg in the company. And yet again, I found myself in a situation where the team I led and myself were reorg out of the organization, such a blessing because it allowed me to really step back, rest.

It allowed me to nurture and allowed me to nest. And so just leading up to this, I was at a point where I was looking at how I could scale back, cut back, and was looking at making some decisions, um, prior to this. And so this just offered me the ability to do it without question. It was just like a no brainer then.

So what were those signs? So that's the background. The signs for me that were early fatigue, a restlessness in my being and understand that I am someone who lived with, generalized [00:06:00] anxiety disorder and lived most decades of my life in fight or flight, um, or freeze. And so, because of that, I'm no stranger to that, but at the same time, I had built my lifestyle to keep me in this baseline of inner peace, and so this restlessness that I was feeling was a sign.

Another, sign was fatigue. just a level of being exhausted, even if I did get a good night's sleep, even if I was taking the supplements, even if I was getting my mindful movement into my meditation and I was still finding myself fatigued. And then a break in routine, and I'm going to call it a sacred routine in that I found myself shortening my practices or skipping my practices altogether, just due to fatigue.

And number one sign, I would say, [00:07:00] Um, was loss of vibrancy though. I just lost my vibrancy. I couldn't show up as my vibrant self for anyone because I was showing up or trying to show up for everyone. So does that sound familiar? Have you been there? Are you there now? That's truly why I'm offering this podcast episode because I know there are those of you, especially those in roles where you're healing, where you're caretaking, where you are in emotionally demanding occupation.

I'm talking to you, my therapists, my counselors, my social workers, my healthcare workers, but also all of you. All of those in a service based industry and those entrepreneurs, you know, no one's immune to this. But what I find is those of us who are in emotionally demanding occupations, and or healing professions tend to, find themselves there because we also tend to have compassion [00:08:00] fatigue as well.

 I'll also just say, during that year, that same time, although there was burnout starting to creep up from a work lens, that part of what allowed me to quickly step into old habits of overworking was some really difficult times I was going through within my marriage. And so working a lot really became an escape and a coping mechanism, and that's not new to me.

So that's something that, again, through that self awareness, I was able to see I'm numbing or avoiding or distracting or trying to overcome loneliness. And so that's, of course, not healthy . I'm just going to recap those fatigue, restlessness, break in sacred routine.

also a heaviness of spirit. And then one thing I didn't mention, but I'm thinking of now is letting [00:09:00] boundaries that I had set fall away. But the number one sign is loss of vibrancy. So if any of those things sound like something you might be feeling in your being right now, I really encourage you to keep listening and also consider making a step today.

Reaching out to someone, having a conversation, trying a new practice. , cause burnout is all too common in our modern culture of, because our culture is relentless productivity. I mean, I've been reflecting on why I started take five in the first place. And so I'm going to divert here and talk a little bit about that.

And then I'm going to share what I did recently to get back to my level of vibrancy. That is the level that I always want to bring to you. And. Look at ways you can do that too. So when I started Take 5, my [00:10:00] goal really, I'd been, long story short, I went through a full stop burnout. Depending on your perspective, you can call it a nervous breakdown, which is what I referred to it for many a year.

This is a little over a decade ago, or now I see it more as a spiritual breakthrough, but it was a full stop. And my goal is to not go through that kind of full stop again. And I really wanted to help others avoid burnout through proven practices that supported me as I recovered. And that's the simple story behind Take 5 and my focus on workplace well being.

Because when I was starting out, I had been caretaking for eight years. Everybody, for my clients, for my employer, for my parents, one of whom was dying, for my children, for my husband, I was taking care of everybody except myself. And that was years [00:11:00] ago. And at that time, I couldn't fathom taking an hour for myself to go to like a yoga class or get a massage or something.

I just couldn't fathom it. But I could take five minutes. And so I started with five. And five stacked together became sometimes 20 or 25. Now there's times where it's 55. But the point is that five minutes or simply five breaths can reset the nervous system. It can allow you to regulate, to Restore and to rejuvenate.

And so that is why with everything I do that take five is, is ingrained throughout it. And that's the story behind the name too. And then at one point, as I was deciding to name my business [00:12:00] that, , Synchronistically, the Dave Brubeck, uh, song Take Five came on. It's an old jazz song and, um, my dad loved it and he would play it and he sends me lots of signs and that was one that was the, uh, clincher to know that that was the right name.

So let's talk about how I came back. I started by taking nature's cue, nesting, resting, and nurturing it. Until I was ready to blossom again, which is where I'm at now. I'm ready to blossom. And so is my business. Take five. So I want to share with you what I did going back to when I initially was going through and seeing myself losing vibrancy, et cetera.

I started by resting., not doing as much physical [00:13:00] activity as I normally would. And Sleeping in longer and going to bed earlier. And what I found is, the second I had a little bit more vibrancy, I jumped back into my movement practice. But the thing was, I was so excited to be feeling a little bit better, that I wasn't very mindful about it.

I went a little too fast and a little too far, and ended up with a hip injury. So I slowed down, I took that wisdom from nature, as the leaves were dropping. As the weather got colder to really rest, so I rested, I slowed down even more and the next time I felt better, I still rested. And when I was finally ready to return to my movement practice, I started slow with low intensity versus high intensity.[00:14:00] 

And I found that that was very liberating. So rest just cannot be over emphasized. It's something that our modern culture really ignores. But if we look at nature, nature has all the wisdom for us. Do you see the trees trying to crazy, go crazy and try to bloom and sprout leaves in the middle of winter?

No, they're resting. They are preparing. They're restoring and rejuvenating to come back strong in the spring. So why do we do that as humans? Well, it's because we've gotten so far away from nature. And I truly believe that, , 2025, we are being called. back to nature, stronger than ever. And so you're going to find that a lot of what I offer through Take 5 incorporates practices inspired by nature or that are in nature.

So [00:15:00] number one was rested. The second is nested. I Took time to do things that really made me feel rooted, made me feel grounded, made me feel snuggled, safe, secure, really working through a lot of the root chakra sensations. But also leverage my creativity in a different way. So while I'm used to putting a lot of that into my work, I also put a lot of that into my home and my yard.

But in this case, because I didn't really have much time for anything except work because I made those choices, I decided it's time to come back to nesting. improving my nest, making it more beautiful, making it more organized, making it more clean. So that's what I did. I painted walls. I [00:16:00] created projects, you know, organized closets, organized pantries, all the things that had gotten out of hand.

Now, I must note that as I was doing this, I was still teaching. And so I didn't full stop working completely, but I had been working a lot more. I was, I was working two full time jobs, prior to this. So I slowed down in terms of, , the amount of work that I actually did as well. And so that allowed me with that extra time to really pour it into my home, to really create.

a sanctuary for my children, my husband and I, so that when we walked in, we feel nurtured. When we walk in, we feel peaceful because it's not a disorganized, chaotic mess. So I really turned to nesting. And again, [00:17:00] where can we find these lessons right in nature? Um, if we look at just the birds. Oh my goodness.

A student in my, um, one of the classes I teach at the Behavioral Health Center, um, in the Substance Abuse Program said after a practice we did, um, where I took him outside recently, said no matter how bad the day is, the birds show up the next morning singing. Isn't that amazing? I mean, just think about that, like the resiliency of the birds and their just outright joy For a new morning.

What if we lived like that? And we can when we're in a state of vibrancy, but not when we're burned out. So, um, nesting was really key. And then that third piece was nurturing through nature. So what does that look like? It looks like every day I was outside in [00:18:00] nature. Most days I did more morning meditation in nature.

There were a few frigid mornings, and granted I'm in a pretty neutral climate here in central California, so there is no snow on the ground. It was very few days, if any, below freezing, so, um, If you are in a colder climate, like the one I'm from originally, that might be a challenge. But stepping outside and just taking a deep breath in the cold, fresh air, just five breaths, one minute worth of five breaths, that can really nurture.

And so I just took every opportunity I can, could, and still do to this day, including this morning, to be outside in nature's elements. to be tuning into the guidance of nature and to also take my practices inside. And so one amazing, um, thing that occurred during this [00:19:00] time is that I added a element to my personal sacred ritual and practice in the morning, um, as part of my meditation practice now, and that is creating a beautiful nature mandala.

And so I will Leave it at that. And just say that I'm going to be bringing you an episode with Julie Cardoza, who is a lovely healer, um, and therapist. And, um, she has many, many, many, many, Um, skills and wisdoms to share with us and her many hats that she wears, she's gained tons of experience. And so she came to my backyard with a group of my friends and we had this beautiful workshop and it was, it was quite frankly, life changing.

And so, , stay tuned. She's [00:20:00] going to be on the show soon and we're going to take you exactly through these processes of really. leveraging nature to ground us to tune us in. And so I've incorporated this process of creating a little nature mandala every day. And it is Something that inspires and it just warms and it just ignites really are the words that come to mind.

So we'll talk more about that, but it's been a really huge part of, um, me nurturing through nature and me staying grounded in nature. So that's it. Those are the three things I did, and it took approximately three months. And again, I was still working during those three months, but a lot less. And of course, over the holidays, I took some time to be with family, which was really nurturing.[00:21:00] 

But I'm going to also mention that I did less over the holidays than I ever did. I purchased less stuff. I committed to less things and I really rested and nested and nurtured. I didn't get caught up in the hustle and the bustle and the, you have to do this and go there. And what about that person? And did I get that gift?

All that noise, it's, it's noise and you don't have to fall to it. Not that it's not a beautiful thing to share gifts and experiences, but I think we get so caught up in the doing. That we often forget that we're human beings. So as my coach, Micole, who I have to thank for supporting me as well, often reminds me.

So let's take a moment to just pause here and take a deep [00:22:00] breath. And I'm just going to inquire right now, where are you on the burnout scale? Are there any early signs? And if so, is today the day you're going to do something about it? You don't want to get to the full blown hard stop. It's not fun and It takes much longer to recover.

My first rodeo probably take me it took me over a year So with that all shared my intention now is to share in addition to those three things that you could implement today resting nesting And nurturing in nature, I want to share a little bit about take five and I'm reinvigorated. I'm excited. Um, and I'm coming full circle back to the basics of why I started this in the first place.

And it was really to help others prevent burnout. And [00:23:00] so what is it? You can access in the show notes, a link to my website, take five dot health. And I have through take five dot health, several different offerings. The cornerstone is my library of micro practices for nervous system regulation and for stress release.

And so these are five minute practices you can do during the workday. You can do them in the morning before you start your day. You can do them at lunch. You can do them before a meeting. In fact, often, um, doing them before a meeting can have really impactful results.

But you can also do them to transition from work hat to home hat so that you can really show up fully present for whoever you're with. So the micro practices library is vast. There's everything from focus on neck and shoulder tension release, there's mental clarity and focus. There [00:24:00] is. overall, uh, movement based practices to reset the nervous system through movement.

There are a variety of breathwork techniques and those are incorporated into every every single practice because the breath is the most powerful healing tool that we have, in my opinion. And all of these practices, there's, there's tons of different, um, variety of practices and body focus areas and emotional focus areas.

Really it's about regulating your nervous system, but you can also use this with your clients or your patients. with your family. So there is just a ton of ripple effect from these short micro practices. And so that's the cornerstone. I've got several different membership options, both individual as well as teams, small teams, and then [00:25:00] organizations.

So that's The cornerstone. And then with that, I've really looked at the work that I've done in the last five years and starting this business. And I found that one of my favorite things to do is to step into an organization and curate a custom. Well being program or stress reduction for tension, releasing and for creating vibrancy and cohesion and overall well being and preventing burnout and so curating custom programs is a Area that I focus on now, whereas before I had kind of some off the shelf, different workshops, which I still will offer workshops, but I really enjoy coming in and, um, and using my intuition to really create a program.

That's going to be most impactful. Um, so I've done that for, um, health [00:26:00] organizations for behavioral health organizations for nonprofits, um, for tech companies. And so lots of different options there. And then. We cannot forget about experiences. And so everything is about experience from the five minute, , nervous system regulation and the take five videos and audios to the corporate wellbeing programming to experiences that are done in workshops and the, signature mindful tasting experience.

And so. As you know, Chakras and Chardonnay listeners, I am a wine lover and my journey with wine went from self medicating with it. at a time in my life to stepping away from it and then coming back after I got deep in my meditation practice and learning how to truly mindfully enjoy it. And that is what I teach in my mindful tasting, [00:27:00] um, experiences.

And so all the information on those things will be in the show notes. , I do still work with individuals on occasion, but I've shortened My time allowance for that, because I'm really feeling called to spend most of my time in, workplace, uh, stress management and curating custom programs. So with that said, I was going to mention that how I incorporated this when I went back to the corporate workplace, I feel like was a real gift.

For me, for those I reported to and for those that reported to me, you see, I had done a lot of these techniques. And, things like visualizations before meetings or little, stress release and practices before I had any credentials, if you will, , before I had done all the study and work through, , doing [00:28:00] everything from meditation certification to my yoga teacher training to my coaching certifications and all the different specialties forces that I did to gain more knowledge and skills.

I intuitively, um, would start meetings like strategy meetings by just asking us all to stop and then I'd lead us through some sort of practice that I created. And back then, before I was a bona fide meditation teacher, it was highly impactful. It changes everything when you can show up by releasing your baggage and then being fully For the team that were you're with, and with the intention and goals that you're looking to achieve, um, it's a game changer.

And so when I went back to, , the corporate world here last year. I did so with this new [00:29:00] toolbox. And so it was such a beautiful experiment to see how as a mid level manager, I could use this in leadership from starting my team meetings with a take five to incorporating self inquiry during my one on ones, um, really impactful also.

upchain. And so there is a certain resistance to some of these practices sometimes. And I was really encouraged when I saw how the ripple would occur. And so I really encourage you to check it out because when your system is regulated, and when you're showing up in a place of full presence for those you're with, that is going to have ripples too.

Up, down, left, right, everywhere [00:30:00] from your kids to your spouse to those you lead to those that lead you to your patients and your clients. The ripples are endless. And so my intention with this is to help you create ripples of your light to keep your light shining vibrantly. Right. And so please check that out.

And today, I don't have any, wine tips to share with you, but rest assured, I will have some in the future. Um, I also happened to, over this rest period, uh, pass with distinction, my level two awards in wine. from the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust. So that was a nice feather to add to my hat.

And I chose to do that because it was something that really nurtured me, um, a passion I have. I wanted to learn more [00:31:00] about, I wanted to incorporate it into my mindful tastings. And so that was a fun thing that I did during my time of nurturing self. So with that said, let's take five right now. I want you to just take a moment To just get grounded, feel your feet on the ground, feel your body in the chair, you're standing, just pause for a moment.