How I Combined Modern Approaches and Ancient Wisdom to Heal from my Ultimate Burnout

The 8 Practices That Help My Mind and Body Stay Balanced

I have experienced multiple burnouts in my corporate career, and while I saw and recognized the early signs, I ignored them in exchange for living the corporate “hustle and grind” culture. Without me knowing, I was in my own painful comfort zone thinking this is the way to “success”, when in reality, it drove me to chronic stress and massive burnout.

Holistic Healing

When I left my job, I started my healing journey through a combination of western contemporary tools, eastern spiritual practices, and Human Design experimentation. This integrated approach has provided me these eight practices that I continue to this day:

1. Re-visit personal values and create alignment

My ultimate burnout brought me to my ultimate decision of leaving my career in sports. While I think one can survive and heal from burnout without leaving their job, that was not the case for me. Below are a few reflective questions I went through for a few months before making the decision to leave, AND ones I return to anytime I feel mis-aligned.

• What are my personal values and do they line up with what I’m doing and living day to day?
• Am I still excited about what I do?
• Do I feel supported in my work environment?
• What are the alternative solutions in my environment and do I feel confident any of them will fully address my burnout?
• What are the root causes that led me to burnout and is there a way to heal without quitting?

2. Prioritize health and well-being

It is so easy to fall into the hustle and grind culture, especially if you are in an environment that thrives off of it. Learning to prioritize your well-being, regardless of how “busy” you are, will save you from burnout. During a time in which I was working up to 15 hour days plus weekends, I incorporated a mix of practices that helped my mind and body feel balanced in the midst of a chaotic environment. These practices included:

• A healthier diet, including incorporating more anti-inflammatory foods
• An extra hour of sleep each night
• Morning breath work, yoga, gratitude journaling and affirmation card pulling
• Evening de-stressors like coloring in an adult coloring book, performing reiki on myself and working with the healing energy of crystals
• Dry brushing to stimulate the lymphatic system and improve circulation (1–5x a week) and ayurvedic self oil massage (1x a week)
• Working with a talk therapist who specialized in wellness counseling and coaching
• Working with Naturopathic and Ayurvedic doctors to detox and improve overall well-being

I should note that I incorporated these practices pre-pandemic and during a 6 month time period of a temporary Work From Home arrangement. Unfortunately, I did not continue those practices in the first year of the pandemic, which very well could have been a contributing piece to my burnout. Today, having left my job a year later, I have re-incorporated those same practices that make sense for me again. I’ve also diversified my supplement intake, added meditation and mindful walking, and, thanks to my partner, am spending more time outside and in nature. I have also learned to prioritize myself more mentally and emotionally by advocating for myself, setting healthy boundaries and saying no to things that don’t feel in alignment.

3. Learn and practice the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda

I had been learning and practicing aspects of Ayurveda for 3 years prior to reading about and studying Dharma from an ayurvedic perspective. When I first heard about the Dharma Coaching Institute, I was so excited to enroll and dive deep into a program that focuses on Dharma and an integration of eastern and western philosophies. The book and program offering could not have come at a more aligned time in my life. I joined the program not necessarily with the intention to become a certified coach, but rather in search of my own soul’s purpose using the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda. After only a few weeks in, I realized I not only was learning about Dharma, but the experience was helping me heal from my very personal and traumatic experience of extensive burnout.

The foundation of Ayurveda is your Doshic Constitution, or Mind-Body Type. When working with two separate Ayurvedic Doctors in Toronto and Bali, I was confirmed to be a Vata-Pitta. While having this Mind-Body Type has its many innate gifts, I unfortunately was severely imbalanced in both, causing me instead to experience the challenges across both Doshas. Something as simple as being aware of my imbalances and moving through the Doshas to keep me balanced has been so incredibly healing. Because I am a Vata-Pitta, it is not natural for me to be in Kapha, which is more grounding, anchored and restorative. During my healing process from burnout, incorporating more Kapha in my life, and then naturally moving into my Vata-Pitta as part of the Dosha cycle, has allowed me to heal from burnout and further tap into the natural gifts I have, instead of suffering from the challenges.

4. Experiment with Human Design

During my healing from burnout journey, I also became a Certified Human Design Reader and Guide. In search of more tools to add to my toolbox, I found the Human Design system so fascinating and eye-opening as it informs the individual how they are born to energetically operate in the world, the innate traits you hold within you and areas of potential conditioning. As a Pure Generator in Human Design, I learned that my powerful life force energy needs to be expended somewhere. If I’m doing something that lights me up, there’s nothing that can stop the life force energy behind the moving train. However, Generators are prone to getting “stuck” in something, even if they are no longer enjoying the experience. This is because Generators have an incredible amount of consistent energy and that level of energy needs to be directed somewhere, even if the Generator is no longer excited about the thing they are doing. Because of this powerful energy, Generators can be “high capacity” individuals and as a result, it is easy to be unconsciously taken advantage of. The easiest things a Generator can do to heal from burnout is to be super conscious of when and where to expend your energy and say “No” to anything that does not excite you. This simple strategy clears space to allow life to bring you more aligned opportunities.

5. Find purpose and take inspired action

In Dharma Coaching, we learn and teach that living your purpose is living in your highest and fullest expression. It is knowing and honoring yourself in the deepest sense. It is also integrating lessons from your past. Taking the time to explore this has allowed me to have the space to be in stronger pursuit of my dharma, or soul’s purpose. The pursuit also includes taking inspired action in the form of big leaps and small steps as a way to find and live your purpose, and experience healing in the process.

6. Listen to your mind and body

I was so used to operating in a certain way, always “on” and on-the-go. As a Vata-Pitta in Ayurveda and a Pure Generator in Human Design, this is something that comes natural to me. When I suffered my Ultimate Burnout, I learned to listen to my body more, physically and intuitively. Honoring when my body and mind needs rest, and releasing the pressure, desire and expectation to always be doing and thinking about something, has led to deep peace and restoration.

7. Expand and cultivate a support system

I felt alone in my journey of burnout. I knew I was badly bent, and needed a complete break, but I couldn’t help but think that I “failed” in my career journey by burning out. While my family, partner and closest friends were fully supportive, I still felt like I was going through this experience by myself. It wasn’t until I expanded my network and found global communities that had shared experiences and similar intentions and goals. Connecting with others around the world in this new season in life, and supporting each other in the process, has been such a critical part of my healing journey.

8. Share the experience and newfound knowledge to help others

The burnout and subsequent healing journey has been so transformative for me that I proactively seek to share my experience and newfound knowledge to help others along the same journey. Sharing a lived experience in and of itself has many benefits — including building greater resilience and strengthening physical and mental health. While I started my unexpected path of becoming a coach, I’ve also found that finding my unique voice and sharing my story through writing, social media and live story telling has helped me heal and find peace, while helping others along the way.

A Transformative Journey

As a result of this work, the physical and emotional symptoms I was experiencing, including near daily debilitating migraines, insomnia, lack of motivation, increased irritability, and 20 years of flaring eczema, all completely cleared, or significantly improved, within 6 months of leaving my job. The path to healing is so individualized and nuanced, and I believe integrating the western and eastern approaches helps to achieve holistic healing and a deep journey into personal discovery. Both philosophies individually, while effective, are not perfect, but brought together I believe can help achieve long-term transformation.