Pour Into Yourself

Exploring Over Coffee | Episode 33

You can’t pour from an empty cup, so let’s refill it together. In this episode of Exploring Over Coffee, Alexis shares how to protect your peace, reclaim your energy, and pour into yourself with mindful routines and intentional rest.

This conversation was inspired by her visit to the Reclaiming My Time exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. She shares details about the exhibit during the episode.

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Here's What You'll Explore

5 reminders for your next mindful break
Gentle break ideas for summer self-care
A cultural reflection on rest, resilience, and identity
How community and creative expression can support your rest

Episode Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Exploring Over Coffee

00:59 Fueling Your Summer Spirit

02:17 Reclaiming My Time Exhibit

05:08 5 Reminders for Your Next Break

06:52 Mindful Break Activities

09:54 Community and Connection

12:18 Warm Wrap Up

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Other Episodes Mentioned

7 Types of Rest Episode

Positive Affirmations Video

Hello friends. Welcome back to Exploring Over Coffee. I'm so excited to join you for another relaxing coffee break conversation if you're new here. Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm Alexis Renae, your coffee chat companion here to help boost your break with inspiring conversation and fun ways to brew positivity. Today, we're talking about ways to pour into yourself, reclaiming your energy through restful practices and spaces.
There's some fun goodies at the end of our conversation, so make sure you listen to the end to grab all those pieces of inspiration. Blend your beverage of choice to enjoy on your break. I'm sipping a coconut cold brew. It is so refreshing and delicious. Once you have your drink in hand, settle in for our soothing coffee break conversation.
I hope you're enjoying the summer so far. In our last chat, we started talking about Juneteenth and about resilience, and this is really fueling our summer spirit.
You know, this is the intention that we're exploring the season with, and yes, it's very energetic. It's very. Purposeful. It's very outwardly focused and connective. And that's something that's always so exciting and invigorating about summer, because you can infuse new intention into how you explore the world. Maintaining a resilient spirit and exploring life with this intention brings purpose and passion to your day. And I think that it is a wonderful way to move forward with positivity in our lives.
Of course, before you can start exploring life with this intention, you have to make sure that you have enough energy first, because you cannot pour from an empty cup. Resilience is something that takes grounding, it takes energy, and I think that it's important to refuel that spirit every single day.
Making that space for replenishment and nourishment means that you are that much more rejuvenated and energized for how you can give back to other people and spaces in your community.
This perspective leads us directly into our brew for thought for our conversation today about an exhibit that I visited not too long ago in Washington DC.
It is called the Reclaiming My Time Exhibit, and it's featured at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African-American History and Culture.
When I visited the museum on my last trip, I was there to see the reckoning exhibit and leaving reckoning. I turned a corner and suddenly ended up in reclaiming my time. Which was such a cozy sanctuary, a very relaxing and intentional space. This exhibit blends soft living, design, culture, and intention together in such an inspiring way. They set it up so it looks like you're in a living room. It's very cozy and affirming.
You walk in, and there's relaxing, centered furniture, their hammocks, and cozy chairs. and then books about self-care and intention,
And then on the walls, there's all this artwork, with inspiring phrases and photos, and affirmative language throughout the space. Like you just, you could not help. But pause. Everyone that walked into that space paused; they even had benches so that we could sit down in the space and, pamphlets that we could take home with, recommendations for self-care, and inspiring quotes inside. So yeah, it was a very intentional and interactive space. It has a lot of important reminders that help us remember to reclaim time and the importance of creating boundaries to nourish your energy. It's a great framework to ground our discussion today. Let's really soak up these words of wisdom from the Reclaiming My Time Exhibit.
This exhibit plaque says, "Our resilience and rejuvenation depend on our ability to rest well.” What a powerful reminder. Rest is not just about taking a pause. It's about how we pause what we do with that space.
I think that there is importance in respecting those boundaries, right?
Creating that physical space for rest, appreciating that. Time that you allocate toward pouring into yourself. And it doesn't have to be a lot of time. Taking that 15 to 20 minute break, to specifically check in with your energy and see how can I refill? How can I refuel today?
Pour into yourself for a brighter, more grounded, and more peaceful way of life.
I'm so excited to start pouring and exploring with you. Let's open our adventure guidebook for ways to get started. Here are five reminders to help you create space to pour into yourself. Begin with a mini self-check-in. Ask yourself, how am I feeling today?
What's missing from my cup?
How do I need to refuel my energy? Protect your space as you pour into yourself. Create. Time and protect that time. Find spaces that support your softness. This might be in a park, a library, or a museum, like my trip to the exhibit. Maybe you have a nice book nook in your home. Maybe that's where you enjoy your morning brew. Maybe it's in your room before you wind down before bed. And then you can be present. Really embrace the now. This is an important mindfulness skill, you know, practicing being present. Then your final reminder is to nourish yourself. I'll link to an old episode where we explored each of the seven types of rest, but just as a reminder, physical, mental, emotional. Creative, spiritual, social, and sensory rest. When you check in with yourself, depending on what you feel like you need, you can explore activities that align with these types of rest.
Take out your journal or digital writing device for this week's writing session. What might you need to refill your cup? Joy, stillness. Movement, creativity, connection, exploration, whatever area you feel drawn to. take a minute to really journal around that area of focus because that can be the inspiration of your next coffee break.
Now let's check out our mindful break menu for fun activity ideas that you can explore on your next coffee break.
Enjoy Mini mindfulness. Try a two or five-minute session of deep breathing. Do some somatic yoga. Practice being present by noticing five things that you can see, hear, and feel in your space. Listen to a calming soundscape like rain, cafe sounds, or nature, or you can even listen to an energizing affirmation audio.
That's one of your fun goodies for our chat today. I created an affirmation audio all about pouring into yourself. Energize your spirit as you start your day. Pour into yourself with uplifting content. Watch a creative series like the WETA series or another PBS show.
Add a comforting item to your break zone. Maybe that is a photo that takes you to a place of mindfulness, like an area that you want to visit one day. Maybe you can listen to an uplifting playlist. You could curate songs that make you feel inspired and play that when you're on your break. I also encourage you to think about the power of words. How can you use words to inspire yourself? So maybe that is an inspiring quote in your room. Maybe that is a wallpaper that can go on your phone or your computer that inspires peace. You can use your break as an opportunity to enjoy the summer Adventure guidebook. Become a paid subscriber on exploring Over Coffee Club over on Substack And you'll have access to our Summer Adventure Guidebook and our spring adventure guidebook, which each is over 30 pages of joyful ideas and seasonal inspiration. Soak up micro joys. So these are all those little activities that you can enjoy that can happen in five minutes or even 10 minutes. One of those things that you can do is learning a new language. That's what I'm doing on my break. Another thing that you can do is a creative hobby like journaling. You can stretch as a micro joy on your break. Have a little mini dance session. explore a new recipe for different drinks and use that as a micro activity on your break.
Here's a book to add to your list that you can enjoy on your relaxing break. good vibes, good life. How self-care is the key to unlocking your greatness by Vex King. I really enjoyed it. I love how they connected, how you think about opportunities that you have access to.
And how that connects to the vibes that are within yourself, your potential, how you move forward with purpose in life. The audiobook was only four hours. I listened to it on a road trip. But yeah, there was plenty of inspiration to add to my lifestyle. Rest does not have to happen alone. You can send a feel-good message to a friend. Maybe an inspiring quote. Have a little morning check-in with a friend. Maybe you both read the same book, so maybe you have a little mini book club debrief after a chapter. Maybe you both enjoy a coffee or a tea together, and you have that coffee chat based on meaningful conversation.
You could listen to an episode of Exploring Over Coffee Together and then have a moment to chat about what stuck out to you. think through what you learned from the episode and swap insights or, you know, plan experiences based on what we cover here, so that you can have more adventures and restful experiences together.
Explore with intention on your coffee break. That can happen virtually or in person. One way that you can do that is by visiting a museum virtually. Check out the reclaiming my Time Exhibits, virtual collection, or another exhibit that you're interested in exploring. I'll put a link to our exhibit that we explored today in the description. But of course, there are plenty of virtual collections that you can enjoy online in your break. Find those pockets of peace in your community. Every short visit that you have is an opportunity to breathe deeper, feel lighter, and reconnect with yourself.
It takes time to refill your energy, but once you have that energy, you have your power back. Creating that space to refill with intention is opportunity for nourishment, grounding, clarity, joy, and resilience. When you feel that your cup is empty, take that moment to refill and refuel yourself. Of course, you may only have a few minutes in the morning or the evening, or even a lunch break to take time for yourself. Instead of just letting that time period slip by, those 10, 15, 20 minutes, there is an opportunity for replenishment. Remember that you have the power to rejuvenate yourself, and all it takes is reclaiming your time a little bit. So create those spaces of peace in your day and pour in what nourishes you.
I hope that you are feeling inspired and ready to replenish yourself from everything that we've explored. Enjoy the affirmation audio that I created to help you feel more motivated to brew positivity in your life. I'm Alexis Renae. Thank you again so much for joining me here for our Cozy Coffee conversation. Leave a like, share it with a friend, and make sure you're subscribed to stay connected for more coffee chat conversations. Until next time, I'm wishing you a replenishing and restful week ahead, and remember to brew positivity and make life an adventure.