Why Does Self-Care Make You Feel Worse?

You finally make time to meditate, slow down, or take care of yourself, and instead of feeling peaceful, you discover just how much tension you've been carrying. Suddenly your mind is racing, your body feels restless, and everything you've been too busy to notice comes rushing to the surface. Why does doing something good for ourselves sometimes feel so uncomfortable? Drawing on the familiar experience of returning to yoga after time away, Ryan explores the resistance that can arise when we stop running through our days and begin paying attention. It's an invitation to reconsider what progress actually feels like, especially when the work gets difficult. Tell Ryan about yourself! https://wakingupwithryan.com/hello Follow on Substack (@WakingUpWithRyan) You can follow Ryan on Instagram (@wakingupwithryan), YouTube (@wakingupwithryanpod), or visit wakingupwithryan.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever felt a sadness you couldn't quite explain, a quiet longing for something you couldn't name? Even when life appears to be going well, there can be an underlying sense that something essential is missing. Ryan reflects on this deeply human experience through the image of a young child resting safely in the arms of a loving parent. What is it we're really searching for when we chase success, reassurance, belonging, or love? And what if the sadness we try so hard to escape is pointing us toward something we've known all along? A gentle meditation invites you to explore that feeling of coming home. Tell Ryan about yourself! https://wakingupwithryan.com/hello Follow on Substack (@WakingUpWithRyan) You can follow Ryan on Instagram (@wakingupwithryan), YouTube (@wakingupwithryanpod), or visit wakingupwithryan.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So much of what we build our identities around is constantly changing. Our bodies age, our circumstances shift, our relationships evolve, and even our most deeply held beliefs can be shaken. Is there anything about us that remains untouched by all of it? Drawing on a profound teaching from *A Course in Miracles*, Ryan explores the possibility that the deepest part of who we are exists beyond the things we're so afraid of losing. Continuing this week's exploration of inner safety, he invites us to question where we've been looking for security, and whether there's something far more enduring waiting to be discovered. Tell Ryan about yourself! https://wakingupwithryan.com/hello Follow on Substack (@WakingUpWithRyan) You can follow Ryan on Instagram (@wakingupwithryan), YouTube (@wakingupwithryanpod), or visit wakingupwithryan.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if the parts of yourself you've been trying hardest to escape are the very parts that need your love? As autumn gives way to winter, Ryan reflects on the deeper invitation of this season: to turn inward and make room for whatever we've been carrying. Recalling a moving video of a father sitting patiently with his young daughter's overwhelming emotions, he asks a deceptively simple question: how often do we offer ourselves that same kind of safety? It's a tender exploration of the inner struggles we hide from the world, the ways we learn to avoid them, and what it might mean to finally stop running. Tell Ryan about yourself! https://wakingupwithryan.com/hello Follow on Substack (@WakingUpWithRyan) You can follow Ryan on Instagram (@wakingupwithryan), YouTube (@wakingupwithryanpod), or visit wakingupwithryan.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if the truth you've been searching for is so close that all your searching is making it harder to see? We spend so much time thinking, analyzing, improving ourselves, and trying to understand life that it's easy to assume the deepest answers must be equally complicated. But Ryan invites us to consider something radically simpler: that there may be something fundamental about our existence that doesn't require explanation, effort, or even thought. In this contemplative episode, he explores the difference between knowing something intellectually and recognizing what's been quietly present all along. Tell Ryan about yourself! https://wakingupwithryan.com/hello Follow on Substack (@WakingUpWithRyan) You can follow Ryan on Instagram (@wakingupwithryan), YouTube (@wakingupwithryanpod), or visit wakingupwithryan.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if the very effort you’re making to find yourself is keeping you from recognizing what’s already there? We spend so much of our lives searching, striving, improving, and trying to become something more — even on the spiritual path. But there comes a point when all that effort may be asking us to do something entirely different. As Ryan closes a week devoted to remembering who we truly are, he draws on the spirit of the Sabbath to explore the unfamiliar territory of doing nothing, seeking nothing, and allowing ourselves to simply be. Perhaps the thing you’ve been searching for has been patiently waiting for you to stop looking. Tell Ryan about yourself! https://wakingupwithryan.com/hello Follow on Substack (@WakingUpWithRyan) You can follow Ryan on Instagram (@wakingupwithryan), YouTube (@wakingupwithryanpod), or visit wakingupwithryan.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You can spend years working on yourself, learning to communicate better, practicing forgiveness, and finding your peace. Then you spend an afternoon with your family, someone makes one familiar comment, and suddenly you're fifteen years old again. Why do the people closest to us have such an extraordinary ability to bring out versions of ourselves we thought we'd outgrown? With the holidays approaching, Ryan explores the deeply ingrained patterns that shape our family relationships, and what it might take to stop playing the same old role in a drama you've been part of your entire life. Tell Ryan about yourself! https://wakingupwithryan.com/hello Follow on Substack (@WakingUpWithRyan) You can follow Ryan on Instagram (@wakingupwithryan), YouTube (@wakingupwithryanpod), or visit wakingupwithryan.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a particular kind of anxiety that comes from not knowing what to do next. Maybe you're questioning your career, your relationship, or the direction your life is taking. The answers that once seemed obvious no longer feel right, but nothing has appeared to replace them. So you search harder, looking for advice, certainty, or someone who can tell you which way to go. But what if this uncomfortable space between what was and what comes next isn't a sign that something has gone wrong? Ryan explores the strange possibility that feeling lost might be an essential part of finding your own way. Tell Ryan about yourself! https://wakingupwithryan.com/hello Follow on Substack (@WakingUpWithRyan) You can follow Ryan on Instagram (@wakingupwithryan), YouTube (@wakingupwithryanpod), or visit wakingupwithryan.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you hear the word miracle, what comes to mind? Something supernatural? An extraordinary event that defies explanation? Most of us think of miracles as rare exceptions to the ordinary workings of the world. But what if we've misunderstood them completely? Drawing on a provocative teaching from *A Course in Miracles*, Ryan challenges the very distinction we make between the miraculous and the everyday. It's a surprising invitation to reconsider what we believe is possible, the limitations we've come to accept, and the extraordinary nature of something we rarely stop to question: ourselves. Tell Ryan about yourself! https://wakingupwithryan.com/hello Follow on Substack (@WakingUpWithRyan) You can follow Ryan on Instagram (@wakingupwithryan), YouTube (@wakingupwithryanpod), or visit wakingupwithryan.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if you didn't have to feel better to find something beautiful in your day? Ryan opens up about a period of heaviness he's been moving through and a conversation with his dear friend Emmanuelle that offered an unexpected kind of comfort. Rather than trying to cheer him up or convince him that everything was okay, she reminded him of something small but powerful: the glimmers of light that still find their way into our darkest chapters. Featuring a heartfelt voice message from Emmanuelle, this episode is an invitation to notice the little moments that might otherwise pass us by. Tell Ryan about yourself! https://wakingupwithryan.com/hello Follow on Substack (@WakingUpWithRyan) You can follow Ryan on Instagram (@wakingupwithryan), YouTube (@wakingupwithryanpod), or visit wakingupwithryan.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.