I saw a meme recently that said "I feel like a sloth on ambien." Ha! How many of us can relate to this? I wonder if the person who made it is a Spoonie. I wonder if they know how accurately they've described what it is like to live every day with fatigue, feeling like you're dragging yourself through life.

I think that fatigue is a symptom that most of us have on our list, regardless of our diagnosis. Fatigue has been my most stubborn chronic illness symptoms, and one of the most debilitating. I feel like there can be many flavors of fatigue, and they all interact with the body differently. The fatigue we experience when we over-exert ourselves is obvious. That flavor of fatigue is easy to distinguish, but there are so many others! Before I had chronic illness, I never imagined that it would be possible to get fatigued from lying in bed. Oh, but it is possible! And I feel like this kind of fatigue sits in the body differently.

The poses I'll be sharing with you today can help relieve our fatigue, regardless of which flavor we may be experiencing in the moment. These poses can be practiced all together or individually, whatever you feel up to today.

1. MALASANA - GARLAND POSE

For the traditional expression of Malasana, you'll come into a squat with the toes turned outward and the hands together at your heart. Using a block under the hips here can be helpful for people with tight hips and also for people with hypermobile hips. It also helps you to keep your balance and take some pressure off of the ankles.

You can also modify this pose with a chair, or if you're feeling particularly fatigued, you can do the pose lying down on your back with the knees hugged into your chest. Please watch the video below for visual instructions.

2. MATSYENDRASANA - SEATED TWIST

Our next pose is a seated twist for just a few breaths on each side. This can be done in whatever comfortable seated position feels good to you. It can also be done in a chair with the feet flat on the floor. This pose releases tension and opens the chest, which allows us to take deep breaths. This can be a tremendous help when we feel fatigued.

3. BALASANA - CHILD'S POSE

Finally, we have child's pose. My favorite way to do this pose is with a bolster and with a cushion under my hips. Sometimes I fall asleep like this!

If you have sensitive knees, you can try this pose with your entire torso on top of the bolster, your head resting on a block, and your legs extended behind you. You will get the same benefits of the pose with less stress on the knees. You can hold this pose for as long as you'd like.

Please watch the video below for visual instructions for each pose.