Are you digging your well or filling it?

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Francesca Cervero (a yoga teacher on the east coast) introduced me to this idea of "Digging Your Well vs Filling Your Well". The way she differentiated them helped me take a closer look at my own life and well digging and well filling activities. Here are my thoughts on these ideas that I think you’ll find helpful.

Digging Your Well

These are activities that are demanding and challenging in a way that helps you grow.

They expand your comfort zone by doing something new and/or outside your current capacity.

I guarantee you'll be pretty bad at them at first. With time and practice, that changes. You will build a bigger container and expand resiliency. And that resiliency is pretty darn helpful in times of stress.

Some examples of well-digging activities:

  • Changing jobs or careers

  • A promotion at work

  • Learning a new art, craft, or playing an instrument

  • Continuing education (in any setting, including Yoga Teacher Training, college, etc.) 


  • Seeing a therapist (in the beginning, become well-filling over time) 


  • Beginning & sustaining a meditation practice

  • Challenging your limits in a physical sport

  • Deep cleaning and/or remodeling

I think it is important to approach ONE well digging activity at a time (when you have the ability to choose).

t can be tempting to say yes to lots of exciting opportunities (speaking from personal experience here); when you carefully do ONE THING at a time your overall life balance benefits.

Filling Your Well

These activities are simple, soothing, and nourishing.

There is little to no demand on us when we engage in them (besides the motivation needed to do them).

My personal tendency is to prioritize the well-digging, but over the last few years I've come to see how important it is to fill up my well.

I find that different people have very different ideas of what a well-filling activity is. It can be helpful to try new things, but remember what works for you might not be a fit for someone else.

Some examples of well-filling activities:

  • Sleep & rest (especially going to bed before 10pm)


  • Eating nourishing foods
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  • Quality time with loved ones (including the furry & four-legged)

  • Being in nature

  • Movement (yoga & other)

  • Stillness (meditation & mindfulness)

  • Silence

  • Art, music, creativity, dancing, singing, reading, etc

  • Simple cleaning, organizing, de-cluttering

  • Laughter, crying


  • Story-telling


  • Practices that are more familiar and you are proficient in (what was once well digging may evolve to be well filling)

encourage you to be careful of activities that appear soothing, but are actually numbing.

In small doses and at the right times, numbing activities can help you find space in difficulty. But if you keep numbing instead of nourishing, the problem only gets worse.

Keep "checking your internal weather" and make the best choice for yourself while considering your short and long term well-being.

I encourage you to journal on these questions:

  • What does it mean to be resourced? 

  • How do you add to your resources?

  • How do you build your capacity for your resources? 

  • Can you be resourceful when your options are limited? 

  • How can you build resiliency in your life?