Cultivating Healthy Habits

Written By: Jacqueline Jacks

 

Cultivating Healthy Habits during lockdown & beyond.

 

Much has been written and discussed about working remotely since lockdown began, I wanted to share my thoughts on cultivating mindfulness habits during this period and beyond.

 

It feels like we went to bed one night in March and woke up to a new world the next day and now we’re having to navigate a world unfamiliar to the one we knew before. For many the uncertainty, the isolation, the influx of conflicting information overload has caused a sense of overwhelm, heightened anxiety, and in some cases depression.

 

Now is the time for mindfulness, self-care and prioritising our mental health as much as our physical well-being.

 

Here are some tips which can easily become part of your day, every day!

 

Take this time to tune into your own intuition, and listen to your body, we all need different things, but as a general rule the below tips should help support you.

1) Stay hydrated, drink water

 

2) Connect with your breath, your breath is a powerful tool to deal with stress. Although it’s efficacy depends on a regular practice. In a comfortable seated position, close your eyes and inhale, hand on your stomach notice how your belly expands, exhale, notice your belly contract, don’t get caught up on technique, just observe your breath, slowing down your breath, repeat inhaling and exhaling, in a few short breaths you should notice a settling in your mind and your body. Come back to the breath a few times a day.

Anchor into a practice that brings you peace and calm every day, make peace of mind a priority. Your breath is always available to you.

 

3) Move your body! With the restrictions placed upon us, less mobility and doing the things we love, it is so important that we move our bodies, stretch, put some music on, dance, get your heart rate up.

 

4) Self-care, block out some time in the day where you do something ‘feel-good’ for you, whether that’s reading a chapter of a book, having a long bath, do whatever nourishes your soul.

 

5) Stay connected to family and friends and let them know if you need extra support during this challenging time, chance are they are feeling similarly to you.

 

6) If the constant barrage of news headlines is weighing you down, limit the amount of news you read or watch. This is also a great time, to make a difference, find a cause or start your own.

 

7) Get enough rest and sleep.

 

Know that this too shall pass!