Now, with so many schools closed. We are either working from home or tending to our children without childcare for the foreseeable future. As the wheel of natural order continues and new developments emerge, we will likely have new feelings arise, which might be overwhelming. Now, more than ever, we need to make sanctuary our home. It’s time to pause, be mindful, and expand your inner space. Here are my simple ideas to help you now:
Mindful Activities
Nurturing, calming, grounding, and restful energy is what we need to cultivate for ourselves at this time. For most of us who are self-quarantined in our homes, our challenge will be to get a hold of our thoughts and anxiety.
These are trying times, so being mindful and incorporating mindful practices will enhance well-being, build resilience and manage. Being mindful does not have to be complicated; you can:
1. Breathe and Feel Presence in your Body
This is simple: take a moment to breathe into your body daily. Close your eyes, and breathe straight down past your belly button. Sometimes touching your belly helps. Try to bring feeling into your hands or feet. Your mind may tell you that you can’t feel anything, be bored, or even want to move on. However, stay within the moment. You’ll feel aliveness and energy inside. Try this every day when you move from task to task, and notice how calm you may feel.
2. Encounter beauty and objects, exercise
It’s hard not to be caught up with thoughts at this time. It is normal when we are amid a crisis and all adjusting. Our minds like to see things as good or bad. We are not balanced in this all-or-nothing state, often leading to future catastrophizing. None of us knows what will happen in the future. So this is a time to practice going past this state. Let’s move away from naming and labelling. This exercise is taken from Eckhart Tolle’s book Oneness with All Life.
He says to choose an object close to you, a cup, flower, tree, or pen. Be curious; give your attention without naming it. Try to allow any thoughts to pass by; I say “thinking to myself” when they arise in my mediation practise.
Then look around the room and listen to sounds, but try not to put good or bad labels again. Can you look at objects without perceiving them? This simple exercise helps us remain present and move away from negative thinking.
3. Foster your “inner protectors.”
Most of the time, we don’t even notice the positive moments. Your thoughts may be challenging and stuck in negativity or fear right now. This is okay at a time like this, it’s frightening, and we feel unsafe. During these moments, invoke your inner protectors to get you through. Imagine everyone who loves and cares for you, or a moment when you felt profoundly loved and cared for. (Your internal protectors). Place them around you and feel the love and protection. Imagine them giving you a vast, warm, and loving hug! Make it last; feel your body. Stay with and allow the feeling of being cared for.
The body has implicit memory, so the longer you hold this, the more the neural circuits will fire. You may even stimulate dopamine (a reward neurotransmitter) or oxytocin (the bonding hormone). This is especially helpful now, given we are all isolated and disconnected.
4. Meditation
Daily meditation is not for everyone, although meditation is not as complicated as you think. During meditation, I sit with my body and thoughts and breathe. However, the empty state of not thinking is not accessible, and I continue to work on letting go every day. For you, the first step may be guided meditation. This is a heart meditation I offered on Facebook Live last week.
5. Let’s Colour
Adult colouring books have become popular recently and have been successfully re-branded as therapeutic tools for improving health and well-being. However, studies show it works. Psychology researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand have found definite mental health gains for adults colouring in for as little as 10 minutes daily. Participants reported increased mindfulness combined with lower stress and anxiety levels. They also found reduced activity in the amygdala or changes in brain-wave activity. If you have trouble sleeping right now, colouring may be good for you and your children.
6. Be Creative
Take creative action. This is the TIME to create space for creativity. Everyone can be creative. When fully immersed in creating what I love, I forget about time and space and why. I become one with the idea, the breath, and the work before me. I realign with the heart and flow of life.
Worries, anxiety, and fear melt away because they have no place to be, no energy to feed
In Conclusion
Right now, we are riding a big wave. The tide has come in, but it will go out and pass. Everything passes in life.
More than ever, it’s time to exercise kindness, coolness, compassion, and grace with ourselves and our children. Mindfulness and simple habits will help you now. I hope you have love for yourself and all others. I am still offering therapy and talks via telephone and Zoom. Contact me or follow me on Facebook for notifications. With Love Catherine
