by Part 1 of this blog Keeping Healthy during times of Fear, Uncertainty and Isolation gives an overview why we may be feeling fear, isolation and uncertainty… and the effects it has on us as human beings.
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Below is a list of tips and tricks to keeping healthy during the time of the quarantine:
Meditation – Conversation – Self Reflection – Growth Mindset – Touch – Action Plan
Meditation:
Silent, quiet, positive time spent allows our bodies to physically reset from any/all fears. It physically helps us escape the effects of fear. I use Insight Timer app.. it is awesome. It can help to create a routine that includes meditation time (when you wake up, or just before going to bed).
Converse with People: It is important to me to actually converse with people, not just watch social media posts. Call them, email them, have a conversation. The ebb and flow of a conversation is the energy of connection. Seeing a post on social media is a spectator approach to connection. Get out of the stands and into the arena ! That is where the connection energy actually exists.
What Do I Love About Me? Ask yourself this question every day. Write it down. It allows you to look at who you are, and who you want to be once the quarantine is lifted.
What Do I Love About My Family/Friends? Ask yourself this question every day. Write it down. It allows you to revisit gratitude for those in your connection circle.
Touch:
Touch is vital to our bodies in two different ways (physical and energetic).
Our bodies use the lymphatic system to move fluid through our body, which allows us to remove toxin, wastes and transport infection-fighting white blood cells through the body. Our circulatory system has a heart that pumps blood through the vessels. The lymphatic system relies on our body movements to pump the fluid through the lymph vessels. These lymph vessels are located just under the skin and are activated by touch. Here is a link to a self-lymphatic-massage
Ancient medicines have all understood that energy flows in our bodies through vital pathways. Just like a lightning bolt travels a pathway from the cloud to the ground, energy travels pathways through our body. These pathways are called “meridians”. There are 12 primary meridians that move energy up and down., and feed energy to every cell of our body. In turn this energy helps control our metabolism, organ functions and even our emotional states. Touch can not only move lymph, it can also activate energy to move through your body. Yoga, Chi-Gong, Tai Chi, Accupuncture and simple pressure on the meridian points, are all techniques that are useful for energy movements.
Cultivate a Growth Mindset
So many people are asking us to “stay positive” in the face of adversity. Although positivism is an important tool, I believe creating a Growth Mindset is a far better coping mechanism when faced with adversity. A growth mindset means we acknowledging where we are, learn from it and grow into a different circumstance. A growth mindset means you do this without self-judgement. I’m not good because I succeed and bad because I failed. Remove the judgement of good and bad, positive and negative. Growing and learning and growing and learning are all a part of our process in life. There is no “good” or “bad”. We simply learn from our experiences and grow into something bigger and larger than what/where we were.
My blog: Creating the Mindset for Success outlines how to cultivate the growth mindset.
Create an Action Plan
“What if” scenarios can help us reduce the uncertainty we are facing. Of course, it is difficult to see all aspects of every scenario and create a plan for all instances. But, we can see what we do have control over and take those actions. Adequately looking and assessing the situation, knowing what you can and cannot control, then take action.
- Assess the situation.
- Identify what is and is not in your control.
- Create an action plan for several of the situations that are in your control.
- Take messy action.
The last item on the list is one of my favorite sayings. “Messy Action”. So often we can become stalled by thinking our action has to be perfect, or complete. It doesn’t. Action just means moving forward. All forward movement is perfect.
Using the word “messy” can allow you to reduce self-judgment or fear of what others will think. Just be messy. Allow yourself to be messy. The key is to GROW from the messy, into forward movement. One year, I decided to start running and being more consistent with my yoga practice. My first run was one of the biggest reality checks of my life. Years ago I could put on my running shoes, head out the door, and do a quick 3-mile jog. That day, I couldn’t run around the block. I stopped so many times, out of breath and actually wheezing. What happened? I have never wheezed before? What happened to me? Instead of getting stuck there, I realigned my thoughts. Instead of comparing my expected run to my older self, I aligned to taking messy action. Comparison would have stopped me from running the next day. But messy action allowed me to wheeze and stop as many times as I needed during my run. I knew it would be messy for a while … and it was.
Remember, it is important for us to watch and understand our processes as we go through these next few weeks of self-quarantine. Things have changed radically from last month, and a Growth Mindset will help you move through with grace. Resilience. Determination. Reinventing. Seeing both what is important to you and what is no longer important to you, can help you redefine and re-invent who you want to be on the other side of this.
