Sooooo…things are pretty funky out there right now, right? Not the yummy, groovy kind of funky. More the “what the heck is happening??”, incredulous, dramatic, sometimes polarizing, anxiety-inducing kind of funky. You can feel it in the air, see it in people’s faces, it’s almost palpable.
I’m a fairly centered, drama-free gal, and I too, am finding that the current events and Covid (I call it “the C-word”) can take me from my typical warm and fluffy center into some anxiety. Now, to a certain degree, this is a good thing! We are all human. We are connected. We have emotions. And we want to honor our humanity and our feelings. Of COURSE we’re feeling wonky with everything that’s happening, especially so if we have loved ones who are in higher risk groups regarding the C-word.
Where does that anxiety come from? There’s a TON of uncertainty around just about every aspect of this thing. How long will it last? How much will it continue to spread in the US and beyond? How can I help my loved ones who may be at risk? How do I cancel my flights in a way so that I might get reimbursed? Will the economy recover? How do I get out of this public bathroom without touching the doorknob? And so on and so forth.
Now I have a question for you…how did reading that last paragraph make you feel? It made me feel horrible! Anxious and confused and scrambly. I have another question for you…how many aspects of those questions do you have immediate control over, this second, right now? None of them (alright, maybe the bathroom doorknob one…)! Sure, you can reach out to airlines and you can take action to help loved ones (and I certainly recommend it!), but I’m talking right now, in this moment, what do you have control over? The only answer is yourself. You have control over your own actions, responses, and how you respond to any feelings that come up for you. You have control over your perspective and how you focus your thoughts.
ACTION: Right now, *close your eyes and take that in. Breathe with it. You only have control over yourself.
It’s a relief, right? We can often feel like we need to be the General Manager of the Universe. See if you can let go of that right now.
On a more practical level, there are some actions you can take to find calm within all of this. I’d like to share them with you in the hopes that they may assist you in coming back to that warm and fluffy place within yourself. You’ll most likely find that you slip in and out of center, that’s always going to happen. But when you continually practice these habits, your “hang time” in peace and center is longer and longer and longer. AND you get to the place where being out of center isn’t as painful. You can observe it, as opposed to getting caught up in it.
SIX THINGS YOU CAN DO
1. Practice an uplifting morning ritual. And do it. Every morning. Before you do anything else!
You’ve probably heard of inertia, right? An object at rest stays at rest, an object in motion stays in motion. Well, our thoughts and emotions are the same way. Once we start our thoughts on one trajectory, they tend to continue in that same direction. First thing in the morning is a powerful time to set the tone for the rest of your day. My morning ritual looks something like this:
- put on some soothing, uplifting music
- write down my intentions for the day: ex: to have fun, to love and adore myself unconditionally, to love and adore every single person I encounter unconditionally…etc.
- write down 10-20 things I adore and appreciate: ex: hearing the little bird singing outside (so active!!!), the unusual tint of the morning light I see right now, flowers!!!…etc.
- sometimes read or listen to uplifting messages
- take a hot bath with candles
- High Intensity Training and Yoga
- meditate (5-15 minutes)
I don’t do all of them every single day, but most days I do. This is BEFORE looking at any news, BEFORE reading any emails, and the first few things usually BEFORE interacting with anyone else. Find a few things you enjoy and that feel good to you to start your day with. I DO highly recommend writing your intentions, things you appreciate, and meditating first thing. You can do all those in 10-20 minutes. The others are bonuses first thing in the morning.
2. Practice yoga or dance. Move your body in a mindful way. Connect with it. Allow yourself to be present with your body. This is beneficial for your immune system AND beneficial in allowing you to more easily handle any stress that presents. If you don’t have time to do a full class some days, just get on your mat for 5 minutes. Do a down dog, a Sun Salutation. Shake your booty to some tunes for 3 minutes.
3. Practice Nadi Shodhana - Alternate Nostril Breathing. This is a simple, yet powerful technique that calms the nervous system, balances the two hemispheres of the brain, and settles the mind. You can follow along with this video. When I’m super busy and find myself feeling anxious, I set a reminder to go off every two hours and I sit my butt down and do Nadi Shodhana for 3 minutes. It. Makes. A HUGE. Difference.
4. Limit your news time. Try to keep your news time to 30 minutes or less a day. That should be plenty to keep you up to date with the important happenings and at the same time, allow you to have plenty of breathing space and unplug from any mounting anxieties in the general public. I would generally say keep it to 5 minutes or less a day, but given where we are right now with the C-word, you may find it needs to be more than usual.
5. Be the Witness. This is something you can cultivate over time with things like meditation and mindful moment to moment presence, but even if you are new to the concept, you can start to employ it. Allow yourself to approach everything as if you are a scientist observing. Observe yourself. Observe others. Observe the media. Observe the situations around you. Even observe your emotions and thoughts. Let go of opinions or conclusions for periods of time. A good scientist doesn’t come to any conclusions until he’s observed objectively. Being able to watch, rather than getting drawn into all the drama, is invaluable and gives you the ability to be objective and to take Skillful Action rather than being reactionary and acting from a place of fear and doubt. See if you can come back to just watching again and again and again.
6. Allow your emotions. Get to be friends with them. Don’t try to push any anxiety away or reject it. Welcome it with open arms…”hello old friend…I am here…I hear you.” You don’t need to DO anything about the emotion or try to make it go away. See, emotions are just energy, and energy wants to move. Energy is always moving towards higher vibrations (like love, joy, peace, calm, etc). It’s when we resist feelings that they get stuck in lower registers. And, btw, having lower register feelings is not bad!!! So feeeeel your feelings! When you can combine #5, Be The Witness, with #6, Allowing Your Emotions, you're golden! Because you don’t get bogged down in those feelings, you experience them for what they are…energy!
and I’ll give you a bonus one…
7. Laugh. Find a way to lighten the mood. Watch puppies doing cute things. Remember something silly you did recently. Make a funny face in the mirror.
**
It is more important than EVER for each of us to take responsibility for our own well-being, physically and emotionally/energetically. Start with these simple steps above and experience how much better YOU feel and in turn, what a calming and positive effect you have on those around you. Be a leader of love, of calm within the chaos and I promise you, in this way you will contribute the most to your loved ones and in fact, to the world.
Here is the Calming 5 minute Meditation for you to use. Let me know how it all goes for you!
