In these scary and unsettling times, we might face more isolation - and more connection if we choose it - than ever before. How can you stay mentally and physically well during this time?
1. Do the simple, normal stuff.
Find and create a new routine. Get dressed, take a shower, make you bed and brush your teeth in the morning. These simple things will get you going and productive first thing in the morning. Sit in your PJs on the sofa for too many days in a row and the lethargy will build and create a negative cycle for you. Put aside some time for drawing up a schedule for the week that will keep you purposeful. Do yoga.
2. Move your body every day.
Your body was designed to move. Not moving can make both our minds and our bodies poorly. There are so many ways to get creative at home with a workout. Find an online community (ours is pretty awesome!), dance around your kitchen, run up and down the stairs every hour, use books, chairs and tins as your weights. Walk, run and do yoga.
3. Look after your mind every day.
Communicate and connect with the people around you. We have the internet - use it! Video call your friends and family and share how you're feeling, and ask them how they are too. Knowing that we are all in this together means we can help each other through. Journal your thoughts and feelings. And maybe now is the chance to try meditation. It's such a powerful tool to help our minds and our bodies balance and process this. Breathe. Rest. Sleep. Do yoga.
4. Do something to invest in yourself every day.
Learn. Cook. Bake. Grow vegetables and garden. READ. Clean the house. Learn a new language, instrument, craft or skill. Take up wood working, candle making, knitting, painting, a martial art or start a business. Take an online course, take a virtual tour of a museum. Listen to podcasts and audio books. Find a mentor and learn from them. Volunteer and help a neighbour or someone in the community. Do yoga.
People are wonderful, messy beings, who like a feeling of certainty and control. Our worlds are being turned upside down, and that will make a lot of us feel scared. You are not alone. I know I find this seriously overwhelming at times. I am convinced that this whole situation will teach humans a lot; we'll find new ways to help each other, re-prioritise what we think is important in lives, find more gratitude, and realise the importance of connection.
Humans have endless capacity for hope and I, for one, intend to flex that muscle (figuratively and literally) a lot this week and beyond. The beauty of that? Hope will become stronger in our lives. Flex and hope, people, flex and hope. Sending you so much love everyone.