Week 2, day 13: I’ve never been holed up in one place for this long.
I’ve accepted that this is now the new normal. The only way to survive this isolation is to be active physically, mentally, and create a routine.
I’m sharing some tips on how to stay sane and steer away from negative thoughts, especially while we’re in this enhanced community quarantine:
1. Create a routine
Stick to a schedule to fill the long hours. Wake up and sleep at the same time, shower, change clothes, do yoga and exercise, cook, eat healthily, drink water every 15 minutes, catch up on your reading, clean, learn, etc. It’s essential to keep a structure to feel productive and in control of your daily life.
2. Keep moving
Exercise will not only keep you fit and healthy, but it also flushes out toxins from the sweat and produces ‘happy hormones’ like serotonin, endorphins, and dopamine.
3. Learn something new.
Take this opportunity to pick up some new skills. For instance, I got tired of eating salads and mixing bottled sauces into the pasta, so I decided to cook. I rarely cook, and I’m now beginning to enjoy it! I’ve started looking for how to cook something online. I’m trying to learn how to play a Native American flute online too. There are several online resources available, and if you’d like to learn serious subjects like philosophy, biochemistry, here’s a site listing free Ivy League courses for various subjects.
4. Go inward, meditate.
Yoga, meditation, and controlled breathing are “some tried and true ways to relax” according to the latest health guideline of the Harvard Medical School. I’m going to share a kundalini yoga meditation for handling the pressures of today, especially the impact of coronavirus in our lives. Warning, the meditation is not easy. You will be holding your right arm straight out in front of your body parallel to the floor the whole time. As you do the posture, your breathing will change. Your breath will become longer and more powerful. Use your breath to carry you through.
The right arm stretched out connects you to the magnetic field of the earth, and the left hand at your forehead is to balance the heavens. It is said that by practicing this meditation, you’ll build your endurance, which will cause you to rise above your situation. Give it a try?
Sit cross-legged on the floor (or chair) with a straight spine. Put the fingers of the left hand on your forehead, between the eyebrows. Extend your right arm out straight forward from your shoulder with the palm facing left. Close your eyes, hold the position, breathe slowly and deeply, meditate silently. Recharge your body with energy. Try to do this for 11 minutes, 18 minutes maximum. To end, inhale, hold your breath 5-10 seconds, and exhale. Repeat this sequence one more time. Then inhale, hold your breath for 10-15 seconds, and, with your fingers interlocked over your head, stretch your spine upward. Exhale and relax.
5. Start a Gratitude journal.
Journaling will open you up to greater clarity and love and, in the process, help reduce fears. As the saying goes, be grateful for what you already have, and you will attract more good things.
6. Connect with people.
Stay in touch, whether it’s your WhatsApp or Viber group. Do a zoom call at least once a week with your friends or family.
Closing this with some affirmations
I am truly grateful for technology and that I can teach online, which keeps me connected with people as well as busy and creative, and a sense of purpose.
I’d love it if you were a part of our lockdown routine, and hope that it can carry on to real-life practice after this is all over. The kundalini yoga and meditation online classes are every Monday and Thursday at 5 pm. All the classes focus on strengthening the immune system.
Stay home and stay safe. You can also step back from the news as needed. Live in the present, accept things as they are, and know that this will pass.
In loving service,
Rosan
