Breathe. Be in this moment. Remind yourself that in this moment, you are well. These yoga concepts help us keep our mind positive which supports a healthy body and strong immune system.
Being worried is perceived as a real and current emergency by your brain and it produces stress chemicals. To free yourself of the stress response when no personal emergency is happening, practice noticing your worried thoughts and changing them to empowering and encouraging ones that release you to take appropriate actions. We want to stay informed without worrying about things we cannot control. Take note if you are excessively thinking, watching, or reading about the crisis and becoming anxious. Break the pattern. Cut down on the overwhelming input and replace generalized anxiousness with empowering thoughts such as “I’m doing what I can to be safe and protect myself and others." Refocusing on the positive things we can do brings a lot of peace and health during challenges. Instead of feeling restricted during this time of necessary social distancing, maybe think of the positive opportunities it could inspire:
See how much of your fitness and yoga practice you can do online live at home, outdoors, or in-person classes at a safe social distance.
Plenty of time for spring cleaning- no excuses! De-clutter – it’s like emotionally losing weight!
Get more sleep.
Read a great book!
Start writing your novel or other long desired project.
Build stronger relationships. There’s probably going to be more time at home with family as well as opportunities to call and catch up with long distance friends and family.
Catch up on yard work. After the rains, there will be plenty of weeding to do, it’s physical, outdoor and you’ll have time – just remember to stretch first.
Strengthen your mind adaptability by learning something new – try an online language course, learn a new card game, build something, try a new recipe, etc.
Go through and curate, label, and purge your picture collection so it’s enjoyable.
This is a rare block of time to complete tasks, reconnect, re-set, and perhaps come out of this challenging time even healthier!