Easy Practices for Mental Health During the Lock Down

Okay you have to be honest with yourself that you have developed new habits that you’re not too happy about and that affects your mental health daily. Feeling bad, guilty, shame and even consistent low level of anxiety are symptoms you need a routine.  

I've been talking to my clients, students, friends and family and I was relieved to hear that I am not alone in feeling slightly affected by this new lock down lifestyle. And all of us were struggling with something that feels like the Quarantine Blues. 

Does this sound like you too? 

•     You’re skipping your morning Me time. Instead you’re checking for lock down updates first thing in the morning on your mobile.
• .       You’re getting your work done like a champ, but its taking longer than it normally does. You have given up your productivity habits because you say “Whats the point? I have nowhere else to be today”
• .       You’re staying up past midnight most nights even though you want to get up at 6am. So you’re constantly feeling like you’re missing half your energy.
• .       You’re not enjoying your meals or conversing with others because you really can’t stand the monotony of everything.

5.       YOU ARE CRAVING A CHANGE BUT ALSO FEELING STUCK? 

Just to let you know – YOU ARE NOT ALONE!  BUT YOU MUST STAY ON TOP OF IT AND WE WILL DO IT TOGETHER.

If you’re frequently feeling melancholic, having food cravings that aren’t like yourself, or feeling lethargic without reason – these are all signs of mental AMA build up. In Ayurveda Ama means toxicity built up with its root in our daily habits of the way we think, do and feel about things.  

Mental toxicity shows up in our emotions and usually come from over consumption of things that make us feel dull and wasted. Consumption of food, information and even activities.

Slowly the daily build ups starts to block the space and lightness and things start to take a turn toward feelings of depression or anxiety… if we don’t learn to clear the ama regularly.

So that’s why I made this Daily Routine checklist:

DAILY ROUTINE CHECKLIST

Here is what you check for and do:

•        You need to know that from the excessive sitting or being indoors your body and mind are feeling out of sync and sluggish
•       Your senses need invigorating for you to feel and think differently
•        Resolve to judge yourself – and when you do forgive yourself for judging yourself
•        Instead of setting goals that feel like punishments make daily promises to do the things that will bring you back in alignment to your natural self. Eg: Spend 3 mins in silence every morning before doing anything else.

Okay so here is what our approach is at STA :

Instead of doing a whole hour’s worth of self-care in one part of the day – break it up in 3 small parts:

 Morning:

1. Be silent for 3 mins in seated posture

2. Connect to your emotion and do yoga poses for that area of body

3. Promise yourself the next time you will check in during the day and do it again

Throughout the day:
4. Use invigorating things like: ginger or lemon in your water. They will keep your palate clean and mind clear. You can also chew on a clove or fennel seeds to give you a fresh breath mouth throughout the day.

5. Use Incense, essential oils, or burn some aromas like Eucalyptus / Sage / Palo santo

6. Do these Standing Yoga poses throughout the day to keep your muscle active and stretched:

Morning:  Standing chest openers + Side bends

3 PM: 8 standing squats with arms up + Dead bug for abdominal activity

Evening: Downward dog + High and wide legged lunges + Pigeon pose 

If you'd like a short cheat sheet to remind you of how you could keep you mind, body, emotion in check here is a link to a FREE guide to help you along:

DAILY ROUTINE CHECKLIST