No one in their wildest dreams would have imagined the whole world being in lockdown, certainly not in our life time!... We are used to having choices, not restrictions. We are used to being sociable, not distancing. We are used to freedom, not confinement. Suddenly we have been transported into a different world that is defined through self-isolation. How are we coping?
There are four key aspects of self-isolation that interest me at the moment. By addressing these elements I am finding strength to get me through the following months… might even be a year!.. who knows?...
So what are the features that I have identified while confined to my four walls of bricks and mortar? It may not be for everyone but Staying Home, Staying Active, Staying Calm and Staying Sociable, seem very relevant today.
My life has simplified, there is calm in the air. The morning stillness is powerful. The lack of vehicles and fumes on the roads is cleansing. The sound of the birds is quite magical. The hustle and bustle of getting to and fro is suddenly stress free and not a necessity.
Priorities have changed. There is a different type of planning and structure to the day. Making sure the weeks food is planned, purchased and cooked is a job to be proud of and with only one visit to the supermarket, makes a huge difference to how the week pan’s out.
Working from home, while managing a family is a whole new adjustment for many. Plans, structure, schedules, time management, routine, guidelines, quality time, free time, exercise time, down time are all elements that make up this ‘new normal’ in our lives, as we struggle to find fulfilment and happiness in self-isolation.
I have pretty much defined the first feature of staying at home. Having structure in our lives is most important if we are going to maintain our sanity. We aim to keep busy, develop a routine that suits everyone in the household and apply ourselves to elements that will challenge us, satisfy our needs, boost our energy, activate our brain, ignite our passion and bring balance and peace into our life.
Being at home means we can do all the jobs and stuff we had been meaning to do for years. We can spend more time gardening, DIY projects, reading, home learning, creative hobbies… the list is endless. However this shouldn’t be to the detriment of others in the house. These elements need to be managed in line with everything else.
Staying Active is a necessary ingredient if we are to remain healthy at home. Doing physical exercise needs to be a top priority and planned into the daily routine. Yoga, Pilates, HIIT & PE can all be performed through live streaming on virtual video time. There is so much out there to choose from, making it easy to factor into the daily schedule. On top of which our once a day ritual of walk, cycle ride or run slots in perfectly.
Staying Calm is fundamental to maintaining an even balance in the home. Changing circumstances, uncertainty and anxiety of the unknown is extremely daunting and causes panic and irrational behaviour for some.
Bringing more mindfulness in to the day, helps us to take our awareness into the here and now, so we can appreciate what is happening around us in the present rather than looking back with regret into the past and worrying about what might happen in the future. Meditation and breathing exercises can bring our anxiety and stress levels down, giving us a clarity and peace of mind.
Staying Sociable is a necessary feature that we cannot as humans manage without. We are naturally sociable beings, who respond happily to touch, contact, exchange and conversation. This is one of the toughest features of our isolation, one area that we all find hard to come to terms with. When we are separated from those we love, we feel lonely, excluded, remote, depressed and very anxious.
This is why it’s so vital that we stay in touch with our loved ones through other means. We can do this by a whole digital network of platforms – text messaging, What’s App, Face Book groups Skype and virtual videos like zoom, teams, YouTube and more.
There is a heap of positives that can be drawn from this time warp we find ourselves in. It’s a moment for us to stop, take stock, appreciate the quality time we have been given, to spend with our children, our partners, time that we didn’t have before. It’s an opportunity to be creative, entrepreneurial and expansive. A time to rethink, realign ourselves and look around us at the beautiful world outside our inside life.
Unexpectedly the world takes on a new meaning. We see that it continues to breathe, grow and reform no matter how or what we beings are getting up to. Is this our wake up call to regroup in the world, to come together with a whole new perspective, appreciation, loving kindness, compassion, gratitude and forgiveness?.... Think about it while you stay at home in isolation, you have plenty of time….
JOIN ME FOR LIVE ONLINE CLASSES
YOU CAN DO AT HOME
WATCH THE DEMO VIDEOS BELOW
YIN YOGA FLOW
Yin yoga is the calming more resorative opposite to Yang the more active power yoga practice.
In Yin yoga we hold the poses longer for two to three minutes this allows us to go deeper and create more space in mind and body.
The slow, soothing meditative style practice targets the deep connective tissues, joints, fascia and ligaments in the body. It also focuses on stretching and stimulating different pressure points through energy channels.
Yin offers us the chance to be still, be present and work within ourselves, while we breathe and stretch deeply.
YIN YOGA FREE LIVE STREAMING CLASSES ON THURSDAY 9AM (copy and paste the link to sign up)
https://app.namastream.com/#/moorwellbeing-yoga/product/7147/events
HIIT YOGA FUSION
A fusion of High Intensity Interval Training workouts (HIIT) with yoga poses delivers empowering and motivating workouts that will tone and tune up your body.
This class is designed to get your heart rate up while you strengthen and tone your entire body. For the HIIT portion of class we will do a selection of exercises, each targeting different body parts for a 40 second HIIT, followed by a 15 second rest interval.
After 20 minutes of high intensity work, you will come down to the ground to connect to your breath and stretch the muscles that you worked.
You'll soon see and feel what a huge difference, just a small amount of time and effort each day makes to your body, mind and spirit.
HIIT YOGA FUSION LIVE STREAMING 30 MINUTE CLASSES ON FRIDAYS 9AM £5
(copy and paste the link into your browser to sign up)
https://app.namastream.com/#/moorwellbeing-yoga/product/9184/events
PLEASE VISIT MOORWELLBEING NAMASTREAM YOGA STUDIO here
https://app.namastream.com/#/moorwellbeing-yoga/auth/signup