Coronavirus has shaken up our lives completely over the past three months. This has provided many of us a (welcome or unwelcome) chance to reflect on our lives. I, like many, have realised there are some areas of my work and life that aren’t working for me, which I’d like to change. I have also realised I can’t force these changes into being overnight, much to my dismay. If, like me, you want to get problems fixed the instant you spot them this post is for you. Making changes in life takes time being with discomfort – here are my top holistic living tools that I’m turning to right now as I navigate the choppy waters of making changes in my life.
1. White space
Providing our minds with white space throughout our days opens up space for day dreaming which boosts our creativity and supports problem solving. Try writing ‘white space’ into your calendar, setting a timer for your chosen length of time and letting your mind drift. If you find it hard to just be try doing something that cultivates white space such as having a bath or gazing at the clouds.2
2.Meditation
Meditation helps us to get comfortable with slowing down, being present with what is and being rather than doing. In meditation we learn to listen to ourselves, and may find some important insights come up for us during meditation practice. The important thing is not to try for any specific outcome, but just be with what is. I have some guided meditations for you to try on my YouTube channel if you fancy.
3. Mindful movement
I’ve found myself drawn to mindful movement practices such as walks in the park, slow flow yoga and I’ve also been finding real grounding in Qi Gong practices lately. My new favourite online yoga and movement platform Movement for Modern Life has some lovely Qi Gong practices, great for beginners. *
*This is an affiliate link which just means that if you sign up to Movement for Modern Life I get a small commission. My mentioning of the platform here is not sponsored in any way, I just really love their content.
4.Journaling
Journaling is often recommended as a way to connect to our inner world and for me I often figure out how I really feel about something by writing. The trick is not to think about it too much. Just put pen to paper and let the words come out. If you’re new to this practice, setting a timer can help. There’s just one rule, don’t stop writing until the timer stops even if all you write is “I don’t know what to write”. Whenever I’ve felt the need to make changes in life before, journaling has been a solid support system for helping me figure out the way.
5.Don’t overthink it
Ah, the classic highly irritating piece of advice for chronic over thinkers such as myself. If you also have a lot of Vata in your constitution you may struggle with this too. All of the tools above should help us to get our of our heads for a while. It doesn’t hurt to remind ourselves not to overthink too. Write it on a post-it note, repeat it as a mantra. If you do find yourself getting stuck in your head, take yourself off to do something totally unrelated as soon as you notice it. Yes, I know how hard that is.
Want some help working on the changes you want to make in your life? I’d be honoured to work with you 1:1 to help you support yourself in making these changes. You can read about my coaching packages here.