Top tips to NOT lose your sanity during the pandemic

It’s no surprise that I’m getting a lot of emails from people that are feeling overly “anxious” during this challenging time for the human race.

People are unsettled and it seems like there’s an extra sense of chaos and uncertainty in the world:

• Don’t know who to trust for newsworthy information
• Unable to get out of the house and go outside
• Conflicting reports about what is going on with the pandemic
• Financial fears about economic collapse
• Worried about your own health and wellness while you are confined without access to healthcare

With contradictory information coming at you from every device you can imagine (television, cell phone, radio, internet), it can be unsettling, to say the least.

My best advice is to get your self grounded and present to feel stable and supported amidst this chaos.

When we are feeling grounded and more supported, we are less fearful of events that are outside of our control. And, we are more empowered by the things we can do, rather than the things we cannot.

Allow me to give you three easy things you can do right now while you are quarantined to take the edge off and keep you sane.

Wake Up and Stretch

Everywhere around the world people are on lockdown and being contained inside their homes.

That means we are simply not getting as much activity as we normally would.

Human beings absolutely need daily movement to keep all systems flowing (especially the lymph that clears debris and waste).

I understand that there are many people in the world that don’t go to the gym and don’t exercise on a daily basis, but even the simple act of getting yourself up to go to work everyday WAS a form of movement.

After studying Shiatsu bodywork decades ago, I know it’s imperative for the health of the body and mind to wake up and move every day in some way.

Whether that is Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong or Basic Meridian stretches, these ancient forms of movement do NOT require access to a gym.

They only require that you have a physical space the size of your body that you can either stand in or lay down on to complete these gentle and effective forms of movement.

Start with these easy Basic Meridian Stretches – I promise it will help move your energy and get you out of your head, and back into your body to feel more grounded.

Proper Breathing Techniques

All life begins with the drawing in of breath.

When a baby is born, we slap its butt to get that new human take its first breath of air outside of the water world (the womb).

That human being continues inhaling and exhaling, for its entire life here on the planet. Until it reaches the last exhale, on the way out of this life.

So, it’s imperative that we learn to breathe properly while we are here otherwise our days will pass us by filled with fear, and struggling, and without clarity of mind.

It’s one of the reasons why I highly recommend meditation.

Meditation is simply learning how to focus your breath, draw it deeply into your body, and quiet your mind.

When the breath is getting where it needs to go, and the mind is quiet, you can hear what you need to hear, when you need to hear it.

According to a Harvard Medical School study, people who meditate have more control over alpha rhythm — a brain wave thought to screen out everyday distractions, allowing for more important information to be processed. And, meditation also allows us to have more control over our emotional responses.[1]

Meditation is not as difficult as it may seem, but it does take some practice and commitment.

While you are on lockdown, this would be a GREAT time to put meditation and proper breathing into practice.

I mean… what else do you have to do?

You can certainly sit and watch the news all day, but that will keep you in a perpetual state of distraction, fear, and confusion.

Trust me on this.

Take time every day – even if it’s only 5 tiny minutes – to breathe properly and meditate. This will help you focus your mind so it’s doesn’t spin out of control.

Here’s my article to help you retrain your breath and quiet your mind: Are you feeding your mind? Try breathing.

Get Into Your Kitchen and Get Cooking!

Believe it or not, when I first got into the kitchen with a purpose over two decades ago to heal my thyroid condition, it became a form of meditation for me.

I focused my intention on cooking nutritious and delicious food for the sake of my health.

And, it worked!

Bellying up to the cutting board on most nights (instead of the local sushi bar), chopping my organic and naturally raised ingredients, and cooking homemade meals that were lovingly prepared, was a game-changer for my health and my life.

Cooking helped me understand the various foods and their effect on the body more intimately.

When you get into the kitchen to cook, you develop a deeper relationship with food: you choose it, purchase it, touch it, wash it, cook it, and eat it.

I know while you are confined at home it’s easy and convenient to order in. I’ve seen the pizza boxes piling up in my building in New York City.

As a matter of fact, in the 5 weeks that NYC has been on lockdown, even my husband and I ordered out for pizza 2x, Mexican food 1x, and Thai food 1x (a total of 4 meals).

If you break that down it looks like this:

• 5 weeks = 35 days
• 35 days x 3 meals per day = 105 meals
• 4 of those meals were convenient; no cooking, no cleanup, and no connection to where the ingredients came from or how they were prepared
• 101 of those meals were prepared with loving intention to nourish the body using organic and naturally raised ingredients

As fate would have it, during the lockdown both my husband and I had Covid19. And, because I know my kitchen is a wellness center, I had the confidence and understanding of what to eat, and what NOT to eat, to help us heal more effectively.

You can read about my Coronavirus healing journey and the kitchen remedies we used here: There’s no cure for Covid19, but a LOT you can do to heal.

So, while you are sitting at home growing anxious about all of the terrible things that may happen to us, take the time to get present right now by stretching, breathing/meditating and cooking.

These are the basics to keep your sanity.

And, as an added bonus you’ll come out of lockdown a new and improved human.

Stay safe, get present, and stay sane.

Let me know in the comments below what you are doing to stay healthy and sane during this challenging time in human history.

[1] https://psychcentral.com/news/2013/06/23/meditations-effects-on-emotion-shown-to-persist/56372.html