Let’s backtrack five weeks ago you are working or some of us are driving to work listening to the news about the pandemic that could possibly be heading our way. Five weeks ago, people overseas are suffering from this pandemic “The Coronavirus”. As we carry on with our lives thousands of people are dying and suffering.
Now let us fast forward to the present-day USA. Today we are stuck in our homes quarantined, our restaurants closed, our gyms closed, our coffee shops closed, and our grocery stores are packed with hundreds fighting for toilet paper. The pandemic has hit the states harder than Connor McGregor hit the Cowboy. Some of us are left without jobs, others know someone or have someone in their life sick and fighting for their life. In these times, it is easy for us to get lost in our thoughts and get sucked into the stress of “our future”.
We are all human and we all will worry and stress about this because of the uncertainty that exists. We sit there in our homes at times in silence just thinking, others binge-watch and eat. These days seem like they will carry on forever as we listen to the news constantly showing us one state has more cases and another state has 20 deaths. The panic the media creates, while our local small businesses take a hit because people are now afraid to leave their homes. This pandemic is costing our seniors graduation, our seniors their prom, our seniors that last chance to be with friends before we move on and most importantly it is costing us sports, what’s a man supposed to do without sports? This leads me to the next part; what are you supposed to do? How do we stay sane and avoid overthinking and living in a paranoid stage?
The first thing to practice the art of breathing:
I recently just finished a great book “The Way of the Seal” by Mark Divine. In his book, the author explains the benefits of breathing and it is a process for the body. Breathing has both an involuntary and voluntary control mechanism and once you perfect your practice you can set it on autopilot. Breathing techniques go back into ancient times and in many sports especially martial arts it’s time we all take a moment to learn how to breathe. After reading “The Way of The Seal”, I have been practicing a technique called “box breathing”.
How to perform boxed breathing:
Expel all of the air from your chest.
Keep your lungs empty for at least a four second count.
Inhale from your nose for a four second count, hold your breath for 4 seconds. It is important here not to clamp down or create new pressures.
Once the four seconds are up, exhale on a four second count thus concluding one circuit repeat this for 5 minutes as a start and build your tolerance.
What I have found from this practice is a new sense of calm after completion. I also find myself to be more alert and focused. This is just one variation of breathing; this works for me may not be best for you. I urge you to take this time to find a breathing technique that provides you the most benefit.
The second thing practice the art of meditation:
Meditation is probably one of the most challenging practices however once you have mastered your art in it, you will feel a new sense of energy and well-being. The first thing that I had to learn was meditation was not something you do; rather, it is something that you allow to happen to you. With meditation, the first thing you have to accept is that you do not know anything and are willing to open-mindedly learn the process, the next step trust the process.
Meditation comes from a Latin word meditari, which means ponder, sometimes meditation is simply pondering. Meditation can be a simple way to explore our lives and get rid of daily stress and anxiety. It offers the benefits of helping us to stay calm and relaxed, allowing you to open your inner life. Initially, the art becomes challenging but after practice becomes very relaxing.
Steps to consider for meditation:
Find yourself a good meditation guide or teacher. There are plenty of resources you can utilize online; find someone that will guide you through the process and beyond.
Create a pattern and stick to it. You have to be strict about daily practice, on a set schedule and follow it diligently.
When practicing your art find a posture that is most comfortable for you. For me when I practice, I tend to just lay on my back fully relaxed and eyes shut.
Have fun. Pick and easy to practice technique that allows you to also enjoy the process. Meditation can be a good adventure for your inner self. As you get more involved It can be very fun and relaxing.
Meditation can be a battle against your mind. You will never fully appreciate It until you win this battle. The hardest part for me when practicing is “shutting off” my mind to allow me to relax.
These are a few steps to a very difficult but fun practice. The ultimate purpose of meditation is self-realization and enlightenment. Aiming for the greatest possible outcomes to keep yourself motivated as you practice. Your goal can be relaxation, peace of mind, awareness, intelligence, clarity anything is possible and achievable with an aim for high practice.
The art of Exercise:
Thousands of people suffer from stress and anxiety daily and according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) these disorders have increased on a yearly basis. Since 2008 there has been an increase in stress and anxiety by over 14%. I truly believe that it is impossible to eliminate stress in general, but you should and can manage. One of my favorite ways to manage stress is exercise. Exercise is very effective to help just declutter your thoughts and improve your state of mind.
Studies have proven that exercise is a great way to overcome fatigue, improve alertness, concentration and enhance your overall cognitive function. Stress can deplete your energy and ability to concentrate, affecting your brain and your wellness connection. Physical activity will help release some natural endorphins which enhance your life in many ways. Scientist have found that regular exercise has shown to decrease overall levels of tension, elevate/stabilize mood, improve sleep and self-esteem.
The issue most of our exercise is outside or at the gym? Right now, going outside can be a challenge and forget about gyms everything is closed so what do we do?
Here are some ideas:
At home bodyweight exercises, if you go on social media right now everyone is posting creative ideas for home workouts.
If working out is not for you maybe you can do some dancing or playing games with your kids at home.
Maybe do some laps of walking around the house or going up and down the stairs, a few times just to get some steps in.
Physical activity has been proven to help reduce stress, so these are just a few examples to try. Physical activity can improve your spine health and prevent poor posture. There are many other things you can do to help reduce your anxiety and stress and increase those endorphins. This is the time to become more creative with thinking and finding something that works best for you.
Yoga has been something that I recently picked up on and found myself practicing this art more and more with the extra time. Yoga is a great way to improve strength, awareness, and harmony with yourself physically and mentally. From the American Osteopathic Association, Dr. Natalie Nevins says “Yoga is a great tool for staying healthy. It helps me focus on my effort on preventive medicine and allows me to focus on my body’s ability to heal itself.”
The physical benefits of yoga increase help you gain flexibility, increase muscle strength/tone, improved respiration, and energy, maintaining a balanced metabolism, weight reduction, and circulatory health. These are a few of many physical benefits, however, yoga helps mentally as well physically. Yoga can help you manage stress which itself can be a very taxing thing to our mind. Yoga has been shown to be very effective in developing coping skills and reaching a more positive outlook.
Yoga incorporates both meditation and breathing that can help improve your mental well-being. Regular practice creates mental clarity and calmness, increases body awareness, relieves chronic stress patterns; relaxes the mind and centers attention for sharp concentration. Body and self-awareness are beneficial to help one with early detection of problems and early preventative actions.
I recently have been following some yoga flows on Youtube. They say” let’s do dolphin” and I do the whale but hey it’s great, they say “chaturanga,” I say darn it “more close grip push-ups” and my favorite they can spend an entire hour downward dog mean while I’m exhausted like a dog after a 2 mile run gasping for air and energy. But the benefits for example downward dog:
Calms the brain and relieves stress/depression
Stretches shoulders, hamstrings, calves, arches, and hands
Strengthens the shoulders, arms, and legs
Known to help with relieve of menopause symptoms, menstrual discomfort, OP and improve digestion
Helps decompress the spine, helps with fatigue and even back pain
So, let’s backtrack, all of these benefits from just one movement. A yoga class can have between 10-20 different movements now let’s imagine the benefits of all those movements. I have taken 4 virtual classes with “Laughing Buddha Hot Yoga” and let’s just say the benefits speak for themselves. I also have yet to repeat the same class because of the diversity of the practice. This is something that has been helpful to just make me feel better just like lifting heavy weights do so it’s amazing to have the resources to allow this while the gym is on lockdown.
These are three big things that you can do aside from eating better and sleeping well, to decrease your overall level of stress. Everyone knows the benefits of eating well and how it can help increase the dopamine response, improve energy levels, reduce stress levels and overall just make you happy. Sleep is another important factor try to get yourself on routine so you can sleep at least 7-8 hours a day. These are not new things I am mentioning we all know the benefits so let’s go back to the basics here.
The lesson to learn from this pandemic virus, that is taking over the world, right now our primary focus is our health, our immune system and of course the health of those close to us. If you are being a new practice stick with it if you are doing something you never have done before keep in mind why you did it. We get so involved with technology that we forget to live in the present moment. I spent days creating gym equipment from wood, finding new ways to be active and practicing things I have neglected. Being in quarantine does not mean your life is over it means it’s time for you to find new growth. Take the lessons you learn during this time and carry them with you for the rest of your life.
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