Just a few months ago life was drastically different for many of us. We would wake up, do our morning thing and then we were off and running with a full day ahead of work, school, kiddos, dinner, dogs…
You may have had a few private minutes to yourself in the wee hours before anyone else in the family awoke or maybe just after everyone went to bed. In these sacred moments you were able to focus on yourself with self care, prayer/meditation, yoga, game planning for the day ahead, or whatever to create a mental state.
It was your time.
In quarantine, some of us have lost sight of those sacred moments. Sleeping in, home schooling, depression, lack of motivation or numerous other things may have clouded your path to those soul feeding moments. Me too…
I long to lasso those moments and own them again for me….because I’m worth it. But with the lack of boundaries in our households and the EXTREME boundaries in our social lives this may make it seem impossible at this point.
I wanted to share with you a few quick ways to create a MENTAL STATE CHANGE if your time is short and full of obligations at this moment.
Smile.
Smiling even when you don’t feel like it improves your mood. Recent studies indicate that smiling more often rewires your brain to create more positive patterns.
Laugh.
Children laugh an average of 300 times per day compared with an adult’s average of 5 times. Humor has a positive impact on your health and outlook in life.
Move.
Movement of any kind changes your state. If you feel lethargic, get up! Walking the dog, doing a few yoga sun salutations, participate with a fitness videos on YouTube or even doing housework will revitalize your mind and body.
Music.
Put on the earbuds and tune your phone to some crazy ’80s tunes that you LOVE. The sort of station that inspires you to sing at the top of your lungs with the windows down on a road trip kind of inspiration. Like Journey’s DON’T STOP BELIEVING.
Breathe.
Extra oxygen does wonders for the body and mind. It cleanses, opens and soothes different parts of our being and is overall something extremely healthy we can all do. Check out these benefits to deep breathing:
1) Decreases stress, increases calm. When you become stressed or anxious, your brain releases cortisol, the “stress hormone.” By taking deep breaths, your heart rate slows, more oxygen enters our blood stream and ultimately communicates with the brain to relax. Deep breathing also ups your endorphins, the “feel good” chemical.
2) Relieves pain. As stated above, deep breathing triggers the release of endorphins, which not only helps create a feeling ing, but also combats pain.
3) Stimulates the lymphatic system (Detoxifies the body). Breathing releases carbon monoxide, which is important to fully release. Actually, breathing is in charge of 70% of cleansing the body of toxins (the other 30% is through bladder and bowels.) If you do not breathe fully, your body must work overtime to release these toxins.
4) Improves immunity. When your blood is fully oxygenated, it carries and absorbs nutrients and vitamins more efficiently. Essentially, the cleaner the blood, the harder it is for illnesses to stay put in your system.
5) Increases energy. The more oxygen that is in the blood, the better our body functions. It also improves our stamina.
6) Lowers blood pressure. As your muscles relax, this allows your blood vessels to dilate, which improves circulation and lowers blood pressure. Deep breathing also slows and regulates the heart rate, which also helps with lowering your BP.
7) Improves digestion. The more you breathe deep, the more healthier blood flow you will produce, which in turn promotes your organs to function more effectively, including your intestines.
8) Helps support correct posture. Next time you breathe in, notice that you simultaneously lengthen and straighten your spine. In order to take a deep breath in, your lungs take up maximum space, your diaphragm pulls down, so in turn your torso straightens in order for this to be possible.
I just want to remind you that everything is temporary. This is partially why we need to create a habit of taking care of ourselves both mentally and physically. These tips are also temporary, but can be repeated as often as you need. Spend a day on each one of these and in 5 days see which ones you want to keep for your mental state change habit.
