Achieving Peace and Tranquility In The Time Of COVID
Guest Blogger: April Meyers, from www.mindbodyhealthsolution.com is here to share some helpful tips and resources on how to achieve peace and tranquility in the time of COVID. Thank you for sharing!
Unchecked stress can impact the mind, body, and soul, particularly in the era of COVID-19, where unprecedented stressors are piled on top of everyday life challenges. One of the best ways to combat feelings of anxiety and unease is through meditative practice.
Setting aside designated time for intentional reflection and calm, focused breathing can help ensure you’re in the right mental space to effectively care for yourself, your home, your family, and your work. The following insights can help you find peace and harmony.
Health Benefits of Meditation
According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, meditation offers mental and physical health benefits that reduce stress, tension, and anxiety. It can help you sleep better, and even aid in creating a more positive outlook on life.
Part of this stems from the fact that meditation focuses on techniques that calm the mind, relax muscles, and slow and regulate your breathing. From a practical standpoint, meditation is an internal activity, which allows you to tune out the rest of the world, essentially carving out an uninterrupted period of peaceful respite whenever you need it. This is especially beneficial if you are quarantined with family or limiting trips outside of your home.
Facilitating Mindful Meditation
As a quiet and reflective practice, effective and impactful meditation sometimes requires a calm and peaceful environment, free of distraction and negative energy. But keep in mind, that’s not always possible and it’s ok if you’re meditating in a noisy place.
If you are creating this space, start with some positivity into your living area with a thorough top-to-bottom cleaning, airing out your home, letting in the fresh air, decluttering, and cleaning so everything feels new and revived. According to Psychology Today, a clean and organized living space can help declutter your mind, allow for clear thinking and create a feeling of accomplishment. Make a literal clean sweep one of the first steps in your meditative space-creation journey.
Creating The Perfect Space
Although it may feel like a challenge, strive to find a quiet space in your home that you can devote entirely to private meditation. It doesn’t have to be spacious to be effective. You might use a spare bedroom, a den, basement, attic, or even a small corner in your room. Make it a beautiful and calming retreat, adding a fresh coat of paint if necessary in a soft muted shade. Add a favorite piece of art, a yoga mat, pillows, an incense burner or oil diffuser, and a music system, earbuds, or earphones that can help you block ambient sounds.
Learning Different Meditation Techniques
According to Medical News Today, there are a variety of different meditative approaches to choose from. Some focus on breathing or a combination of movements and postures combined with breathing techniques. Others focus on purposeful thinking, and some incorporate mantras or repeated phrases. Adding a mantra to your meditation routine can help you ease into a state of relaxation faster. Keep in mind that most mantras are in Sankskit, the classical language of South Asia but many practitioners have found English affirmations to be beneficial. Affirmations can also be an effective tool to use outside of your meditation space when you need to center yourself. Learn about different techniques and try several different options until you find something that feels right for you.
When you first begin to practice meditation, it may feel like it takes a bit of time to settle into a relaxed state. It may help to join an online meditation class or utilize an audio-guided relaxation technique. Once you become accustomed to the process, the physical effects and emotional and mental benefits will start to materialize. Consider meditation an essential part of your self-care routine, building a regular time into your everyday schedule until it becomes part of your daily regimen.
Curious how mindfulness can align with your business’s marketing strategy? Connect with Brenda Umana, yoga + meditation teacher and Mindful Marketing Strategist.
