Making life better in Lockdown

This COVID-19 crisis has radically changed our lives. Just a few months ago, we had no idea our 'world' would be confined to our homes. This crisis is a powerful reminder of how important freedom is - and how much we need human connection. Remember you are not alone. Because what is DIFFERENT here is that everyone is impacted! Your neighbour, family, work colleagues and friends as well as people around the world are all going through something similar. This is the challenge each of us must rise to! If we're going to be stuck at home, we may as well make the most of it. Over the next few weeks I’ll be giving my top tips for coping with social isolation. Today’s top tips for coping with social isolation – Fitness and Meditation 1) Build Your Physical Strength, Fitness Levels or Flexibility Building your physical strength is powerful and health-boosting. Not only is physical strength and flexibility life-affirming and good for our health, but feeling more physically powerful actually helps us feel more empowered and less helpless in life too. So add some physical activity into your schedule – maybe start with as as little as 5 minutes a day. Hopefully by the end of this you'll be fitter or even be able to do 10 (or 100!) press-ups! • Join an online yoga class such as www.yogasmiths.org • Turn up the music and dance to your favourite songs https://parade.com/946264/parade/happy-songs/ • Take a 10 minute walk before breakfast • Look for walks in your local area that you’ve never done before. https://www.visitwirral.com/things-to-do/activities/walking • Do a quick workout such as Dr Chatterjee’s 5 minute kitchen workout https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtZB95-AVZM For me a morning yoga session and a daily walk in nature are part of my every day exercise. 2) Begin a Meditation Practice Meditation is a practice that has been proven scientifically to calm us, help us be more creative and be happier (for starters). It's extremely beneficial. There is a lot to learn about meditation - and it's called a Meditation Practice for a reason. But it's also not as hard as it sounds. You can start with as little as 5 minutes a day - and it's good to build a routine, so you meditate at the same time every day. “The Daily Calm” and “Headspace” app provide many guided meditations to help with a variety of emotions. I find the sleep stories on the Daily Calm app particularly useful. The 5 minute meditation below is an ideal way to calm your thoughts and to truly be in the moment. There are a number of other meditations on my Facebook page that you may enjoy for free! So, which of the above ideas resonated with you? The areas I am focusing on are making meditation a part of my everyday practice and including more strength exercises into my daily workout. Believe you have the skills and power to tackle this situation and you will! Choose to make the best of a difficult situation and no matter what - you'll find a way. This current and strange COVID-19 situation will end. And when it does, you'll be proud you made the effort to become fitter and more able to cope with the fluctuations of a busy mind. If you are struggling and would like more support then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I offer a variety of well-being programmes such as “Overcoming Stress and Anxiety” and “Building Strong Foundations for Health”. www.balancedhorizons.co.uk