While years past may have gone your way more easily, 2020 was a complete surprise to many people in the nation. Unfortunately, 2021 isn’t shaping up to be too much calmer as of yet. Across the country, people are reporting much higher levels of stress than they have in recent years. With work circumstances being reimagined, societal unrest in many areas and economic uncertainty looming, you may very well be experiencing how difficult it is to keep your life and mental health balanced in today’s world. If you’re looking to save some sanity in the midst of the current craziness, here are some habits you can start immediately that will help you feel better and weather tough times:
3 Habits To Serve You Well in Tough Times
Make Some Time to Check In
One of the most integral (and easy) ways to ensure that you still feel good even in tough times is by checking in with yourself a few times a day. Checking in with yourself involves taking a minute or two to ask yourself how you are feeling. It also involves asking yourself how you want to feel at the end of your day and what you need in order to end your day feeling that way. How you want to feel at the end of your day will depend on you and on your to-do list for the day. By building this quick habit into your day, you prioritize your well-being and being kind to yourself.
Start a Simple Yoga Practice
The many
health benefits of yoga have been touted far and wide. Yoga also carries the double advantage of being helpful both to your physical and to your mental health. The physical aspects of yoga build muscle tone, increase flexibility and improve posture. And the gentle nature of yoga practice, as well as its many adaptations for those with differing physical abilities, help it to promote better mental health for those who begin a yoga practice. If you’re not sure how to get started, check out some short yoga practices online and try out one or two. Many videos available to stream online have beginner-friendly sequences and practices from 5 minutes to 90 minutes.
Bring it Back to Your Breath
The way that you feel, as well as your stress level, can often be traced back to your breath. Anxiety can cause you to hyperventilate and feel as though you can’t catch your breath, resulting in less oxygen flow to your brain (which only increases your frantic feelings). Additionally, all those video conference calls cause you to be staring at a screen much more than in the past – and prolonged screen time has been linked to reduced breath rate and less oxygen to your brain as well. Take a few minutes each day for some deep breathing and ensure that your body is getting the quality oxygen that it needs. In this case, taking it back to basics pays off powerfully.
