Image courtesy = me, this is my NFT
Almost everyone in this pandemic has tried to look for core happiness from all activities in the boundaries of the new workplace, the new school = your Home
It goes without evidence that "When you are the happiest, you will accept anything and take it across the finish line, but when you are low/sad you will deflect and resist and procrastinate even the smallest if asks"
Why?
Just like how humans have cut down forests to civilize and form habitats of living, we have encroached into the spaces of our home to be able to operate "Business As Usual" during a worldwide pandemic.
Our home has become our new office, Our home has become our new school with different participants trying to achieve the same goal = Survive and keep the lights on, keep life on the PLAY Mode and not the PAUSE mode.
Having said that, the initial days were tough, but then there was a stabilization curve and then kicked in the real litmus test mode of being able to sustain yourself and operate happily and efficiently.
Most of us have found this phase to be the most challenging. What made the difference, was the ability to make lemonade when life threw lemons at us.
A Healthy Mind is a Healthy Body is a Happier you
Just like the body, the mind is the pillar of physical well being and the temple of cadence for you and everyone in your vicinity , many people turn for help looking inside , while they should be looking outside…
Also man is a social animal , why are you being otherwise and sulking in that corner , get up get out.
We all have walked the tough path of the pandemic and have socialized after some normalcy with our small bubbles and never realized that your mojo lies outside those bubbles.
So when god has given you all that you wanted like a work from home perpetual for many and conditionally for many , some of us have juiced out the offering , some of us have been procrastinating heavily on a start date…
Returning back to Mindfulness
…here’s what has worked for many including me to churn a crisis into a "serendipity of opportunities" …I’d recommend some if not all from this list below
- Getting lost, yet being mindful with "Long nature walks with your journal" : choose a time between 5 and 8 AM, carry your fav book or a journal , choose a walk path that burns out 90 minutes of your time and your picturesque should be nature staring at you, take some pictures along the way, talk to yourself (loudly or internally). When you are bored doing that stop find a bench , sit down read your fav book or an article or simply journal your thoughts….
FIND A TRAIL, FOLLOW THE ROUTE, THROW A STONE in a discovered puddle - Music amalgamation: “The right music lights up your soul releases dopamine and ups your BDNF levels …..you surely have some form of digital music player like a old iPod, good old Walkman or just your Pandora, Spotify, Gaana or some app of your choice. Get wired in with your pods or your over the year and just sit in a place or take a walk and listen to 5-6 songs in loop , I promise you will come out of it happy as the music will stay in you echoing peace…..
- "Breathing" Specifically Bramhri Pranayama(breathing exercise) : This specific pranayama opens up your Ajay chakra one of the 6 chakras of your body that resides in your head area.. Follow the below guidance video if you are familiar with Hindi at 19:12 of the video of Baba Ramdev here ………for the non Hindi understanding folks follow the below guide a) keep both your index fingers on your forehead your thumbs jamming your ear and your middle thru your pinky on your eyes and on the exhale on take loads of oxygen in and hold your breath for 10 seconds on the exhale out with loud chants of Om exhale….do this 10 times you will see flashes of your head channel opening , ideas that were in the back of your head suddenly appear in the front , if you were struggling with the solution to something feel that and the answers will appear in your eye forehead realm …quickly take your book and pen your thoughts and your energies coz this energy release is for few minutes only to be specific about 3 minutes…(It raises mental energy and pumps inner peace in bursts)…trust me on this you will thank me later…
Bramhri pose
Image credit: https://www.kaivalyayogaschool.com/ - Reflection time : for those of you who use the iPhone you would have seen a new “reflection” mode in the Breath App : I was trying to tether the difference of breathe vs reflect and I’ve now understood it and gained perspective…before it used to be just breathing, but now you can run a segment on mindfulness for the time period that you can be most connected with yourself to reflect in the beginning or the end of the day. Try it and during that reflection period end, just pen down in your journal or a piece of paper or even your notes app on all the ideas, improvements, do's / don'ts that appeared in and out of your consciousness. I hate to use the word addiction, as its a negative attribute, i would say it will become a inspiring habit.
Other mindfulness apps are Headspace, Zen a Friend, Calm
Image credit: 9to5mac.com - Zoom Out not Zoom In : I know we are all eFatigued being on umpteen zoom calls at work but hey i'm just asking for one Zoom call a month with your soul buddies that are struggling to collaborate with you in person with sharing something that you would have otherwise done on a bar table/a nature walk catch-up a morning bike ritual or some other conglomeration. This is a fact , don’t you miss this?, if you do then after the family is asleep setup a time, topic and some content to catch-up and chill with your herd…this will dissolve the agony aunt in you and fill the voids that you’ve been missing, mix a happy hour 🍻 in the Zoom Call and clink your buckets virtually for happiness & peace …
I have a few more methods I’ve adopted like a good night sleep, a picture on your table that gives you instant happiness, making music with your children, making those procrastinated phone calls, kicking humor into office calls that are uptight at times , over delivering on work and making yourself in-dispensable, attending almost all live or recorded conferences.
I think other than these...what works for many is rigorous exercise, like a run or a elliptical workout also instantly makes you happy as the brain releases BDNF (Brain derived neurotrophic factor hormones) that are guaranteed to make you happy.
I will leave you with this image that i had taken when me and my son planted tomatoes and the saplings just came out of earth staring at us with a smile, we smiled back...love yourself, stay calm ..peace !!!
