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How to Start Meditating during COVID-19 Lock Down

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Lock down – also known as the best time to start meditating. The induced anxiety of not knowing how this will turn out, how this will affect you, if your job is stable and and and – the thoughts and fears induced by this new situation don’t even being to cover the amount of anxiety we have toward the fear of the virus itself. Its hard to cope, and some of us find ourselves not being able to stop talking about it. You may know it by now, or if not, the best way to calm your mind is through meditation.

The idea of meditation is to focus your mind on either a particular thing like the breath, on a particular thought – like loving & kindness. Which does mean, not focusing on any Covid-19 thoughts. This may seem hard and might require some energy, but its a first and healthy step in the right direction. All your thoughts on this topic won’t get you anywhere but digging yourself more and more into your own anxiety. You need to be forced to step out. Here is a simple and easy way to do it, and a great introduction into a meditation:

Sit, stand, walk, whichever is most comfortable but make sure you are alone in your space.

Count each breath in, count each breath out. Do it till you get to 10. If you feel you need more, do it again.

That’s it! You have just meditated! If you lose count, that is ok, just start again and make sure you get to 10.

It’s easier than riding a bike and will benefit your mental health and your happiness. Aim to do it once a day. I usually do it while brushing my teeth or while waiting for my work computer to start up. But if you can’t, just doing it once is already more than never.

If you get bored of doing this, the next level up you can start to focus on where you feel the breath the most. You will notice this changes, sometimes it will be your nose, other times your stomach, other times your guts. The short check in with your body will move your focus away from being stuck in your head, to settle your focus in your body. It not only helps you, but you will notice how much easier it is to deal with matters and the people around you. You will be happier, just by counting your breaths. I dare you to try it.

man wearing sunglasses meditating in front of a city skyline

More of such tips & posts are on my site lifecoachnika.com

‘No Money Mo Problems’ – How to Deal With Financial Stress

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It’s no secret financial problems are on the rise;  if businesses aren’t shutting down they’ll be laying off to keep them afloat.  Not to mention, the IRS being backed up forcing you to wait on stimulus checks, tax returns, even receiving state unemployment becomes an impossible task.  I myself am a bartender, this uncertainty of income has been looming over me since day one of shut down.  With the downtime I’ve been forced into I’ve come up with a few tricks I’d like to share to help compartmentalize and deal with this nightmarish stress.

Roll With the Punches

If you’re part of the population that’s been laid off or your business has closed you’ve probably had to apply for unemployment, grants, or loans. These are never a certain answer to our financial problems, they may fall through or deny you all together. That waiting period to find out if you qualify for any of these support systems can hellish. Instinctually you tell yourself that you’ll be accepted and the money will be coming any day now, though in the back of your mind, the “what if” factor lingers. Suppressing the “what if” factor can only make stress levels raise in negative ways. Analyzing and accepting the “what if” can be tough but healthy. Let’s say there is no money coming your way whatsoever. What ever is in your savings is all you have, it may not even be enough to cover your next mortgage or rent bill. This would panic any ordinary person, if you grasp the worst case scenario and accept it you won’t be caught off guard, you’ll be mentally prepared for it and know how to “roll with the punches”. 

You Only Have Two Hands

When I first started behind the bar, I could get flustered pretty quickly. When it got busy all eyes were on you, people impatiently waiting for drinks, food, or a check, as well as finding time to clean and restock. That can be a bit overwhelming when you have three rows of people across the bar. My mentor taught me a saying that helped me keep my head straight, “you only have two hands.”  I can’t tell you how many times I repeat that saying to myself on and off the job. So simple, for some reason it actually made the job a lot more enjoyable and me a better worker. If you’re doing everything in your power and are able to show what you’ve done, through applications, communications, or anything regarding your efforts dealing with financial support. If that’s the case, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about when you deal with the banks or landlords. They are in the same world we’re living in right now there’s only so much in our power. More than likely this sky rocketing real estate market might finally come  down to an affordable margin after all of this.

Enjoy The Little Things

Now that you’ve stopped panicking since the last paragraph you have a bit more time on your hands. This whole quarantine business has us sucking in a lot of recycled air, meanwhile outside the pollution levels are at an all-time low. Try going for a small 30 minutes to an hour walk, by yourself, without your phone (unless you live in a bad neighborhood). Really take your time, don’t have a destination in mind, just wander, explore, ding dong ditch a house, people watch, enjoy the clean air, take that extra second to enjoy how calm everything is for once. This quarantine can be just as much of a blessing as it is an inconvenience. Now more than ever we can really “enjoy the little things”. When you’re home cooking dinner or meal prepping throw on some tunes. At some point your jam will come on, drop whatever you’re doing and dance your ass off, that’s right, go full on Risky Business or if you got the right tights and leggings you can have yourself a nice Flashdance moment. Maybe build an awesome pillow/blanket fort, camp out in the backyard, teach your dog how to fetch you a beer from the fridge, more than anything its okay to be happy right now.
Everything is TemporaryHowever the outcome of any situation may be, it’s good to remember “you’re still alive” if you’re still breathing you’ll be just fine. Things can only get so bad and when they do it won’t last, literally “everything is temporary.” I hope this came to some use, thanks for reading. 

Happy Trails.

sunset on Hawaii beach