Deal with Anxiety, Get Back Into Balance

We could learn a thing or two from cats. I’m writing this during the period of time where Covid 19 is changing everything.

I’m seeing a lot of anxiety. Some people are struggling because of the social isolation of trying to ‘flatter the curve’. People who’ve lost work, are trying to juggle working at home while keeping their kids from burning the house down, have obvious reasons for being really stressed out. Some people probably can’t really pinpoint where their anxiety is coming from. 

When something is prolonged like this, it can have the effect of resetting our baseline. Our body gets used to feeling this sense of doom and tension. We weren’t designed for long-term stress. Our bodies have already been overtaxed by our brain not knowing the difference between that guy stealing our yogurt from the office fridge, and a lion who wants to eat us. 

We walk around really tense all the time. Now, this threat that’s messing with our economy, caused a ton of unemployment, caused people to actually die…how can we not be stressed right now.

As worried as I am about people feeling an unhealthy level of stress now, I’m even more worried about the stress they’ll continue to feel when this has passed. So it’s time to think about how we’re carrying all of this.

We need to be aware of our bodies, our nutrition, our general self care. We need to reconnect with our bodies in healthy ways so we can survive this, so we can thrive again. You can cultivate habits that help you get through normal every-day kind of stress, and you can cope with the reality we’re living with right now. 

A friend of mine, Paige Gilchrist, who is also my favorite yoga teacher, has a podcast that’s guided meditation tied to the body. It’s called Embodied meditation. It’s a good idea to be centered, it’s a good idea to make time for yourself. Find all the resources you can, especially free ones. 

Cats stretch, groom, ask for what they need (or demand it). Take a cue from their way of being. For today, try this:  https://insighttimer.com/embodiedmeditation You can find her on iTunes, and pretty much everywhere you’d listen to podcasts. This is not sponsored, this is essential self care during difficult times.