Hello all!
I know that anxieties during this uncertain time are extremely high. I wanted to take a moment and give you some tips, and tricks on how to heal your body and mind during this quarantine.
Healing your mind:
These are measures that you can take to heal your mind, reduce anxiety, and worry.
1) Practice mindfulness. Use your senses, look around the room that you are in. How many things are blue? How many are green? Count them. What can you hear? Can you smell anything in the room? Can you taste anything? Do you feel the air on your skin? Do you notice your clothing touching your skin? Hold your attention on the sensation for 15 seconds.
2) Take care of yourself. We must help ourselves before we can help others. During this time of quarantine, we should still try to get some time outside! You could go for a walk, sit outside and read, or even go for a run- if you're into that. If you don't want to go outside and it is nice out, you could open a window to get some fresh air. However, if you don't want to go outside/ can't outside, you could call someone that you love, listen to your favorite song/ artist, watch a funny video, express gratitude (verbal or written), sing, or tell some jokes.
3) Reconnect with your purpose. Reconnect with your inner "why" or why you do what you do, for your commitments, family, or friends.
4) Affirmations. An affirmation is a positive sentence that is to reinforce a desired goal or that is to counter something negative. So instead of saying "all the people who have access to the funds to hoard all the medication, food and toilet paper, etc., are going to take it all and leave none for those who don't have the access or funds." You could say " we are all in this together, we are resilient, and there are people who are paying attention to those in need."
5) Generate wisdom. Check out one or two trusted news sources- but no more than that. Combine this step with mindfulness and it will hopefully give you some wisdom to carry on throughout these times.
Healing your body:
These are some of the things that you can do to heal your body, promote restful sleep and reduce anxiety
1) DRINK THAT WATER. I cannot stress this enough. If you are a dehydrated little plant how are you supposed to be your best (and most importantly, magickal) self? You can take a rose quartz stone and put it in a water bottle, fill the water bottle with water and let it sit for 15 mins. You can do this with any crystal that won't dissolve in water (there are some that will straight up dissolve in water so PLEASE do your research.)
2) Make yourself some comfort food. Try to use as many fresh foods as possible. But if you really want that macaroni and cheese, do it.
3) Light some candles. A) They smell great B) you know you have plenty of candles laying around, waiting to be lit.
4) TEA. My mim always used to say "Tea solves everything" I live by these words- Upset stomach? Mint tea. Anxiety? Chamomile tea. Can't sleep? Lavender tea. Need to wake up? Black tea. Sunburns? Black tea. And the list goes on! I know that not everyone likes tea, but if you do or are willing to give tea a try, there are a lot of health benefits.
5) Bath time! If you don't have a bath tub, its ok I will list tips for showers too. First, let's start with sugar scrubs. Sugar scrubs are amazing, easy to make and leave you smelling great!
This recipe is for one of my favorites, vanilla cookie sugar scrub. You'll need 1/4 cup coconut oil (almond oil also works well for this) 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract and a small airtight storage container for the mix. Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!
I also really enjoy what I like to call shower bombs. They're like a bath bomb but for the shower. You'll need 1 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1/3-1/2 cup water and about 30 drops of whatever essential oil you want, silicone or paper muffin tins, and a muffin pan. Mix all ingredients together, it will be a little watery, this is good. line the muffin pan with the tins and pour the mixture in. Let the mixture sit until it is hardened and the water is gone. Once they are dry, you can throw it in the bottom of your shower and breathe in the goodness!
If shopping at Lush isn't your thing, but you want a bath bomb, you could make your own! This recipe has some stuff that you most likely don't have lying around your house, but if you do awesome!
Master Bath Bomb Recipe
1 1/2 cup baking soda 3/4 cup citric acid
1/4 cup epsom salt 1-2 teaspoons of water
3/4 cup cornstarch Essential oils of your choice
Silicone or plastic molds Rubber Gloves (if you can spare some for this project)
-In a bowl, whisk together baking soda, epsom salts, and cornstarch.
- add a couple drops of food coloring to the water (if you choose to do so) Add the water a few drops at a time to the mix. Be careful not to add too much water at once.
-Add 6-8 (or however many you would like) drops of essential oils to the mix.
- Mix in citric acid.
- Pack scoops of mix into molds and press firmly. allow to set for 2-3 hours or until hardened. store in an airtight container.
If this seems too overwhelming to you- I totally understand. You don't have to do anything that you're not comfortable with. But if you do want some bath products you can always support local businesses on etsy or shop from lush.com.
6) Get restful sleep. Follow good sleep hygiene like, putting away electronics at least a half hour before bed, making sure that your room is tidy and clean, journaling and reflecting on your day or reading a paper book.
7) Meditation. If you have never meditated before, meditation can be overwhelming. I would suggest taking it slow at first, maybe trying 5 or 10 minutes. You can also try a guided meditation. For me, guided meditation is where its at! I can't keep my mind from zooming around at 500 miles per hour especially when all I'm doing is sitting, doing nothing.
Once the 5 or 10 mins seem too short you can start to lengthen your practice. Its all about comfort level here! if you want to try an hour meditation? Do it! If you want to stay with those 5 or 10 mins, do it! Whatever you're comfortable with.
Recommendations for meditation
1) Be comfortable. You don't want to be so comfortable that you're going to fall asleep (unless that is what you're striving for)
2) Try closing your eyes. it shuts out visual distractions.
3) Turn off all distractions. Yes- this means your phone, computer, tablet or anything that will create distraction. If you are using an app for guided meditations, maybe putting your phone on do not disturb will lessen the distraction.
4) Check in with your body. What are you feeling, are there any areas of tightness that you can relax?
5) The most important step is to not beat yourself up if you fail at meditating. It's called a practice for a reason. you must practice it to get better.
8) Do activities that make you creative! Sing, dance, paint, draw, take pictures. Do whatever- just be creative.
Some of these tips can be found in The Witches Book of Self-Care by Arin Murphy-Hiscock. I highly recommend the book!
These are a few ways to heal your mind and body during anxious times. Stay safe.
As always, check your energy before commenting!
Love,
K