Four suggestions to stay calm in curent times

Dear Reader,

How have the current developments impacted your work and life in general? Hope you and your family members are safe. This might be one of the rarest times where you would be faced with unprecedented number of urgent decisions.

In current turbulent times, it is important that we find creative ways to respond, so that our inner immunity is strengthened. We have a choice between “Life is a tiger” v/s “All is well” response. Our thoughts have a great impact on our immunity. Even if we are eating healthiest, nutritious food, if we do it under stress, our body shuts down the cell walls. Nutrition exchange is blocked. Our immunity system army gets diverted to manage the stress and becomes sub-optimal in defending against viruses.  

How about finding creative ways and take actions that will keep you in the positive mode? You can turn around these times as most memorable and progressive times instead of being forced away from your normal life routine.

Here are some interesting ways that you can consider experimenting with, each of a different type:

Something you can do alone, something you can do with one online guide and something you can do online with a group.

1.     Visualize a protection shield:

Whenever I feel any kind of danger, I find the following affirmation very reassuring.

“Let a protection shield be installed around <names>. A white light and love energy be passed through them and purify the configuration of <names>. This shield protects <names> from any negative energy or illness. So it is now.”

People with whom I have shared this, have reported feeling calmer and more able to take rational decisions after they used this affirmation.  

2.     Write Morning Pages:

Inspired by The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, Me & Ruchi started this daily practice 10 days ago. We find it extremely useful. All worries, concerns, ruminating thoughts, anything that comes to the mind, just download them on the paper. If nothing comes to your mind, scribble that thought all the way in 3 pages. Here is how Julia explains it:

“Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages – they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind – and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page...and then do three more pages tomorrow.”.

Hear it from the author on this link: https://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/

3.     Thanking your body: a 30 minute meditation

We have joined a 5-month online meditation course with Nithya Shanti. 3 days a week we do a guided online meditation for 30 minutes at 5:30 am. It’s a great way to start the day with calm and new insights.

One of the recent sessions was about connecting with your body parts and acknowledging them one by one. That session was so insightful that is has been made public. Click on the link below  to access the video.

Glow of Gratitude for the body

 

4.     Soulful conversations and connections: Differentiate between social distancing and physical distancing: A friend Anjan shared a message today that resonated with me. Here is an excerpt:

“What a wonderful time to socially connect:

Yes, there is a need to practice PHYSICAL DISTANCING in the manner and intensity that works for each of us: However, we needn’t socially distance. In fact, it’s time to connect more now, with all the extra time on hand.

How about connecting with friends, family, people from across the world using the several digital tools & technology available to us. Long chit-chats with friends, Skype calls with our parents who would love to share so much but with our work schedules we never had time to listen, the overdue gossip chats with our besties, group hangout with your university alumni, and so many other creative ways to spread love, to share, to cry/laugh and to find strength! Wouldn’t this be a great way to live, and promote wellness consciousness?”

Wishing you all the best for a greater inner immunity. May your thoughts and actions make you a magnet for your wellness. You may want to read this blog I wrote in September 2016: on 3 simple ways to enhance our internal immunity to safeguard from illnesses:

Warm regards,

Rohan

Time to reclaim your super-power!!!

Dear Reader,

Here is a TED talk that I found very useful: Sleep is your superpower.

Notice how calmly Matt puts across his point. He seems so relaxed even in a normally fast paced 18 minutes TED talk.

I connected with lots of points made by him in this talk. He uses some interesting scientific rationale and evidences from 10+ years of research. 

• Sleep loss has a direct link with reproductive health !!
• Sleep directly impacts our memory & learning ability: It is “the save button” on what we learnt today and prepares our brain for absorbing next set of memories and learning.
• Sleep deprivation “shuts down our memory inbox”, any incoming files to the memory just bounce.
• Disruption of deep sleep as we age, directly contributes to memory loss and even Alzheimer's disease.
• Sleeping pills don’t produce naturalistic sleep.
• Sleep loss of 1 hour is linked to 21% increase in heart attacks and sleep deprivation of 4 hours causes a 70% reduction in immune system activity.
• The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life
• Lack of sleep will even erode the DNA genetic code

“Sleep is not an optional lifestyle luxury. Sleep is a non-negotiable biological necessity. It is your life-support system, and it is Mother Nature's best effort yet at immortality”.

The good news is that restoring our sleep hours is in our control and is a choice.

Till June 2015 I managed life with average 5 hours daily sleep. I have since then consciously redesigned my schedule to sleep average 7 to 8 hours a day. The benefits have been immense since then.

I also learnt some practical ways to get deep sleep. I had written a note many months ago based on the guidance by THAC. Do take a look : 10 natural tips to better sleep

May this note remind you of your own Sleep Superpower.

Warm regards

Rohan

3 ways to pause the multiplex in our heads !

Dear Reader,

Our mind runs a multiplex. There are multiple screens and thoughts running different shows at the same moment. We run this multiplex for 16-18 hours non-stop. 

My wellness guides at THAC, shared that this non-stop activity consumes energy, generates heat, releases many chemicals in the body and leaves residue. Our body is left with limited space and time to do its core functions of cleaning, absorption, repair and regeneration.

Here are three ways I found useful to pause this multiplex in our minds:

1.  Anytime: Every 2 hours, close your eyes for 2 minutes. Breathe deeply. You can also put your head down, stretch or slowly massage your scalp and face. I found that the key here is closing the eyes. This needs no props and thus can be done anywhere.

2.  End of Day: Watching candle flame (this activity is called Tratak in Sanskrit language). A taper candle works best. For few minutes look at the flame of a candle. Keep blinking every 5-6 seconds. This activity suspends internal dialogue as you are focusing on the flame. I find it more practical to do at home at the end of the day.

3.  Beginning of Day: Yog-Nidra: This is a 30 minute guided practice by Bihar School of Yoga. It’s a kind of guided meditation done lying down on a comfortable mat. Simply listen to the audio and follow the instructions. The intent is not to go to sleep, but to relax the mind. I am able to do it regularly, early morning even on a workshop day. It does calm down the buzz in my mind.

The beauty of this practice is that you can get anyone to experiment with it. This includes elderly parents, even a bedridden person. Once they see the result, they will start practicing by their own choice. This recording is available in English as well as Hindi from their App.

For ready reference, here is a link for downloading the app: http://www.biharyoga.net/apps/

May this note help you in pausing the multiplex in your mind and focusing on what matters, one thing at a time.

Warm regards

Rohan

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