As we navigate these unchartered times of physical distancing, let’s not forget about the importance of our mental, physical and emotional wellness.
While the efforts to address COVID-19 are necessary, they pose a range of challenges as we respond to the demands of self-isolation and working from home.
Our daily rituals and routines give structure to our lives, and when we no longer have them, we feel lost and untethered. This situation is stressful for everyone, and it is normal to be anxious and worried. Of course, a bit of humour always helps: check out Prof. Robert Kelly’s home office BCCTV interview that went viral after his toddlers interrupted with perfect comic timing.
Understanding that we are all in this together, here are several ways to deal with working from home that support mental, physical and emotional wellness.
1. Establish a daily work routine with specific time frame.
2. Get up at the same time, have a shower, eat breakfast and get dressed.
3. Make a separate space for work.
4. Set an intention for your work day.
5. Stay connected to the outside world.
6. Develop a daily gratitude practice.
7. Humour is healing– find laughter at least once a day.
8. Take healthy nutritional breaks.
9. Mindful workouts: activate your mind and your muscles by moving and breathing in a way that shifts you from feeling busy and distracted to feeling strong and capable
10. Mindfulness practices: pause and breathe to settle thoughts, emotions and sensations
Supporting our mental and emotional health with mindfulness practices is relatively easy and accessible to all. Recent research shows that the various regions of the brain function like the muscles of the body. So, if we use breathing exercises to calm anxiety and stress, then our brain becomes more adept and capable of accessing these states of mind and states of emotion.
The following exercise is easy to practise as part of a daily routine. It can be done anywhere, formally as a daily sitting practice or informally as you move through your day.
Pause practice
1. Take a pause and stop whatever you are doing.
2. Begin with three to five relaxing breaths, then allow your inhalations and exhalations to take on their own rate and rhythm.
3. Invite your attention to notice what is here and now – first in your environment: sights, sounds and smells. Then, with each breath, turn your attention to your body, to your mind and to your heart. What sensations do you notice? What thoughts do you notice? Do you have strong feelings? Accept what you notice without making judgments.
4. Make an intention to be kind and compassionate to yourself and to those around you.
5. Slowly come back to your space and continue on with your day.
As we are thrust into new ways of being and new ways of doing, living our life from moment to moment can contribute to mindful wellness. •
Karen Ragoonaden is the director of the Centre for Mindful Engagement at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus.
