The grief, anxiety, and sadness experienced as a result of the coronavirus is the reality for a majority of us as we face each new day with uncertainty. At the Arizona Center for Marriage and Family Therapy, we cannot emphasize enough that you are not alone in your feelings of depression, isolation, and nervousness. We are all here with you.
Our lives may look drastically different today than they did prior to the pandemic, and now more than ever we need tools and strategies to find peace and calm amidst the chaos. For the time being, this is our new reality, we are living during a pandemic. But with mindfulness, you can find moments to realign your body and your energy into the present, centering yourself as you continue to navigate the new stressors of everyday life.
Mindfulness is the practice of stopping, breathing, and grounding yourself as things occur outside your body and emotions and feelings arise within your body. Mindfulness can be formal meditation but with the chaos of our lives, there are ways to implement stopping, breathing, and centering in our day to day practices. In “Mindfulness: How it Can Help Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic” from Yale Magazine, the author highlights the following ways to implement mindfulness moments during our day to day routines:
Take a moment or two to pause during the day. Put aside whatever you are working on or thinking about, and take in a few slow breaths. Notice the sensations of the air going in through your nose and exhaling out through your mouth, slowly.
Lie down, close your eyes, and slowly scan your body mentally from head to toe—or start from the opposite direction—bringing your awareness to each part of the body without judging or trying to change anything.
Practice S.T.O.P.—this is an acronym that stands for Stop, Take a breath, Observe your feelings, and Proceed.
For more information on mindfulness, you can read the aforementioned article here.
