Alone Together !

Due to the current situation, there is an air of uncertainty and we are all wondering how the next few weeks will look like. People are stocking up their pantries with food supplies and other sundries. The grocery stores here in US are running out of basic stuff. Will the numbers rise or will the situation be under control by end of March – everyone is watching the situation closely. Like any other crisis scenario, we need to deal this situation with grace and humility. We need to follow the protocol and at the same time we must be optimistic about the whole situation.

If we think from the perspective of our environment, the current situation will make a lot of sense. We have abused nature in the name of development and tourism. With less travel and tourism, mother nature is getting healed. Less air travel and road traffic means less air pollution. Who would have imagined that a microscopic organism has the power to bring every thing to a stand still. As we allow our planet to BREATHE, we can do the same and reflect on what we have achieved and where we are heading to. We have enough time to reflect during the isolation period ahead of us.

Isolation has its own merits – at least in this situation it does. Everything seems to be slowing down. The fast paced life is suddenly shifting gears and we are ‘forced’ to pause and isolate ourselves for everyone’s safety, whether  we like / want it or not. As someone who is naturally inclined towards optimism, I always see the bright side of any situation. I think it’s a great time to ‘CONNECT’ – with self, with family, with distant friends and family members and with God. Isolated – yes , but we are all together in this .

Being a firm believer and follower of Ayurveda, I feel that the following things can help us deal with this crisis or any stressful situation in general. In this blog I’m sharing some mindful ways to spend time with self and your family.

HOW TO COPE UP WITH COVID 19

Things to do / Survival Strategies / How to be mindful

The basic idea is to create a warm environment inside your digestive track and build/boost your immunity. Viruses generally don’t survive in warmer environments. Therefore sipping warm water and herbal teas can be of some relief. Along with that, me must feed our minds with happy thoughts. The following are some time tested Ayurvedic remedies followed by many Indian households on a daily basis. It’s never too late to develop healthy habits.

• Pranayama – You can watch you tube videos if you don’t know how to do this. A simple way to start is  to take 10 deep breaths and exhale with a focus on your breathing.

• Practice Surya Namaskar everyday  – helps with stress and anxiety along with numerous other health benefits. There are some yoga poses which boost immunity like  Shavasana, Supported Fish Pose, Bridge pose ).

• Drink warm water or plain tap water with no ice – to keep your system moist.

• Wash hands with soap and warm water before cooking and eating food ( don’t we do this everyday anyways ?) . I come from a country where we didn’t have hand sanitizers, disposable wipes, sanitizing wipes until recently. The only way to clean hands is washing them with soap – that’s what most of us learnt from our parents. Moreover, washing hands is the best way to keep germs away.  If there is one and only silver lining to Covid 19 , it’s that people will start washing hands. Seriously, I know many people, who rarely wash hands and start cooking and serving food. Believe me, it’s hard to eat their food and that too when you are visiting them in their house !!

• Don’t touch your face even if your hands are clean – again common sense , right ?

• Eat more of these : Green chilies, garlic, turmeric, ginger. Besides using them in your cooking, you can also make teas such as  ginger tea and  turmeric milk/tea. You can also make pickles with ginger, chilies and garlic. Garlic – best is to eat it raw with water in the morning . I also did another blog few days ago on immunity boosting foods. You can read it here.

• Home cooked fresh food : As an Indian , this comes very natural to us. If you believe that cooking is not your cup of tea, you can try to assemble some easy recipes – bake or steam vegetables and sprinkle some butter and dried herbs – it’s that simple. Eat it and  you will feel the difference. Feeding your body nourishing foods takes away half of the stress. Increase your Vitamin A, C and D intake. Avoid fast foods like burgers, pizzas or anything which is  not contributing towards immunity building. If you can prepare your favorite fast foods at home, then that should be fine as you will control the amount of fats and sugars used. And may be add extra herbs and spices mentioned above to make them more nourishing. Just for your information , CORONAVIRUS and CARNIVOROUS have same letters. Maybe , it’s a hint that we need to eat more plants and less of animals. It has a strong environmental connection too. Google it and find the connection !

• Eat more fruit and vegetables to support your immune system.

• Avoid sugary drinks or sugar laden desserts or snacks as sugar is known to reduce immunity.

• Call and connect with your friends and family who you have been meaning to call for last few months. Call older people in your community and see how they are doing. This is exactly what I mean by ‘Togetherness in Isolation’.  

• Learn something new – take this time as an opportunity to slow down and learn something you have been wanting to do for the longest time – internet is full of instructional videos. Self care is addicting – trust me! Connect – with self – read, write or create something.

• Pray –Connect with God– My mother says that we pray so that our mind is at peace. It is not for a miracle to happen overnight ( if it does, that’s great ) but to help you deal with the situation. Instead of worrying , if we use that time to pray, it will calm our mind. I always chant some mantras first thing after waking up and last thing before going to sleep. I strongly believe this practice has enhanced my quality of sleep and also helps me start my day on a positive note.

• Time To Reset – Believe in the power of slowing down. Take this time to clean up your home ( early spring cleaning ?) , reset your mind and reset your goals – really there are no limitations. Just have an open mind. Write in your journals if you don’t do this already. Maybe first thing in the morning or as a last thing before going to bed. Turn off your devices and take out some time to reflect.
  
• Set a Daily Intention – Each morning before starting the day set an intention for the day . It is like activating your brain receptors. You manifest and put out what you intend to attract. Or in simple words what you think is what you will attract. It works like magic . Don’t let your day take control of you , do it the other way instead by setting an intention early in the day.

• Teaching Kids Life Skills At Home – Instead of watching news updates all day along, may be we can teach some basic life skills -cooking, kids yoga, how to be useful around the house, some basic breathing techniques, how to fold laundry …it’s always a good idea to start young.

And most importantly, stay calm and don’t panic. Remember our kids are watching us and we can use this time as an opportunity to teach them how to deal with stress and uncertainty. This will build resilience in our children. If we panic, they will learn that. If we are hoarding, they will learn that. If we are mindful of the situation and stay grounded and calm, they will pick that. Tissue paper, TP, paper towels and disinfectant wipes are just convenience items. We can survive without these and teach our kids a very important lesson at the same time. Dependency on anything/ anyone is not always helpful. So, you decide what you want your children to learn.

Things to avoid

Media overload –  You don’t have to watch the news 24/7 to stay updated with current information. All the negativity, stress and fear around the globe is not going to help.So switch it up and watch a comedy show/ movie instead.

Don’t try to be the journalist – We all have friends who will share the latest updates about the situation. Just be aware of the fact everyone is watching news ( some even watch all day ) and some like me will update themselves couple of times a day from a reliable source like local news channel and an international news agency like BBC or CNN. People are already in a panic mode. And most of the times the forwarded information is baseless and adds to the panic. So don’t waste your time sharing unnecessary information. If you must share, then share some uplifting messages. Or best is use that time for self care instead !

Don’t waste your time on social media and Whatsapp – reading the latest updates on Covid 19. Instead spend that time on self care, personal growth and on your family. Take this as an opportunity to spend more quality time with your family. Be present for your family. Try doing it for a week and you might like it.

Don’t complaint and stress about the whole situation. We are all in the same boat. It’s a sign from UP THERE to slow down. We have been running around like crazy all these years and this is God’s way of telling us to pause and reflect. Believe in the power of slowing down. Maybe we can use this time to do some meaningful activities together at home – reading,  exercising ( yoga, meditation, Zumba  or whatever you can find on internet ) playing board games, creating something new ( paint/draw/ cook / sew/ write/ scrapbooking/ crafts ). Count your blessings, don’t count the number of cases !

Avoid socializing – This is not a Diwali/ Christmas / Thanksgiving  break. So plan accordingly .

Don’t shake hands –  instead join them together and say ‘Namaste’.

Hope this blog helps you in taking your minds off the craziness going around. You might already be doing all of the things mentioned above . If not than there is no better time to try them. 14 days is a good starting point to develop new habits. In the end it’s all about going back to our roots and make some lifestyle changes which are good for us as well as our planet. After all being mindful was never out of fashion but we were blinded with all the development and craziness around us.

Do you have any other ways to stay calm ? Please do share them in the comments below.

No matter where you are – stay optimistic, do the needful and leave the rest to God. Really, some situations are beyond our control. When you need to calm down, remember to take 10 deep breaths and pray.

Other articles on quarantine which might interest you :

Immunity Boosting Foods

Ginger Pickle

Quarantine Shopping List

We have also started a Facebook group where we share good things from our quarantined lives. No news, no forwarded messages – just positive messages from our own lives. Look for ‘Mindful Connections’ on FB and send a request.

Let’s continue to pray for everyone’s health and well being.

Namaste,

Monika