Are you going through a lockdown right now? Here are some healthy tips and reflection questions to survive this lockdown and keep calm!
We are hearing this over and over again – “We live in unprecedented times“. Maybe there are other ways you can describe this moment in HIStory… What does this time mean to you? I am hoping to share what has helped me after 1 month of lockdown.
✨ Accept what comes up within your Self…
There will be good days and then there might be really bad days. After all, we are in a weird uncertain time period… No one knows what is going on or what to expect. It’s no wonder we can go through a rollercoaster ride. Just know, it’s Ok to not be OK.
This time period is like an intense transitional cocoon stage. With most life changes, there is often a time where we feel alone, isolated and in a cocoon space where everything is shifting around – And in this stage, we often have to face up to our deepest fears and doubts… our Shadow Self starts to roll in. As we don’t have our normal routines to glide past or distract our Self, this might be a time for many when the Shadow Self becomes *extremely* loud.
Allow awareness to be a key tool, observe everything. Easier said than done! But think of this way: When are we all going to have this opportunity again – to truly remove our Self from our usual life and observe what we feel about our Self, what we have been doing in our lives and what changes we want to make when this is all over? This could be an opportunity for deep reflection and personal change.
I will add tips and reflection questions throughout this post for you to explore – The reflection questions might also be good as topics for your journal writing.
⚡️ Tips:
👉 Get a brand new journal to write and release in. This is your safe and easy way to track and explore whatever you need to… And it might be a good future reminder of any inspirations you want to keep after.
👉 Set an intention to be open and kind to your Self as we navigate our upcoming experiences. Write your intention on the first page.
👉 Allow your Self to feel whatever comes up and to write it all out in your journal… free-flow style. It doesn’t even have to make any sense, but it will be released! We don’t want to hold anything in.
👉 Observe your dreams. Dreaming is a way of tapping into your subconscious and working things out. For my Self and many others, dreams can often be very vivid when changes come up. If this sounds familiar, you could also use your journal for recording your dreams.
💡 Reflection Questions: At this moment in time, what fears are coming up? What have I been avoiding within my Self that is now showing up? What do I feel grateful for in my life? How are my emotions/energy-in-motion now?
✨ Conscious consumptions…
Be careful and bring awareness to what you allow your Self to consume... A common example now: It can be addictive to watch the news or get caught up in what everyone is saying about this situation. I find that the more this lockdown continues, the more anxious we can be, wanting to know what is going on and when this will be over…
We still have a choice in what/how we consume and exchange energy in our life. This goes for the things we watch/listen and to the things we consume (such as food and energy). This is when we might turn to comfort eating, drinking and things that might feel good temporarily, but is only really there to numb out what we feel. And then there are ways we watch our Self consume in a different way… Some would say it’s like taking a minimalist approach to our choices. For example: I notice how many of us are starting to look carefully at the things we buy while we are taking our weekly shopping. Perhaps we are focusing on these things because we are gaining a new sense of the way we consume/exchange everything and the things we want to change? Let’s dive in deeper…
⚡️ Tips:
💡 Reflection Questions: When I am shopping for food, what items do I find my Self consuming less/more of? What am I consuming/doing to give my Self comfort (in an unhealthy way)? In my normal daily life, where/what do I spend most of my time and energy in?
✨ Start a new routine asap…
The routine we had is gone. Just like that, we are forced to create a new way of living daily life. For some, it might not be that different or difficult – and then for a lot of people, this could be a shock to the system.
Consider this: Our whole life is really a series of habits/patterns throughout our day – our daily routines. When you put it like that, this time gives us space to really reflect on how we spent and channel our energy every single day – In how this accumulates over time as the life that we know, how we value them and what we receive as an exchange. So, what now?
Choice 1: Distraction is an easy option. Sure, we can easily distract our Self at home – watch Netflix and sleep through the whole lockdown. We can also always find ways to go through distraction with others and with responsibilities too… Many people have daily routines that do just that.
Choice 2: Make the most of this time to allow for exploration. We can also choose to remove our distractions (even if it is just 50% of the time) and consciously decide to see what comes up from within and to do things differently. The sooner there is a new routine to try, the better you might feel about this huge change in life.
⚡️ Tips:
👉 A good way to start: See what you can keep from your old routine and what you can add/replace with new things. There will be some things that you can still keep as a familiar part of your day – For example: waking up at the same time as usual and getting dressed.
👉 Then, for the things that you can’t do, decide what you can replace it with – For example: The time you normally spend commuting to work can be a time when you do yoga or workout, play with your children etc. It’s fun to think of the things you normally say you don’t have time for – and then replace the old with the new things. A good way to start is by finding space to also include quality time for your Self, even if it is just 15-30 minutes/day.
👉 If you are not alone, discuss this with everyone: If you are not alone and you live with family, partner, flatmates etc… it’s a good idea to discuss and set out your individual/group routines for the day as a group. Everyone might have different needs – For sample: Some of you might need to be homeschooled or have children to attend, some of you might still need to work from home etc. Getting a clear plan together will make life easier.
👉 Try the new routine for a week and adjust where needed. As with most new routines, it can take time to adjust so the first week or two might be a little bit of a juggling act until the flow begins. Patience really helped me – and reminding my Self that everyone is also adjusting at their own pace.
💡 Reflection Questions: What routines did I enjoy in my normal life? In each of my daily routines, what do I get out of it? What really matters to me in my life? Do I see any changes in how I value my time in my normal life and through my normal routines? What will I change when this is over?
✨ Observe your energy dynamics with your Self and others…
Our energy dynamics will be interesting to observe! Normally when we go through dramatic changes, it can often feel like a lonely experience – But in this case, it is a global collective experience. We are ALL feeling it, which can often just add to the intensity! Even if you live in the middle of nowhere and don’t listen to the news, the energy is still present.
Our dynamics with other people might be an eye-opener. The reason for this is that many of us actually spend a lot of time away from the people we live with. We spend a big chunk of the day away – at work, at school/college – and only spending time together in the evenings/weekends. Now, we are faced with spending every minute of the day with the people we live with (in a confined conditional way). It’s not always going to be easy, which is why the new routines might help to arrange this new situation… It may also give each person space to adjust.
If you live alone and/or going through this on your own, it might awaken the realisations of what it means to connect with other people and to be all by your Self. This was my experience… I began to value the people in my life during these difficult times.
⚡️ Tips:
👉 Reacting quickly to others… It’s easy to do this in such a reactive time! But it may not always be the best way to communicate to others when things do come up. If you are feeling something, you could take the time to write it out first… to get the emotions/energy-in-motion out on paper, to let it cool off and then there may be more clarity to express your needs with another.
👉 Finding new ways to bond… Whoever you live with, now is a beautiful time to find ways to connect deeper to each other, even if there are many other things going on in your mind. If you live alone or are going through this by your Self, get creative in how you connect with the people that matter to you. Thank goodness for technology!
💡 Reflection Questions: In my life right now, who do I enjoy sharing energy with? What is important to me in the way I connect to others? Has anything challenging come up about sharing my needs? How do I communicate with others and to my Self? Who/what makes me feel drained right now? Who do I feel drawn to reaching out to and finding out if they are OK? How can I make more time for me to recharge my own energy?
✨ Connection in simple things...
Connection also comes in many forms! Usually in what gives us pleasure… We often think that feeling connected has to always be about the people we know. But what if we see that everything we do is a form of connection, to our Self – and extended to the world around us? From this point of view, we can start to see that our day can be full of connection!
Small loving acts of love. Now that we have more time – What would it feel like to put more attention and love into things that we might normally rush through? For example: Taking the extra time to sit with your favourite hot drink or to make the loving meal for your Self and others without rushing… Just being truly present and slowing everything down. It then becomes an act of mindful meditation.
⚡️ Tips:
👉 Get clear about what connection means to you. In your journal, write a list of small things that you can do that gives you pleasure and makes you feel connected. In times like this, if you can fill your daily life with these simple joys, it can completely change the way we feel.
👉 The art of Hygge… Making your home a sanctuary Now that we are all spending more time at home, we can enjoy the practice of Hygge – The art of simple pleasure and making your spaces and connections all about that good feeling. Now is the time to enjoy essential oils, long baths, good conversations, curling up in a blanket with a good book. >>Read this article to explore
💡 Reflection Questions: Right now, what do I feel drawn to do? What small acts of love can I do today for my Self and others? How can I explore my sense of connection further?
✨ Healthy balance and grounding…
Survival mode energy is a big thing right now. How else can you explain the food hoarding and toilet paper crisis?!? Something about this time has awakened a primal survival instinct in us, showing us what we need to live. The obvious ones we see is the need to be fed and to have comfort in physical releasing! There are also other areas that may be feeding into this – like the economic situation, job security etc. It is not going to be an easy time for many and the world will change after this. I am not saying this to bring up more fear but to bring awareness to how our own reactions are. This can be a Root Chakra issue…
It’s easy to get caught up in the headspace too… On the other end, our upper Chakras are taking on a lot too – With more reason to make a real effort to get grounded! This is especially true if you are an empath and highly sensitive person. We all need a healthy balance in our energy, without going into extremes… Being able to meet what comes up within in a healthy way. By grounding, we can also find solutions and release/channel stored emotions/energy-in-motion as we go along this process.
⚡️ Tips:
👉 Making time to be physically active. Movement ha a way of loosening up stress and tension we hold on to. If you are allowed to go out for walks during lockdown, then make the most of it (while keeping the usual precautions in mind). Nature seems to put everything into perspective… Plus, we are in a transitional season (Spring or Autumn, depending on which part of the planet you are in) where nature is also changing. And if, like me, you are not allowed to take walks… We can get creative at home too!
👉 Free online classes are now up! For the first time, many yoga teachers and fitness instructors are ever more present online and sharing their usual classes to everyone – usually for free or by donation. This is the first time I was able to join classes with many teachers who I have admired from a distance and was not able to do their classes because of our locations. Maybe you can think about your local yoga studios and gyms… check if they offer this on their social media pages.
👉 YouTube… No excuses now! There are thousands of online classes there too – Start with short classes and slowly build. What is your excuse?!?
👉 Dance it off! This is my favourite way to ground… And super fun. Alone or with others, put on some of your favourite tunes and enjoy movement… Let it all go 😜
👉 Get creative… Creativity can be anything that gets you tapped into your Self and channel your energy! This is something you can do alone or with other people at home. Creativity is a wonderful grounding energy and helps release what we hold on to in a healthy way. This is especially good if you are feeling low energy… let it go in your own creative way.
👉 Develop a new skill… Is there a skill that you have always wanted to indulge your Self in? It could be that you wanted to start learning a new language or learn how to use that sewing machine that has been stuck in the corner of your house for so long lol… It could literally be anything. Now you can channel your energy into it.
💡Reflection Questions: How do I feel before/after getting physically active? In what ways can I explore my physical senses more (touch, sound, etc)? What creative things did I use to do that I can now return to?
Kundalini yoga: Let me share a class I am enjoying now…
✨ Deep trust…
We are ALL exploring and finding a deeper sense of trust… Yes, things will never go back exactly the way it was before. How can it? With all of these different shifts, internally/externally, it is not possible. But we can use this space to become very clear about how we want to move forward, no matter how bad your situation is right now.
Watch for the same patterns. When we go through transitions and/or challenging times, we can often go through the same patterns in the way we react and feel within. This is an opportunity to observe them and break old patterns if needed. Deeper healing.
It’s like the whole world has taken a collective deep inhale and hold…. waiting to see when it is safe to exhale once again. More than ever, I think we need to trust the process, trust the timing (or the lack of timing) and let this unfold slowly. This is temporary, we will find a way to go through it and face whatever comes after… as individuals and as a collective.
⚡️ Tips:
👉 An article you might enjoy reading: This thoughtful article can apply people living in any part of the world!
“From one citizen to another, I beg of you: take a deep breath, ignore the deafening noise, and think deeply about what you want to put back into your life. This is our chance to define a new version of normal, a rare and truly sacred (yes, sacred) opportunity to get rid of the bullshit and to only bring back what works for us, what makes our lives richer, what makes our kids happier, what makes us truly proud. We get to Marie Kondo the shit out of it all. We care deeply about one another. That is clear…”
💡 Reflection Questions: Think back to the last time you went through a difficult transition… What is coming up now that reminds me of the way I felt/reacted back then? Are there any patterns that remind me of how I face my trust in Self and the process?
To end this post, I want to share one more meditation IU am enjoying…
I often find that celestial communication meditations are a wonderful way to do longer meditations, without getting restless. Let me share one that I do for 11 minutes. Meditate with this mantra of Guru Ram Das for healing, humility and protective grace. If you are feeling stressed, emotionally overwhelmed, or feel unsafe in any way, listen to this music and practice this movement meditation (called Celestial Communication) to bring you emotional relief, relaxation and peace.
YOGA FOR EMPATHS & HSPs 
Thank you for sharing so much useful advice, Tera!