bhuti lockdown tips for mental health, money, sex and wellness.
1)When you are feeling scared, anxious, lonely - anything thats making you want to reach for a bottle of wine, another cream egg, or to scream at your kids, husband, self (whoever is to hand)
Use the RAIN technique by Tara Brach...and during this lockdown period we may have a little more time to do this practice. If just sitting still is difficult to do you could do this in a warm comforting bath, on a walk, by journaling.
RAIN stands for: Recognize what is going on; Allow the experience to be there, just as it is; Investigate with interest and care: N - Nurture yourself.
R—Recognize What’s Going On
Recognizing means consciously acknowledging, in any given moment, the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are affecting you.
A—Allow the Experience to be There, Just as It Is
Allowing means letting the thoughts, emotions, feelings, or sensations you have recognized simply be there, without trying to fix or avoid anything.
I—Investigate with Interest and Care
To investigate, call on your natural curiosity—the desire to know truth—and direct a more focused attention to your present experience.
N—Nurture with Self-Compassion
Self-compassion begins to naturally arise in the moments that you recognize you are suffering. It comes into fullness as you intentionally nurture your inner life with self-care.
To do this, try to sense what the wounded, frightened or hurting place inside you most needs, Does it need a message of reassurance? Of forgiveness? Of companionship? Of love?
Experiment and see which intentional gesture of kindness most helps to comfort you. It might be the mental whisper, I’m here with you. I’m sorry, and I love you.
After the RAIN you may realised that you are no longer imprisoned in or identified with any limiting sense of self. There is always a place of light within. For Tara Brach's full practice.
2) Get creative
It is a joy seeing those that are well and able flourishing through this time, rediscovering old hobbies, dreams from pottery to soap making. Creativity is to the soul what oxygen is to our lungs. Even if we don’t think we are creative we are. Even though we may have more to do at home, housework, childcare working from home, we are being forced to being more creative. It could be as simple as creating a playlist on spotify, or arranging some flowers from the garden. Singing in the mirror, writing a poem. And like a current, the more you do the more it flows, and the more fulfilled we are. From a neuroscience perspective, we change the chemical balance of brain releasing feel good hormones endorphins and serotonin when we are doing something creative that we enjoy.
“The Artist’s Way” by Julie Cameron is the seminal book on creativity, “guiding readers in uncovering problems and pressure points that may be restricting their creative flow and offers techniques to open up opportunities for self-growth and self-discovery.” Buy the "The Artist's Way" on kindle
3) For some of us being at home can be a luxury and an opportunity. If we have less work, we maybe able to treat the time as a mini-retreat. Without the stress and time caused by commuting and moving about we can treat this time at home as a lifestyle makeover and retreat.
Suzanne Duckett,
Wellbeing expert, author and form editor of Tatler Spa Guide - has created a "30 Day Spring Reset" Its a day by day workbook with useful wellness tips for your home retreat includes serious discounts from big wellness brands (incl CBD) worth more than value of the book. Buy here with a £10 discount.
Lockdown is the time when we can start new habits of meditation, diet and exercise creating a healthier us. All of which will be immune boosting so if we do sadly catch the dreaded virus we are resilient physically to fight the illness, and of course we will be a stronger fitter version of ourselves out the other side.
4) Money
Financial pressure is massively stressful. Taking action helps alleviate this stress. Reforecasting and budgeting can help put things in perspective.
Look up resources to find financial help that is open to you.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ has some great tips.
5) Sex “Mating in Captivity” if you are holed up with a loved one (pardon the pun) now could be the time to dive deeper into each other.
“When you love someone, how does it feel? And when you desire someone, how is it different?
Esther Perel writes about how to reconcile the erotic and the domestic, she explains why democracy is a passion killer in the bedroom. Argues for playfulness, distance, and uncertainty. And shows what it takes to bring lust home. Smart, sexy and explosively original, Mating in Captivity is the monogamist's essential bedside read. Buy the book here
Share your lockdown hacks in the comments below we’d love to hear from you.
by Sama bhuti founder
