Scrolling through LinkedIn, I came across a picture posted by one of my favorite mindfulness and awareness teachers.
According to the World Health Organisation, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression has increased by a massive 25% in the first year of the global pandemic. The study shows that the pandemic has affected the mental health of young people and that they are disproportionally at risk of suicidal and self-harming behaviours. It also indicates that women have been more severely impacted than men and that people with pre-existing physical health conditions, such as asthma, cancer, and heart disease, were more likely to develop symptoms of mental disorders.
Yes, I couldn’t agree more. Calm really is a human superpower!
Here is what I tell my coaching clients: Find a practice that works for you!
Anything to calm down your nervous system and to get you to pause your hypervigilant thoughts about the future and regrets about the past. A practice that brings you back into the here and now.
You may ask yourself, what can I do to strengthen and cultivate calm?
For me, the following works to create space in body and mind:
1. Start to notice your thoughts and emotions as they are arising.
2. Learn to recognize your personal red flags of mental hijack and greet them with what Tara Brach calls “unconditional friendliness.”
3. Start naming your sabotaging thoughts, for example, hi there, hypervigilance, good morning judgment etc.
4. Practice “pause” and consciously let go of your thoughts by engaging with mindfulness tools such as coming back to the breathing, feeling your feet on the ground, tuning into sounds around you etc.
Trust me, I know, staying mindful is not always easy. Yet in my experience, calm is a muscle that can be trained. Awareness is key.
Also, gyms are seeing an increased demand for gentler classes and are expanding their mellower offerings like yoga and meditation, according to Wallstreet Journal. One of the most prestigious gyms in the United States, Lifetime, offers a special class called “Surrender.” The goal of this type of yoga class is submission to pressures and classes designed to let them pass. In South Africa, Virgin Active International has introduced Yoga Calm. In this slow-paced class, you will release tension, target deep connective tissues, like ligaments and tendons to increase circulation in your joints, which will improve your flexibility.
The world needs peace and calm. And you too can play a part in bringing this into your surroundings.
Read here about the benefits of Yoga Calm and retreating with intention.
PS: Bookings are now open for my upcoming Conscious Retreat, 25-28 August 2022 in majestical Knysna, South Africa. Our (re)treat days will be filled with restorative yin yoga, meditation, conscious conversation, and delicious plant based, high vibrational foods.
Email sibylle@consciousretreats.co.za for bookings.
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Sibylle teaches Yin Yoga at Virgin Active, Johannesburg South Africa and online most Tuesday evenings at 7pm (SAST). She calms down nervous systems and (re)trains brains and empowers her clients to live with a retreat state of mind in order to create a life, they love to live.
Sibylle lives in Johannesburg, South Africa with her husband and four young adult children.
Sibylle is a Consciousness Coach™ and trainer, Time to Think™ coach and facilitator, iEQ9 Enneagram Practitioner, and certified Yin Yoga teacher.
source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-hot-new-class-at-your-gym-resting-11648336639
1 Comment
Sibylle is an amazing coach. A few months ago I couldn’t manage my anxiety, I was starting to feel depressed, feeling hopeless and didn’t love myself. But now I learnt to not be hard on myself, love myself and learn how to manage my anxiety. I’m feeling optimistic that very soon I would be in a much better position with managing my anxiety.