5 LOVELY LITTLE REMINDERS

Hi beautiful you.

I hope you're enjoying a wonderful last day of easter and I apologies for this blog post being a few days late this week. I took my own advice and spent quite a few days simply being present with my family. Our days have been filled with baking, drawing, painting, walks in the forrest, watching movies, snuggling and simply just being together. I have also made sure to get some me-time and self-care in (yoga , meditation and long baths being a must) to prevent me from going stir crazy! (Pictures below pretty much sums it up)

But today I really wanted to drop in and share with you 5 little reminders and things that I believe that we can all do to embrace this strange time that we are in. So here goes. 

1. Embrace the stillness. the unknowing. the Yin. 

On many levels I think that we all needed this. Not the actual virus of course! But being forced to slow down. To actually be present and with the people closest to us. See in Chinese medicine we talk about yin and yang and how there must always be a balance between the two. Yang is the active, going, doing, pushing and achieving. Yin is the opposite - the calm, quiet, slowing down, appreciating, reflecting and tuning in. The way our society is built, there isn't time or space for yin. 

"In a world that is busy, achieving, moving and accomplishing, rest is an act of courage" -Tory Eletto

And so I believe that this is mother natures way of creating balance and forcing us to slow down and tune in. We need more Yin (which is why I named my blog YinMama) in order to have balance within ourselves, in nature and in life. So let us try to embrace the not knowing and try to appreciate the time of yin that we are in right now. 

2. Ask yourself; what and how can I heal during this?  

See I believe that in any circumstance, we have a choice in how we allow it to affect us. We can give in to the collective fear, excessively monitor the news and stress about buying enough toilet rolls (which is ok too). Or we can choose to be curious and challenge ourselves to look out our own fears and insecurities (which may be related to the virus or perhaps something different entirely). We can sit in the uncertainty of not really knowing, and choose to actively release the fear and find the calm within ourselves. Sure we want to numb out sometimes and avoid actually feeling all the uncomfortableness, but if we dare to look at it with curiosity, without allowing the fear to swallow us, I believe this time can be a great time of healing for many of us. 

It has perhaps taken me until yesterday to realise that the past few weeks have been very healing for me as it has in a way given me a "second chance" to stay home with my son. See I loved becoming a mother but honestly, I also really struggled the first year (the colic and severe sleep deprivation was rough...). But spending this time together without really knowing how for how long, has given me so much room to reflect and heal the past, to connect and find so much joy in the present moment, and so I find myself feeling so grateful. Which brings me to reminder number 3...

3. Practice gratitude 

It is ok to feel: Frustrated, Happy, Sad, Grateful, Anxious, Calm, Confused, Relieved, Tired, Energised or (Insert any other emotion here...). Accept the strangeness of the situation and allow yourself to feel it all.. but choose to always circle back to gratitude. See choosing to focus on the positive in our life and showing appreciation for all that we are and have, is possibly the fastest, simplest and most powerful way of improving our own well-being and happiness.

Research suggests that feeling grateful can help reduce stress, improve our mental and physical health, increase empathy, ease depression, improve our relationships and foster long-term happiness. All pretty good reasons for making it a part of our daily lives! So take a moment in the morning and evening to think about or write down all that you are grateful for. 

"When you trade you're expectations for appreciation, you're whole world changes in an instant" - Tony Robbins

4. Make time for me-time and self-care

So Important. Do more of what brings you joy and calm. (Here is a little list of ideas taken from my instagram, but the social one needs to be adjusted a bit):

5. Be kind and notice the little things

This is a strange time for all of us and having watched way too many romantic comedies and Disney films myself, i can't help but quote Cinderella; Have courage and be kind. Remember to be kind to yourself and others. Focus on the things you can control and choose to do things that light you up and bring you joy and calm.⁠ Look up at the sky and breathe the fresh air⁠. Listen to the birds and try to embrace the stillness of not being able to do much.. (such a contrast to our usual busy lives..)⁠. Be present and mindful, take care of yourself and loved ones, and embrace this much needed time of yin. 

I hope you have a wonderful day and week, sending so much love