Create Habits for a Happy Healthy Mind

As we reach the one year mark of all this “madness', and it seems like the World is slowly opening up for many, the UK has been one of the worst hit, especially in terms of restrictions and although there is light ahead we cannot ignore the fact that many of us have suffered greatly (and continue to suffer) mentally and emotionally with day to day life.

It's HARD.. it's tough for everyone, no matter how it might appear from the outside or from whatever Instagram Stories people are putting out into the World, we are all suffering in our own way, so just know that you are not alone!

I always write from my own experiences, and my journey of self-healing is a vast, deep and continuous one (as they all are!)... and these are ideas that I want to share with you from my heart. They are not about quick fixes, like listening to up lifting music, running a bath or treating yourself to chocolate cake (although by all means these things always help!) But they are real ACTIONS & COMMITMENTS to be integrated into your every day life, albeit in baby steps if needed, and little by little, to help change your perspective, your mind set and to help you find more peace & genuine long lasting happiness.

Change Up Your Routine

I honestly think this is one of the most important and effective things we can do. It took us some time to “adapt” to this new normal, but then as humans we do adapt and then we find these new routines in where we find comfort and solace. I too am guilty of this! But after a while, if we don't change up our lives (even tiny things!) then our whole energy becomes stagnant and we can fall into a “what's the point?” kind of mindset..

Start slow, start with something as small as changing what you have for breakfast, or even WHEN you have breakfast, take a new route on your daily walk, read an article on something you want to know more about but haven't quite got round to, call a person you haven't spoken to for a while to have different type of conversation. Trying a new type of exercise is equally important, as our bodies and muscle memories also get used to the same routines and movements. Is your self yoga practice always the same? Push your boundaries, change it up a bit.. remember life on and off the mat are often reflected quite poetically.. If we keep doing the same thing we will continue to get the same results. Notice what happens when you commit to just ONE change.. you will see doors magically open.

Fresh Air, Nature... and LOTS of it!

It sounds like an obvious or cheesy line, but honestly this is my saviour EVERY day, especially when I feel down, I take a walk on the beach or in the woods by myself and after even 30 mins I just feel so much better because I’m reminded there’s something so much bigger.. By spending time in nature, watching the sunrise, sunset, tides ebb and flow, observing nature's natural rythyms, even by closely observing the tiny details of a tree or plant can put EVERYTHING in perspective. There is so much magic in this world, so many miracles happening every day that get overlooked by our busy minds.. so get out there, whatever the weather - feel the sun on your face, wind in your hair, rain or your skin...OBSERVE - fill your eyes with all this wonder, fill your lungs with fresh air and your heart will slowly fill with appreciation, gratitude and love.

Release Your Emotions

We have been conditioned since being small children that crying is bad, or something to be ashamed of so we try and stop ourselves.. especially for fear of what someone else might think..

But it is completely NORMAL for men as well as women, and if we don't allow these emotions to flow and release, they become “stuck” in the body. We squash them down until they either explode in forms of anger or frustration when we least expect or they can manifest in the body creating physical pain or over time even be the cause of serious illnesses.

Take the time every day to check in with your emotions, how are you feeling? How can you best serve yourself today? Do you need to release, to cry? Journalling is a great way to write down all our thoughts and emotions. It is not something we necessarily need to come back to read over, but it can be a very effective way of getting your words and feelings out, like you would if you were telling everything to a good friend, except you don't have to worry about “offloading” your problems onto someone else, or indeed what opinion they might have of you. You can be filter free and just let everything out. Even if you think you don't have much to write, just start writing! You'll be surprised even after 5 or 10 minutes how much you managed to “offload” from your brain and will feel much better and clearer afterwards.

Make time to be ALONE.. and go INSIDE

Even if you are living alone at this time this is still equally relevant but of course many of us are living with partners or families and it is very easy to get cabin fever, especially if you have little ones to look after!.. If you do have a partner, explain to them you both need alone time.  It's essential for you as individuals AND as a couple, mum, dad or whatever other role you are playing. And for those of us living alone, it's just as important to remove ourselves from daily distractions - even just 30 mins per day, to sit & breathe and check in with ourselves.

It can be scary to dig deep inside to find the cause or root of what might be making us sad, insecure or anxious, or perhaps caused us to have a negative reaction to something, and sometimes it makes us feel worse (which is why so many people try and busy themselves and distract themselves with work or “fun” stuff.. ) but that just pushes the feeling down further and in the end it can make us suffer more, or we get frustrated at something tiny when actually the thing we got frustrated at had nothing to do with it!… We can go through our whole life doing this but I have found a lot of peace comes when we look inside and address what’s going on..

And we all have so many issues.. so many! Every single person…ever since we are kids we are conditioned with so many false truths about ourselves, that create so many insecurities or pre-conditioned ideas that we have been living with for so long it’s hard to identify.. but once we start to peel off the layers.. bit by bit we begin to find our truth - what really makes us happy in our hearts & souls.

A Healhty Mind Starts in the GUT

I'm not a science nerd, I prefer to learn from my own experiences, but for those that it's important to it is scientifically proven that the health of our gut can have a dramatic effect on our mood. Eating healthy does not need to be complicated OR mean you miss out on your favourite foods. There's lots of advice online about healthy eating, healthy recipes etc. and I don' have the space to write pages on it here! Obviously every BODY is different and responds differently to different foods.

I am studying Ayurveda at the moment which highlights the importance of eating the foods that match our body types, however my number one rule for EVERYONE is to not eat anything processed, out of a “packet”.. especially anything that has “numbers” as part of the ingredients or something you can't easily pronounce! Think of everything you put in your body as a chance to nourish yourself. Choose fresh produce as much as possible, minimise dairy & gluten and try cut out refined sugar completely. Just making these changes to your every day diet will lift your energy levels and make you feel good – long term! (Top tip: make your own banana cake in 10 mins with bananas, peanut butter, oats & honey to help satisfy your sweet tooth!)

Get out of the "But what if.." Mindset

For many of us this “But what if..” mindset has been instilled in us for a long time, a fear of not acting, for fear of “what if.. something bad happens”. This has only been increased in the last year, to the extent where it's effecting even the most simplest of actions (like taking a different route on your daily walk! - as in point 1 above!)

It may seem scary at first but like ripping off a band aid, once you make that first action, it gets much easier! Again start as small as you wish, take the first step to doing that thing you really want to do!  “Life” has been on hold for so long, it is time to take action towards what your heart desires. It is time to start living from the heart and not the head. The head will come up with a million excuses why you shouldn't do something (including money, family, other people's opinions, fear of failure etc etc etc)...but if you have that FEELING in your heart, you know that it has to be followed. Listen to it, that is your SOUL purpose.. and when we follow that, everything magically falls in to place.