Resources for Difficult Times
Here is a list of resources to help if you are having a hard time. I will probably update it as time goes by if you want to bookmark it and check in again in the future.
Resources for difficult Times
If you're trying to figure out what in the actual heck is going on right now, read THIS 2020 forecast.
This Gregorian Chant music saves me lately.
And I'm so soothed by any of Yo Yo Ma's live recordings.
Take deep belly breaths. Extend the exhale.
Go outside. Put your feet on the ground or your hands on the ground or your belly on the ground. Press your body into the earth. Even if it's cold, even if it's snowy. Breathe deeply. Notice all the sounds around you. Notice the way the air feels on your skin. Open to any sensation. What is the temperature like? How does your body react to that? What do the colors around you look like? Have you ever tried noticing colors without naming them? Look up at the sky. Notice how there is no experience of what exactly the sky is. It doesn't have a border or a definition. It's colorless yet has color. It's near, and it's far. Where does the sky begin? Where does it end? Where do you begin? Where do you end? Can you feel sensation on the outside of skin? Drop your thoughts for a bit. Feel into the body. Notice everything that arrives at the senses.
I put all of my "sound medicine" in a playlist HERE.
My favorite guided meditations to help relax are HERE.
Try THIS Yoga Nidra.
I have a community playlist called Songs for When You Just Feel Like Shit. The idea is that everybody can add whatever song they most love for when things are going crappy. As you can imagine, it's an eclectic mix.
Baths, baths, baths! THIS bath ritual helps to stabilize emotional energy.
Dancing cures almost everything for me. This is still my current favorite song to dance to.
Laugh. I don't mean to sound trite, but laughter is important. Seek it out daily, fill up the reserves, don't go into a deficit. Find whatever works - memes, a funny movie, googling absurd autocorrect fails.
Sometimes we can forget the gift in all of experience, even the difficult times. The holy darkness ripens us. Read quotes HERE.
Rilke. Rilke knows how to make honey from the darkness. Read my favorite quotes HERE.
When things are rough for a while, or I am in a funk, I make a habit of starting my day journaling these three questions to elicit a change in perspective: 1) What am I grateful for? 2) What am I happy about? 3) What am I excited about?
These blogs are also FULL of helpful tips:
Simple Tips to Relieve Anxiety, Stress and Overwhelm
Hacking the Vagus Nerve: Relaxing the Nervous System
How to Strengthen the Nervous System
If things are really bad, please reach out for help. Crisis Hotline
I hope this list can be useful.
If you'd like more resources like this, you can join my email list.
xx