Like it or not, we are in a time of great change. With the quarantine in effect, we are hunkering down and staying strong. I have seen great examples of people coming together to help one another as well as great examples of leadership gone wrong. Let’s focus on the good that can come of this. Our lives are going to change, our businesses are changing, our everyday practices are changing.
Scary? Of course. But let’s rise together to the challenge of creating a change that needs to happen for ourselves and for the planet. So much can be done from home. Classes to be taken, new hobbies to be pursued, new ways of looking at both ourselves, our families, our careers, our loves, and lives.
If you are used to getting up every morning and submerging yourself in work, this is a huge adjustment. It’s also a huge adjustment if you are accustomed to having your significant other and children out of the house all day and suddenly, everyone is cramped together! Much for us to learn here. I’m seeing career people suddenly losing that identity and beginning to question their lives and the validity of their careers. This is normal. And, it is normal to feel the stress and even panic that such a situation evokes. Know that you are not alone when you feel this, and there are tools that you can implement to help become more and more resilient.
Many of my clients have reached out to ask for assistance with stress/worrying/anxiety. I have created a Resilience Coaching Program for small business groups and one on one sessions. Please call 248-390-8153 or email me at lynettefioroni@gmail.com for more information.
I am continuing to offer Therapeutic Slow Flow Virtual Yoga Classes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons to a wonderful community, and I am adding a Basic/Beginner Class on Tuesdays as well. Classes are $10 each or a package of 10/$100. Click the link below to register: https://www.schedulicity.com/business/dashboard or email me at lynettefioroni@gmail.com
Foods for Staying Grounded
Number one on the list of “grounding” foods, when we feel way too much change usually in the change of season, and we are unable to focus or feel out of control are root vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips, onions, parsnips, turnips, garlic, radishes, rutabagas, and ginger. Here’s a picture of a recent dinner at my house: wild-caught salmon, baked sweet potato fries with organic couscous and green beans.
Also, don’t overlook the power of a good smoothie with lots of dark greens like spinach, kale and some superfoods like CamuCamu and Maca, chia seeds and plenty of lime or lemon. I love the Arbonne protein pea powder because it is dairy-free.
Staying Grounded
Yoga teachers often use the word grounded. It’s a verb (to ground through the feet) and an adjective (a grounded feeling). But what does that really mean? It’s a yoga cliche, a phrase that’s used so often it’s lost some of its punch. And most of us didn’t know the definition, to begin with.
Taking it literally, we can start by feeling our physical connection to the ground. Feel all the different points on your feet that are touching the ground right now. (Or, more often, feel the points resting into your shoe, on the floor.) Try to be as specific as you can: is each and every toe tip touching? Is the heel resting on its inner edge, or its outer edge, or the cushy middle? Is the ankle tipping to one side or the other, putting weight on a certain side of the arch? Take notes, without judging.
From there, let the rest of your body relax into the ground, through this connection to the floor. Feel the heaviness of the shins and calves resting onto the ankle. Feel the weight of the knee and thigh bones resting down into gravity. Feel the weight of the hips and the abdomen, resting into the found (or your chair). If there are any other points of contact with the ground, slowly locate them and settle them into their seats. You can nestle the two sit bones downward as if you’re plugging a light plug into its socket. Let the spine and the head rest down towards this stable base.
Now you might start to feel “grounded.” For a minute, you were paying attention to the sensations in your lower extremities instead of your head. The energy of the mind had a place to rest.
-Erica Heinz, Contributor, Creative Consultant, This post was published on the now-closed Huff Post Contributor platform.
Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
Stand with your big toes touching and heels slightly apart. Lift your chest and roll your shoulders down your back, palms forward. Finish by adding the slightest tuck to the chin (Jalandhara Bandha) and lengthen the crown of your head toward the sky. Find your Ujjayi Pranayama by breathing in and out through your nose while constricting your throat. Stay here for 5-10 breaths.
“Vulnerability is not winning or losing. It’s having the courage to show up when you can’t contour the outcome.”
Brene Brown (Author of Dare to Lead)
Be Resilient
