 I'm going to keep this short. Between covid-19, quarantine, police brutality, racism finally being globally addressed and job losses...it's been a rough three months. One of these issues alone is a lot to process but while it's all happening simultaneously it's easy to feel mentally exhausted, angry, sad, anxious, overwhelmed and everything else in between. Here are two resources that are here to help you find some balance & wellness and keep your mental health, healthy. HEADSPACEHeadspace is my absolute favorite app and I saw a commercial that they are now offering a full year of a free unlimited plan for people who are now unemployed due to covid-19. Meditation is very important for my mind and is a great way to find mental and internal peace. The great thing about Headspace is that there are meditations for everything such as relaxation, anxiety, sleep & productivity along with several breathing exercises, body stretches. I’ve tried so many different apps and types of meditation and I always come back. To sign up go to headspace.com and download the Headspace app.  BEAM: BLACK EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL HEALTH COLLECTIVEBeam is "a collective of advocates, yoga teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, teachers, psychologists and activists committed to the emotional/mental health and healing of Black communities." Beam connects black people and marginalized communities with professional mental health doctors, experts and resources so that you can feel comfortable talking to someone who can really relate to and empathize with you. Opening up can be hard to do, but collectives like Beam makes the process easier and comforting. What makes Beam even better is that they provide our community with the mental health education and literacy that we often do not learn or have the privilege of learning. Visit beam.community for more info. 
Here's another tough and sweaty workout! Use a kettlebell at a weight you can handle. You want it to be challenging, but don't use a weight that you cannot comfortably lift or makes you strain. Practice proper form foremost and increase weight gradually. I like to jumprope for my warm up and do dynamic stretches for a cool down, but do whatever you like!  I'm going to start posting some of the workouts I do here. Once I learn how to properly archive things, I'll make a "workout" tab under the archives section. You can alter the intensity by adding or losing weights. For now here's a boxing and butt workout.    Welcome back to part 2 of the morning rituals mini-series! This week is about the benefits of drinking lemon water daily. This is the first thing I put in my body everyday to wake my system up and mildly detoxify. Personally, I like to drink this warm, but cold is perfectly fine too. This super simple drink promotes hydration, digestion and helps to improve skin quality due to the vitamin C. I've kept up this habit for the past year and can definitely say this has worked for me by giving my skin a glowing complexion and keeping my stomach regular and feeling well. Sidenote, this is the one habit that I have heard multiple people I know claim to be "the fountain of youth" so that makes it worth a try, right? Read the five benefits of lemon water down below. Here's How I Make It 1/2 fresh squeezed lemon 16 oz warm or cold water Stir and drink up. Simple enough!  Introducing the Morning Rituals mini-series! Every couple of weeks I will post one of my morning habits that help me start my day off on a good note.  This week's Morning Ritual is on meditation: "Meditation is mind without agitation." I began meditating almost a year ago to help with breathing techniques, concentration, anxiety, stress and give myself some clarity. I try to meditate every morning before I leave the house for the day, but every now and then if I don't have time I'll meditate in my car, on my lunch break or when I get back home. The point is, I make it a habit to meditate daily even if it's just for 5 minutes. To keep this short, meditation is powerful in training our minds and brain. There are several types of meditation including Transcendental meditation, Heart Rhythm meditation, Zazen, Qi Gong, Mindfulness, Guided Visualization, and Kundalini. I am NOT a meditation expert in any way and am still learning about it, but what I can tell you is that IT WORKS. If you are new to meditation or don't know where to begin, try downloading an app like Headspace, Insight Timer or Calm. Headspace is a great app for first-time meditators because it offers a free seven day guided meditation program that deeply explains how meditation works. After the 7 days the app charges a monthly fee. I personally use Insight Timer because it's free and offers over 30 meditation topics like gratitude, breathing, acceptance and movement. Why I Meditate Reduces stress- We all deal with stress in our everyday lives and we all need to be able to step away for a small amount of time and take a mental breather. Meditation has the ability to help you mentally unwind and come back to a situation feeling more clear thinking and level headed. Self-Awareness- Meditation is about allowing time for you to deeply analyze how your body and mind are feeling. Through this process you are deeply engaged with yourself and drown out your surroundings. Breathing- Meditation has helped me with proper and relaxing breathing techniques. I use breathing techniques to calm myself down when I'm feeling anxious, nervous, irritated or stressed out. Overall Happiness |
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