Looking after your mental health in lockdown

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We are currently in the second lockdown here in England. The first lockdown, which started back in March, was certainly quite an experience. It was so interesting to be a witness of my own, daily response to it and how difficult it was to navigate through the unprecedented with the daily ups and downs, highs and lows, and so much uncertainty floating around.

This experience made me realised, how incredibly important, now more than ever, is to look after our mental health. Being restricted in so many ways is not healthy for anyone and it’s affecting a great number of people. This, sadly, isn’t the topic that is often covered by the mainstream media and how important is to look after ourselves: physically, mentally and spiritually.

If we only look at the latest statistics, we can clearly see how the mental health of people around the entire world deteriorated in the last few months. This is heartbreaking and very upsetting to me, being a past anxiety sufferer. I fully understand, that when your mind is not in the right place, everything becomes extremely overwhelming and challenging. Even the simplest of tasks, such as taking a shower or sending an email becomes difficult.

I must admit, during the first lockdown my mental health deteriorated as well. It was a shock to my system. From regular nightmares to waking up exhausted (as if I was fighting in a war at night) to comfort eating and over-consuming information from the internet. I became exhausted, ‘depressed’ and very moody.

Today, I’d like to share with you what I’ve learnt from the first lockdown, what helped me and what I’m not repeating in the second one. I hope it will inspire you.

Social media usage

During the first lockdown I had to go on a social media detox. After the first week, I’ve noticed I was over-absorbing information from every corner of the world via the internet. What was exhausting and upsetting to me the most, was the division between people. Verbal attacks on each other, because of a different opinion, blame, pointing fingers at others. I never engage in a low-vibe conversations, but being a witness of this on my daily newsfeed was draining. I’ve never seen so much suppressed anger, people forgot they even had, working itself up to the surface and attacking each other. I needed a break and the break served me well. During this lockdown, I’m being very conscious how I use social media and what I let in.

Mindful eating

At the beginning of the first lockdown, I over-stocked up with the food (not toilet paper though) and not always the healthiest food. And what do you do when you are locked-in at home? You eat more. We’ve never experienced a lockdown in our lifetime before, so with the confusion, the stress, the uncertainty and the overwhelm of it all, most of us began eating more. A big lesson learnt. In the last few months, I became very mindful what I eat again and I feel so much better: physically, mentally and spiritually.

Exercise

Even though I’ve been attending my weekly Zoom ballet classes and have been going for walks during the first lockdown, it still wasn’t enough for me personally. I had to add more exercise to my daily routine. Since I did, I feel more energised and more balanced. In the Summer I created a nice routine and the routine serves me very well to this day.

Daily contact with my family

I’m very close to my family and we talk daily. My family supported me enormously during this global crisis. We support each other and check on each other all the time. It’s important to talk to our loved ones and share how we feel.

Writing my thoughts down

There is a magic in putting the thoughts from your head onto the piece of paper. I find it very therapeutic and it served me very well during the first lockdown. I’m writing even more during this lockdown, and every time I do, I feel lighter and more at peace with myself and everything that is happening around me.

Working on my dreams

I always work on my dreams, but during the first lockdown, I’ve noticed I became more pushy when it came to accomplishing something. This wasn’t healthy for me, my dreams and for the people I serve. I’ve learnt to slow down a bit and act on my dreams from a place of power and not forcing it just for the sake of doing something. These days, I take steps towards my dreams every day, but not in a pushy way, but act on them from a place of power and inspiration.

Daily motivation

One of my strengths is to stay motivated and inspired. I read something inspiring every day, even if it’s only a couple of pages. I listen to podcasts or watch inspiring videos. I’ve done that during the first lockdown and also continuing every single day.

Meditation

Even though I’ve always been a dedicated meditator, during the first lockdown I’ve neglected my practice a bit. These days I’m in a full swing of meditating daily again and it brings so many incredible benefits into my life. I need that daily alignment with my soul to see more clearly, which I’m not able to do when the volume of the world is turned up and the voice of my soul down. Meditation plays a huge part in my life.

Look after yourselves. 
With best wishes, 
Jana x 

A letter to your inner child

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Once you set upon a path of a personal and spiritual growth, you will start uncovering so many things about yourself. Many sides of you, some which you might have not even known existed before, start coming up to the surface. This can be quite emotional, especially the process of transforming it, but at the same time, it can be extremely healing and liberating.

I’ve personally been on this journey, full-time, for over a decade and I find that the more work I do, the more things come out of the shadows. Some of them are easier to work through then others, but even when the work gets hard, I fully understand now, that the work is required, to help me align more and more to the truth of who I really am, and to help me learn the lessons I came here to learn.

One of the practices I find extremely helpful, and I recommend to my students and clients, is writing a letter to their inner child. Writing a letter to the innocent child you once were can be very therapeutic. I’ve done this myself, quite a few times now, and I found the whole process very moving and liberating. Yes, it brought so many emotions up the surface and I cried a lot. I’ve been reminded, once again, of some painful stories, but at the same time, it was a process full of so much love, compassion and acceptance. It helped me release a lot of suppressed emotions, resentments and it also helped understand myself more.

Writing a letter to your inner child is a very personal process, so I’m not going to share my letter with you here. However, I will give you some tips how you can write one. A letter to your inner child is a very powerful exercise, so do this when you feel ready to go deep.

A few tips before you begin:

  • Get a piece of paper and set aside a few minutes and a place where you are not going to be disturbed
  • Take a few deep breaths to get centred and grounded
  • When you are ready, start writing
  • Tell your inner child that you honour their journey
  • Tell them that you feel their pain for everything they’ve been through
  • Comfort them, because they’ve been through a lot (you can use specific examples)
  • Express your love and compassion
  • Acknowledge them for doing their best at any given moment
  • Tell them that being sensitive is okay
  • Tell them that being vulnerable is a sign of strength
  • Tell them that you are always here for them and you will protect them
  • Tell them that you will always love them unconditionally

There is no right or wrong way to write a letter to your inner child. Get a blank sheet of paper and just write, whatever comes to your mind. I found this process extremely therapeutic and comforting. It definitely helped me to look inward and honour my journey even more. If you feel called, give it a go.

Five simple ways to feel more joyful (Audio)

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Today, I’d like to share with you an Audio version of the Five simple ways to feel more joyful I already shared with you a little while ago as a PDF. The response I’ve got from my community about it was absolutely incredible and that’s why I’ve decided to create an Audio too.

The reason I wrote Five simple ways to feel more joyful, in the first place, was to help us feel more hopeful during this times of global crisis and uncertainty.

Our world has changed a lot in the last few months and our normal way of living has practically changed overnight. We all have many questions and wonder: ‘How are you we going to get back up?’ Many of us worry a lot and it can be sometimes very difficult to find something positive in our daily lives.

After reading and practising the suggestions in Five simple ways to feel more joyful, many people from my community, started telling me that they are feeling better, more motivated again and are also feeling more hopeful. They are focusing more on the things that are working in their lives and that is shifting their perception.

To make it accessible to even more people, I’ve also decided to create an Audio version, which I’m excited to share it with you today.

You can listen to it at the link below.

If you would like the PDF version, you can download it here: Five simple ways to feel more joyful

I hope you will enjoy it 🙂

Many blessings,
Jana x 

Do you worry a lot these days?

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There is no need to re-emphasise how much our world and our lives have changed in the last few months. While we are going through something very challenging, as a collective, our personal lives have also being affected in so many ways. Some find it more challenging than others. Some cope better, others not. Some are struggling deeply, others take it as it comes. On top to that, we all have our own worries and fears, which are not connected to any of this.

To those of you who are struggling deeply, I want to acknowledge you and give you a virtual hug.

I fully understand that when we have a lot going on in life, it can be almost impossible to see the good and the positive. But I’d like to share with you a few simple thoughts, which I believe, when you try to implement into your life, can at least light you up a bit and make you feel better.

Appreciate the good around you

Appreciating the good around you can shift your mood almost instantly. Just the other day, when I found myself worrying, I’ve decided to notice all the good around me. A kind gentleman opened a door for me when I was about to walk into the coffee shop. A lovely lady at the supermarket wished me a nice day and really meant it. I was grateful for a beautiful weather that helped me to see things from a better perspective. There is always something to be thankful for.

Focus on how you want your life to go

When we worry about something, we often give it so much energy, it overtakes almost all the space in our minds. I find this very helpful: When you worry about something, try to think about the best possible outcome of what you worry about. This is focusing on what you want, instead of what you don’t want. I understand this may not be easy, but try. Set aside 10 minutes every day and visualise the best possible outcome for any situation you worry about. By visualising, daily, you can get into a good habit of doing this naturally. By doing so, you are giving a focus to something you want, instead of what you don’t want. And what we focus on always expands. Let’s try to focus on the good, on the positive, on the inspiring. Give yourself that 10 minutes, daily, and see how it feels.

Share how you feel with people you trust

I used to keep almost ‘all my thoughts and emotions’ to myself. I used to be the ‘suffer in silence’ type of person, and I’d ‘happily’ deal with problems quietly on my own. I didn’t want to bother anyone. After suffering an emotional breakdown, I quickly realised, keeping things to myself, all the time, wasn’t such a good idea. I learned to share how I feel with people I trust. Ever since I started sharing how I feel, I noticed so much weight coming off my shoulders. I stopped worrying what would others think of me and I put the thought, they wouldn’t want to listen to me, out of my mind. I realised, that people who love me and care about me will always like to listen to me and help me. In fact, it’s essential to express our emotions and share them with our loved ones. They can offer us support and a fresh, new perspective on life, which we might have not even considered before. Don’t be afraid to share how you feel with the people you trust.

Your past does not define you

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Do you often re-visist your unpleasant past experiences, and every time you do so, you feel like as if you were re-living them? Is thinking about these experiences draining you? Do you feel uneasy when someone brings up certain past memories (I’m not talking about the great memories, but the ones that make you cringe)? Do you feel uncomfortable just by remembering something you’ve said to someone or they’ve said to you? Do you feel ashamed of some things you’ve done in the past?

If so, this week’s post is for you.

A few days ago I shared with my community a short video, where I talked about honouring our personal and spiritual growth. In this video I touched on the topic of past.

So many people are being so hard on themselves, because of their past mistakes and for some of the unwise choices they’ve made. And many, can still feel very uncomfortable every time they remember them. They feel like, they are still paying for their mistakes.

Over the years I’ve written quite a few articles about letting go of past, about forgiveness (forgiving yourself and others). I created meditations and taught classes dedicated to this topic. The more and more research I do on the topic of past, in general, the more I notice how difficult it is for us, humans, to actually stop our daily time-travelling back to this place. Our past plays a huge role in our lives. However, we don’t have to let the old, painful stories from our past stop us from moving forward.

How can I move forward in life, when I have so many old stories continuously on a repeat?

By honouring your personal and spiritual growth.

This means making peace with your past. In other words, beginning to look at your past from an observer’s perspective, rather than being an active participant and re-living your past experiences over and over again. And I know this can sound easier said than done, but: ‘Would you rather be a prisoner of your past or would you prefer to rise above these painful stories and look at them as valuable lessons?’ I’m sure you’d choose the latter.

Remember:

‘Your past is not a place of residence, but a place of reference.’ 

The truth is, you will always think of the past and the experiences you’ve been through. That’s a fact of life. However, by honouring your personal and spiritual growth, you are not directing so much energy back to the past itself, but you are rather trying to understand the past choices you’ve made. These choices do not define you, no matter what they are. They are merely the experiences you’ve been through and are part of your journey. You’ve gone through these experiences and they’ve taught you something. You’ve learned some important lessons from them.

If you’ve done something  you are definitely not proud of, remind yourself, that if you knew better, you would’ve done better. If somebody did you wrong, and you are still feeling resentful and uneasy when you remember it, forgive yourself for having that thought. Remind yourself that you are not there anymore. You are right here in this moment. What happened is now only a memory. It’s no longer here. Your power lies in the present moment. Don’t give it to the past.

You might have been through a lot and I want to acknowledge you and honour you for that. Looking back and noticing where you are now just shows how strong and resilient you are. What you’ve been through is not you, it’s just the experiences you’ve been through.

I also want to acknowledge those of you who might have been through a very traumatic past experiences. I can understand that it may not be so easy to look at your situation from the above’s perspective. There is much deeper work that needs to be done. To those of you, I strongly recommend seeking a health care professional or a therapist who can offer you guidance and support. These amazing people are only a phone call or email away. Never hesitate making an appointment with them. They are there to help.

Stay strong and keep well, 

Jana x 

Honouring your personal & spiritual growth video: 

Praise yourself & Reward yourself

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Do you praise and reward yourself for your accomplishes? It doesn’t matter how big or small they may be. Praising and rewarding yourself is an act of self-love and a respect towards yourself. Praising and rewarding yourself, even for the little things you do, is very important. It can help you stay motivated and focused on what you are doing and why you are doing it. It’s incredibly empowering too. If you have a difficulty in this area, I believe the ideas I share in today’s post can inspire you.

Praise yourself

Praise yourself every single day for the great job you have done at something, even if other people haven’t noticed. Praise yourself for making a phone call you were reluctant to make. Praise yourself for asking for help. Praise yourself for stepping out of your comfort zone. Praise yourself for doing something others may not consider amazing, but it took you so much courage to do it.

I often praise myself for making phone calls. I have an ‘old fear’ of making phone calls and I can sometimes still feel quite uncomfortable, before I’m about to pick up the phone. The fear is not always there, but occasionally creeps in. Some people may think this is crazy and may say I should just get over it….hmmmm….That’s the way I feel and I’m dealing with it as it comes. I want to mention this example, in case someone else has a similar difficulty (it doesn’t matter how old they are) and now they read it and no longer feel they are the only one feeling this way. Anyway, every time this happens, I remind myself, that the people I’m phoning and asking to help me with something, are there to be of service to me. They are waiting on the other side of the phone line to deal with my enquiry and help me. Then, the discomfort fades away.

Another thing I praise myself for is my creations. Sometimes, when I write an article or make a video, people don’t acknowledge it. I love creating these little pieces and I believe my job is to put them ‘out there to the world’, and let people decide whether they will accept this gift from me or not. I put so much love and effort to everything I do and I praise myself for it, whether somebody watches it, reads it, likes it or not. I know I have done a wonderful job and I put so much love and energy to these projects, and I praise myself for it.

As well as praising yourself, also accept praise from other people. Their praise is a gift to you. Don’t reject the gift, but accept it graciously. If someone compliments your outfit, just say thank you. Don’t come up with things, such as: it’s old or it’s something I just threw on. Simply say: Thank you.

Reward yourself

Reward yourself when you have done something you are proud of. Again, no matter how big or small it may be. I love rewarding myself for my accomplishments. I reward myself with a nice coffee after I’ve done some exercise. I reward myself by watching a comedy when I finish writing an article. And the list goes on. This also makes me look forward to doing things. I know you may not always feel like exercising or cleaning the house. However, when you make the choice of doing it anyway, reward yourself afterwards. When you reward yourself, it will keep you motivated to do even more, and as a bonus, you’ll feel more positive too. Reward yourself whenever you can, even for some little accomplishments.

Do you ever question your beliefs?

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Today, I would like to share with you a short video I recently created about beliefs. In this video I cover what beliefs are, how they are formed and what made them stick with us.

Do you ever question yours?

Are they serving you well?

Are they empowering you or are they unhelpful to you?

Unfortunately, many people never ask themselves these simple questions, and as a result of that, live a life based on somebody else’s beliefs.

I’m not here to say that all of your beliefs are necessarily bad or wrong. I’m just here to point out, that it’s important to, at least once in a while, do an inventory in your life and ask yourself: ‘Is this what I truly believe or is that someone else’s belief? Is this who I truly am?’ And many other, deep questions you may have.

I hope the video will inspire you 🙂

Jana x

Protecting your energy

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This week, I would like to address a topic I feel we don’t talk about much, unless you are part of a spiritual or a self-developmental circles, you are taking a meditation classes or training to become a therapist or a healer.

The topic is: Protecting your energy field. 

Just the other day I was speaking to a friend and he was telling me how drained he feels at work, especially around particular work colleagues. Halfway through our conversation, it became very clear to me, that he needs to start protecting his energy field and do this on a regular basis. He is an empath, and empaths can unconsciously, and very easily, pick up other people’s energy, which can leave them feeling tired, even exhausted.

I can fully relate, because I’m an empath too. As an empath and also an introvert, you sometimes perceive the world as an overwhelming experience. You have a rich inner world and worry about so many things other people would not even give a second thought to. Also, you may feel everything on a such deep level, that you take it personally.

But, whether you are an empath, an introvert or not, I believe it’s important to protect your energy field as much as possible.

There are so many techniques you can use to protect your energy. Over the years I’ve learned quite a few from my teachers, and now, I also teach them my students and clients. Many of these techniques are so easy to apply into your daily life and can take only a couple of minutes of your time. All you need is an open mind and a willingness to put in some work.

Today, I’d like to share with you my favourite three.

*An important note*

Before you begin these exercises, make sure you are not driving! 

1) White Light

Make yourself comfortable, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. As you are getting centred and grounded, visualise that you are standing in front of a beautiful white light. This light is here to protect you and your energy. Visualise, that you are taking a step into this light. As you’ve taken the step, the light is surrounding your entire being now. It is a protective shield of energy where you can feel safe and secure. Trust and know that you are being protected. When you are ready open your eyes.

2) Four mirrors exercise

Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. When you are feeling more centred, visualise, there are four long mirrors placed around you. One is in front of you, one is behind you, one is on your left and one is on your right. These mirrors are not facing you, but they are turned away from you. Trust and know that any negative or heavy energies that reach these mirrors will be reflected away from you, and will also be automatically transformed into a positive energy. You are safe and secure. When you are ready open your eyes.

3) Archangel Michael

Do you believe in angels? Call upon Archangel Michael to protect you with his beautiful blue protective light. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. When you are ready, call upon Archangel Michael. It can go something like this: ‘Archangel Michael, I call upon you now. Please surround me with your beautiful blue protective light. Please, keep me safe and secure at all times. Thank you so much Archangel Michael for your help and your protection. And so it is.’ When you are ready open your eyes. This is a simple prayer we use in the spiritual circles to call upon Archangel Michael when we feel we need protection. I personally ask Archangel Michael for protection every single day.

I hope this post has inspired you.

With love and best wishes, 
Jana x 

Dreams & Magic: ‘I want to be a Wizard!’

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I have known a lady, who’s son, when he was little, had the best way of answering questions. His answers were always full of fascination and amazing possibilities. There was one answer in particular I really loved, and it still puts a smile on my face every time I remember it.

Every time you asked him: ‘What would you like to be when you grow up?’ His response was the best: ‘I want to be a wizard!’ No hesitation, no second-guessing. He wanted to be a wizard.

Whether he became a wizard or not is irrelevant 🙂

The point of this post is to remind us of that child-like wonder we used to have. I’d like you to notice all the incredible things that surround you. When we are children we see the world through a different lens. We do believe in magic, in fairies, dragons, unicorns and many, many mysterious beings. And some of us still do. We do believe anything is possible. But for most, that child-like wonder quickly fades away by joining adulthood and all the responsibilities, daily worries, meeting deadlines and everything that comes with it. That child-like wonder is almost non-existent in adulthood.

The good news is, however, we can still tap into it.

I’m not asking you to believe in any mysterious creatures, if this doesn’t resonate with you. I’m not asking you to strive to become a wizard 🙂 What I’m asking you, however, is to consider becoming more open to the incredible possibilities which lie in every corner of this Universe. What I’m asking you is to dream. Dream as big as you can. Go back to your childhood and ask yourself what were you thinking of becoming when you were a child? Ask yourself, what brought the most joy to your little soul back then? What activities did you enjoy? Wouldn’t it be great to re-visit these activities again? You may even find a stepping stone that can lead you to your true life’s purpose. I’ll leave that for you to decide.

The world is full of magic and many possibilities, even if we can’t always see it that way, especially these days when we are going through a lot. But by becoming open to seeing the world from a slightly different angle, a new perspective, we can notice so many incredible things we have not been able to see before.

‘When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.’
– Dr. Wayne Dyer 

Looking at life from a soul’s perspective

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Lately, I’ve been noticing that more and more people are being quite impatient with each other. They are also being easily triggered by each other, and as a result of that, feeling edgy and uncomfortable. I must admit, I’ve also been getting triggered more than usual lately, and feeling quite edgy and a bit blunt (although feeling so much calmer in the last few days).

And all of this is completely understandable. 

Let me explain how I see it: 

With the constant pressure upon us, with the new rules, with all the changes we are still adjusting to or resisting, certain parts of our personalities, some we didn’t even know existed before, easily come up to the surface.

The more I’m noticing my reactions and responses to some situations, the more I understand there is a lot of work that I need to do on myself, especially ‘inner work’.

I have my own opinions on the current situation. I have my own perspective on the ‘new normal’ and I also get frustrated with it sometimes, especially when I think about it too much.

But, what really matters, I think, is how we truly feel about everything that is going on, on the inside. Because there, lies our wisdom.

When I get still and I listen to my intuition, I always get a higher perspective on things. I look at myself and everything that I’m experiencing, from a soul’s perspective, rather than from a human perspective. With that, ‘in mind’, I feel calmer and more at peace with myself and everything that is happening around me.

In these moments, I keep asking myself more deeper questions, such as:

‘What can I learn from this experience? What is it in me that is making me to judge? What is it in me that is making me to point my finger at others? How can I let go of what is no longer serving me? What more inner work do I need to do to become a better version of myself? How can I be more loving and compassionate towards myself and others?’ 

When I ask myself these sort of questions, I feel more in control, while having the knowing that it is up to me how I want to perceive everything and respond to everything. I am aware, that there is still so much power that lies within me, and there is still so much I can do. I dwell in the knowing, that I have a choice. I get still to access this wise part of my being. Every time I feel edgy, impatient or frustrated, I know I need to go home. I need to go home to my true self, to my soul.