Did you hear about the new pandemic?

While we are definitely living in a world pandemic of epic proportions, I’m more concerned about another pandemic that seems to be more prevalent.  

It’s a pandemic of an INABILITY to find peace and calm.  

It seems almost everyone I am consulting with these days seems to have an issue winding down, finding calm in their day, detaching from devices, stressed and anxious more than ever.

It’s easy to feel this way in a stressed out world.  It’s easy to feel out of control when the world seems out of our control. But even with much we can’t control, there is one thing we can….how we relax and restore ourselves. 

From my own experience, I found that during the last year and a half, if I didn’t make it a point to schedule down time I was highly anxious. So what do I schedule for down time?  

There is a bluff near where I live that is an easy walk that takes me away from the hustle and bustle.  I leave my phone behind and only take my daughter, my water, and a book.  She plays. I read and relax.  Sometimes I simply breathe and meditate listening to the water lap up on the rocks.  It’s my happy space.  It’s what I call, “Vitamin P – pleasure, passion, purpose.  Any of those qualify as Vitamin P.   I can literally feel my body coming down from the anxiety of the world. 

Why do we need Vitamin P?  Here are some of the benefits of this vitamin that you won’t find in a pill:

1. Less anxiety
2. Better moods
3. More energy for your family and your work
4. More focus and concentration when you do have project
5. Even weight loss – yes… calming anxiety allows your body to dip into its fat stores for energy instead of releasing cortisol which breaks down hard earned muscle.  

Where is Vitamin P most likely to be found?

1. Outside, mostly. Humans are made for outdoors even though we have become accustomed to being indoors.  But sunlight powers our mitochondria so even little bits of outdoors will make you feel better daily.
2. Away from technology.  Smartphones, tablets, computers, wifi….they all zap our Vitamin P and cause more anxiety.  Ever felt heart palpitations after an hour on a computer, or felt your eyes get fuzzy after working long hours on a device? 
3. In a good book, rather than a device.  Reading a real book can be vitamin p.  I have found much Vitamin P at local libraries or bookstores. 
4. On a soft blanket in the grass.  Naps can be a wonderful way to increase vitamin P.  We tend to be creatures who live a ‘go, go, go” lifestyle, so stopping for a brief 10-20 minute power nap and increase our feel good neurotransmitters and fill our Vitamin P tank. 
5. Volunteering. Living out a purpose, a mission, or a way to give back boosts Vitamin P by 500%…(by my own non-scientific assumptions of course). 
6. Playing.  For me that means paddle-boarding.  Hobbies, including favorite pastimes that allow you to move and feel free like a kid again create vast supplies of Vitamin P.  Just one paddle-board session per week can keep me running for days on end with ample happiness and calm. 

But there’s more, because what’s Vitamin P to me, may not be for you….so what’s your Vitamin P?

What’s that you say??? You don’t know?  

You are not alone.  Most women I consult are clueless when I ask them what their Vitamin P would be.  They’ve lived so many years caring for everyone else, and putting themselves on the back-burner that they’ve forgotten what they love as an individual. 

So if that’s you, here is an easy exercise I’d like you to try. (And consider this a weight loss exercise, since regular Vitamin P lowers stress hormones, which can help allow your body to burn stored body fat. 

First….

1.  Make a list of the 5 things you really enjoy doing (or used to do when you were younger) that bring you pleasure, outside of devices and tv …. these things…

excite you, 

Or

calm you and leave you with zero anxiety, 

Or

soothe you, and you would look forward to them. 

“I can’t wait until the end of the day when I can ______________________________________________ (you Fill in the blank)”

It wouldn’t be something that stresses you to think about adding to your week, but rather something you loved at one time, perhaps as a young person that still lingers I the back of your mind as something you miss. 

Next…

2.  After you write your list out, the next step is to write down next to each one “when was the last time you did this?”

(If you can’t remember, yikes.)

Finally, 

3. It’s time to schedule them in, even starting with just one 10 minute session of them a week.  For instance….

• A 10 minute epsom salt bath 
• A 10 minute session of reading a book you’ve been wanting to dive into
• A 10 minute session with some cross-stitch you used to love to engage in
• A 10 minute power nap
• A 10 minute walk or run
• A 10 minute bike ride
• A 10 minute stretch session
• A 10 minute visit to some local horses to pet and talk to 
• A 10 minute sitting session by a body of water you like
• A 10 minute foot soak with a bowl of warm water and essential oils
• A 10 minute cuddle session with someone you love
• A 10 minute sun bathing session (might even be just 10 minutes once a week in a tanning bed to boost your vitamin d if you have to)
• A 10 minute phone call to someone who makes you feel good
• A 10 minute letter writing session to write a card and encourage someone 
• A 10 minute journaling session (Click for my favorite journal and use promo code: JODELLE)

Pleasure, passion, purpose.  The antidote to a pandemic of unrest. 

Discover once again what might calm you down and begin implementing it today!