The year 2020 has proven itself to be full of many surprises, to the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant to the global pandemic known as COVID-19. This pandemic has caused much the world to pause and forced us all to self-quarantine. For some people, this has been a very rough time because it prevents us from moving around freely. With everyone at home, many people are quickly becoming bored and restless. During this time, do not let boredom get the best of you. Use this time to get in tune with yourself and learn to practice stillness.

What is Meditation?

Meditation is about training awareness and getting a healthy sense of perspective. You’re not trying to turn off your thoughts or feelings. You’re learning to observe them without judgment. And eventually, you may start to better understand them as well. Meditation is the practice of slowing your thoughts down and having a still mind.

Why is Meditation important?

Meditation is vital because, in stressful times, it can help reduce anxiety, and it gives the mind time to rest. It is essential because it eliminates negative thoughts, worries, and all factors that can prevent us from feeling happy. According to www.forbes.com, “A lot of people start meditating for its benefits in stress reduction, and there’s lots of good evidence to support this rationale. There’s a whole newer sub-genre of meditation, mentioned earlier, called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts’ Center for Mindfulness (now available all over the country), that aims to reduce a person’s stress level, physically and mentally. Studies have shown its benefits in reducing anxiety, even years after the initial 8-week course. Research has also shown that mindfulness meditation, in contrast to attending to the breath only, can reduce anxiety – and that these changes seem to be mediated through the brain regions associated with those self-referential (“me-centered”) thoughts.”

Meditation is also essential because it can improve concentration and attention span. Meditating teaches us mindfulness and promotes traits like focus and decision-making. www.forbes.com also reported, “Having problems concentrating isn’t just a kid thing – it affects millions of grown-ups as well, with an ADD diagnosis or not. Interestingly but not surprisingly, one of the central benefits of meditation is that it improves attention and concentration: One recent study found that just a couple of weeks of meditation training helped people’s focus and memory during the verbal reasoning section of the GRE.” Meditation has many benefits and can be a great way to relieve stress and anxiety during this time.

Types of Meditation

There are several different types of meditation such as guided and unguided meditation. Guided meditation is when a teacher guides you through various steps. Unguided meditation is when you practice alone. Some other types of meditation are reflection, resting awareness, skillful compassion, loving-kindness, visualization, noting, body scan, focused attention, zen meditation, mantra meditation, transcendental meditation, and chakra meditation. My three favorite types of meditation are mantra, calming, and insight meditation.

Mantra meditation is when your mind is focused on the words that are being said and getting power from them. Repeating a syllable, word, or phrase can encourage a boost in self-esteem. It can also help you enter an even deeper state of meditation. A post by mindworks.org states, “Those who enjoy chanting meditation often discover that their practice cultivates a peaceful, yet alert, state of mind. As a spiritual practice it fosters deeper awareness and a stronger connection to positive human qualities such as compassion and confidence. As with any true spiritual practice, it is important to find a qualified teacher.” Mantra meditation is an excellent form of meditation because it improves the way you feel about yourself and others.

Calming and Insight mediations are two other popular forms of meditation. Calming meditation is to create a quiet and peaceful environment while you practice, while Insight meditation focuses on the breath and physical sensations. As the mind feels calmer and more focused, we learn to start observing our physical sensations as well as our thought patterns, therefore bringing a whole new understanding to why we think the way we do.

A post by Headspace.com stated, “Here’s the interesting thing about meditation: it doesn’t have to be one or the other, calming or Insight. In fact, many meditation techniques — including the ones in the Headspace app — actually combine elements of both.”

There are so many different ways and benefits to meditating. While we have this time to ourselves, we must spend time working on ways to improve. The world is taking a much-needed break right now, so why not let your mind do the same thing. After reading this post, try two forms of meditation and tweet me your thoughts. Also, don’t forget to follow me on twitter @JeCheaKBriggs

Yoga vs Zumba

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Exercising is a great way to improve your self-care—exercise for you to get out any bottled emotions and channel your energy. Exercising for 30 minutes a day can make a significant difference in your life. It helps boost your energy, improve your mood, and promote better sleep. If you find exercise a challenge, perhaps this page will help inspire you and show you the benefits of both Yoga and Zumba. According to an article on doctor.ndtv.com, both are great for toning your body and burning calories.

Exercise gives everyone a boost and can be especially helpful in alleviating symptoms of depression and anxiety. For myself, exercising helped me get better sleep and improve my mood. Whatever emotions I was feeling, I was about to get out through exercising. I have done different exercise methods before, and it is essential to determine which method you enjoy the most.

First, we are going to discuss yoga. Yoga is known for its combination of mental and physical exercises. It is also known for it’s soothing and flexible moves. Yoga has the power to calm the mind and strengthen the body at the same time. It helps us battle both internal and external problems.

All of this makes yoga a great form of self-care. It is about healing yourself through self-awareness and control. In an article on Yogadigest.com, Rene Hawthorne discusses how yoga helps us to get in tune with ourselves. Hawthorne says, “The practice of yoga restores trust in our felt experience of being alive and dispels fears that we must control our bodies and hide our natural rhythms by leading a life that’s aligned with the cycles of the universe, and that is guided from your heart by Honoring yourself, Trusting yourself, Celebrating yourself, Meeting yourself where you are, and Meeting yourself how you are.” Yoga helps us balance ourselves as well as get in balance with the universe.

Hawthorne also expresses, “Yoga practice is about healing the self through self-discovery and self-acceptance. It’s a transformational practice that strengthens the life force within. It teaches us to overcome internal and external obstacles that come with everyday life.” Yoga has many benefits and can but just what’s missing from your self-care.

Zumba, on the other hand, combines international music with dancing for a fun work out experience. Many people say that Zumba feels more like partying than a workout. While yoga helps improve flexibility, Zumba is a great way to improve your cardiovascular fitness. It also helps maintain a healthy weight, strengthen your heart, and boost your mood.

One of the main reasons why Zumba is so appealing is the fact it doesn’t feel like a workout. Dancing is an excellent way to exercise because it helps burn calories quickly. An article from Healthline.com by Jane Chertoff explains, “You may be able to burn between 300 and 900 calories trusted Source during one hour of mid- to high-intensity Zumba. Doing Zumba two or three times a week, combined with weekly strength training sessions and a balanced diet, may help you meet your weight loss goals.” Zumba also can help improve your coordination from dance movements, improving mood, increasing energy. Zumba can be a beneficial yet fun work out experience.

Both Yoga and Zumba are great ways to get in shape and lots of benefits. If you are searching for an upbeat and fun workout, then Zumba is the way to go. But if you are searching for a zen and relaxing exercise, then yoga is perfect for you. The choice is yours.

Now, head over to my twitter @JecheaKBriggs and vote in my poll on which do you prefer Yoga or Zumba.

“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete”- Jack Kornfield. So often times we get so caught up with taking care of business and taking care of others, we forget the importance of self-care. Many people believe that self-care has to be a lot of work and can be very time consuming but that is not always true. Self-care can be easy but still be very useful. A few minutes of self-care a day can make a significant difference in your day to day life. The more you remember to incorporate simple self-care practices into your daily routine, the easier it can be to grow your methods.

Here are 5 easy self-care tips :

1. Face mask

No self-care routine is complete without face masks. This has become one of the easiest way to practice self-care. Once you apply a face mask you have 5-45 minutes to treat yourself. There are so many different types of face mask out there for you to explore. In an article by Danielle Gonzalez from Huffpost, She list 11 favorite face mask for dry skin, pores, acne, oily skin and sensitive skin.

2. Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the idea of healing your body or mind with scents. Candles, diffusers, incents, and lotions can all be forms of aromatherapy. Lavender, which the most commonly used aromatherapy, is known for promoting calmness and wellness. Essential oils are another great way to incorporate aromatherapy into your self-care routine. In a blog post by Morgan Timm, She explains how she uses aromatherapy for self care. She says, “Until a year ago, I had no clue what aromatherapy was. Now? It’s a huge part of my everyday life. Every night I diffuse lavender oil before bed, and each morning I try to concoct a new mixture of energizing oils to lift my spirits and mask the smells of lunch.”

3. Music

I think we all can agree that sometimes music can be the best therapy. Music can instantly change our mood or the way we think about something. Taking the time to listen to your favorite artist because they always say the right thing is a form of self-care. Putting on a playlist of my favorite songs so I can sing my heart out on my way to school or in the shower is one of my favorite self-care tips.

4. Baths

We put so much stress on our bodies daily, it is essential we give them time to rest and recover. Taking a bath is a perfect way to this while practicing self-care. Taking a nice bubble bath or using a bath-bomb is an excellent self-care tip because you can also use other tips like listening to music, aromatherapy, or doing a face mask while doing it.

5.Sleeping

Sleeping is the most important self-care tip I could give you. Our bodies and minds need sufficient time to rest and get us ready for our daily routines. Getting 7-9 hours of sleep per night will help you function at your best and energized for the day. It is also important to take naps throughout the day. Taking a 30-minute nap can be just the energy boost you need to get ready to finish a big project or can be a great way to reset your day.

Self-care doesn’t always have to be hard. Sometimes the simplest things can be the most helpful. I hope these tips are useful and help you on your journey. I encourage everyone to go out and get one item that will help you on your self care journey then tweet me a photo of the item.

Follow my Twitter @JeCheaKBriggs

When you get on an airplane and the flight attendants are going over the safety rules, we are instructed to put our own air mask on before we try to help anyone else even children. At first this can seem like the wrong then to do but the idea is that you have to save yourself before you can save anyone else. That’s what self care is.

In a video, Megan McCormick explains how self care can revolutionize one’s life. Megan points out that we are often taught that symptoms like exhaustion and fatigue are related to just our physical well-being. But sometimes that is not always the case. A lack of self care can began to make itself apparent in physical ways.

The journey of discovering how to take care of your self can be a beautiful one. The more time you time invest in your self care the more you can put out into the world. ” It was an incredible process and I wish I could give it as a gift to everyone in this room. ” said Megan.

She goes on to use a quote from Audre Lorde that reads ” Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Self care is often seen as a luxury instead of a necessity. By maintaining your self care, you are giving yourself a fighting a chance against daily stress.

A revolution can be defined as a sudden, radical, or complete change. Which is why I understand why Megan would title her video a self care revolution. Once I started to make my self care a priority, I noticed a major change in myself and in my life. I became friendlier, more focused, and had an easier time managing my stress.

Megan lists three ways she has made her life easier by managing her self care. The first being eliminating shame and guilt. These are emotions that we are taught that we place on others as well as ourselves, when we remove them from our lives we open ourselves up to freedom. The second is finding her self care practices such as writing and being involved with her community. It’s important to find things that we know evoke joy. The third is choosing optimism. By choosing optimism, we recognize that life is the good , the bad and the ugly but it still can be beautiful. The next steps for you are finding three self care practices and tweet me what they are.

Follow my twitter @JeCheaKBriggs.

Self-care is the real soul food.

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Life can have many ups and down, causing us to go through many emotions. Our day to day lives can easily become stressful and overwhelming. Our mind, body and spirit are fragile and essential parts to our well-being. The same why that you keep up with the maintenance of your car such as getting an oil change or getting a car wash, you should maintain your self-care.  According to Oxford, self-care the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health. Self-care is important because the relationship you have with yourself can affect your relationship with others and how well you work. Neglecting your self-care can cause your self-confidence to decrease, develop mental health issues such as anxiety or depression, and physical health issues such as heart diseases.

In an article by Noma Nazish from Forbes, Nazish states:

“A healthy work-life balance: Contrary to common belief, workaholism is not a virtue. Overwork, and the accompanying stress and exhaustion can make you less productive, disorganized and emotionally depleted. It can also lead to all sorts of health problems, from anxiety and depression to insomnia and heart diseases. Professional self-care habits like taking intermittent breaks (for lunch, calling your mom, or taking a stroll), setting professional boundaries, avoiding overextending, etc. ensures that you stay sharp, motivated and healthy.”  https://www.forbes.com/sites/payout/2017/09/19/practicing-self-care-is-important-10-easy-habits-to-get-you-started/#40e443ed283a

In an article from Perimeter Healthcare, it states:

“ Self-care encourages you to maintain a healthy relationship with yourself so that you can transmit the good feelings to others. You cannot give to others what you don’t have yourself. While some may misconstrue self-care as selfish, it’s far from that. When you pay adequate attention to your well-being, you’re not considering your needs alone. You’re reinvigorating yourself so that you can be the best version of yourself for the people around you. Everyone around you also benefits from the renewed energy and joy you exhibit.” https://www.perimeterhealthcare.com/about/news/the-importance-of-self-care/

Self-care is an important topic to me because I know first hand the toll a lack of self-care can take on your life. During my junior year of college I was under a lot of pressure to succeed and began to develop unhealthy habits to manage the pressure. I was successing academicly and professional but I was exhausted physically, emotionally, and mentally. I thought that the habits I had developed were a form of self-care but in reality they only added to my stress and caused me more anxiety. It wasn’t until the summer that I realized I was really neglecting my self-care and decided to change my routine. I now devote at least two hours daily to my own personal self-care. Some days that simply means reading a chapter from a book and drinking a couple of cups of tea. Other days that means turning my phone off and meditating. Join me on a journey to discovering what self-care is for you by following me on Twitter @JecheaKBriggs.