Life in lockdown

So here we are again. More than nine months since we first went into lockdown and barely a few weeks since the second. Many of us are facing an unsure future, or at least a future that may be different from what we know.. Regardless of our individual situations, we’ve all had to cope with a feeling of uncertainty and a disruption to routine. Not being able to see friends and family do nothing but accentuate the feeling of gloom and helplessness.

For a lot of people (myself included), the last few months have been challenging and our resilience has been tested like never before, but what it has taught us is the importance of green space and being able to get outside. As I look outside my window whilst writing this, I am noticing the sun trying to escape through the clouds and looking forward to my daily walk. I think of all the things I can’t wait to do again, after all it’s not until you lose something that you realise it’s importance.

Many of you will have been able to work through the last few months as normal, either in your place of work, or having had to adjust to working from home. Throw in some ad hoc homeschooling and house confinement, and I suspect any thoughts of self-care have probably flown out of the window!

But slowly and surely, we have all changed and adapted to the “new normal”. Retail therapy became less important (after all, why buy a new dress when you had nowhere to wear it!), and we learnt to enjoy the simple things. I’ve started to walk more and have discovered a new love of cycling. I’ve read more books in the past 10 months than I have in my entire life, and as much as I would like to reveal that I had achieved something amazing, such as learning to speak Mandarin, sadly that has not been the case. One thing that has stuck out to me is how much I’ve started to live in the moment. Without the need for alarm clocks, I have felt myself slowing down and living day to day without the need to fill every minute. For the first time ever my diary is empty and I can choose how I spend my time. Sort of.

We often forget that we don’t always need to be busy. It’s not selfish to take a timeout and focus on you, and as important as self care is, it’s too often overlooked. How many times does your mind go over what you did in the past and what you are going to do in the future? Take some time to just “simply be” and immerse yourself in the here and now. If you practice yoga or meditation this may come easily to you, but for the rest of us, reading a good book or watching a sunset will be enough. What have you been doing to stay grounded and sane?

Lockdown has been an amazing opportunity to reconnect with ourselves and our loved ones, and to appreciate what we have. Make your home the best version of itself and the most welcoming it can be. It’s time to get the candles out, stick on some music, buy a bunch of flowers and appreciate the simple things – your wellbeing will thank you for it.

Now is the time to make the changes you’ve been promising yourself. Subtle changes to daily life will not only make you feel good, but can boost your immunity. Changing our diet to include more of the good stuff, taking moderate exercise, getting eight hours sleep at night and finishing off our shower with a 30 second cold blast are great ways to improve our overall wellness, but the best news of all is that massage can help too!! We have nerves in our skin which are connected to where our immunity cells are stored, and these can be stimulated through massage. As a result, more cells are produced thereby boosting immunity.

I'm really missing being able to massage, and am so sorry that I can’t offer you a treatment at this moment in time, but I look forward to providing you with a little slice of self care, and helping you improve your immune system when current restrictions are lifted!

Until next time.

Love from, Lyndsey x