Finding Balance – Reduce Your Anxiety and Depression
Balance – Reduce Your Anxiety and Depression with One Simple Practice
Balance is my focus this week. By definition, it means “to bring into harmony or proportion” (merriam-webster.com). How am I working on finding balance? Right now, I am focusing on one simple practice – a morning walk into the rising sun.
It seems so easy to fall out of balance in our lives, with emotional changes, environmental changes, and physical changes that we experience every day. Our world is one of anxiety and stress – which is ironic considering we have so many things to make life easier right at our fingertips.
The reality is, we are impacted by a lack of connection in our world. Our phones, computers, and tablets are tools designed to connect us to the world, but can often exacerbate that feeling of disconnection. Literally, our physical human connection is impaired – how often do you look at someone else when your phone is in your hand? What do you notice yourself doing instead of talking to the person sitting next to you? (I am guilty of this too – so please know there is no judgment here, just self-observation.) The pandemic has amped up these feelings more than ever – there is so much discord, violence, isolationism – we all feel it.
(Click here to learn more about my personal journey.)
So I ask you to reflect on your own feelings
“What can I do to regain balance and find connection in my life?”
When you find balance within yourself, you can reduce your anxiety, fear, and stress. You can be a better person for everyone and everything else in your life.
Finding balance allows us to show-up more for our families, our friends, our neighbors, and even those we have never met. Finding balance within our world begins by finding it within yourself.
One Simple Practice to Find Balance, Reduce Anxiety, and Help with Depression
Walking into the Rising Sun
Four Tips on Building This Habit
Recently I began a new wellness adventure in my life. In May, I began seeing an Ayurvedic practitioner, and have been slowly changing my lifestyle to live a healthier life through my daily habits.
If you aren’t familiar with Ayurveda, it is the sister science to yoga (founded in many of the same principles) and literally translates to “knowledge of life.” Ayurveda focuses on the idea that a healthy lifestyle can restore balance and good health. It connects the mind, body, and spirit with our environment – much as our yoga practice does.
(To learn more about Ayurveda, you can read more in this in-depth article from the Chopra Center.)
Each week I am working on adding a new habit to my life, and I wanted to share this week’s habit, as it has greatly improved my feelings of anxiety and depression, even in the short amount of time I have been actioning it.
This habit is simple – Walking towards the rising sun.
As the sun rises in the morning hours, take a short walk facing the sun. This can be a great time for your morning meditation – leave your devices behind, and notice the sounds of nature around you. Reconnect with the earth, feeling the ground under your feet. Find your roots, your balance, and allow the energy of the sun to fill you with joy and gratitude.
Start Small
This practice can be done in just minutes a day. Decide that for 2 minutes a day you are going to take a walk in the morning towards the sun. Committing to 2 minutes a day makes it easier, and won’t aggravate your stress levels. (If you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up either! Remember, this practice is to REDUCE anxiety.) You can build the length of your walk from there, and grow the habit as you like – if you have 10 minutes, maybe that will be the key amount of time for you. This is your practice, and you will find what works best. No right or wrong here – as you are unique, and what works for someone else may not work for you.
Set a Habit Trigger for Yourself
For example, setting your walking clothes out the night before. Or maybe you work it into your day right before your morning coffee – figure out what works for you, and find how you can be consistent in your practice. Write it down, set a reminder – put it in your phone or calendar – where does this fit into your schedule? Even if you are at work early, take a break when you in the morning to take your 2 minute walk outside. Maybe it’s just before you go into the office and you are in the parking lot – what a great way to de-stress before you tackle the day!
Make this a Nourishing Practice
As you walk towards the sun, appreciate the sun, nature, and draw in it’s energy for your day.
Make this practice one of enjoyment!
The whole point of this exercise is to reduce stress, so be easy on yourself as you begin to develop the habit. Aim for 80% of your days – but maybe start with 20%. It is most important to take things one day at a time and work towards automation.
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