I’m Using My Time in Lockdown to Be More Mindful

This is how I am being more mindful whilst being stuck indoors during Sydney’s second lockdown – 1 year on.

With so much time now being spent at home. Time, which only a month ago I was praying to have more of. I have decided to set the some ground rules within my mind, to help me achieve better mindfulness on a daily basis. Especially when you are trapped inside with the family, with no where to go.

Okay, so that does sound a little melodramatic LOL. The idea of being trapped inside, when we are in fact not entirely trapped inside. We have the option to take a walk and get some sun. Go to the shops if we need to and for many who are still working, take a break from being stuck in doors.

No where to go is in reference to not being able to visit family and friends. No being able to go for a coffee and enjoy brunch at your favourite cafe.

Or if you’re a night owl (which I am not HAHA), meet friends for dinner and cocktails at the latest trendy bar.

Instead of dwelling on the idea that I have not enjoyed a worthy cafe style brunch in over a month now, I am working towards being more mindful for the moments when I am stuck at home all day and for the times when I do decide to take a break and go grocery shopping and come into contact with the people around me.

Apart from re-adopting a few much needed self-care routines, like enjoying baths, giving myself spa rituals of manicures, facials and hair treatments. I’ve also increased the amount of times I am doing yoga weekly and meditation too.

Though I don’t sign up for a yoga class every day, I know enough to get me through the days where IU am not booked online with any classes. Even 30 minutes of mindful practice doing some yoga stretches either in the morning of the afternoon has been super helpful in managing my time in lockdown. This includes at least 30 minutes meditation before bed at night. I use an app for this, to help guide me.

Here are the three main mindful tactics I am practicing every day:

Be kind to yourself:

It may sound selfish, but in fact it’s not. It’s nearly impossible to be kind to others without first being kind to yourself.

Take a moment in the morning; even if it’s only for ten seconds, to remind yourself why you’re a good person and why you should be proud of yourself.

This will set an intention for the day of being confident and kind to yourself, and therefore passing that kindness into to others throughout the day.

Set daily intentions:

Intentions is almost like setting yourself a specific goal to achieve that day.

However, instead of achieving a work of personal task, setting and achieving a daily intention is when you work towards becoming more understanding, appreciative and more mindful for the day.

Start with ten seconds of your morning taking a deep breath and telling yourself, you will smile at everyone you walk past today, then focus on achieving that intention throughout the whole day.

Don’t be angry:

Almost every day, each and every one of us, will come into contact with at least one person who is angry, and the result often leads most of us being or feeling angry ourselves.

And like falling dominos, we will then pass that anger into other we come into contact with, and so on and so on.

Spreading anger from one person to the next. Instead of spreading anger, spread happiness. If someone comes into contact with you who is anger, then them pass you by, by deflecting their anger, don’t absorb it and carry it for the rest of the day.