Ways to deal with coronavirus anxiety

By Puja Gupta

New Delhi, March 20  To successfully tackle any condition all efforts need to be on every holistic level–mind body and soul. With fears of coronavirus rising, anxiety is a natural side effect. But we can beat it. Pinky Daga, CEO, Thriive Art & Soul shares few are tips:

On the mental front:

Breathe, Breathe, and Breathe! The importance and effectiveness of breathing in these trying times is unparalleled. It not only keeps the lungs strong, but infuses the brain with oxygen, and goes a long way in calming anxiety. Indian pranayama–Anualom Vilom, Brashtrika, and Kapalabhati are great techniques to try. In recent years Wim Hof has perfected and created his own extremely simple yet highly curative breathing techniques available for free on his app–it”s a great time to start trying it out. Breath is our being, and a simple key to curing so many basic issues in our body.

Five minutes of being able to go into the quiet spaces of your mind can really help balance out anxiety, and connect us to our higher source energy. When our monkey mind is out of control, meditation is often the only thing that can reign it in. Many believe they can”t meditate because they have too many thoughts. This is a false belief–meditation isn”t about cutting thoughts out–it”s about separating from them–and just gently observing those thoughts as if they were the thoughts of an outsider. That is why many ancient Sanskrit texts refer to meditation as a practice of knowing one”s self. Also when you observe your thoughts you can also catch recurring negative thought patterns that are at the basis of any anxiety. When you become aware of these patterns, you can overcome them much more easily–with either your own practices or reaching out to life coaches.

Bach flower remedies—these are simple flower essence remedies that are proving extremely effective in balancing anxiety. A trained practioner can identify the root of anxiety, and prescribe a concoction of remedies that can soothe any emotional imbalances.

For the body practicing basic calming yoga poses in anxious times also really help. They keep the blood circulation going, calm the nerves, balance hormones that could go out of whack due to stress, and open up the energy flow in the body. When energy is stuck in any area in the body, it leads to unseen blocks that cause physical and mental stress. Inverted yoga poses like Headstand, Handstands, Shoulder Stand, and Bridge gushes blood into the brain and a release of wonderful relaxing endorphins in our system.

Warm fluids, lemon water, and certain ayurvedic herbs can strengthen our immunity, and alkalize our systems. The more alkaline our bodies, the more we are equipped to battle stress. Stress and acidity are commonly linked, and form a vicious cycle in our body–causing headaches, brain fog, and a general sense of lethargy. An ayurvedic expert can diagnose the imbalances in your system–body and mind–and can prescribe the best herbs and diet to restore the system to balance.

Energy shielding—energy healing is gaining great popularity globally as everyone is beginning to recognize how everything in our world is made up of energy. Energy healers like Reiki or Pranic healers can help shield and protect you mentally and physically from any negative energies–helping your system to combat a virus if it made it into your energy body. It”s another tool in your arsenal in the fight against Corona. It”s a great time to get in touch with the friendly neighborhood pranic healer, or a reiki practitioner to get that little extra energy protection. If you”re reluctant to reach out to anyone, and it still feels like a bit too voodoo for your system a simple technique to follow anywhere anytime for anyone including loved ones is to visualize yourself or any other person immersed in a white pyramid of light. This infused the energy system with a healing protective white light.

Above all it”s important that while we follow government regulations, and keep our social distancing, we use this time for self-balancing and healing, staying calm in the eye of the storm is what can take us from ordinary beings to extraordinary beacons of light.

(Puja Gupta can be contacted at puja.g@ians.in)