Ride the Wave

 

It’s September and there’s no doubt that life continues to be difficult for many of us. Whether a home crisis of bees in the attic, a mother in the hospital, both golf buddies having heart problems, the kids starting at new schools, and the new school year in general, it can be hard to see the light sometimes. That pesky pandemic (that I definitely call by a different word rather than “pesky”) keeps hanging on like a bad habit day after day making it harder to be resilient to life’s natural challenges. The normal ups and downs of life are made worse with our lives continuing to be abnormal.

What can we do? We can try to enhance our resilience. What is resilience? It is the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. It doesn’t mean that we don’t experience problems or stress or suffering, but we are able to tap into the strengths that we have to overcome some of our challenges. Pandemic life and all that it has thrown at us has definitely been challenging for sure.

One of the most important things we can do is to take care of ourselves with healthy habits. These are the foundation to emotional and mental resilience. Mental breaks and practicing relaxation can keep those stress chemicals in our brain at rest and sometimes this can stop us from being overwhelmed.

If you didn’t know it, September is National Yoga Awareness Month. The purpose of this month is to promote the health benefits of yoga. Many people find that yoga relieves stress, enhances the quality of life and improves physical fitness. So maybe take a yoga breather by finding a class online or in-person. Yoga can be one tool in your toolbox to improve your resilience.

You have to keep moving forward to keep your sanity in these trying times. Don’t be hard on yourself. Deal with things day by day. Ride the wave! You got this.