3 Wellness Tips to Persevere and Face the World with Resolve in 2021!

Happy new year, guys! I hope everyone is safe and healthy. 

In the wake of a tremendous set of circumstances, including, of course, the pandemic, the ongoing economic fall-out, heated political infighting, the wounds of racial injustice, and of course, our resulting mental and emotional suffering, burdening us as stress does, as do feelings of sadness, disappointment, frustration, and anger -- all the while being cooped up inside in isolation -- I thought it would be appropriate to offer some suggestions on preserving peace in our minds and caring lovingly for our bodies so that we can persevere, continue to face the day, and the world, with undeterred resolve, and keep trucking on! I hope we can continue to progress and move forward in spite of the mistakes we’ve made, achieving a little bit more each day, working productively, effectively, and collaboratively, for a brighter 2021!

I’d like to share a meditation, a plant-based drink recipe, and a movement suggestion.

THE PINK BUBBLE TECHNIQUE

I learned this visualization meditation from Shakti Gawain’s book, “Creative Visualization” -- it’s simple, and requires no experience meditating.

From a comfortable, relaxed, seated position, taking natural breaths, visualize in your mind’s eye a pink bubble, inside which there is something you want to manifest -- a goal. “Imagine that it has already happened. Picture it as clearly as possible in your mind. 

“…Let go of the bubble and imagine it floating off into the universe, still containing your vision.” In the words of Shakti Gawain, this visualization allows the goal to attract the right energy for manifestation.

This meditation has helped me restore focus on what I’d like to choose as the right path ahead (sort of like intention-setting), calming my nerves, and also limiting disruptive thoughts.

DAILY ANTIOXIDANT SMOOTHIE

½ cup celery

½ cup cucumber

a few sprigs of parsley

a few sprigs of cilantro

½ cup strawberries

¼ cup blueberries

½ banana

¼ avocado

innards of 1 slice of lemon (minus the seeds!)

1 cup water

Simplest instructions in the world: Wash and put everything in a blender. Add about a cup of water.

Pro tips:

1.     Store herbs standing up in a cup of water with a baggie over them to help them last the week. They’ll be happier like this!

2.     I suggest getting some frozen bags of fruit for ease of preparation!

3.     Buy avocados in bulk, and freeze a few of them when they’re ripe -- so you always have ready-to-eat avo! (You can put the whole thing in the freezer, and countertop defrost)

With the antioxidant power of herbs and berries, this drink is creamy, sweet, filling, and packs a punch, with tons of vitamins, minerals, and fiber! I love this in the mornings. I shared this with a friend of mine and she says her it makes her stomach happy. I like to think my stomach is happy too!

THE RESISTANCE BAND CHEST-SHOULDER HEART OPENER

This simple mobility movement and stretch is one I always do intermittently, because computer and phone usage always gets my front-side muscles tight, and my posture gets challenged when sitting in a forward and downward focused position for long periods of time.

Here’s how you do it:

Hold a resistance band, bath towel, or pillowcase (without pillow!), in front of you, outside your shoulder width, at approximately 1.5x your shoulder width (near or at the ends of your towel or pillowcase), and take a deep breath in.

As you exhale, bring it up overhead and behind you, and hold when you feel tension. Hold for 2 breaths, about 8-10 seconds. No need to overstretch here - just hold when you feel apt tension - then bring it back in front of you.

Repeat by inhaling, then exhaling as you stretch the band/towel/pillowcase overhead again. See if you’re able to extend further behind you by a little bit. Wherever it takes you, hold again for 2 breaths / 8-10 seconds. Repeat this a total of 5-8x!

Pro tip: If your body is cold, warm-up the body by jogging in place for a few minutes to raise the core temperature before stretching!

Best wishes for a productive, peaceful Winter xx

Christina