Once COVID-19 really began to spread, our lives flipped upside-down instantly. The point of this blog post is to reiterate that you are worth the love, attention, and alone-time that you might be sacrificing right now. Hopefully, it will also provide you the tools and some guidance on how to give yourself that consistency in your routine; as now, more than ever may be the best time to focus on your mental, physical and spiritual health

Clear your mind

Address any worries or fears around what’s going on beyond your mat. As we stress at JTB, wellness is not just working out, but working in, too. If you are paralyzed by fear and worry, be sure you are taking active steps to address this and take action, where appropriate. Sometimes the best action to take is meditation. However, you can simultaneously understand that you are worthy to show up as you are and no matter what’s going on, you get to have a break for yourself and your health!

Schedule a Meeting With Yourself

Treat your time alone as preciously as you would a class scheduled with us in the studio….or a meeting with your boss, friend or family member. Schedule a time that works for you, write it down or make an alert on your phone, get dressed and show up for yourself.

Be mindful of the time you choose, too.  Just because you see everyone else online working out in the morning, but you KNOW that’s never going to happen for you – be honest and patient with yourself… but at the end of the day, a workout scheduled at a less-than-perfect time is better than no workout at all.

Clear your space

I have seen many people make do with small studio apartments, and I’ve seen people with massive decks, backyards and at-home gyms make excuses. The distinction here is that you make space, and see it as sacred. Remove anything from your immediate area that’s going to trigger you to think about work (books, work clothes, etc) or anything that is taking you out of your mental peace right now. You don’t have to do anything dramatic, simply get it out of your sight so that you can twist, move and sweat in your own little wonderland. If possible, take more space than you think you’ll need. If you are going to be doing jacks or burpees, or like to take long, flowing steps in vinyasa, take up the space needed so you don’t feel cheated during your me-time.

Integrate all five senses, where possible

For bonus points, consider ADDING anything that makes you feel more at peace. Plants, essential oil diffuser, a little sign with encouraging words. My advice would be to include more of the five senses as possible to really integrate the mind and body into your new make-shift space.

For example:

Sound – the music of your choosing … or some peace and quiet, if preferred or possible.

Sight – clearing your space of clutter, adding little details that contribute to your zen

Smell – Fresh flowers, a candle, incense, your favorite scented lotion that you put on right before work out time (this really works!), essential oils, etc.

Touch – This can be your mat, dumbbells, changing into different clothes for your workout, etc

Taste – Maybe add some chopped fruit or flavor to your water bottle, just to trick your mind into integrating this new experience. Also, bear with me on this one, although it’s not safe to do so while you work out, some folks occasionally chewing gum during work in order to associate peppermint with concentration and focus…so maybe not while you’re doing lunges and burpees in your living room, but keep this tip in mind!

Even if you make one adjustment that sends signals to your brain and spirit that you mean business and are dissociating from the rest of the world and going deeper inward!

Community

Social distancing can’t keep us apart, so get involved with your community! We have a Facebook group and Instagram just for that purpose… as well as the workouts streamed and shared in there. Social distancing doesn’t mean deprivation of your community. If anything, we all need each other more during this time. So show up online!

Lastly, all this at-home time is a GREAT time to be real with yourself and address how you make changes in your life. In order to support yourself (and local business!) during this time, consider purchasing a gift card or a class pack, to start yourself off on strong footing with our many beneficial services.

We are working to integrate platforms for an online JTB workout subscription. As soon as that is up and running, you’ll be hearing from me!

As always, we appreciate the outpouring of support and can’t wait to see you all again real soon.