We spoke to Arika Trimnell, a spiritual and mindfulness expert to give us practical tips on simple actions you can take right now to improve your mental health.
The challenges of the pandemic has affected many of us in so many different ways. Big life changes like the end of a relationship, supporting the children with home studying or simply dealing with the fact that we have been separated for so long from our loved ones, may have increased your levels of anxiety and worry.
With the end of lockdown expected imminently, even the idea of going ‘out, out’ is elevating stress levels among some people. We spoke to Arika Trimnell, a spiritual and mindfulness expert, who believes that we all have what it takes to be our own guru and that with support, we can find the strength to break past mental, emotional, and spiritual blocks.
Arika explains how mindfulness practices depend on the situation and preference of the individual. However, the following simple tips she shares below are often a good universal base to call on to reduce anxiety and stress.
Here are Arika Trimnell’s three ways to practice mindfulness to reduce anxiety and stress
Chakra balancing or unblocking
Typically, stress, anxiety, and depression can be traced back to the first three chakras, often called our physical chakras, Root, Sacral, and Solar Plexus. These are the chakras that connect us to our thoughts, emotions, and action in our environment.
Mantras are a great way to unblock them (I chose sound and say my mantras out loud because it’s one of the fastest ways to change our subconscious)
- Root: I am the co-creator of my reality
- Sacral: I feel at peace within myself
- Solar Plexus: I do what I feel is just.
Ground yourself in nature
Take a walk in a park or in a natural setting. Sometimes I purposely ground myself by bringing awareness to my senses while in nature, let my bare feet feel the energy of the earth, or meditate. You’ll find it brings you back to yourself and helps you to stay grounded in moments of anxiety or stress.
Practice the observer’s mind
Allow thoughts and emotions to happen without judgment or identification with them. Often the feelings of stress, depression, anxiety, etc., arise when we identify with the stream of meaningless, illogical, and often contradictory thoughts. If you cannot detach in the moment, start writing them down and then look at them afterwards. You’ll often see that most of those thoughts are meaningless and not our own true feelings. You can take it a step further and throw the paper away or burn it.
If you try any of these tips, we’d love to hear how you get on. Let us know in the comments below.
Learn more about Arika Trimnell and her mindfulness work via her website: prismvibes.com
