Engage in your mental health - small steps for a stronger, happier you

For a fulfilled life and a healthy body, Dojiva has a three-pronged approach:

• Maintain a curious and open mind: Regular practices of presence help you to; break free from dated beliefs, raise body awareness and reveal a natural underlying peace

• Eat clean fuel: To maximise energy, ditch processed foods, seed oils and refined flours/sugars. Enjoy a balanced mix of nutrient dense/bio-available carbs, fats and protein.

• Smart movement: Embrace both subtle and dynamic exercise, be posture aware and get a good mix of flexibility, strength and HIIT.

One without the others just won’t cut it. If your diet is poor, you won’t reach your physical potential and appropriate weight. Or, you might eat well and exercise consistently, but if stress isn’t dealt with, results will be lacklustre and happiness will suffer. Or you could be thinking positively all the time but not take action. The three pillars really do support each other….

• Move more and your food choices naturally become healthier

• Eat clean and fast occasionally and your mind clears

• Think positively and watch this boost your energy and support social interactions

And you can max out your odds with one simple statement:

“I engage in daily practices that support my mental wellbeing”

But those words and the practices (below) are not the full story… you also have to identify and eliminate the things that might be obstructing your path to great mental health.

To help you along, below are some suggestions to help manage stress, release stored tension, and build a great mindset. You’ve got this within you already, so it’s just a case of unlocking that potential with practices that you can fit right into your day.

The mind matters most

Developing a clear, calm and positive mindset is the foundation for overall health and it’s why we have a whole category on the Dojiva membership site dedicated to mental wellbeing/mindfulness.

But, to varying degrees, stress happens to everyone. It can be sudden or sneak in slowly, sometimes hidden for years. But, some stress is a plus and necessary to keep you aligned, focused and motivated. E.g.

• Muscle fatigue from strength training 
• Running out of steam at the end of a HIIT class
• Breath holding
• Fasting
• The right amount of sun exposure
• A personal trainer who brings out your best!

All these are stressors that break you down in order to build you back up… just healthier because of the experience! It’s unnecessary/negative tension that we want to expose, reduce and maybe even eradicate. 

But in life, if you hit a traffic jam, get pressured with a tough deadline, end up in an argument with someone close or when you get your buttons pushed but some random person online… you can respond in two ways: 

1. Get mad: You clench your fists, tense up, deplete your vitamin reserves and raise your blood pressure. Or, you…
2. Get smart: Bring awareness to slow calm breathing and soften your face. Accept that there are situations that you cannot control and return your focus to what you can manage and that’s your own reaction. Recalibration can be fast.

Yes, you can learn to have control over your reaction. Right at the beginning of a stressful moment, can you drop ego, listen, settle and even just for a few seconds, pause to let things be? Then you can react in a strong yet wise way that douses you own tension and calms those around you too.

Be water not fire

 This approach will not only benefit you in the moment, but will reduce the length of time the stressful situation hangs around and perhaps most importantly, it will reduce the likelihood of you carrying it forward into your future.

Here are 12 more more tips on all this; maybe some resonate with you to implement today? 

1. Take breaks to rest and recharge with regular trips out of the house
2. Take a ‘senses alive’ walk in nature
3. Manage repetitive habits that drain your energy (and you probably don’t need). Cut back on alcohol, processed foods and social media
4. Use the ‘do not disturb’ option on your smart phone/tablet
5. If it’s getting you down, take breaks from the news
6. Get to bed early, aiming for around 7/8 hours
7. Remember to turn over-head lights off after dark and modems off when sleeping
8. Keep up with your weekly schedule of subtle and dynamic exercise
9. From now on do your best to react calmly to stressful situations. This will re-wire your nervous system. Less reactivity means more peace and productivity
10. If a negative past or future thought arises, notice it early and when possible pause what you are doing. Right then, breath slowly and be mindful of the physical response. As your mind stays cool, the thought and associated physical discomfort should start to fade
11. Enjoy moments of spontaneity and be open to surprises. That means ditching rigid routines as they breed stress when things aren’t perfectly on time.
12. Stick positive quotes/notes on your fridge/desk/around the house. 

Even just a few of these can, reduce stress responses, improve focus and support better decisions. Pair these small habits with our weekly Dojiva exercise classes and mental wellbeing audios, and you’ll start feeling more present, calm and energised. 

Summary

The healthy path isn’t about being perfect and certainly has ups and downs; rather it’s about showing up for yourself, day after day, being present and alive with your mind and body. When you show up like this, stress loses its grip. So, once more now and perhaps a few times a day this week, how about that mantra?

“I engage in daily practices that support my mental wellbeing”

 Ok, that’s it for this week, let me know if you have any questions.
You can hit me with an email or use the contact form on this site.

 Thanks for reading

Take care

Danny

Members can login here and for the ten day Dojiva trial - click here

Onto this week’s recommended Dojiva classes:

Sunday 14th - Pranayama classes - Please join in with these two breath awareness practices:

Pranayama 08 - Sitali breath for cooling and calming

Pranayama 09 - Ujjaya breath for inner call and mental clarity

Monday 15th - Mini fitness 103 - This class offers an opportunity to test yourself and to discover your best. The stop watch if left running; you go until your body or mind discovers what enough feels like! 

Tuesday 16th -  Mobility 110 - Yes, at 54 minutes this is our longest mobility class! But it's well worth it and your hips should feel great during and after. It’s a movement journey from subtle to dynamic.

Wednesday 17th - Meditation 65 - This week’s journey into inner peace.

Thursday 18th - Workout 122 - Today's class offers one of those rare workouts that has isometrics (static exercises). There will of course be some nuance with subtle movement within the holding, but be ready for a different type of training and a great mind/body challenge!

Friday 19th - Mobility 132 - After todays class you should find that your shoulder blades have a new level of flexibility. This great for life and racket sports/golf.

Saturday 20th - Mini fitness 124 - For today’s class you could use one, two or all of these: dumb-bells, bands or a suspension training such as a cross core 180. The intervals are not too fast today but we have 8 sets of steady challenge.