Random Tips for Holistic Wellbeing

A very non-comprehensive assortment of things I've learned to be true are -

• Overwhelm is perceived to be a result of too much to do, but it is actually a result of too much thinking and planning. Be here now, do one thing at a time. Be present while doing.
• Screen time during night-time makes for bad sleep / imsomnia. So, don't do what I'm doing now - writing on my laptop in bed.
• Connections to other people are life-sustaining. Do more of this good stuff, connecting with who and what nourishes you.
• Water cleanses everything from sickness to physical pain to emotional sttuckness too. - coz you gotta keep getting up to pee and that literally interrupts thought process and mental patterns.
• Yawning is a reach for more oxygen, for sleep, when your breathing and body slows down to meditative levels. When you find yourself yawning, try to give in to it and then rest if possible. At work? I keep a yoga mat around and we have a cozy couch - take a 15 minute lie down.
• Yoga - the union of mind, body, and spirit - is really powerful. When the breathing and movement align, you can find yourself with new stillness and clarity. IT doesn't need to be asanas/postures, it can be whatever intuitively feels good when you close your eyes and start breathing intentionally into your rib cage and pelvis. Don't look at mirrors - unnecessary distraction. It doesn't need to be perfect, feel your way through it and you will move through more than the physical realm.
• Naps are good. I don't usually, but when I can't resist and have the space to, I give in and I find it to be a sweet form of surrender. Sometimes, I also find that a dream needs to comes through with a message. Follow your body's cues, even if the naptime doesn't "make sense".
• Have flowers and plants around. Not only is the oxygen refreshing, but seeing daily life change and grow, and watering them and watching them bloom or dry or die is all pretty magical. As your spiritual awareness grows, so does your awareness of and connection to nature (I read this in Laws of the Spirit World).
• For those of you like me who are loving across distance, have transnational families and communities, print and keep photos of joyous togetherness with loved ones close to you. It helps me with a daily sense of connection. Otherwise the distance and time differences can make it feel like different planets, but also leads to emotional disconnect for me. Some people are not like that, but for me, I think it becomes a coping mechanism to not continuously live with a sense of missing people.
• Say goodbye properly, find a balance - It's always a tricky or nuanced or choppy decision about how and when to ends things or wrap things up - like a blog post, or saying goodbye to a friend, or a phone conversation. Well, for some people it's not, but for me it is and I think that's a cultural and fobulous and desi thing. So, try to recognize your own style, and then see what the other person is putting out so you can find a balance that feels good for both. I like long hellos, I don't like long goodbyes, but I do like tight, sincere hugs on all ends.

There it is, some random things that want to be shared today..... I would love to hear from other people too - what are things you've figured out or read or heard that stuck with you, and perhaps you remembered them while reading this? Please share!