Coming Out: Life After Covid
/With the increase in the number of vaccines available, it seems we can slowly let out our breath and begin to let cautious optimism take root.
But I wonder, what will it feel like to go back out in the world once restrictions are loosened? Will we feel like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders and we are finally free like victors of a great war, or will we have a sort of post-Covid PTSD? Do we have to accept that Covid or other similar viruses are a part of our lives and learn to live vibrantly anyways?
Humans are hard wired to be on the lookout for danger. It stands to reason that we will all be a little nervous for a while, even after we can start to venture out into the new normal.
That’s why I believe we need to train ourselves now to keep that built in alarm system working for us, not against us. Yes, we need to be more vigilant about hygiene for the foreseeable future, that just makes good sense. What we don’t want to be, is living a PTSD-like life of fear where daily activities become triggers making coming out after Covid feel almost as bad as staying at home.
Will we hear someone sneeze or cough and think “they have Covid”? Might we fear getting into an elevator in case some stranger breaths on us? Even worse, might we fear hugging friends and family we haven’t seen for an insanely long time? That’s the saddest thing because these kinds of hugs are the very thing that makes us feel connected and secure in the world.
If post-Covid PTSD is a possibility, how do we set ourselves up for coming out after the hight of the pandemic has passed to feel okay or better yet, excited and joyful about the possibilities a new normal might bring?
I think we can start by practicing these 4 things:
Presence
Trust
Acceptance
Gratitude
Below I offer my take on how these four attitudes can help us navigate life after the pandemic and some resources from myself and other yoga practitioners to help you reintegrate into the new normal.
Presence helps us let go of the fear of the past and worry about the future. The present moment is the only thing we truly have control over. The past has happened and the future, as much as we try to guide it, is subject to all kinds of variables we can’t control. But, in the present moment we can cultivate the feelings that support us. We can choose to feel calm, safe and secure. Try the practices below.
The Daily Calm: Meditation on Presence
Yoga with Kassandra: Yin Yoga for Stress Relief
Note: If you have knee issues you may want to skip the first posture and just use the single leg forward fold rather than “saddle” posture. I like this gentle practice because Kassandra uses the intention “I am calm. I am safe. All is well and I am at peace.
Trust helps us believe in our own soul’s will to survive. We must believe that our bodies are strong and will do whatever is in its power to stay alive. Including fending off Covid. Getting a vaccine should give us some additional hope that we are more protected against illness and increase our faith in our body’s ability to thrive in the face of challenge.
Unshakable Confidence Mudra Meditation
Yoga with Adrianne: Anchor in Hope
Acceptance helps us let go of feelings like disappointment and despair. We learn to be okay with things just as they are. The past year has not been ideal by any stretch and some of us have lost people we love or had to forgo important plans multiple times. Holding on to what might have been, only prolongs stressful feelings whereas acceptance allows us to move through these challenges.
Yoga with Adrianne: Change & Drain
BoHo Beautiful: Meditation on Acceptance
Gratitude helps us circle back to presence and also ties in with abundance. All of these things help us can let go of the fear we are missing something and acknowledge what we already have in this moment. This allows us to feel a sense of abundance which allows us to open and expand to more good things rather than closing ourselves off.
Creating Abundance Yoga Practice
The Mindful Movement: Gratitude
I strongly believe practicing these 4 things will help us avoid post-Covid PTSD and help us ease back into our lives feeling more safe and certain in a world that has been anything but.
Hang in there. You’ve got this!
=)
Lori
