The Pandemic has slammed many of us who once had thriving business’ only to be shut down, stressed out financially and wondering what to do with our time. Some have adapted to classes on Zoom, curbside business or other strategies to help recover what they lost, but in the end these things have not been a replacement for what was. I grapple with delayed grief over the events of the last 2 years, and that grief has manifested in being sluggish, stress eating, gaining some weight, anxiety over the future and feeling a general loss of “mojo” .
As much as I’d love to be back teaching chocolate classes and making confections, I’ve been both financially and mentally crippled. I can’t forsee signing a lease again after what we had to go through to get out of one, and showing up 6 days a week on my feet is out of the question. Yet I still long to be productive. It’s a struggle. I was always a confident, ambitious person who could dust myself off from any hardship and keep going, and that’s not currently happening in a way that I’d like it to. Is it getting older? Some days I feel the weight of aging with aches and pains, but on other days I do not. I’m trying to sort this one out and get unstuck.
There is a movie on Netflix right now called “100 days with Tata”. It is an amazing story about a 95 year old woman in Madrid, Spain during the initial Covid lockdown. I recommend it for a heartwarming and inspirational movie about growing older. She finds her “mojo” in this story…at 95!
For myself , rather than turn to drugs or alcohol to stay numb to hardship I have found one coping strategy in my daily QiGong practice. For a minimal investment I do this practice on line from as little as 7 min, to 20 min or even more if I have the energy. I try to do it in the AM before my cup of coffee, to set a relaxed yet energized tone to the day. QiGong is about energizing the body’s meridian system and unblocking energy. Blocked energy makes us sluggish, unblocked energy lets us be creative and feel vitality. I am sharing a link here to an introduction to QiGong that’s 20 minutes. You will get a workout that is mind, body and spirit and virtually effortless. There is no mat work so you needn’t worry about getting up and down off the floor, perfect for seniors. You could even do it in a chair if you need to. Don’t be fooled by its simplicity….it works when done on a daily basis and gets more complex. Learning to breathe properly is part of it, and bringing fresh oxygen into your body does wonders. You can learn more on the website HoldenQiGong.com and sign up for a free 2 week trial.
Please share your thoughts. What have you done to get yourself unstuck? Is it something you’ve gotten thru or are still struggling with it as I am?
Here’s the link to an Intro to Qi Gong