How to Stay Good and Grounded!
Karin Graabaek Helledie is a Danish author, yoga teacher and life designer based in London. She is co-founder of the American community and mentoring company Good Life Designed (www.goodlifedesigned.com) and has her own wellness company Yo Flow (www.yoflow.co.uk.) We asked her to share her top well-being tips.
Lately, I have noticed how a lot of us hide behind “Am I fine”, whenever someone asks how we are. Knowing that this is certainly not the full answer in my own life, I started changing my response to “I am fine, and I am not fine”. For a lot of us, the reality is that we are both at the same time. We can be grateful, happy, coping, thriving, staying positive and looking for the silver linings, while we are simultaneously struggling, going stir crazy, feeling exhausted, demotivated, worried and trapped. Just ask any mom juggling the turmoil of emotions with a new baby or a teenager for that matter…
When I was asked to share some of my work here, I wanted to start with the contradicting emotions in challenging phases of our life, because the foundation of all the work I do is to hold space for people and provide tools to make you grounded through the ups and downs in life.
I have been through many of them- lately the pandemic has challenged us to a new level. As a yoga teacher and partner in Good Life Designed, I entered the pandemic with a full toolbox and a daily yoga and meditation practice … and it has been a humbling high-light to be able to share many of these tools on Zoom.
In Good Life Designed we offer self-development based on a structured process, which has a lot in common with yoga and works from the idea that when you are connected to who you really are (your true self), aligned in your mission and your values and clear on what it is you want, you can design your best life.
How to stay good and grounded is a big question, it’s a daily commitment and practice, but the good news is you can take small steps and build from there…
My top 3 tips:
No 1:
Check in with yourself often.
Yoga, breathwork and meditations are amazing tools for bringing attention back to how you feel and what you need in the moment.
The yoga mat always meets you where you are.
Another favorite tool for a personal check in is journaling. This is a very grounding practice and you only need a pen and journal. There is no wrong way to journal, and there is a long list of benefits including reducing stress and anxiety, holding yourself accountable, making sense of what is going on in your life, clearing your mind and sparking creativity.
No 2:
Accept reality.
With lots of our freedom, choices and certainty (we never really had any) gone, we more than ever need to bring everything back to living in the moment and accept reality as it is. I like the idea that letting go is the flipside of acceptance.
Practicing acceptance is like training a muscle. Meditation and yoga are great for learning to be with what is. If you are new to meditation, remember there are many ways to meditate. Download apps like Insight Timer, Head Space…or go for walk let your mind wander while you focus on your feet connecting to the ground.
In the Good Life Designed we work with the tool life mapping, which help you acknowledge what is going on in your life. The first step to fixing something and creating change is to recognize what is really going on and accept that. Without having changed anything yet, you already feel a sense of relief.
No 3:
Dare to Rest
Every time I take a 10 minutes nap, I remind myself that I am being a role model to my kids. Resting is an act of self-care, but for some reason it’s so difficult to do in over high achieving society. When I got ill a few years ago, I fell in love with restorative yoga and started to appreciate the value of rest. Today, I am so happy to share this in my weekly Friday class. Restorative yoga is the art of being. It allows the body to balance the nervous system. And all though you do nothing, you achieve a lot.
Up-coming offerings (All live on Zoom)
Good + Grounded workshop this Sunday 31st Jan
2 for 1 offer
We use the life mapping tool for a deeper dive review of what's going well + what could use a redesign. We invite you to bring one area of your life to focus on as we make the most of our two-hour time-frame and leave clear-headed and one step closer to living with more intention.
https://goodlifedesigned.com/course/workshop/
Mindful Journaling Session Wednesday 3rd Feb
A yoga Class for the Mind.
First session is complimentary
Friday Rewind + Restore yoga
US 9.00 am PST 12.00 am EST
Please get in touch for more info:
@goodlifedesigned
@yoflowyoga
Photos: Jilly Cowdry /www.jillycowdryphotography.co.uk
1 Comment
I think I love this blog post the most. Thanks!