In today’s world in which we’re faced with uncertainty about the future and knowing that the past is fast becoming another place – we are already beginning to talk about the world ‘pre Coronavirus’ – the present, the here and now, is one of the few aspects that is meaningful.

This is an interesting time for all of us. We’re faced with a pandemic virus about which we don’t yet know enough or how it will evolve and scientists are racing to find a cure to help people around the world. When disasters occur the news and social media engines of the world crank up to overload, announcing new updates and constantly repeating messages – often with nothing new or useful to say. Yet this creates an underlying, constant anxiety around the globe.*

Our brains are wired to scan for danger, they pick up on any danger which threatens us and remove us from it if they possibly can. This is basic neuroscience, it’s a primitive response and relates back to the survival of our species.

When faced with a new, potentially worrying situation like Covid-19, our brains will produce various hormones such as the stress hormone, cortisone, which in turn provokes a flight, fight or freeze response. However, unlike ancient man living on the Savannah 800,000 years ago – we may find ourselves unable to do any of these things, and instead experience a rising sense of anxiety.

This is where mindfulness can help. When we feel anxiety about any situation, first and foremost, it’s good to breathe consciously. When we’re faced by stressful situations one of the first responses is to shallow breath, or even hold the breath, starving the body of oxygen. By taking a deep breath and getting an increased intake of oxygen racing around the body gives your body a huge boost and also acts to soothe the mind.

Breathing also brings us back to the moment. It anchors us to the present. And unless you are in an immediate threat situation personally, it reminds us that we are OK at this moment in time. This in turn can remind us that things are OK overall in our personal world and space right now, which allows the neural system to quieten and our anxiety levels to lower.

 

Mindfulness for testing times

Mindfulness is not fluffy or soft. It’s a very real way of coping. It’s also a brilliant way of building resilience for difficult times.

Mindfulness is the practice of bringing our awareness to what we are experiencing in the present, both internally and externally, without judgment (Kornfield, 2009). It is a wakeup call to become conscious of the ways we perceive and respond to life’s situations.

If you are facing a difficult situation, here’s a traditional, easy-to-follow mindfulness exercise to help (Klau, 2009). Mindfulness takes time to develop; it’s an ongoing process. Be kind and compassionate to yourself as you follow these instructions.

  • Sit in a quiet room where you won’t be disturbed.
  • Close your eyes and focus your attention on your breath.
  • It’s natural for your attention to become distracted. When that happens, simply return to your breath.
  • While focusing on your breath, allow your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and body sensations to enter your awareness as you perceive the external situation.
  • Now ask yourself: What are the facts of the situation? What are my thoughts, feelings, beliefs and body sensations? How am I responding?

With practice, this exercise can bring us to our calm, reflective centre fast. This safe haven, in which we can rest and see more clearly, holds and contains everything arising for us in the present. From here, it is possible to deconstruct and reframe our original fear-based feelings and reactions, accepting them without being their victims.

 

Working from home mindfully

Beyond setting up a work space, negotiating with other family members, as well as the children who are being home-schooled currently,  where and how you’re going to work (if you’re sharing a room, take your calls outside it, for example), staying calm and remembering to breath can be vital to your well-being, let alone that of others! We can go for weeks without food and days without water, but only minutes without oxygen.

Having a clear purpose helps. Focusing your energy and attention on your purpose (your job in this case) has been shown to help in stressful times. It reduces nervousness, hopelessness, loneliness and irritability. And if your job is stressful, focus on the people who you work with and give your all to them. Make it your mission to impact others in a positive way during these interesting times.

Sticking to a routine helps as well. Make sure you get up, wash and dress, start work at the usual time – or at the time your colleagues are working. Routine is important at times like this. It also means you can detach more easily when the working day is over.

 

Practical Mindfulness  

We don’t have to meditate to practice being mindful. There are many ways to incorporate mindfulness into our daily lives. As we become increasingly mindful, we can begin to respond from a place of freedom and choice.

With the advice on establishing new habits to combat the Corona Virus, like not touching our faces and washing our hands more often for instance, we can pay mindful attention to these habits.

Spend an hour noticing how often you touch your face (you may be surprised). Not touching your face is a good way to avoid picking up the virus: as we touch different surfaces and touch our eyes, nose or mouth – we transfer viruses easily. So being mindful about the habit of touching your face could save your life!

And as we are advised to wash our hands more frequently, try doing this mindfully. Take a little longer to notice the feel of hot water on our hands, notice if there is a fragrance to the soap, then feel the silky sensation of it on your skin; the sensation as your hands rub together – lose yourself in washing your hands. Do the same if you’re applying hand-cream afterwards – take a little longer, appreciate the sensations. Do it mindfully…

 

Compassionate mindfulness

Finally, we’ve all had to change our social habits. It was a colleague who first put me right on this a month ago when I returned from a business trip and came over to give her a big hug: she quite rightly refused. She was more up to speed on the situation than I was.

instead of hugging or shaking each other’s hands, we can look each other in the eye and send loving-kindness—wishing each other health, safety and peace. That’s the compassionate side of mindfulness. And it works in tough times, too. In fact, in very stressful times it’s worth leaning into the compassionate side of mindfulness.

Mindfulness can also help us pay attention to being aware of our natural biases and judgments. We all have biases and make judgements – that’s part of being human. However, this can also lead to discriminating against others. Natural bias towards others arise from our own fears and separate us from each other. Don’t judge, just be more aware of your own biases…

In many ways, COVID-19 is showing us just how connected we are and how much the same we really are. All of us—and some of us more than others—are vulnerable to getting sick and none of us wants that. But we can look out for each other, become part of an active community where you can to help each other, connect with each other and maybe run errands for each other.

I’ve loved the evening community clapping for our healthcare givers – standing on my balcony, often having not seen others (excluding family members) during the day, knowing that we are connected by our sense of community and gratitude for the health and emergency workers. This is pure mindfulness.

Viewed through the lens of interconnectedness, practicing mindfulness as the virus spreads is not only a real, measured way to care for ourselves – it’s also a way to care for everyone around us and the wider world. Because ultimately, we are all one…

*There is a simple remedy: turn off your news feeds, only look at the news once a day and never at night.