Maintaining a Positive Mind Amidst Pandemic

As we all know the world is full of energies which includes both positive and negative; very similar to our high's and low's in life as we are experiencing during this pandemic era. So the question that arises is - How does one take care of his/ her psychological health in this scenario? There are 3 basic aspects which affect our overall wellbeing to a great extent and which we need to and should maintain it for throughout our lives are food, exercise and attitude.

"Personal health is a continual process of keeping oneself strong spiritually, mentally and physically and in doing so, keeping away or overcoming those forces that might make it unwell. To remain well, individuals must stay in harmony with themselves, their environment and their creator"
-Carol Loust

Apart from the three basic aspects mentioned above, one needs to also focus on the following aspects for a healthy stable mind:-

• SLEEP: : Simply put "Sleep like a child"! A good peaceful sleep is critical to have an healthy mind and to maintain ones psychological health.
• SUNRAYS: Sunrays are an important source of vital energy. which Improves digestion, quickens blood and lymph circulation , provides vital nutrition and vitamins to the body and represents the symbol of energy to the soul.. Spending 30-40 minutes under the sun everyday early morning is therefore a key dinacharya which one should follow religiously
• AIR: Unarguably a critical source of life energy is air. As per the vedics, the best time to get fresh oxygen is early morning hours. By practicing pranayama (Deep breathing technique), our body will learn how to obtain maximum amount of oxygen. .
• WATER: A very important source for maintaining a strong immune system, Water cleanses the body systematically of all toxins.. According to Vedas, water therapyenables to cure various diseases.. This is one of the oldest methods to detoxify the body.. The best time to drink water is early morning in a copper vessel.
• FOOD: Undoubtedly, an important source, food helps builds, energy and sustains healthy body. It is therefore critical that we choose foods that are hygienic, natural and life sustaining instead of junk and processed foods which makes the body and mind unhealthy..
• THOUGHTS: Healthy thoughts lead to healthy body. It is said that there is a strong correlations between ones thoughts and how his/ her body reacts to these thoughts. People with negative thoughts will always be troubled by ill health and weak mind whereas people with positive thoughts have a positive energy around them which acts as a natural protection layer against illnesses.

Some of the simple ways to lead a positive life are:-

1. For children, allow them to express their innovative thoughts and creative ideas, let them do paper crafts, reading, coloring and playing old traditional indoor games which helps them to lead a positive life as they grow up.
2. In case of middle aged individuals, practicing creative ideas in cooking, listening to mild music like bell sounds, seashore wave sounds, light flute or piano music, practicing yoga postures leads to development of a calm mind
3. With senior citizens, try to interact and know about their past experiences, making them listen to religious mantras and gardening leads to a calm and healthy mind.                                                                     

Thus people who take care of these critical aspects of sleep, sunlight, air, water, food and thoughts will definitely be entitled to have a strong healthy mind and an equally strong immune system..

The author is a B.N.Y.S (Naturopathy and Yogic Science) and M.Sc. (Applied Psychology) from South India. She was trained by one of the most reputed names in the field. Her presentation ‘on wellness’ in competition and seminars have won national level awards. She practiced and worked on many social projects and has organised awareness practical camps in engineering colleges in South India. She has also taught BNYS students at S K Institute of Naturopathy and Yoga Sciences at Jaipur, Rajasthan University. She is well versed in yoga, acupressure, acupuncture,aroma therapies and counselling patients on diet Nutrition.

Dr. DHAYA. G
BNYS, MSc. Psychology