joyful movement Archives - Musings by Danna

I can’t believe that it’s finally Fall in this half of the world! I love Fall personally. It’s starting to cool down here, although it never gets too cold in Florida really.

Today I am going to be sharing with you five habits that I want to implement this Fall. Let me know in the comments if you will be trying out any of these this Fall or if you have any other ideas you would like to try out!

1. Spend more time being active.

I am so happy that the weather is cooling off (at least a little bit)! This means I can spend time in the great outdoors being active. My day job is as an elementary school teacher and I am enjoying recess with my students a whole lot more now that the weather is cooler.

I am also taking lots of time to play with my dog. Her name is Mia and she is a 1 year old blue merle goldendoodle puppy. She is wonderful and I love her so much! She has brought me so much joy these past few months since she was rehomed to me in May. We are still working on her leash skills but I am excited to be able to take her on more, longer walks.

I am also planning to start a gym membership soon! I am really excited to get back into the gym. I used to exercise all the time. Honestly, I was exercising way too much at one point in my life. But now, I have decided to embrace joyful movement versus trying to make my body look any certain way.

2. Spend time in my journal.

I have had the same journal for a couple years now. I got it from my grandparents a couple years back. While it’s not necessary to have a pretty journal, I do honestly believe that it can make it easier to get yourself motivated to journal with a pretty journal.

Journaling is integral to my self-care. It helps me to process my thoughts and get things out of my head when I am feeling overwhelmed. Don’t forget to grab my free journal prompts for mental health from this page if you’re looking for a place to start with journaling, or looking for a way to spruce up your current practice!

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3. Read a good book.

I used to be a voracious reader growing up, but as my mental health has become more complex, I have struggled with concentration which has made it harder for me to enjoy reading. In case any of you have struggled with that as well, here are a few things I have tried to get myself back into reading.

I read poetry. Since there are frequent opportunities to stop, I don’t have to concentrate for long. I read books with shorter chapters for the same reason.

I am also interested in accountability with reading, so I am thinking about starting up a book club again. It helps me to know that someone is going to know whether I read or not, and they’re going to care. I love discussing books so I want to be able to contribute.

4. Take a moment to reconnect with yourself.

For me, this often looks like meditating. I personally am a huge fan of Insight Timer. I use certain meditation music tracks from them for different situations. It is often helpful for me to get to sleep at night.

Something I am wanting to implement more of would be breathwork. This is a somatic practice that helps to release energy in your body. I have tried a couple pre-recorded sessions with Meleah from https://www.meleahrose.com/about and I highly recommend her sessions.

5. Give yourself permission to be creative.

This is something I have been working on a lot recently. It can be hard for me to be creative because of my perfectionistic nature, but I truly love my creative side and don’t want to dampen it due to perfectionism. I am working to challenge those thoughts.

One of the biggest ways I am creative is through my pen palling. I have pen pals all over the world and I enjoy getting to decorate their letters and write about what has been going on since we last spoke. It is truly one of the best hobbies I have ever had.

Another way I aim to be more creative this Fall is by taking time to draw on a more regular basis. I recently found my sketchbook and have been wanting to try out some new techniques. I have no formal training in art, but enjoy it nonetheless.

In conclusion

I hope you will join me in trying out some new habits this fall! Whether you plan to follow along with my habits or try your own thing, let me know how it goes. I would love to hear about it.

We can always continue our discussion in my Facebook group.

Anxiety can feel completely overwhelming at times. Today, I am here to share with you my top 5 distractions for anxiety.

When to use distractions

But first, it’s important to talk about when to use distractions. It’s not a good permanent solution for anxiety because if you keep distracting from the problem, you never deal with it.

However, there are also times when you may feel too overwhelmed to deal with what’s causing the anxiety. Or, you may not be in a situation where you can immediately deal with it. In this case, distractions for anxiety are an appropriate course of action.

My top 5 distractions for anxiety

Now for the good part. Let’s talk about some of the best ways I know to distract yourself from anxiety.

1. Meditation

Meditation is a great way to distract yourself from anxiety. It can really help you focus on your breath. This can be hard when you’re feeling anxious, but is one of the best ways to deactivate fight or flight so you can really relax.

I recommend using the app Insight Timer if you are looking for guided meditations. There is a paid version but the free one works just fine. Some people also like Headspace, but there are more free guided meditations on Insight Timer.

2. Art

Art projects definitely distract me from my anxiety. Once I am focused on the art project, everything else seems to fade away from my attention. I become immersed in the world of creation.

It doesn’t even have to be good. It just has to be something to get you out of that anxious feeling.

If you’re looking for ideas of types of art to do, you could draw, paint, collage, or even start an art journal.

3. Count backward from 300 by sevens

This is maybe not the most fun distraction, but it does keep your mind focused on something other than the anxiety.

It can be very useful, especially when you are in a place where your usual distractions are not available to you. For example, you could use this in public settings more easily than the other distractions.

4. Joyful movement

Are there any forms of movement or exercise that bring you joy? For me, this is going on a walk with my dog. I also enjoy hiking, although I haven’t gone lately.

For some people, it may be swimming or running. It could be playing volleyball or going surfing. Any kind of movement that is actually enjoyable for you counts.

Exercise produces endorphins, which can make you feel better. It can also help burn off the extra stress hormones. While I don’t encourage unhealthy amounts of exercise, I do think there are benefits to moving your body in a joyful way.

5. Cuddle a pet or stuffed animal.

Physically touching something, especially something soft, can help ease feelings of anxiety. Cuddling also releases hormones that make you feel better.

My dog, Lily, will perform deep pressure therapy when my anxiety gets too high to help me calm down by essentially putting pressure on me until my heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing are under control again.

But even if you don’t have a dog trained to do something specialized like that, spending time with your pet can still be quite helpful.

Final thoughts on anxiety distractions

Distractions are very useful in the moment when facing intense anxiety. However, I would also advise you to take the time to sit with your feelings when it is safe to do so.

This will allow you some time to explore where these feelings are coming from. It will also allow you to search for more permanent solutions so that you don’t need to use distractions so often.

I hope that you found this post to be useful! As always, I welcome any feedback.

Until next time,

Danna