Wellness

By Valarie Angle

Executive Summary:

With 2020 shaking up everything that we know about systems, procedures, and protocols; you might feel anxious about forging ahead. The unknown and lack of control can be very unsettling and it’s easy to get trapped into a thought pattern of despair. So says our newest Wellness column contributor.

Valarie Angle is the owner & director of The WellNest Roanoke, and is a holistic Life Coach. Contact her atConnect@The WellNestRoanoke.com

Sadhana: bringing balance to work and life

A focus on what we have control over: our own thoughts, beliefs, words, and actions; can help us maintain balance in work and at home, while achieving our goals. We can address our attitude and our behavior so that, no matter what environmental and circumstantial events affect us, we maintain emotional well-being and positive mental health.

I love the Sanskrit term “Sadhana,” referring to the spiritual work of creating the emotional, mental, and physical balance that keeps us well and moving toward our desired outcomes; a methodical discipline to attain a goal. We can incorporate this framework of Sadhana into our daily lives to have a sense of the work-life balance we crave. Dig deep into your motivation. Why do you do what you do? A life coach can help you through this process to uncover the why under the why. Once you come to understand your motivations, set your intentions toward maintaining your focus on that outcome. I like to think of it as if all of the desired outcomes are floating in a lake, waiting for me. I’m on a canoe in a river flowing toward those outcomes. My job is to stay on course, not take a turn into a creek or stream shooting off the river. If I stay on course, I will reach my goals. I stay on course with mindfulness.

Mindfulness means being fully present and aware in our own life experience; not distracted, overwhelmed, or reactive to observations around us. It’s the skill of refusing to analyze the past or allow those experiences and emotions to pull us down. Mindfulness is also the skill of reveling in the moment without worrying about the future. One ancient way of learning to harness mindfulness is through meditation.

Meditation can take on several forms, but at its core, it is taking some time to stop thinking and acting in order to give attention to a calm space within you. While ancient in practice, modern research affirms that consistent meditation results in reduced stress and anxiety; improved sleep, blood pressure, emotional well-being, attention, memory, and focus; and a greater capacity for self-forgiveness and social well-being. Setting intentions, attending to mindfulness, and learning to meditate in a way that is comfortable for you can make all the difference for you in 2021. You’ll find that you are better able to focus on and achieve your goals with a peacefulness and surety that only comes from self-discipline.

Consistent meditation results in reduced stress and anxiety... ”“