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Mount Hood Oregon
J.N. Courtney

Children's Book Author  ℘  Occupational Therapist

JN Courtney Children's Book Author Occupational Therapist

Wellness Ideas

A stack of stones with a butterfly resting on top
[pho­to: Shut­ter­stock 116153149]

Thank­ful­ly COVID-19 is not as preva­lent as it was before. 

These ideas, first writ­ten at the begin­ning of the pan­dem­ic, are still rel­e­vant as the world con­tin­ues to strug­gle with chal­leng­ing times. Some of these ideas are time­less for improved wellness.

Time to nurture relationships

Time is pre­cious and nebulous. 

  • Take time to get to know those in your home more by lis­ten­ing, play­ing board games, spend­ing qui­et time togeth­er, read­ing, singing, danc­ing … enjoy this time together. 
  • If you are on your own, be sure to reach out to oth­ers as need­ed — it’s a good reminder that we’re in this life together. 
  • Call old­er friends, rel­a­tives, and neigh­bors and bring cheer to their day. Offer help if you’re able to and if it’s needed. 
  • Con­tact friends and col­leagues by text, call, email, zoom, and let­ter just to “check in.” 

Self-care

Be sure to take time for you, too, in your dai­ly rou­tine. Can you add some­thing into your sched­ule that brings self-calm­ing into your day? Con­sid­er deep breath­ing, stretch­ing, rock­ing in a chair, bounc­ing on a ther­a­py ball, med­i­ta­tion, lis­ten­ing to beloved music, jour­nal­ing, being in nature …

Our emo­tion­al sys­tem can be taxed in many ways and needs emo­tion­al sup­port. I try to do dai­ly med­i­ta­tion, qigong (com­bines move­ment, med­i­ta­tion, and breath­ing), and a walk every day. Going out­side or open­ing your win­dows for fresh air is impor­tant.  Try to keep a nur­tur­ing environment. 

Movement

I encour­age you to sched­ule move­ment breaks through­out your day. Con­sid­er what types of move­ment you like and build them into your sched­ule — they’ll help with focus and health. I set a timer when I need to do more con­cen­trat­ed, seat­ed work, so I do 45 min­utes of intense focus and then take a (stretch) break for 5–10 min­utes. Stretch­ing night­ly and keep­ing a grat­i­tude jour­nal helps me wind down and sleep bet­ter as well. 

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Take care. I wish you safe and well.

A stack of stones with a butterfly resting on top
[pho­to: Shut­ter­stock 116153149]