If you have a lot going on in your life, then there’s a pretty good chance that you feel overwhelmed – as if things are spinning out of control. But, thankfully, there are ways to calm down and get focused.
The Benefits of Being Calm
Calmness can be described as the absence of strong emotions. Some say it’s the mental state that we should all be striving for – a feeling of inner peace that’s free from worry, anxiety, or excitemen.
“Think of being calm as your shield – like a piece of protective gear you wear, “ wellness coach Shirley Meerson suggests. “An invisible shield that protects your energy from the toxicity of either other people’s negativity, or when your life is spinning much too fast.”
When you’re calm, you feel more in control of your life and emotions. You find it easier to breathe and hear your own thoughts. It’s also easier to reach a state of creative flow. Overall, your mental and emotional health benefits from being calm.
5 Ways to Promote Calmness
It’s one thing to understand the importance of being calm – but how do you actually achieve this state with sustained frequency? Here are several suggestions:
1. Meditation
Anxiety, which could be described as the opposite state of calmness, is associated with feeling out of control. It’s a feeling of unrestrained chaos that can’t be reeled in. Meditation is the art of slowing down and removing chaotic thoughts to promote a sense of control over your breathing, your body, and your reality. The more you meditate, the more mindful you become.
2. Journaling
You might not be a writer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t journal. In fact, everyone should keep a journal. It’s a smart habit that promotes strong mental health benefits, like feeling calm.
“Keeping a journal helps you create order when your world feels like it’s in chaos,” writes L. Renee Watson, MSN, RN. “You get to know yourself by revealing your most private fears, thoughts, and feelings. Look at your writing time as personal relaxation time. It’s a time when you can de-stress and wind down.”
You don’t have to be an eloquent writer (or even write very much). Something as simple as a couple of paragraphs per day is enough to help you stabilize your mental health and feel calm.
3. Crystal Singing Bowls
If you’ve never been immersed in the tranquility of crystal singing bowls, you should definitely give it a try. Crystal singing bowls offer a magnificent sound with very little effort. They bathe the entire room with sound and utilize vibrations at different frequencies to help the body enter its natural state of balance and harmony. Being regularly exposed to crystal singing bowls can help you enter a space of feeling calm.
4, Yoga
Yoga encourages both physical and mental relaxation, which helps reduce stress and anxiety. It also enhances focus and calmness. The key is to focus on the present moment. Awareness and concentration certainly boost results when doing yoga.
Much like meditation, the goal is to become aware of your feelings, sensations, and thoughts. Let go of negative attachments and experiences. In their place, cultivate feelings of joy and serenity.
5. Proper Diet
It’s been said that you are what you eat. And if you’re one of the millions of Americans who suffer from anxiety disorders, it may be worth changing up your diet. Certain foods are associated with greater focus and may even promote calm. They include raw fruits and veggies (like apples, bananas, carrots, dark leafy greens, grapefruit, and kiwi), pumpkin and squash seeds, fermented foods (yogurt, kefir, etc.), walnuts, and foods high in vitamin C (broccoli, spinach, Brussel sprouts, etc.).
It’s also wise to eliminate certain foods from your diet. This includes anything with high levels of caffeine or sugar, which can mess with your body chemistry and make you feel jittery.
Adding it All Up
Being calm isn’t necessarily the same as being relaxed. The goal isn’t to drift off into a nap or feel the world slip away. On the contrary – the objective is to silence toxic emotions so that you can be more focused. You want to be in a place where you can hear yourself think. And the more you implement habits like meditation, journaling, crystal singing bowls, yoga, and proper diet into your lifestyle, the calmer you’ll become.