Meditation, Mental Health & COVID-19

The phrase “a New York state of mind” has recently taken on another meaning, as New York and its residents have been hit pretty hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a partnership with Headspace, a digital health and wellness company, New Yorkers have access to a special collection of meditation, movement, and sleep exercises for support during this stressful time. Meditation can help you lower stress, which is essential for maintaining your mental health during the coronavirus pandemic. With the help of our friends at HR360, we’ve put together some tips on how to practice meditation.

How to practice meditation

There are many ways that you can practice meditation. You can check out Headspace, and also, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many meditation apps are offering discounted or free memberships to help you lower your stress during these uncertain times.

It takes practice to master meditation, but it’s easy to get started and takes just minutes of your time.  Try these two quick mindful meditation techniques next time you’re feeling stressed.

• One-minute relaxation breathing – Close your eyes and take a deep breath in for a count of four, and then exhale for a count of eight. Repeat five times.
• Five-minute body scan meditation – Sit or lay down in a comfortable position and take a few moments to find a calm, steady breath. Bring your awareness to sensations in your body, where you will spend several slow breaths on each focal point beginning with the left toes and all the way through the left hip. Repeat on the right side. From there, follow the same process through your torso, arms and up through your head.

Tips for successful meditation

1. Schedule a meditation session like an appointment. Plan for meditation by blocking off time each day. This will help communicate to others in your house that, during that specified time, you need to be alone to focus on meditating.
2. Find a designated meditation spot. This should be a quiet place in your home where you can meditate and separate from where your workspace may be. As you continue with meditation during the pandemic and beyond, your brain will begin to associate this special area with meditation, and you’ll subconsciously begin to relax when you’re in this space.
3. Try to use noise-canceling headphones. With children, pets or roommates at home, chances are, you might not be able to have total silence in your home when you go to meditate. Try wearing noise-canceling headphones whenever you meditate so that you can focus on your meditation.
4. Don’t get discouraged. The old adage of “practice makes perfect” applies. It can take days or even weeks to successfully incorporate meditation into your life. If you’re not able to sit through a full session of meditation, don’t get discouraged. Keep trying and, soon enough, you’ll be able to regularly meditate.

Prioritizing mental health and well-being in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused many to lose their jobs or work from home, is something that every single person should be doing, but it often falls by the wayside. Maintaining your mental health during these uncertain times can be challenging, but hopefully, these tips can help you get started with meditation. You can also check out our tips for maintaining your mental well-being during COVID-19 quarantine and tips for employers and employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rose & Kiernan, Inc. continues to monitor and relay information related to the many aspects of dealing with COVID-19 and the workplace. If you have any questions about this topic, please contact us here or by calling (800) 242-4433. You can also view our COVID-19 resources page for important information about Rose & Kiernan’s response to the virus outbreak.

Please note that news and events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic are changing quickly. The information provided in this blog post represents where things stand on the date of publication.