Monday Meditations with Lupus In Color Season 1 Episode 2
Part of Lupus In Color Empowerment Series, we hope this will help you manage your chronic pain as well as keep your mental and emotional health strong in your fight. Mindfulness meditation is not about fighting. It’s all about acceptance. And once you have achieved calm, it can help you regain a much needed sense of control when your disease brings you discomfort. Mindfulness meditation involves directing your attention to the present moment with an attitude of openness to accept without judgement. Every Monday, Lupus In Color will present a short meditation to help empower you in your lupus journey. #MondayMeditations#LupusInColor
Ever wondered how to meditate? Ever wonder how meditation can help you in your lupus journey? Mindfulness meditation is not about fighting. It’s all about acceptance. And once you have achieved calm, it can help you regain a much needed sense of control when your disease brings you discomfort. Mindfulness meditation involves directing your attention to the present moment with an attitude of openness to accept without judgement.
Every Monday, Lupus In Color will present a short meditation to help empower you in your lupus journey. Part of our new Empowerment Series, we hope this will help you manage your chronic pain as well as keep your mental and emotional health strong in your fight.
The whirlwind of the holidays is finally over. Take some time to recover.
Lupus In Color Holiday Recovery:
1. Rest-Get some sleep: Make moments today to relax and just be. Your body needs it. 2. Make time to meditate: Take 5 minutes out of your day to just sit still and breathe. You deserve still moments to recharge. 3.Take a short walk: bundle up and take a short walk and enjoy the fresh air. The walk will help you relax some. 4. Write in your journal: Sit down and write out your feelings from the holiday. Get all the good and bad out of your mind and onto paper. It’s a form of great release. 5. Set boundaries: just say no if you need to. Dont feel like you have to say yes to everything.You can say no and not feel guilty. 6. Drink some hot tea: Grab a spot of tea and just enjoy the relaxation it brings. Allow the warmth to soothe you. 7. Read a good book: Take some time to read a book that you’ve wanted to read. Take your time to get into the fantasy of your imagination.
Make it a restful day. Try to limit your stress and practice some self care. Your body, mind and spirit will thank you.
The holidays are so hard to deal with as you battle lupus. You may be battling depression, grief, anger, or sadness. It’s so easy for someone to say just think about the good in your life to get over it all. The reality is, it’s not that easy. What I can tell you is this, sometimes you won’t be able to get over the hard times. Especially during the holiday. It will take you releasing those feelings just to get through some tough memories and moments. It will take you realizing that those feelings aren’t bad, they are just a part of an experience you have had. It will take you a few moments to get out of your feelings and into your living in the now beyond it all. Take the time to get through and then make time to live beyond. As I said it will not be easy but it will surely be worth it for you in the long run. Just by making a conscious decision to make life liveable makes a difference in the way you walk through your fires. These issues may never go away but you can lessen the effects they have on your life. Through it all, make sure you always have HOPE. HEALING OVER PAIN EVERYDAY!
This has been your MIDWEEK REFUEL for Christmas December 25, 2019. Whatever you do for the rest of the night, make sure you are educated, inspired, encouraged and empowered beyond the pain and issues of lupus. #educate #inspire #encourage #empower #LupusInColor #MidweekRefuel
The holidays can be fun, but they can also be stressful. While we all are getting so excited about seeing loved ones and hosting events, there can be real fears that can and will bubble up in side of us. There may be fears of missing out, getting sick, or not being able to reach expectations put on us by family members or friends. The anxiety can be high, the worry can be off the charts and the depression may increase.
It’s important as we battle lupus to take it one step at a time. To not become overwhelmed and to not overdo it. If you already find yourself in a crazed frenzy of the holidays, it’s time to take your life and holiday sanity back. Below are some helpful tips that may help you in finding your calm in the midst of the holiday storm.
Remember, you don’t have to look at the whole forest. You don’t even have to look at a whole tree. Focus on the branch, the leaf, the bark. Breaking things down into smaller, manageable tasks is a great way to get started.
Make a realistic list. Divide it between URGENT tasks that must get done, stuff that can wait a few days, and things that you should do, but that can be done at any time.
Setting a time limit with a built in reward can be a great motivator. For example, put the dishes away while the tea kettle boils. Do a small task, like writing a thank you note, as you can while you wait for food to finish cooking.
Ask for help – Reach out. Ask others for help. It can be scary, but more often than not, people are grateful to help. People like to feel useful.
Take a deep breath. Take another. Drink some water and open the blinds. Put on fun music. Making your environment welcoming will help get you moving and ready to start the day.
Say NO. This one is so hard for so many people especially lupus warriors. If you feel yourself getting stretched thin, or there’s absolutely no way you can do one more thing, you can say NO. Remember you are not responsible for another person’s bad time management. You don’t have to be a “Yes” man or woman to try and please others.
PACE YOURSELF AND REST. This is hard especially for lupus warriors that may be feeling better and have some energy. Warriors tend to overdo it and then have to pay for it later on. I know many are excited, but it’s important to pace yourself and rest before you overdo it and end up in a bad flare.
Having lupus is challenging and when the holidays roll around it can be overwhelming and difficult to handle. The main thing to stay holiday flare free is to make it a collaborative effort. Don’t think you have to do it all yourself or make an extravagant party that will take you months to recover from. Let your need for perfection go. Remember, your first priority needs to involve doing what you can to protect your health. Don’t stress out and overwork yourself and you will have a nice holiday season.
Butterfly Pen Pals program. This program is ongoing and consists of lupus warriors exchanging letters and supporting one another on our lupus journeys. The program is geared to have consistent support and have someone to talk to via letter, internet or phone. If you are interested in having and being a pen pal please let us know by signing up below #LupusInColor
