For many, the time during Ramadan brings enjoyment, connection and a charge of energy through pray, meditation, and fasting. It’s a time to cleanse the body and the mind of negative toxins and thoughts and charge it with positive thoughts, gratitude, kindness, and love. Energy doesn’t just come from the food we eat, we can re-energize by nourishing our mind and emotions too.
Photographed by Francesco Scotti.
To support your mental and emotional health this month find our top wellbeing tips below by health and empowerment coach Heidi Jones:
Move your body in ways you enjoy
When you find an exercise that works for you, you’ll reap the benefits; including increased energy, improved mental clarity, and an enhanced mood. Exercise produces the feel-good hormone serotonin which has an uplifting effect on your body, mind and emotional self. Listen to your body, once you understand how different types of movement nourish your body in different ways, you can create a menu of activities to keep yourself in balance.
Make space for a positive mindset
Positive thoughts boost your mood, spirit and tend to generate even more positivity and happiness in your life. You don’t have to accept the negative internal chatter, choose to switch to a happier perspective, it does take practice, but soon enough, your mind will gravitate towards better thoughts and positivity.
To do this start by letting go of:
Comparing yourself to others
It’s easy to want what others have, comparing yourself is like discarding everything you’ve got going for you at this moment. Instead of comparison choose admiration, this is a much healthier approach.
Negative self-talk
Beating yourself up on a daily basis takes its toll on our self-esteem and confidence. When you hear the internal negative chatter, say “cancel cancel” followed by a positive comment or affirmation to teach yourself to be kinder to yourself better.
Resisting change
If you want different results, do something different. Make change small, focus on taking one step at a time. There’s no need to go all-in to create a positive impact on your life.
And making space in your life for:
Doing good for someone else
Focus your energy on lifting up someone else and notice how your energy elevates as well.
Reflection
Take time to reflect, meditate or simply release your thoughts and emotions onto paper or to a person you trust. Having the space to unload feels like letting go of a heavyweight, it brings a feeling of relief and a new sense of clarity and energy. Keeping a gratitude journal each day will also bring positivity and energy into your day. Start by listing five thoughts you are grateful for.
Surrounding yourself with like-minded, uplifting people
People who are living inline with the same values as you will keep you grounded, inspired and focused on what’s important.
The key to nourishing your mind is to experience more positive emotions throughout your day (especially if it feels stressful). To create a mindset of positivity we need to be open, curious, kind, appreciative and genuine. How you can implement these elements into your daily life is up to you. Remember we can’t always control what happens in our life, but we can control how we respond to things. Wellbeing isn’t just about enjoying the good times; it’s also about finding hope and the silver lining during the more challenging times.“The main thing in Ramadan is that we should not focus on having energy from food only. We should charge ourselves from the source of praying and meditating every day, charge it with pure light, positive thoughts and positive belief,” says Zeinat AlJoabeh.
Health and personal empowerment coach Heidi Jones has been empowering her clients with tools for achieving optimal wellbeing and improved lifestyle habits for the past five years. Her coaching methods focus on implementing preventative strategies, developing a growth mindset and action based self-awareness techniques. Visit heidijonescoaching.com @heidi_jones_coaching
Read Next: These are All the Tips You Need to Keep Yourself Healthy this Ramadan
