August 3, 2021.
Hi. Thanks for reading my very first newsletter. I hope that your week is off to a good start and that you’ve had some laughs or a release of
some kind. I was recently performing on a Zoom comedy show and someone farted. I think it’s fair to say that person got their release.
I’ve decided to put together a newsletter that I’ll send to you each season. It won’t be anything crazy, just a collection of silly thoughts along with some wellness tips that are working for me and might help you too. And since this is the very first, newborn-baby newsletter; I hereby promise to only share tips with you that I’m actually doing in my day-to-day, no fluff.
It’s hard to believe that a post-covid world is slowly beginning to take shape and we are starting to come back to life. It’s almost like we are a bunch of
flowers that were wilting and then after the right amount of sunlight and water, we started to bloom again. And with that came summer and tons of pent-up energy! This is energy that was just waiting inside each of us for months to get outside, enjoy the warm weather and of course; see the people we know and love. For real, in person and in the flesh. Suddenly we went from not seeing anyone, to seeing literally everyone.
While on some levels this can seem exciting, I think it’s also
important to set ourselves up for success in these situations. We can achieve this by creating healthy boundaries for ourselves rather than saying yes to every invite. Because before we know it we could be headed towards a crash and burn scenario. And sometimes we need that little reminder telling us to SLOW DOWN.
If you’re like me maybe you were completely exhausted at the beginning of the pandemic and in some strange way, you were appreciative of life telling you to reduce your speed. The slowing down was needed for many of us. And now, the trick is to build our pace up again in a way that’s healthy and encourages longevity. We don’t need to load our calendars to the brim again, we really don’t.
One practice I love that asks us to slow down while simultaneously waking up our minds involves incorporating mindfulness into our daily routines. This exercise is a great way of reminding us how to become and remain more aware instead of getting overwhelmed and lost in our stories.
Mindfulness in Daily Activities can be incorporated into simple tasks such as: doing the laundry, cooking or cleaning. In practicing this, you will choose your t
ask (e.g. cooking a meal) and this task will become what’s referred to as your object or your “home base.” Similar to practicing mindfulness while seated, you will be bringing your practice into your daily life by inserting it into this task. Once you’ve chosen your task (in this case: cooking) you will count how many times your mind strays away from the act of cooking. This means noticing how many times your mind goes off to think about who you spoke to that day, what you need to buy at the grocery store, work stress or your favourite terrible reality show. By the way, there is no judgment on your love for reality shows, I’m a connoisseur of the art too.
Once you notice that your mind has gone off to thinking, then you will simply guide it back to cooking. If your mind goes off for a while, notice that it did and if it feels overly busy, notice that too. An important thing to remember with this is that it’s meant to be fun! Our minds will wander off and that’s perfectly natural. Only now, we’re noticing when that happens and what better way to become more mindful than by embracing the moment? Because when you think about it, it’s all we have.
Feel free to give this a try and let me know how it worked for you. Hopefully this will help you get back into the present moment more often and not miss it completely. I appreciate you subscribing to this newsletter and I’ll reach out again in a few months. Also, if there are any specific tips you might be interested in hearing about (like journaling, breathing exercises, mindfulness apps) for the next newsletter, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line! -DJ
Upcoming events:
1. US Speaking Tour:
I will be in the New York area from October 15-November 16, 2021 speaking at colleges and universities. If your school or company is interested in booking an in person or virtual mental health talk, please don’t hesitate to reach out. My topics are listed here: https://www.denajackson.ca/
2. Hatha yoga classes for adults and kids:
I teach adult yoga classes Saturdays at 11am EST on Zoom (All levels are welcome!)
Children’s Yoga classes are available with https://www.littleyogistoronto.com/ (Ages 2-12)
August 21st: Virtual Reality Adult and Kid’s yoga classes (Themes: 80's Retro and Kid's Safari)
1pm and 2pm on Zoom Tickets are available here: https://www.unknowncomedyclub.com/
3. Upcoming Live and Virtual Comedy shows:
Thursday, August 19: Upper Deck Comedy Festival on Toronto Island 6pm
Ticket Info: https://bit.ly/3l5TeKr
Friday, August 20: Comedy Bar (945 Bloor St) 8:30pm
Info here: https://bit.ly/3x56elT
Saturday, August 28th: Virtual Comedy Show 9pm on Zoom
Info here: https://www.unknowncomedyclub.com/
I'm always open to questions, comments and ideas you might have!
Ask anytime here: https://www.denajackson.ca/
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