Dance.muse.heal

Embracing the healing power of nature 🌿🌳🌼. Taking time to connect with the great outdoors has been a game-changer for my mental wellness. 🌞💆‍♀️ Let's prioritize self-care and enjoy the beauty around us! 🌿🌻🌱

Are you caught in the relentless pursuit of productivity? 🏃‍♂️ Do you feel guilty whenever you take a break? ⏸️ It's time to pause and reflect on the dark side of our obsession with being constantly productive. In this eye-opening article, I share my personal journey of breaking free from the productivity trap and embracing the vital importance of mental well-being. Discover why taking a break and doing nothing can actually boost your long-term productivity, and why we need tools that remind us to switch off and recharge amidst the chaos. Join me as we delve into the battle between productivity and mental health, uncovering the secrets to finding balance in a hyper-connected world. 🌈✨

Have We Become Productive Machines? The Battle of Productivity and Mental Well-being A poetry and motivation blog

So if you follow me, you would know that I just completed 30 days dance reels challenge in the month of January (mental wellness month) on all my social media handles
For once I ditched:
👉 what people will think (shame/guilt) or the thought that will I be 'disturbing' people with my daily reels
👉 fear of being labeled as an 'attention seeker'
👉 urge of being technically perfect in my dance steps, expressions and/or reel making process
👉 urge to follow what's trending and viral (be a part of the rat race)
👉 my need to seek validation from others (views, likes and follows)
👉 my constant habit of comparing myself to other dancers on social media (self-doubt)
👉 being conscious of my appearance on camera while dancing

Although I did find myself caught in all the above 'demons' multiple times during the month, even thought of quitting so many times, but guess what....I kept going, I kept going for the love of dance and my zeal of getting better at it with every reel I posted... I just went out there, danced my heart out and expressed myself freely...

And the comments such as:
"Came back to watch it again...thanks for sharing" and
"Who knew hands could dance so beautifully!!" made my day everytime I was disappointed and thought of quitting...
Also in the process I discovered so many amazing dancers and musicians on social media such as (tag accounts) who are a treat to watch/listen and I learned so much from them...
The lessons I learned with this challenge:
❤️ do what you love
❤️ stop seeking validation
❤️ stop chasing perfection
❤️ enjoy the process
❤️appreciate the art and the artist
Hoping to continue this journey of dancing, learning and self-discovery in the coming months as well
❤️🥰💃💫

Musing of the day

Musing of the day

Musing of the day

Musing of the day

Musing of the day

Just starting this to clear my mind off and write it out...coz writing can be powerful 🥰💃❤️

Nature is the best healer

Penned down my thoughts after a long time today...

☀️

Light over darkness...happy Diwali to all 🪔🪔❤️❤️

A perfect gift by my manager at work...really grateful that I work with people who think about employee's mental well-being.. which is so so important in today's scenario of constant juggling and grind.. although she is leaving the team soon 😞.. but hoping to get someone like her on this position who is hard working, compassionate and thoughtful

Will be putting it to good use especially during my peaceful early mornings

Uploaded my 1st longer youtube video on my channel for mental health awareness month..will be posting longer videos there..do check out and please subscribe
https://youtu.be/h474uV993AU

Do these 5 things to boost your mental health/mental health awareness month special In this video I am sharing with you my top 5 tips to boost mental health.....

"I go to the nature to be soothed, healed and have my senses put in order"

John Burroughs

Carry yourself with pride and a smile, be it sunshine or rain...
❤️❤️❤️

Happy Monday!

Just to recap our last week's tip of self-care...here's everything you need to know about self-care

Can't wait to share with you all another mental wellness/positive mindset tip tomorrow ❤❤❤

Self-care has been a game changer for me

I remember when I became a new mom, in addition to the blessing of motherhood I also went into a panic and a blaming mode

❌️ I blamed my friends and family for not helping me as much
❌️ I blamed my full time job and PhD for not being able to spend time with my child
❌️ I blamed myself for not being a good mom
❌️ I blamed the society for putting all the responsibility on moms

But only when I started taking time out for myself and started doing things that I love, I switched from a blaming to acceptance and action mode

Yes, overcoming that 'mom guilt' and changing my mindset around self-care took a little bit of time, and I still go into that limiting mindset time and again, thanks our pre-programmed minds!!

But when I did overcome the guilt, I could see the other and more hopeful, more brighter side of life...only then the real magic happened

✅️ I started becoming more confident and happier
✅️ I started becoming more loving towards my child and my husband
✅️ I started becoming more productive and innovative at my job
✅️ I started practicing self-compassion

In short, a small habit of giving at least 30 mins a day to myself helped me restore my mental health and sanity!

If you too have such experiences around self-care then do mention in the comments..let's empower each other with our experiences
❤❤❤❤

Yes, I always wished this...
🔹 when I was a teenager and a student struggling with exams, failures and heartbreaks
🔹Or when I suddenly lost my grandmother and couldn't even see her one last time because I was studing in a college far away from home
🔹Or when I first moved to the US and was coping with lifestyle and culture shift
🔹Or when I was struggling as a new mom without any help working on a full-time job, a PhD and raising a toddler

I always worked my way through these adversities via trial and error or following my own instincts

I remember, when I was a teenager, I was told that all these fancy terms are either for monks or for motivational speakers who 'con' you with their convincing yet unrealistic speech!

But in the current scenario when we all are fighting a pandemic which has brought fears, anxiety, loneliness and uncertainty with it along with the disease itself, these terms have started making even more sense...

Today we are making an apparent 'foolproof' plan of exiting the pandemic with as less damage to human race as possible, which consists of science backed treatment options, but nowhere does it mention about dealing with the after effects. Nowhere does it mention anything about developing a strong mind and body which can cope with such uncertain adversities in the future...

As a doctor who has worked in psychiatry, and now as a mental health epidemiologist working in the community, I have realized that if you really want to do something about those who are suffering or even those who are just stuck, you need to provide them with tools which make them independent and help them cope with any situation they will face... Treatments will only work to a certain extent..Only when we change the mindsets, provide people with a structured way of dealing with hard situations, things will start changing for good...

Let me know in the comments if you too want a structured course/curriculum which teaches you a practical approach to bounce back when life knocks you down..
❤️❤️❤️❤️

As the new year begins, we all say that 'this will be my year', and we start making hundreds of resolutions..but how do you ascertain that 'this was actually your year' as the year comes to an end? Is it by the number of goals you were able to achieve?

A year consists of 365 days and thousands of moments, some good, some bad, some worse... You need to ask yourself:

👉 Did I enjoy my good moments thoroughly?
👉 Did I learn from my bad moments?
👉 Did I gain resilience from my worse moments?
👉 Even if I could not achieve my set goals, did I enjoy and learn from the process?

When you have the answers to all these questions by the end of the year, that's when you can say with confidence that 'this was indeed my year'
❤️❤️❤️

#2022

A very happy and prosperous new year to all... Hope this year brings only light in everyone's life ❤️❤️❤️

We admire moments only when they turn into memories, forgetting to enjoy them while they last...

We must keep reminding ourselves that the present is the only thing we have, past and future is just in our imagination...

We are just about to end 2021 in a few days and step into 2022 with a number of desires, wishes and resolutions...But the most important things worth prioritizing and investing in, in 2022 (and further years to come) are these 3:

❤️ Mental health
❤️ Physical health
❤️ Your Meaningful contribution towards the community

Although very simple and basic things, but highly underestimated and neglected ones... if you are able to take baby steps towards the above 3 things in the next year, rest of your desires will be accomplished on its own...

What are your priorities in the coming year?

#2022

The only 2 things you bring with you from a vacation are:

❤️ Experiences
❤️ Memories

And those stay with you as long as you live...

Day 3 at Puerto Rico...Some more exploring

Benefits of traveling and exploring:

🔹gives you spectacular experiences
🔹makes you calmer
🔹 helps you relax and recharge
🔹helps to enjoy and 'be in the moment'
🔹Inculcates gratitude and appreciation for nature and people

You will always remember and imbibe the experience you gain, the rest of of your life..Each experience makes you a tad bit more wiser and a better human being every time ❤️❤️❤️

This pandemic has taught me four things:
1⃣ Value yourself and others around you
2⃣ Live in the moment
3⃣ Celebrate small moments
4⃣ Make the most of whatever you have

I have heard people saying 'my life is so busy that I rarely get time for the things I love'...

Well, in that case we should first ask ourselves these questions:
🔹Do I really 'love' the 'things' I am talking about?
🔹If I do love those things then am I prioritizing them enough to fit them into my day?
🔹Am I actually that 'busy' to not find time for the things I love or is my time occupied by unnecessary activities?
🔹What are those things which I really love?
🔹How can I make some space in my daily routine to fit those things without disturbing the equilibrium?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you will automatically start finding time for the things you love ❤️❤️❤️

Let me know in the comments if you do agree with my thoughts

Being in nature is the best thing you can do to nurture your mental health and overall well being...

I remember my mentor once said that "you will never be sad or depressed if you have something to 'look forward to'.. and festivities are one of them...They are great for your mental health.. that is why most of them occur in winter when the seasonal depression is high...and that is why you should celebrate each festival with enthusiasm" ...

Just finished my 12 weeks with a coach.. down from 135 lbs to 123 lbs (still a work in progress)
taught me how to eat healthy and balanced meals and also enjoy your favorite junk foods now and then, AND still lose weight... Kept doing my weight training (with home workouts) all this while and now can pick up 18 lbs dumbbells in both hands for deadlifts and lunges..I could never have imagined doing that before this.. I had a lovely experience with and now have developed the habit of eating balanced meals.. my coach has made me quiet independent in these 3 months so now I know how to make my own diet charts, when to increase/decrease my calories and how to do it... The best part is now I know all about how to lose fat and not just weight ❤️❤️❤️💪💪💪💪