There's a lot to explore here, so take your time to look around and learn about essential mental health practices. Meditation, breathwork, exercise, journaling, and diet are the five key habits you'll need to cultivate in your life. These practices will be crucial in preparing you for the journey and even more important when you return, as you integrate the lessons learned from the medicine into your daily life
Start a meditation practice. Apps like Calm or Headspace can start you in the right direction. Start with 10 minutes per day and work up to 20. Find a quiet space where you will not be disturbed by family or phone. Try to do it at the same time every day. Meditation takes life-long practice. Don’t expect to be good at it from the start! However, with regular practice, you will begin looking forward to this time. Meditation will be a cornerstone of integration post-retreat.
Learning some simple breath work exercises will help you during the retreat and in the integration afterwards. We recommend learning box breathing first to help ground yourself. Box breathing should be done daily for several minutes.
We also recommend Wim Hof breathing. This practice is more intense than box breathing. Try to integrate this into your life three times a week. There are beginner and advanced levels. Start easy and don’t worry if you aren’t able to keep up immediately. This practice takes some time to master.
Commit to 30 minutes of daily cardiovascular exercise. Start with low-impact activities such as walking, aqua exercise, yoga, Pilates, or Tai Chi. We highly recommend taking two 20-minutes walks per day, ideally in nature. You can do this alone, with a loved one, or even with the whole family
Journaling is an excellent way to help organize the thoughts that we get tangled in onto paper. Commit to journaling daily. Use a timer if needed to help create the discipline. Start with 5 minutes and increase as your habits progress. Make sure to use pen and paper, not a keyboard to journal. For those who have trouble, feel free to use a prompt to get you going. Some ideas can be found here:
https://www.minimizemymess.com/daily-journal-prompt-generator
Prior to any journey we strongly recommend an anti-inflammatory and detoxifying diet. This means removing certain things from your diet as much as possible. Remove processed food and added sugar from your diet. Favor whole foods, grains, fresh veggies, fish and nutrients rich in Omega 3. Cut out red meats and pork, gluten, dairy or soy products. Please read the link below for more information https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight- inflammation
It's important to remember everything you put in your body affects how you feel. Eliminating tobacco products and limiting alcohol can have a huge impact. Maintaining a diet high fiber and rich in good fats can stabilize hormones which helps improve your overall mood. Many First Responders are suffering from adrenal fatigue. You may need to seek help from a Naturopathic MD to help your body heal physically from PST as well.
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