Resilience During a Pandemic and How Sport Training Can Help!

As every person on the planet must know now, the world is in a pandemic caused by coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious respiratory illness. There are shelter-in-place guidelines for people everywhere.  How are you adapting to being confined to your home most, if not all, of the time?  
 
If you are like me, you’ve had to adjust every few days--or even every few hours! New information that shifts your perspective and awareness requires being able to navigate your cognitive, emotional, and physical reactions.  Information can trigger fear, panic, and frustration at needing to adapt over and over again. Being grounded throughout this time, staying centered as well as being able to navigate change, becomes so important. 
 
As I’m navigating this situation, I am also trying to understand how to adapt and listen to the specific needs of each client. Personally, I’ve found that meditation, nutrition, exercise, music, and good sleep have been central to staying centered and grounded. 
 
What are the key elements of my practice?

• Meditation: Doing 20 minutes of meditation in the morning or at night with Headspace Navigating Change series really helps me deal with fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. https://www.headspace.com​​
• Cycling: This is what really helps me. A few years ago, my coach Rob http://colburnbodyconcepts.com suggested I get a trainer for my bike so that I could cycle indoors during winter. When all the pools were closing and I had to stop swimming, I was so glad I already had the bike in place.  
• Physical therapy exercises: Three days a week I do warm up exercises recommended by my physical therapist, Sally Ryan at https://sportscare1.com/locations/nj/physical-therapy-hoboken/

 
What does a week of training look like?
 
This week I had my first Zoom video session with my physical therapist. Then I get on my bike and cycle to music from Fit Radio https://www.fitradio.com, or while watching a rerun of a NBA or college basketball game on ESPN, or watching reruns of Surfing competition on Fox Sports.  I feel amazing after these sessions. These are followed by weight training from Pauline Nordin’s challenge program https://fighterdiet.com/challenges/, which I’ve been doing for years now, and then more stretches for my knee and back. 
 
The other three days are dedicated to Yoga by Adrienne on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7xsYgTeM2Q, followed by surfing jumps and then my knee and back stretches and exercise. While I do the exercises, I watch WSL news or, to lift my spirt, past surfing competitions https://www.worldsurfleague.com, because that’s what surfing does for me. 
 
How will you build resilience to navigate these times?
 
In virtual zoom, webex, and call conversations with my clients over the last few weeks, I’ve been listening to what each leader is having to navigate during these changing times. Many are working from home with infants or young children who need help navigating technology (and more) to learn virtually. Some in financial services have had to create new offerings for business loans to help their clients, while others have had to lay off employees until the crisis is over. Most organizations and companies are looking at the financial implications for their business. 
 
Every one of them is coping differently with the adjustments.  Some are losing sight of their self-care and exercise, and find their anxiety increasing. Others are doing better at coping, having built resilience through previous challenges (including a client who grew up in a war zone). Still others are continuing to build awareness of their leadership communication and how they are being perceived under stress: strong, resilient, and grounded?  anxious, harried, and unraveling? centered and present?
 
I personally am learning to let go, be more collaborative, and leverage the talent that I have in my consulting firm. I’m also attuning to my clients and seeing how we can help. 
 
Wishing you health and resilience during this time, and let me know if I or my consultants can help. Stay safe.