Lola Berry’s Top 10 Mental Health Tips for Feeling Positive and Productive during Lockdown

Aussie Nutritionist, Yogi and Health Blogger Lola Berry shares her best mental health tips for staying positive and productive in Lockdown.

*First Published in May 2020, and re-published July 2021 for Sydney’s second lockdown.

Living in isolation is difficult situation to navigate, and we will all have days feeling lost, frustrated, sad and alone. These 10 tips from Lola Berry will help keep you feeling positive and productive, sane and grounded during a time when the world has gone mad.

Lola Berry is Australia’s go to expert on yoga and nutrition and is truly dedicated to improving the lives of her followers with her tips on health and happiness. (She is now living in the USA).

With 10 published cookbooks on clean eating, yoga and beauty, Lola is a wealth of knowledge on how to feel your best inside and out and how to stay positive and productive at all times in your life.

Here are Lola’s top 10 tips for keeping positive, happy and grateful during isolation:

1. Move Your Body

It’s so easy to get into a trap of setting yourself behind your computer and staying put the whole day.

Take 10 minute stretching or cardio breaks throughout the day, wake up early enough for pre-brekky yoga flow or walk, or set up Facetime workout dates with friends in the evenings.

Whatever form of activity you enjoy, do it every day and your body and mind will thank you for it.

2. Sip on Teas

Often when we think we are hungry we are actually just thirsty, so sipping on teas throughout the day both keeps you hydrated and can help prevent boredom snacking. Try an immune boosting tea to get you feeling your best – Echinacea, Ginger and Astralagus are some of my favourites.

I also have my own range of brain-boosting, medicinal instant coffee, so if you’re looking for something with a bit more kick than a herbal tea, Lola Coffee is the perfect, healthy energy boosting beverage.

3. FaceTime with Mates

We all belong to communities, and humans innately crave social interaction, so make sure you stay connected to your friends and family even if you can’t see them in the flesh.

Get creative with ways to catch up: set up a Zoom trivia night, FaceTime yoga class, virtual sip and paint. Isolation doesn’t have to mean that all social activities are out the window, find a way to virtualize your favorite social events. 

4. Clean Out Your Pantry

Feeling clear and organised in your kitchen will help you to make healthier choices and keep you feeling positive and productive during lockdown.

Alphabetise your spice rack, throw out those out of date muesli bars, and make your kitchen cupboards something to be proud of – in times like these it’s the little things that add up to help you feel put together.

5. Find a Mindfulness Practice That Works for You

Try out some new mindfulness techniques and find one that makes you feel good – it could be active awareness, meditation, mindful self-compassion, box breathing, a bath or learning how to do a body scan.

Even if you don’t have it in you to do a half hour meditation, find little ways to stay present in your body and mind each day and remember what is truly important. The ability to reset the mind and be comfortable alone with ourselves is vital for mental health and clarity.

6. Start Listening to Podcasts

There are so many goodies out there, whether you are looking to learn something new or simply have a laugh.

I have my own podcast called “Fearlessly Failing with Lola Berry,” which is all about learning from failures and living your best life through fearlessness, self-love and gratitude.

7. Get Hooked on a Netflix Show

I’ve just finished season 3 of Ozark and there are so many other killer shows out there to get hooked on.

Watch a show with friends or family, and pick one that will get you all talking – having conversation starters that don’t revolve around the pandemic is a rare and wonderful thing right now.

8. Set up a Healthy Morning Routine

Get up, move your body, have a coffee, have a good brekky. Starting your day feeling productive and healthy is the best way to be in a good mindset for the rest of the day.

Taking it day by day and finding small things to feel accomplished with is the best way to get through this. Mulling on how long this will last and plans that have gone down the drain is a sure-fire path to a negative mindset.  

9. Set up a Tranquil Home Working Space

Create a space where you will feel inspired to be productive.

Make a mood board, write lists of your goals, buy a new plant or paint a new picture for the wall. Recreating or revamping spaces so that you are in a comfortable environment makes you less likely to feel stuck or confined.

10. Drop the Guilt

We’re all overindulging a tad right now, having sneaky vinos, sleeping in a tad later. This has never happened to us before so drop the guilts around not being productive enough, healthy enough or “on top of life” enough.

Take it one day at a time, celebrate the small victories and forgive the slip ups.

You’ve got this.

For more from Lola, check out her Instagram or website where she shares her yoga demos, recipes, health tips and more.