tips

The world has a way of periodically and dramatically shifting from ‘life as we know it’ into disorder and uncertainty – but most of us have never experienced as profound and widespread a shift as the one precipitated by covid-19. The constant state of uncertainty about who is infected, when social distancing will be lifted, when the pandemic will peak – all of that creates special challenges for us, especially when we are living in voluntary isolation. Foremost among those challenges is how to avoid sliding into spirals of anxiety, and cultivate a sense of ease in our lives.

There is undoubtedly an art to packing a short stay bag. Get it right and you have everything you need, neatly packed up in a handy, easily transportable case. Get it wrong, however, and you either have outfits that don’t work and missing toiletries, or find yourself over-encumbered with unnecessary items.

No matter how much we put our wellbeing first, when there’s an ongoing flood of negativity streaming through the media, you can’t help but feel lackluster and unlike your normal self. We sat down with mindfulness expert and founder of Soul Alive, Luke McLeod to discuss these life moments and the techniques he uses to help combat stress and anxiety when at home or travelling.

If you have just returned from overseas, been potentially exposed or tested positive to the novel COVID-19, new government-imposed rules mean you will need to be in either isolation or quarantine for 14 days and you’ll need enough food to see you through, with many people already stocking up just in case. There are two factors you should consider when stocking up on foods: (1) shelf life, (2) nutrient contents of food to support your immune system.

Lee Holmes

Lee Holmes is a holistic nutritionist, yoga teacher, wholefoods chef and author of the bestselling Supercharged Food: Eat Your Way to Health, Supercharged Food: Eat Yourself Beautiful and Eat Clean, Green and Vegetarian. She is a columnist with Wellbeing Magazine and her articles have appeared in leading Australian newspapers and journals, as well as The Times and The Daily Express in the UK and The Huffington Post in the US. Lee’s blog won the overall award at the Bupa Health Influencer Awards in 2014 as well as the best blog in the Healthy Eating Category.