How far away is your phone right now?

Is it right next to you?

Is it in your hand?

How often is it more than 5 feet away from you?

Here in our technology-driven world, it can sometimes feel like our phone is our extension of ourselves. It allows us to digitally connect with our loved ones and the world around us, to have information available in a moments notice, to find inspiration, to grow our businesses, to stay organized, and keeps us entertained.

These are all wonderful things! However, as with many things, there can be “too much of a good thing”. An increasing amount of studies are coming out how addicting social media can be… it’s literally designed to be so you will continue to scroll! So how do we find balance and maintain a healthy relationship to our devices?

Set Boundaries

When you wake up in the morning, begin your day with something more nourishing than screen-time, like meditation, yoga, a walk outside your dogs, or turning on music and having a mini dance party to wake up! Try to wait an hour or two to use your phone.

Set a timer on your phone limiting the amount of time you can spend on each app. Some programs have it built in, or you can even download apps that will block all websites and apps of your choosing for specific times.

Before bed, turn your phone to airplane mode a minimum of one to two hours before your turn in. Set your alarms for the next day, go plug it in in the other room, and then walk away. Spend the evening with loved ones with open-minded conversations that can’t have every question immediately answered by google, expand your mind with a book, bust out a puzzle or board game, enjoy a little self-care in the form of an at-home spa night or bubble bath.

FOMO is a Thing of the Past

Are you feeling a “major fear of missing out” when you open up social media? Being constantly bombarded with snapshots of peoples life can make us feel left out or not enough, but we all need to remember that these are just currated moments of peoples lives, or their highlight reel. Take time to go through the accounts you follow, and if they don’t leave you feeling anything but inspired and joyful, click that UNFOLLOW button and be on your way.

Schedule Your Content

You may be wondering “Lauren, a good part of businesses and social media presence in general requires regular content and engagement, your business included! How the heck am I supposed to cut back when I need to keep up my content?” Thankfully, with a little research and a little planning, you can cut your time needing to be on social media WAY down. There are many scheduling apps out there that can automate your posting, and instead of daily posting, you can instead work on your content once a week to set yourself up for the week ahead. Then, when you would like to pop on and engage, limit your time to 15-20 minutes of commenting and liking.

Try a Digital Detox

Having trouble changing your habits bit by bit? It’s time to quit cold-turkey, friends. Find a time frame that works for you, whether that is a day, a few, or a full week. Set your personal email to vacation-mode, bid your followers a digital adieu for a bit, and stick with it. No social media. No games on your phone. Even try to keep communication to strictly speaking on the phone if at all possible. You might be surprised to realize that whatever you find to fill the “void” may bring you lots of joy. For example, I have been loving drawing and coloring during times I would normally be on my phone, and it certainly brings me a lot more peace and joy than my world unscramble game used to.

What can YOU do to establish healthy boundaries with your phone?

My personal asana practice ebbs and flows, between diligent and inconsistent, challenging and gentle, spiritual and physical. Some days I am limber and my body flows into difficult poses, but many other days I struggle just to touch my toes.

I used to put myself down for it, because I thought I was failing myself and the "yoga lifestyle" by not getting on my mat everyday. However, our current society often forgets yoga is not just confined to our physical practice, especially with yoga's representation on social media. Its harder to photograph ourselves being compassionate, harder to get "likes" of us being mindful and open-minded in our everyday moments, so we typically default to visually engaging asana variations (like the image above) instead.

These can be fun, inspiring, beautiful, and conversation-starting… but let us also remember the yoga outside of the poses we scroll past everyday. You don't have to do a handstand to practice deep breathing, you don't have to be able-bodied to quietly meditate, you don't have to wait for your yoga mat to sit up straight and roll your shoulders back.

Yoga, as a whole, is for everybody and every body...

Photography by Cindy Marie Photography