In a world that often feels chaotic, finding calm is essential for our well-being. Chrissy Powers, a Licensed Therapist, Embodiment Coach, Writer, and Mother from San Diego, CA, has dedicated herself to helping people achieve just that. In her own daily life, Chrissy discovered new avenues for increasing positive emotions during the transformative year that was 2020. One of the key elements in Chrissy's new routine? Her Bluejay Bike.
For Mental Health Awareness Month, we're featuring Bluejay owners who inspire us, including Chrissy. Below, she shares more about her everyday life — including how her Bluejay Bike fits into it.
How does your Bluejay bike play into your life and improve your mental health?
We bike to the beach from our house almost every weekend as a family. We started this routine during the pandemic as a way to ground ourselves, get outside, and have fun. It was a rough year for everyone, and for our family, it was a major reset.
Resets are great, but sometimes they feel like earthquakes, and mentally we can end up feeling very ungrounded and shaken. That's how I felt in 2020. I had zero control over my situation and circumstances, so I did something that I did have control over, and that was to purchase my Bluejay Bike. I'm not exaggerating when I say it saved me. Riding my Bluejay Bike around our neighborhood in 2020 and beyond gave us a sense of freedom and connectedness to each other and brought me so much joy.
How does spending time outside benefit you?
There are so many mental health benefits to spending time outside in nature. It can help clear your mind and help ground you in the present moment. Nature can generate many positive emotions, such as calmness, joy, and creativity, and can facilitate concentration. Spending more time outside can help lower depression and anxiety.
Do you ever struggle with motivation to get outside and move? How do you combat that?
It's normal to lose motivation, and at certain times of the month and year, you might be more tired and need more rest. I listen to my body now instead of overriding it, and I find that when I give my body what it needs for that day, I have more motivation the next.
What are your top tips for living a more balanced life?
We all have four major buckets in life: Physical, Spiritual, Mental, and Emotional. What we fill these buckets with determines how balanced we feel and how aligned we are with our authenticity. If I feel imbalanced, I take inventory of my days, weeks, and months, and I pause to give myself what I need before I burnout... most of the time. Burnout happens, so don't beat yourself up. Listen to your body and follow what lights you up, ask for help, find others who are on a healing path, create your own community, dance, ride your bike, connect to nature and yourself. Where there is joy, there is more life!
What do you love most about your Bluejay?
I love that it's cute and gets me places that a non-electric bike wouldn't. I love that I can pull my daughter in the Burley behind it. I love the baskets that are attached to it. I love that it helps me feel the wind in my hair and that it helps me put my phone down and feel like a kid again.
How does your Bluejay make you feel?
My Bluejay bike makes me feel connected to my inner child, carefree, and fun. And dare I say, it makes me feel like I'm starring in my own Nancy Meyers movie.
What's in your bike basket?
A portable speaker, Tubby Todd, and sunscreen for my kids, Supergoop Sunscreen mist for me, snack crumbs, a hat, usually a book on embodiment or a romantic fantasy. (If you haven't read the "A Court Of Thorns And Roses" series yet by Sarah J. Maas, do so, and you'll thank me later.) And a beverage that I want to drink at the beach.
What’s your favorite place to ride your Bluejay?
The Oceanside Harbor or Captain’s Helm is our local coffee shop.
