Humans are sociable creatures, we are interdependent in so many ways; within households, communities and today globally more than ever before. Like many others I am working from home and nearly all of my outside work activities have been cancelled, postponed or moved online. My world, like yours, has within hours become so much narrower. A few days in I am already feeling the loss of social interaction and aware how reliant I am on it for my identity, joy and energy. On top of that, living with the anxiety of an uncertain future and fearing for our own health and the health of those we love will be taking its toil on everyone’s mental health.
So in these strange days how can we care for ourselves and those around us, learn new things, engage with spirituality and stay connected. Here are a few top tips I have been given:
- Structure is key; work out when you will eat, exercise, connect with your faith or spirituality and connect with other people. Make a plan for your day that is manageable.
- Count your blessings each day to counter the negative and anxiety-inducing news alerts.
- Be kind to those you are sharing a space with. This is a stressful time for everyone so however hard it is we need to cut each other some slack.
- Think of some nice goals to set yourself e.g. learn some sign language, read more books. Nothing that will add pressure and anxiety but something that creates a sense of purpose.
- If working from home and you have enough space have a separate space for work and non-work so you can close the door on work.
Here are a few suggestions of where you can find resources that will be useful to mind, body and spirit (please share yours too and I can add them).
Exercise
NHS recommend a 10 minute cardio workout you can do at home
FitOn app – free daily workouts especially for you
Try running if you haven’t before, here is the couch to 5k guidance.
Health
Feel Better, Live More – Dr Rangan Chatterjee offers advice for all round health on his blog, podcast and in his book
Down Dog Yoga app is free and open to everyone from beginners to experts
Yoga on YouTube is free and easy to do, Yoga with Adrienne is particularly popular
Go for a walk- fresh air will do all of us some good, just don’t get to close to other people!
Spiritual growth and learning
Sign up for Richard Rohr’s daily meditations for a daily dose of spiritual wisdom
Nomad podcast – a 10 year back catalogue of interviews and reflections with theologians and thinkers
Liturgists podcast – insightful discussions around spirituality, faith, art and so much more
Robcast – a podcast by Rob Bell, Christian thinker and theologian
Pray as you go – Jesuit daily prayer with readings and music
Meditation and mindfulness
Headspace – an app for mindfulness
World Christian Community of Meditation – lots of resources to get you started with Christian mantra meditation
Contemplative outreach – resources to help engage you in the self-emptying mediation of Centring Prayer
Christian Worship
Information from the Methodist church about worship when we can’t meet physically
The Vine have resources you can use for worship at home
All We Can have some prayer and worship specifically for this time of Coronavirus
Thank you Anna, this is really helpful and inspiring. Sitting in the garden as I type, doing my spiritual exercises.
That sounds excellent, pleased it could be useful!