Mindfulness doesn’t have to be the extremely spiritual, intense practice that many associate the word with. At a basic level, self-care and mindfulness are really about checking in with yourself to see how you’re doing.
When it feels like the world is going a thousand miles a minute and you can’t keep up with the craziness, it’s important to stop, take a breather and focus on what you can control.
Tips on how to handle extended time alone
The most important thing we can do to protect ourselves and others is stay home. This is more easily said than done for many people. Extroverts who are energized by interacting and engaging with others might find these extended periods alone more difficult than others and even introverts might get a little stir-crazy after a week or so indoors. You can find some great resources on managing your well-being while being away from people for extended periods of time here, here and here, each from contributors to the Reddit community. Below are some extra tips to help:
- Take a media vacation: take 24 hours off of social media and the news and focus on what you can control in your immediate environment.
- Focus on credible sources: if you do tune in, focus on sources that are reliable and less on social media commentary
- Adapt your self-care: make sure you’re still doing things that make you feel good like working out, cooking, playing with your dog, talking to friends, etc., even if they might look different than usual while indoors.
- Make time for fun: sing in the shower, dance in the living room, watch that trashy TV show. Don’t let the fun stop.
Tune into a live workout/yoga practice
Many business have taken their talents online during this unprecedented time. A large number even offer free or “pay-what-you-can” programming on their social platforms to keep their communities connected and energized while indoors. Check out the list below for a few of our favourites:
- Hive Fit Co. – Edmonton AB: Prerecorded workouts on their Facebook group as well as additional daily live classes at a small fee
- Misfit Studio – Toronto ON: Daily live Instagram workouts
- Pure Yoga Ottawa – Ottawa ON: Daily live Instagram classes with the option to “pay-what-you-can”
- The Projct – Edmonton AB: Free workouts and live classes on their Facebook group
- Tight Club – Vancouver BC: Daily live Instagram workouts
- Undrcard Boxing Studio – Calgary AB, Toronto ON: Live “pay-what-you-can” workouts through their website
- If you’d prefer watching from a library, Gaiam has some great yoga resources on their Youtube channel and in app form for those of a