As I write this blog post, most of us New Yorkers and many others around the world are undergoing a “shelter in place” situation or downright #quarantinelife situation where we are isolated most of our days in our homes to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus/COVID-19.
For many of us, it’s kinda like being under house arrest.
As you can imagine, isolation, both on our own or with our family and loved ones, can emotionally trigger us.
I decided to write this blog post in response to this and with the intention to share some tips, tricks and resources you can use during these uncertain and stress-inducing times that most of us are experiencing at this time.
First off, I’d like to point out that all of us are going to be responding very differently to weeks of isolation.
While some of us are more introverted and we may be totally happy being home by ourselves or with the family that we love, extroverts and some others may fear being alone or perhaps have a hard time with spending this much time around their family. Some friends I spoke to mentioned to me that they are having a tough time home schooling their kids AND having to manage a full-time job online. Wow! So may superheroes out there right now.
So this particular post is for the latter. For those of us who are finding difficulty to deal with our emotions during this time. Whether you are being triggered by your loved ones, your past traumas and emotions, the current economic and financial uncertainty, or just for being simply skin starved like me!
Let’s just face it my friends, these times are challenging and unique, to say the least!
So what to do?
Try this!
B R E A T H E. BREATHE DEEPER. BREATH MORE. PRACTICE BREATHWORK EXERCISES. (For specific ones, check out Wim Hof or my friend Sage Rader - @sage.breath on Instagram.)
M O V E :: MOVE your body. Move your bones in space. EXERCISE DAILY. Don’t have time? CREATE IT.
No time for a workout? Understood. Perhaps you got kids to take care of and/or bills to pay… but guess what?
We don’t need to spend 30-60 min or more to get our daily dose of MOVEMENT medicine (a.k.a. exercise) daily.
We can simply take a 5-15 min DANCE BREAK alone, with our loved ones/kids, or with a friend over Zoom, WhatsApp or FaceTime! Right?
How about a quick guided 5-10minute exercise video to your liking on YouTube?
So many great online resources.
Here are some good place to start:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3w9etxHZDE
Some of my favorite yoga/movement practices:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TO-zaoIi0U (Intermediate yoga w/ a martial arts flare — Check out http://budokon.com if you live in or near Miami)
15-Min Anusara Yoga practice - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTfIq24B5QE&t=500s
Calisthenics for the dancers and athletes like me - some Ido Portal #movementculture training -
Floor work:
Squats/legs:
I’ll come back here and keep adding more resources for all of you, so stay tuned!
Hope this helps.
May you and your family stay safe, healthy, and resilient!