Caring for your mind, body, and spirit while practicing social distancing

Book and Podcast Clubs:

Free apps for meditation and mindfulness:

  • Emory certified CBCT teachers offer an online compassion practice twice per day: 9-9:45 am EST and 7-7:45pm EST.
  • Join Jill Wener MD every weekday at 12pm EST for free social distancing tapping support sessions (“The 7-Day Coronavirus Emotional Survival Kit for Healthcare Professionals”).
  • The Healthy Minds Program App is freely available for individuals.
  • Ten Percent Happier App is free to healthcare workers for 6 months.
  • Headspace is offering all US healthcare professional free access to Headspace Plus through 2020.
  • Insight Timer offers free meditations.
  • The Wellness Society created a Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook to help you build resilience. It includes a stress resilience action plan, 74 healthy distraction activities, and many more tools to add to your toolkit.

Fitness apps and other classes:

  • Peloton is offering a 90 day free trial for its app which includes cycling classes, bodyweight cardio, and strength training.
  • Core Power Yoga is offering free access to a limited collection of online yoga classes.
  • Find many other free workout classes here.

Working from home:

Self-care at home:

Our 10 steps for staying well:

  1. Make your bed. While we are staying socially distant and working from home, having a sense of “accomplishment” may be difficult to attain. But as Naval Admiral Willian McRavel, the commander of the U.S. Special Operations said in a 2014 commencement speech at UT Austin: “If you make your bed in the morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another…. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.”
  2. Take a stretch break! Or tune into the daily 30 minute yoga session on zoom.
  3. Go on a walk. Get some fresh air, your daily dose of vitamin D and stretch your legs, while keeping your social distance from others.
  4. Call or video chat a friend to catch up.
  5. Practice mindful eating. Try cooking a new recipe or video chat with a friend or family member to have a virtual dinner date. Watch a free online cooking class.
  6. Dance around your home – freestyle or watch cardio dance classes from 305 Fitness.
  7. Unplug. We may feel the pressure to stay up to date with the news now more than ever, but this can lead to information overload and stress. Try turning off electronics for 2 hours before bedtime to limit screen time and help your body unwind to maximize sleep quality.
  8. Virtual Netflix movie dates. Using the Google Chrome extension, share movies with your friends and family without sharing your space.
  9. Take a virtual tour of 12 famous museums from the comfort of your couch.
  10. Listen to live virtual concerts from many musicians and ensembles, such as An Evening of Beethoven at Lincoln Center, Betty Who and Jack Garratt.

Please contact Julie.mara.shabto@emory.edu if you would like to contribute articles or other resources for staying well while social distancing.