Ideas for self-care during Quarantine
Yoga
Or pilates…whatever your at-home workout preference is.This is an amazing time to work on your yoga or get into it for the first time. There are so many amazing yoga youtube channels that are so soothing. I personally love Yoga with Adrienne. She has a 30 day yoga challenge for beginners and so many wonderful targeted videos.
It’s very important to keep the body moving during this inside time. Normally you would be walking so much more, so you need to balance it out with more exercise. Setting a time a day aside to do this is also a help for getting into a rhythm. Morning yoga, lunch break pilates, evening stretching, whatever works for you, but get moving! Keeping Qi (energy) flowing is crucial to healthy immune function, keeping mood up, avoiding muscle and headaches.
Ritual baths and showers
Turn your bathing time into a spa. There are so many treatments you can do while bathing and ways to turn your shower into a spa. Check out the list of at-home spa ideas here. P.S. in my personal quarantine, I absolutely do not have a bath like in the photo above. But I’m turning my little shower into a spa with strategic lighting, essential oils, and spa gear. You might think to try some new beauty routines. So many face masks can be made with food ingredients like this Goat Milk Spirulina mask. You can also make masks out of cacao powder and ground coffee! And have baking soda in your kitchen? You can do so many beauty routines with this magical ingredient. Check out my the beauty cures of baking soda.
improve eating habits
Trying to eat less sugar? Less late night snacking? Eating more fruits in the morning? Times of food panic isn’t the worst moment to reassess food necessities and habits. Instead of feeling burdened down by potential food rationing, make this on opportunity to give your body what it needs and at the right times and proportions.
Learn to cook!
This is an amazing time to learn to cook. Because nothing forces creativity like having to make delicious meals out of essential–often non perishable–ingredients. Maybe I’m biased but cooking is incredibly comforting. Learn to properly grill vegetable in the oven until they’re crispy, sauté them in a pan, learn how to properly cook fish, or make those healthy smoothies you see all over instagram. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but trying to make something delicious out of a smaller selection of ingredients is a great way to learn. And you’ll have more time to search for recipes and try them out! Tough times call for extra comforting foods.
Meditate
If you have an overcharged nervous system and mind (like me) you might have said to yourself that you really should try meditating. Here’s your chance! Research meditating, read about different approaches, find what works for you, get comfy, and get to work calming your mind.
Practice breathing+movement
This sounds silly simple, but breathing, deep, focused breathing is one of the best ways to calm the mind and body.
I personally love the Wim Hof Method. This man uses deep breathing and cold therapy techniques combined with movement to train the autonomic nervous system and boost immunity. It’s an amazing technique and can be done in the smallest spaces and so perfect for quarantine.
Support Adrenals
Stress levels are running high. Supporting our adrenal system and keeping cortisol levels in check is not only essential for immune function, but for health of mind. Here is a list of ways to support adrenals naturally. And this post on How To Stay Healthy In Winter might give you some more ideas on how to stay healthy !
Keep your mind busy and get things done ahead of time
Keep your mind occupied. Make to do lists of all the things hanging above you: taxes, catching up on emails, emptying your inbox, etc. and cross them out one by one. We’re stressed enough right now, at least taking off some of the burden of the little things can help lighten the load. Make this time into a super productive moment so by the time life goes back to normal, you’ll have even more time to catch up on all the fun things you love to do outside of the home.
Get back into reading
Miss reading? Here’s the perfect time to commit yourself to reading a few chapters a day. There are so many books accessible online as well if you don’t have enough material at home.
Watch educational lectures and live streamed performances
So many universities and opera houses around the world are live streaming lectures and performances. Feeding the mind with beautiful music and learning is a great way to distract. `
Opera Garnier, Paris: The Opera Garnier is streaming their operas so you can watch from your couch!
Metropolitan Opera: The met is streaming opera nightly!
University courses: Some of the highest regarded universities in the US are sharing their online courses
Virtual museums: Here are just a few of the museums from around the world that you can visit from online: