Taking good care through COVID-19
As we move through global challenge of coronavirus (COVID-19), here are some resources to keep in mind:
1. Practice social distancing
One important question to ask ourselves right now is How can I be of service? What are the behaviors / actions I can engage in that will be most helpful right now?
Practicing extreme social distancing is an important part of this answer. Here is a great article explaining more about How Social Distancing Saves Lives.
And, while practicing social distancing, here is a gentle reminder to notice the togetherness in the practice.
2. Offer yourself lots of self-compassion.
Practice noticing your inner experiences with curiosity and compassion.
Any inner experience that comes up for you during this time - stress, fear, anxiety, anger, sadness - is all valid and worthy of compassion.
We are all impacted by this in different ways and it makes sense to feel something in response to the uncertainty. Offer yourself lots of compassion for what you are feeling, this guided practice can help.
3. Stay engaged with self-care practices that best support you.
Do your best with the resources available to you right now. Keep engaging with practices that help you feel better (mindful walks, meditation, movement, creating, crafting, making, cooking, conversations, etc).
Pick a few practices to be part of your mini self-care plan and do them as consistently as you can.
Here are some of the resources I’ll be considering for support:
Self-compassion: Practicing self-compassion to self-soothe all the natural inner experiences that will come up.
Feeling safe: Practicing feeling safe in your body with this guided audio practice.
Loving-kindness: This loving kindness guided audio practice and this Embodied Compassion Practice to help connect with compassion to the collective and those more severely affected (this one is great for those of us that are empaths or highly sensitive).
Yoga: Free yoga videos on YouTube with the Trauma Conscious Yoga Method and Yoga with Adrienne.
Movement outside: mindful walks, photo walks, joyful jogging, gentle stretches and deep breaths while standing outside under the sun for a bit.
Creativity: making hand-written gratitude notes, journaling, self-care through art.
Reflecting on and engaging with nourishing ways to spend my time: calling loved ones, reading, learning something new, or simply relaxing.
And, there is this Coronavirus Sanity Guide with a growing list of free guided audio practices and other resources.
Locally, an acupuncturist here in Providence shared some helpful considerations, check them out here. Also, for immunity boosting herbs in Providence, Pharmacy Herbs has set up a shelf featuring all their immunity building herbs at their local store.
May we lean into our common humanity and move with generosity and kindness, even in times of “social distancing”.
Kindly,
Michelle
PS. Wondering where to get more information? Stay tuned to news from WHO and CDC for updates.
