#26: How to help others and stay physically, mentally & spiritually healthy during a pandemic

March 21, 2020

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Your weekly round-up of wisdom, habits, inspiration and practical solutions, including 10 ways to help others during the Coronavirus outbreak

#26: How to help others and stay physically, mentally & spiritually healthy during a pandemic

Welcome to issue #26 of The Power Up, the curated email magazine from Man Body Spirit.

Every day I scour the Internet in search of wisdom, habits, inspiration and practical solutions to help improve the mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing of our readers, curating the best bits together in this neat little package – and delivered direct to your inbox.

This was a week in which the Covid-19 crisis escalated dramatically, especially in Europe, but pretty much everywhere. Working from home became the new norm for many of us fortunate enough to still have jobs or employers that are able to carry on trading. And we learned new terms like ‘social distancing’ and ‘self isolation’.

The World is a very different place today to the one it was just two weeks ago. And so the content of this week’s Power Up attempts to reflect that reality, hopefully bringing you some perspectives of timely relevance to help you and your families, whatever challenges you’re facing right now.

Stay safe and healthy.

Adam

10 ways to help others during the Coronavirus outbreak

From stockpiling goods so that supermarket shelves are empty when others such as healthcare professionals on long shifts and the elderly come to shop; to people flagrantly flaunting advice about limiting social contact by continuing to go to pubs or crowded beaches; to stories of people deliberately infecting others by coughing in their faces – the Coronavirus pandemic hasn’t entirely painted an endearing picture of humanity.

But beyond the depressing stories, we are also seeing that most people want to pull together and help each other. So, as social distancing becomes the norm, here are 10 great suggestions from Positive News on how to boost solidarity in the face of a global crisis.

Working from home – 7 steps for a better work day

If, like me and my girlfriend, you are lucky enough to have a job that can almost as easily still be done from home, then you might not have experienced too much disruption to your normal work schedule – other than the fact you are sat in your living room rather than your office, and you probably spend less time fussing about your hair or appearance each morning.

But most of us are quickly realising it isn’t as straightforward a switch as we might first think. Sure, we can get the work done – many of us even report being more ‘productive’ with fewer distractions from colleagues – but we’re also realising that we need to be much more intentional with planning breaks – for both our bodies and our minds – and introduce new habits and work-style tweaks to keep us alert, healthy and happy.

Here are 7 tips from Happiful to try as you prepare for another week of working from home.

Mind

10 Healthy activities to take your mind off Coronavirus

OK, I appreciate the irony of including this article in an email magazine otherwise dominated by the topic of Coronavirus.

But I wanted to deliver you one info-packed package so that you can read it, close it, and then turn your mind to other, more positive things. And that is what this article can help with.

This short read from Psychology Today lists out 10 simple, positive things you can do, even whilst honouring the concept of social distancing.

These healthy activities can help take you away, physically or mentally, from all the fear and worry – hopefully also bringing some calm and comfort.

Body

30 at-home workouts to stay fit when you’re stuck with no gym

With gyms and fitness clubs closed to prevent the spread of the virus, there has been a surge in demand for at-home workouts to help us all maintain healthy bodies despite the enforced lack of movement.

YouTube searches and Instagram TV views are through the roof as people trial new online classes and workouts from their makeshift home gyms.

Leading the charge were Men’s Health, who published this handy curate of 30 workouts, organised by body part, so you can maintain those ‘gains’ as best you can.

Free online Yoga classes and 10 Ayurveda tips to boost your immunity for Coronavirus Prevention

My local yoga studio, Delight Yoga, was also extremely proactive in putting together a daily live streaming yoga schedule, as well as providing €1 access to its usually subscription-based online ‘House of Yoga‘.

As well as that, they have been publishing some great, timely content on their blog, such as this piece that shares 10 tips from Ayurveda on how to boost your immunity to help prevent Coronavirus infection.

Spirit

How to stay sane when you’re cooped up indoors

Many of us are only a week or less into experiencing self isolation, and already feeling a little restless, restricted and isolated.

So with many more weeks likely to follow and with the likelihood of restrictions getting tighter – especially for those of us unfortunate enough to become infected – it’s wise that we adapt ourselves now with new habits and behaviours that can help us stay feeling healthy, positive and connected.

This piece from Ask Men provides six such suggestions.

Bonus content

Greater Good’s guide to wellbeing during Coronavirus

Greater Good Magazine is published by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley and their mission is to share scientific research that can help promote a happier, more compassionate society.

This objective is especially needed in a time as challenging as this, and so they have created this excellent resource of stories, tips, and tools covering topics such as stress and anxiety, family, education and fostering connection.

There is already a great deal of content there and they promise to keep it updated regularly throughout the crisis, so it’s well worth a bookmark.

The 9 best two-player board games

Hopefully amidst all of the bad news and uncertainty you’re also managing to have at least a little fun, to give yourself a break.

Many families and cohabiting friend groups are rediscovering timeless pleasures like reading, creative activities and playing board games.

If the latter sounds interesting to you and you can’t tolerate one single more game of backgammon, then this list could be what you need to find something new to pass the time.

65 Free tools to help you through the Pandemic

Finally, one clear consequence of the enforced self isolation is that more people than ever before are turning to digital solutions to help them deal with some of the challenges they are facing in their personal, family or business life.

Whether that be colleagues finally bothering to learn the full functionality of tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack, or maybe just newly discovering tools and apps that could have made our lives easier all along.

Here, Entrepreneur.com curate 65 free tools which could help your business, team or family during this confusing and worrying time.

Visit the Blog at ManBodySpirit.com

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”

Mohammed Ali

Thanks for reading, I hope you found some great value within this week’s edition. If so, please pass on a recommendation to your friends. If not, then please give me feedback on what more you would like to see. See you next time, Adam.

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#26: How to help others and stay physically, mentally & spiritually healthy during a pandemic

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