Healthy practices from home during covid

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Just this past Monday, residents of Washington received the order to stay home for two weeks or longer to tamp down the spread of the Coronavirus, joining several other states across the U.S. As of now, people are left to their own devices to entertain themselves, eat and exercise without the company of others. 

As SeaCare has highlighted in other blogs about senior health, it’s important to put your wellbeing at the forefront during this time, whether as a caregiver or the one receiving the care. Going off the three main principles in yoga, we’ll outline ways to take care of yourself without the ability to leave the house or socialize with people other than the ones you live with. 

The basics of yoga offer a good jumping off point for self care- whether or not you ascribe to other beliefs that the practice entails. Basically, the goal of yoga is to align mind, body and spirit, and treat health in a holistic manner. These principles can apply to you even if you don’t consider yourself a religious or spiritual person. 

Let’s go into a little detail about each one. 

 

Mind 

Unless you’re someone that lives in a giant house, you’re probably confined to close quarters with your family or partner. Or, you might be a senior forced to stay in your own room, in which case you have no other option but to be alone. Either way, it’s a lot of one-on-one time with yourself and/or with your family. For people used to getting out and about and socializing on a daily basis, this is a big shift. 

Meditation is one of the main branches of the yogic path. The practice can re-center our minds and calm the nervous system. It also serves a great excuse to lock yourself alone in a bedroom for a few minutes. 

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Most meditation teachers recommend beginners to start with a couple minutes a day, first thing in the morning before excuses and distractions abound. Find a comfortable seat on the bed, a couch or the floor, and sit with your back upright. It helps to set a timer so that the mind isn’t constantly wondering when it will be over. 

Take a few deep breaths, then close the eyes. Inhale on one, exhale on two, and continue until ten. Then start over again until the timer goes off. 

That’s it. If meditation becomes part of a routine, then it becomes easy to do first thing in the morning and the practice might become something you look forward to eventually. 

If you feel like more guidance might be helpful, Headspace is a great app that can be downloaded on smartphones for guided meditation, with topics ranging from anxiety to sleep and loneliness. 

 

Body

There’s no need to go into the benefits of exercise, as they’re widely known and can make a huge impact on health. Achieving a minimum amount of exercise becomes trickier when we all need to keep a distance from others for public health reasons. That’s where yoga comes into play. 

A few simple poses can get the kinks out and the blood flowing. Here are a few to try:

Table top position 

Kneel on the ground (you can lay down a towel to protect your knees) and place your hands under your shoulders, keeping your hips over your knees. 

Barrel roll 

Work out some kinks in table top by rotating your hips and stretching out the neck as long as feels comfortable. Pay attention to your breath. 

 

Child’s pose active-senior-woman-exercising-child-pose-on-bed-a-WAZ4AGX

Sit back on your heels from table top, and spread your knees apart so that your chest can rest in between your legs with your arms outstretched. Press your palms into the grounds and activate your upper back.

 

If you could benefit from a longer practice, Down Dog is offering free online yoga through its app until April 1st.  Corepower Yoga has some free classes available as well. 

 

Soul/Spirit/Basic being 

Whether or not you believe there’s a higher purpose to our lives on this earth, there are ways to put things into perspective and connect to something greater. Or, if that’s not part of your belief system, then it could help to think of whatever inspires you. Is it poetry, a particular author, or an artist? Most music can be accessed from the internet nowadays, and books can easily be sent to your doorstep. 

Inspiration could even come in the form of sentimental messages printed on the tags of tea bags such as, “This life is a gift,” or, an especially pertinent one at the moment- “To love someone is not to live with them, to love someone is to live for them.”

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Maybe it’s a particular person in your life, or being in nature that gives you purpose or solace. Thankfully, parks and some outdoor recreation areas are still open to the public in Washington State, as long as people keep 6 feet of distance from each other. If willing and able, these are great places to combine all of the above by clearing the head, moving the body and absorbing the serenity of nature. 

It’s easy to feel hopeless and fearful about the current state of the world. Some grounding exercises can do wonders to keep us sane and healthy.

 

 
If you or a loved one you know are looking for additional support during this time and are interested in scheduling a free in-home assessment please contact SeaCare In-Home Care Services today! A SeaCare family member is standing by. 425-559-4339

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