Let’s take care of our whole selves during this strange season. Check out these resources and let us know if you have any to recommend!
Yoga
- Daily Bread Yoga – A community of people practicing yoga together, for the love of all things. Classes are live on Zoom and led by local teacher, Rachel Bass-Guennewig. http://www.dailybreadyoga.life/?fbclid=IwAR1eCmqob0_IhQqSbthKVujsGCqV4dMljmSGh-JB2e9dPGQ-lLkgVUsnPvU
- Yoga with Adriene – 35-minute loving and powerful grounding yoga session. This special at-home practice is anchored in an invitation to focus on the rise and fall. Through this structure we will lean in and use the tools of asana, breath, and science to welcome a sense of peacefulness and ease for both mind and body. https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene
Meditation
- A Virtual Place of Hope – Guided Practice (breathing, meditation, mindfulness) Coloring & Creativity Visual Relaxation. https://www.heritagenet.org/hope
- Mind Jar Meditation – Rev. Shannon Abbott specializes in ministries of health and wholeness with training in yoga, massage, reiki energy work, and aromatherapy. Her primary focus is on stress reduction, emotional balance, and spiritual renewal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbfEz2thwQ4
- Meditations, Poetry and more: A Care Package for Uncertain Times from “On Being” and NPR Radio – Starting Points are thoughtfully curated collections of audio, essays, and poetry from The On Being Project’s deep archive. Revisit old favorites and find new ones. https://onbeing.org/starting-points/a-care-package-for-uncertain-times
- Guided Meditation: Un-matching from fear and healing the planet with David Gandelman (the meditation starts at about the 10:30 mark) – In this special meditation addressing the fear around the Corona virus, David guides a meditation to help you un-match from the panic and use your own heart to help heal the planet. You can find all of David’s work at www.davidgandelman.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlTwZ5gannk&fbclid=IwAR2AkXzyd4eeq0yRKd5P7b96mdJaGOAYjltbHIo
- Guided Meditations – Tara Brach’s teachings blend Western psychology and Eastern spiritual practices, mindful attention to our inner life, and a full, compassionate engagement with our world. The result is a distinctive voice in Western Buddhism, one that offers a wise and caring approach to freeing ourselves and society from suffering. https://www.tarabrach.com/guided-meditations/
- Virtual Soundbaths – Welcome to Grounded Meditation’s ‘user-friendly’ approach to meditating! ground·ed /ˈɡroundid/ mindfully present, well balanced and connected. https://www.facebook.com/groundedmeditationstudio
- A Way in the Wilderness – 14 Days of Spiritual Sustenance for Life in a Pandemic. A free PDF Download from Pilgrim Press, the UCC Print House. https://www.thepilgrimpress.com/products/a-way-in-the-wilderness-14-days-of-spiritual-sustenance-for-life-in-a-pandemic-pdf-download
Activity/Action
- Greater Good in Action – Science-based practices for a meaningful life, curated by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. https://ggia.berkeley.edu/
- The Art Assignment – The Art Assignment is a weekly video series produced by PBS Digital Studios, hosted by curator Sarah Urist Green and author/vlogger John Green. We take you around the U.S. to meet artists and solicit assignments from them that we can all complete. Watch our videos and then post your responses with #theartassignment. https://www.youtube.com/user/theartassignment
Self-care
- Self-care in Pandemic from the United Church of Christ – This offering in the “Thursdays for the Soul” series will focus on putting your own mask on first. How do you care for self, while also caring for a family, congregation, or community? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42pVSL27Sbw
- Beauty Will Save the World by Curt Thompson, MD – Psychiatrist, speaker and author Curt Thompson connects our intrinsic desire to be known with the need to tell truer stories about ourselves — showing us how to form deep relationships, discover meaning and live integrated, creative lives. https://curtthompsonmd.com/beauty-will-save-the-world/?fbclid=IwAR2Gz6g48kYKFXPEkcNNxgb2B3cT7wLpZ0jyigBjXNx0YoQ4YEM5lloia3M11
- Self-care Tips, According to Expert Queer Healers – Through interviews with over a dozen expert queer healers – including traditional psychologists, sex therapists, personal trainers, reiki masters and hypnotists – we’ve compiled a guide for self-care during these scary times. https://www.them.us/story/self-care-tips-queer-healers-coronavirus
- 7 Ways to Use Your Own Body to Reduce Stress – Through massage, breathwork, bodily awareness, and more, these techniques will help you decompress and unwind during these stressful times. https://www.them.us/story/7-ways-to-use-your-own-body-to-reduce-stress
- Exercise – Walking, bicycling, jogging, other.
- Reading – Reading takes you to other worlds Reserve books and other materials online and pickup curbside at both the Champaign and Urbana libraries.
- Gardening – According to the AARP website the 5 benefits of gardening include: exposure to vitamin D; decreased dementia risk; mood boosting benefits; enjoyable aerobic exercise; and helps combat loneliness. https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2017/health-benefits-of-gardening-fd.html
Worship
- Lament with the Many – Wednesdays, 8 pm US Central Time, Lament Together with The Many on Facebook and YouTube. We share music and prayer, laments, and thanksgiving as we listen to what God could be saying to us in this time that is at once, Pandemic and Pentecost. We come together to speak our truths, to heal and perhaps, so we can all feel less alone. https://www.facebook.com/themanyarehere/
- Washington National Cathedral – Morning Prayer. https://cathedral.org/
- Daily Morning Prayer: The Upper Room – The Upper Room is a global ministry dedicated to supporting the spiritual life of Christians seeking to know and experience God more fully. https://www.facebook.com/UpperRoomCenter/
- Community Hymn Sing – Wed-Mon @ 7PM, Tue @ 9AM The Community Video Hymn Sing is a nightly gathering of people singing the church’s song together via the internet during the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s led by Paul and Elizabeth Damico-Carper and sometimes by guest hosts. https://www.facebook.com/CommunityVideoHymnSing
PODCASTS
Favorite Podcasts for Body, Mind, and Soul
(look for these on your favorite podcast service, or online):
- In the Thick with Maria Hinojosa and Julio Ricardo Vareita
- Poetry Unbound with Padraig O Tuama
- On Being with Krista Tippett
- Unlocking Us with Brene Brown
- Another Name for Everything with Richard Rohr
- The Moth
- The Confessional with Nadia Bolz Weber
- Code Switch
- Death, Sex, & Money with Anna Sale
- Latter-Day Lesbian
- Ask Science Mike
- This Movie Changed Me with Lily Percy