Maintain Wellness To Maintain Your Recovery Goals – Creative Ideas To Sustain Your Physical, Spiritual And Mental Wellness While Distancing

After months of home quarantine and limited access to activities, no doubt you’re feeling the collective cabin fever. Maintaining wholistic wellness in these times takes a lot of creative thinking, but don’t give up on the idea of staying in shape physically, mentally and spiritually—maintaining wholistic wellness is important to maintaining your recovery goals.

There are plenty of resources out there. Use these ideas for inspiration.

Keep the body moving

It’s much too easy right now to spend most of the day on the couch, streaming TV shows or browsing the internet. Build movement into your day — schedule it on the calendar if that’s what keeps you accountable.

You don’t need a gym to maintain an exercise routine. Try these alternatives:

• Take brisk walks daily around your neighborhood. If you have a park nearby, even better — being in nature provides an additional mood booster.
• Go equipment-less. Create a workout that doesn’t involve weights — with sit-ups, squats, burpees, etc. And think outside the box if you want to add some weights in: Milk or juice jugs with handles, for example, could do the trick.
• Learn yoga online. Search for “free online yoga classes” and you’ll find lots of options, both on YouTube and from professional studios. Or if high-energy is more your style, lookup Zumba or kick-boxing instead.
• Declutter your home. Besides keeping you physically engaged, reorganizing your closets or simplifying other areas also gives you back a sense of control — not to mention a feeling of calm in a tidier space.

Don’t ignore other physical needs

Exercise is only one component of physical health. Here are a few others:

• Maintain your regular bedtime schedule and other routines like taking showers and getting out of PJs, even if you’re not working. If you allow your days to blend together, you’ll find it much more difficult to get back on track later.
• Continue eating meals at consistent times. And beware of stress eating, which is common right now. Channel that stress reaction into something more productive, like writing in a journal or talking to a friend.
• If you have some time to fill, why not take an online cooking class to learn a new skill? You can learn anything from ethnic cuisines to baking for free or as little as $1 per class.

Nourish the mind and soul

Just like spending too much time on the couch is not good for your body, spending hours on end online and on social media is not good for your mind and soul. Especially these days, as the pandemic dominates the news cycle.

Some simple ideas to help you stay mentally and spiritually strong:

• Keep a daily gratitude journal. It can be very simple, like writing down, at the end of the day, three positive things that happened.
• Stay in touch with your faith community. Many faith groups are conducting online worship services and staying connected via social media.
• Learn to meditate. Meditation can help reduce stress as well as help you practice mindfulness. Various resources, like UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Resources Center, offer free guided meditations
• Learn something new. Websites like Coursera and Udemy include free options such as MOOC (massive online open course) classes offered by major universities, and many libraries provide free access to lynda.com for their patrons. You can find topics ranging from photography and career planning to playing guitar and organizing.
• Check in with your recovery peers. Many recovery-support groups, like AA, are resuming in-person gatherings, so reach out. And if you can’t get meet in person, look for other opportunities like getting together for virtual check-ins or for a small outdoor picnic.
• Do something uplifting, whether that’s helping a neighbor in need, providing encouragement to a struggling peer, planting some colorful blooms or live-streaming a virtual comedy show.

There’s nothing normal about COVID-19 life but don’t let the physical isolation derail your recovery goals. If you’re struggling or need extra encouragement, lean into your support network and don’t hesitate to reach out for professional help.

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