Below are three self-care resources I shared with TAFES staff workers as they began working from home and isolating themselves.

1. Look at your whole self

There is more detail shared by psychologist Eileen Feliciano here in 25 brief tips for mental health during quarantine.

2. Look at your movement

While any movement is better than sitting, it is important to both raise your heart rate (cardio) and push your muscles (strength/resistance).

I recommend interval training, such as the 7-minute workout. It is brief but works your entire body. It is also simple: it can be done indoors, and requires minimal equipment (only a stool or chair).

There are 12 exercises to follow. Perform each exercise for 30 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds before beginning the next exercise. Use a timer app to set a repeating alarm every ten seconds so you can count the intervals. There are also apps to help you follow the steps.

👆🏼 This graphic shows all 12 exercises, showing number of repetitions rather than timings

👆🏼 If you are not confident or have lower capacity, this graphic shows how to make the exercises easier

3. Look at your heart

I recorded a prayer exercise known as breath prayer (heart prayer). The audio goes for about 10 minutes. If the player doesn’t appear or you want to download it, here is the link to the audio file.

The three prayers I suggest in the audio are:

• Oh Father Of Stars, Thank You For Every Good Gift
• Jesus Son Of David, Have Mercy On Me A Sinner
• Come Holy Spirit, Fall Afresh On Me Now

(Matching syllables/words to breathing counts is something I have been doing myself, but is not usually part of breath prayer—see how you go.)

Image credit: The Roofs of the Morning by Makeda Bizuneh

Categories: University ministry Written by Arthur

Tagged as: Coronavirus COVID-19 exercise mental health pandemic quarantine self-care self-isolation spirituality working from home

Arthur Davis

Arthur Davis is an Aussie living in Tanzania, writing at meetjesusatuni.com.