How are you feeling today? A little stressed out and anxious? While social distancing and Stay at Home Orders are the best decision when it comes to flattening the curve and slowing the spread of COVID-19, being cooped up inside and missing friends and family can be incredibly stressful. Coupled with fear and anxiety over getting the virus, its no wonder that many are struggling to calm down, turn their brains off, and get a good night’s rest.
The Center for Disease Control recommends that everyone take a break from the news and social media, focus on self-care, make time to unwind, and connect with others. Luckily, several free resources can help you do just that.
Meditation
Insight Timer – A completely free meditation app with more than 30,000 guided meditation sessions led by yogis and mental experts. You get to choose how long you want to meditate and you can track your progress and earn badges based on how long you spend meditating. Available in the Apple Store and on Google Play.
Mindfulness – This app is great for someone who has meditated before and doesn’t need guided sessions. The app – which as an optional paid subscription – lets you customize a session based on length and sounds that best fit your needs. Available in the Apple Store and on Google Play.
Pzizz – The app – which has both free and subscription options – is mostly designed to help users fall asleep with different combinations of music, voiceovers, and sound effects. The app also offers what it calls “focuscapes,” which allow users to get specific mental work done. Different focuscapes can help users get into full concentration before a cooldown helps them integrate back into their space. Available in the Apple Store and on Google Play.
Yoga
CorePower Yoga – With its studios closed nationwide, CorePower is now offering its classes streaming on its website. It is offering a variety of classes for all skill levels. A limited number of classes are offered, but the classes are changed up every week.
Yoga With Adriene – Adriene has been offering free yoga classes even before social distancing shut down in-person studios. On her YouTube channel, which has nearly 6.6 million subscribers, there are videos for all skill levels, along with a wide range of workout lengths – with some clocking in at a quick 10 minutes.
YogaWorks – For yogis looking for a longer workout, YogaWorks has a plethora of classes on its YouTube account, including 60-, 75-, and 90-minute classes.
Workout Classes
Nike Training App – Previously a paid app, Nike has made its workout app free while gyms and fitness studios have had to close their doors. The app has more than 185 classes available, including strength, cardio, core, upper body, lower body, and full-body workouts. Classes range from 15 to 60 minutes. Available in the Apple Store and on Google Play.
YMCA 360 – Through its on-demand website, the YMCA is offering a range of exercise classes designed for both the older user and children. Classes for older users include boot camps, barre, yoga, weightlifting, Tai Chi, and Y Box. For younger exercisers, YMCA 360 has a youth soccer section and a youth sports performance section to help stave off cabin fever.
Crossfit – Crossfit is offering free beginner-friendly workouts on its website. The classes, which combine high-intensity training and weightlifting – aren’t taught by personal trainers. Instead, Crossfit used “normal” people to show that the workouts can be done by any fitness level.
Planet Fitness – The nationwide gym chain is live-streaming free workout classes on its Facebook page during the week at 7 p.m. ET. The classes, which are equipment-free, are also available on-demand on their YouTube channel.
