Mental Health and Self Care Resources

• Yoga with Adriene https://www.youtube.com/yogawithadriene on YouTube: She has several 30-day series for 25 minutes a day. Or, you can choose from individual videos depending on your mood and time constraints. (Bonus: Her dog appears in many of her videos.) Here are some to get you started:
  • 15-minute stillness meditation for Stress Relief https://youtu.be/CscxGprl1yw
  • 25-minute yoga for Stress and Anxiety https://youtu.be/hJbRpHZr_d0
  • 7-minute yoga for Stress Relief https://youtu.be/qiKJRoX_2uo
  • 32-minute yoga for Stress Management https://youtu.be/_zbtKeeAa-Y
  • 20-minute yoga for Joy https://youtu.be/P8uHMMmWMHQ

• If you have kids, try Cosmic Kids Yoga: https://www.youtube.com/c/CosmicKidsYoga Jaime uses yoga to tell stories about pirates, dinosaurs, Disney princesses, and kids’ movies. (Bonus: She also did a great yoga version of Thelma and Louise for This American Life: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/717/audience-of-one/act-four-10).

• “Attitudes to rest have changed. Downtime is undervalued in today’s busy, always-on world. But for most of human history, rest – time in which we can recharge the mental and physical batteries we use while labouring – was prized as a gift.” Find article at https://psyche.co/guides/how-to-rest-well-and-enjoy-a-more-creative-sustainable-life

• Calm App–has sleep stories, guided meditations, soundscapes, inspirations, and music.

• Green Renaissance videos on YouTube—inspiration and life insights

• Insight Timer App (free) https://insighttimer.com/ sleep, meditations with timer to customize, yoga classes, and even live events with teachers you may connect with.

• Headspace App Mini Tour (3:54) https://www.headspace.com/ and https://youtu.be/MmvA4NICACk

• Meditation Apps – https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-meditation-apps/

• One of the things that worked for me was to get out of my own head (a fearful space!) and look for ways to connect to others and offer a helping hand when possible. We all know that social connection is important form of self-care, but the past two years have made us wary of that connection. I have the app “Coach Me.” https://www.coach.me/ One of the daily goals I put on there was to commit an act of kindness. I don’t always accomplish it, but the days I do, I feel much better about myself and the world.

• Finch: Self Care Widget Pet: My daughter loves this app. She has a pet finch who goes on adventures. When she accomplishes a certain number of her goals, the finch returns and tells her stories about his adventures. She also uses the meditations to manage her anxiety.  

• InnerHour: self-care therapy: A friend recommended this one. Said it has great meditations and breathing exercises.

• Fabulous Daily Routine Planner: I recently downloaded this app. I’m trying to better manage my work/life balance and exercise routine and this just seems intuitive.  

• Check out this great libguide from the NSCC library on mental health and wellness resources! https://nscc.libguides.com/mentalhealth