Let’s meet this moment together. 

Without a doubt, many of us are feeling anxious as we navigate the uncertainty of COVID-19. We're feeling it too, and we wanted to share some of the tools we're using to take care of our minds and stay grounded.

All of the resources on this page are free of charge — please share with anyone who might benefit.

Enjoy this curation of content hand-picked to support your mental and emotional wellness through this time. And check back soon as we'll be updating these resources regularly.

Have you noticed the downward spiral of thoughts that can happen when you're worried, stressed, or nervous? 

It’s common to fast forward into an unknown future and play out worst case scenarios in our mind. The antidote is to bring awareness to our thoughts and emotions, and return to presence. This helps recenter and stabilize us in times of uncertainty.

It's natural to experience feelings of disempowerment at this time. One way to reclaim your power is to remember that social distancing is a collective action to keep each other safe. You are doing something great simply by staying home. Listen to the following loving kindness meditation to embody this compassionate choice.

Prepare for sleep with a guided meditation designed to help you let go of the day and find deep rest.

It’s natural to wake up during the night. The key is to invite some equanimity around the fact that you are awake. “Gently Back to Sleep” is a relaxing meditation that supports you to release thoughts, and slip back into slumber. 

Sleep Stories are soothing bedtime tales designed to help settle your busy mind and relax your body so that you can drift off to sleep with ease. Allow yourself to get lost in the story. Here are a couple of our faves.

Invite peace and comfort into the mind and heart with these beautiful melodies.

Soothing sonic experiences to create a cozy environment for sleep or relaxation.

In "Creative Living Beyond Fear", Elizabeth Gilbert powerfully reminds us that we are all creative beings. Whether you dream of expressing yourself more fully, sharing your story, building something beautiful, or sprinkling more magic in your day-to-day life, this Calm Masterclass is the perfect place to begin your creative process.

Social and news channels are designed to hook you and, as a result, leave us feeling hyper-stimulated and overwhelmed. We advise containing the time you spend on these channels and practice finding a balance of staying informed and nourishing yourself with offline time.

In “Discovering Happiness”, Shawn Achor offers 5 simple practices to dramatically raise your happiness levels and deepen your feeling of connection with the world around you (no matter your circumstance). 

We recommend printing one of our journals, making a cup of tea, and cozying up offline with these reflections and practices.

Calm Calendar

Download our calendar for a bite-sized mindfulness activity that you can do each day. ⁠⠀

Cultivate Connection

Reach out to check in on others and to ask for help when you need it. Stay in connection via text, telephone, what’s app, facetime, skype, zoom or google hangouts. We need each other most during challenging times.

Conversation Prompts

• How is the experience for you?

• What are you finding most challenging?

• Is there anything I can do to support you?

Activity Prompts

• Work on individual projects together over facetime (perhaps one person works away on a puzzle while another person is cooking something form scratch)

• Practice a meditation together over the phone

• Schedule a virtual dance party

Kindness Prompts

• Make a joyful playlist for a friend

• Text a friend your favorite joke

• Tell someone why they’re special to you
  

Visualization

Imagine yourself in a beautiful place that you love. Perhaps it’s your favorite place to watch the sunset, a stream, a lush forest, a secret beach, or a field of wildflowers. Invite all of your senses to imagine yourself there. Hear the evening crickets, feel the sand in between your toes, and smell the flowers. The power of the mind is that we can travel back in time to visit a good memory and experience the positive feelings in the present moment.

Relaxing Breath

1. Inhale slowly through the nose to the count of three. Place your attention on the expansion of your chest and the sound of your breath.

2. Pause at the top of your inhale for another two seconds. Rather than holding your breath think of it as resting your breath. (The idea of holding often causes us to tense up, and we want to try to relax before the exhale).

3. Now slowly exhale and let go of all of the air in your lungs for a count of six, keeping your jaw relaxed.

4. Keep going for a few more rounds.

Tips:

• Experiment with different counts that feels nourishing for you. Go down by a count of 1 in each part if you’re feeling any stress or strain.

• If it feels easy, you can try increasing each section by a count of one.

• Bring a hint of a smile to your lips helps to relax your jaw.

5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise

When you’re feeling anxious, pause and settle your mind by naming:

• 5 things you can see

• 4 things you can hear

• 3 things you can touch

• 2 things you can smell

• 1 thing you can taste