Mindfulness and Self-Care During a Pandemic
When Your Mind Won't Stop
So many of us are experiencing challenges related to uncertainty and anxiety during the current COVID-19 crisis. You may find that your mind has gone on overdrive with an endless loop of worries. Unfortunately, telling our minds, 'Stop it!' just doesn't work. So what do you do when your your mind just won't stop? One useful skill is to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is the practice of intentionally bringing our minds to the present moment.
Some of the most popular mindfulness apps are offering free content right now and other mindfulness apps have content that is always free. Try a daily mindfulness practice (even if it's just a minute or two!) and see if it helps you feel more connected to the present moment when your mind is trying to pull you to the future.
Calm app is offering free, hand-picked guided meditations to help during the current crisis. This includes Sleep Stories to help you fall asleep.
Some of the most popular mindfulness apps are offering free content right now and other mindfulness apps have content that is always free. Try a daily mindfulness practice (even if it's just a minute. MINDFULNESS BINGO. This bingo card has a free space and 24 words: Deep Breathing (3x), Identify 3 good things about today, Express appreciation. Mindfulness Bingo for Grades K – 6 It's Mindful May Begin on May 1st and choose as many activities as you can. Each activity with help you to feel focused. Bring this Bingo back to school on May 31st.
Headspace on the Go is offering content focused on 'Weathering the Storm' including meditations, sleep, and movement exercises. Bonus: they have a $9.99 annual discounted subscription for students.
Discounted student plan:
Check out our Mindfulness page for more information about the science and benefits of mindfulness and resources to aid your practice.
I'm stuck inside! How do I practice self-care?
Want to practice self-care but feeling unsure about how to do it? Play the self-care bingo below to see how you do. You can win by marking off 5 self-care activities in any row, down any column, or diagonally across the table. You can also win by marking off the 4 self-care activities in the 4 corners of the table below. If you want a challenge, see if you can complete all of the self-care activities in one week!
Self-Care Bingo
| Took a break | Got dressed | Challenged my negative thoughts | Asked for help | Limited time on social media and the news |
| Enjoyed a hobby | Ate food | Connected with another human | Treated myself | Followed my routine |
| Danced to music or stretched | Tried something new | Breathed! | Gave myself a compliment | Watched a cute or funny video |
| Used a coping skill* | Showered | Talked to another human | Got stuff done! | Went to bed at a good time |
| Let myself cry | Practiced self-compassion* | Drank water | Got good sleep | Practiced mindfulness* |
Additional resources for practicing mindfulness and self-care
Self-compassion:
Mindfulness Bingo Free App
Intro to mindful meditation in English and Spanish:https://www.uclahealth.org/marc/mindful-meditations
Interactive flowchart for self-care:
Mindfulness seems to be the buzz word; however, the western world is a bit behind the game in this arena. However, we are catching up and enjoying the benefits! In our crazy, fast-paced world, taking a break to stop and relax can seem like a joke. But we MUST practice because our livelihood depends on it. And why not teach children to do this at a young age?! Well look no further than this BINGO game to help teach children simple and easy techniques to take a break, check-in with your body and stay present minded.
Some of the most popular mindfulness apps are offering free content right now and other mindfulness apps have content that is always free. Try a daily mindfulness practice (even if it's just a minute or two!) and see if it helps you feel more connected to the present moment when your mind is trying to pull you to the future.
Calm app is offering free, hand-picked guided meditations to help during the current crisis. This includes Sleep Stories to help you fall asleep.
Some of the most popular mindfulness apps are offering free content right now and other mindfulness apps have content that is always free. Try a daily mindfulness practice (even if it's just a minute. MINDFULNESS BINGO. This bingo card has a free space and 24 words: Deep Breathing (3x), Identify 3 good things about today, Express appreciation. Mindfulness Bingo for Grades K – 6 It's Mindful May Begin on May 1st and choose as many activities as you can. Each activity with help you to feel focused. Bring this Bingo back to school on May 31st.
Headspace on the Go is offering content focused on 'Weathering the Storm' including meditations, sleep, and movement exercises. Bonus: they have a $9.99 annual discounted subscription for students.
Discounted student plan:
Check out our Mindfulness page for more information about the science and benefits of mindfulness and resources to aid your practice.
I'm stuck inside! How do I practice self-care?
Want to practice self-care but feeling unsure about how to do it? Play the self-care bingo below to see how you do. You can win by marking off 5 self-care activities in any row, down any column, or diagonally across the table. You can also win by marking off the 4 self-care activities in the 4 corners of the table below. If you want a challenge, see if you can complete all of the self-care activities in one week!
Self-Care Bingo
| Took a break | Got dressed | Challenged my negative thoughts | Asked for help | Limited time on social media and the news |
| Enjoyed a hobby | Ate food | Connected with another human | Treated myself | Followed my routine |
| Danced to music or stretched | Tried something new | Breathed! | Gave myself a compliment | Watched a cute or funny video |
| Used a coping skill* | Showered | Talked to another human | Got stuff done! | Went to bed at a good time |
| Let myself cry | Practiced self-compassion* | Drank water | Got good sleep | Practiced mindfulness* |
Additional resources for practicing mindfulness and self-care
Self-compassion:
Mindfulness Bingo Free App
Intro to mindful meditation in English and Spanish:https://www.uclahealth.org/marc/mindful-meditations
Interactive flowchart for self-care:
Mindfulness seems to be the buzz word; however, the western world is a bit behind the game in this arena. However, we are catching up and enjoying the benefits! In our crazy, fast-paced world, taking a break to stop and relax can seem like a joke. But we MUST practice because our livelihood depends on it. And why not teach children to do this at a young age?! Well look no further than this BINGO game to help teach children simple and easy techniques to take a break, check-in with your body and stay present minded.
Mindfulness Games Online
After I created this BINGO game, I printed it out and had it laminated. Therefore, it was durable to withstand many guidance lessons. And then I started incorporating it in my group and individual counseling sessions as well. When meeting with a student who has anxiety, we would practice an activity at the beginning and/or end of each session until we filled the board.
I used this activity A LOT for guidance lessons for Middle School students. The loved it and I had so much fun teaching them these different Mindfulness practices! This packet includes 12 sheets of BINGO sheets with 25 different mindfulness activity options. And pages 13-16 are dedicated to descriptions of each Mindfulness Activity to help with implementation.
Free Mindfulness Websites
Please share with us about your experience was using the Bingo cards!
