With springtime already here, it is easy to imagine the activities that we would have been doing if not for the current pandemic. But there are still plenty of activities and events that you can take part in from the comfort of your own home or backyard. 

30 Days of Yoga

Created by the YouTube channel Yoga With Adriene, this program takes beginners through a variety of new stretches, warm-ups, and poses meant to ease, stretch, and strengthen muscles. Topics include full-body awareness, breathing exercises, and special techniques to heal the spine. All thirty videos are available on-demand, making it easy to complete the program on your own time. Yoga mats are optional but helpful.

Birdwatching

If you’re anywhere near trees, birds are closer than you think. Birdwatching is a simple calming activity that only requires you to spend some time outside in a lawn chair or strolling through your backyard, observing nature. Birds are active in the early-to-mid morning and can be easily spotted during the afternoon in their search for food and nesting material. With patience, it’s easy to find blue jays, robins, crows, and chickadees skittering around your backyard. 

If you can’t spot any birds due to the location or the circumstances of your environment, creating an attractive birdhouse or feeder may be the solution. Repurpose a shoebox, food container, or create something from scratch and hang it on a post or on a tree. Introducing birdseed by your birdhouse can entice even the shyest of birds into your view. 

Build your own terrarium

If you can’t go outside, try bringing some nature to you. Building your own terrarium requires only a bottle/jar, soil, cheesecloth, activated carbon (for ideal results), seeds, water, and several natural decomposers, like worms. The project creates an environment within the bottle that can survive without having to water the plants inside. Terrariums can be any size and can grow in a vial, bottle, or tub. The following are guided instructions for creating the ideal terrarium based on the desired size: small, medium, or large.

Not only are these activities proven to help you relax, but they also encourage an active lifestyle familiarization with nature. Being mindful of one’s mind, body, and environment are vital during this time as isolation and lack of movement can compromise one’s mental and physical well being. Activities such as these not only give someone something to do but also prove that spending time alone may not be so bad after all.