September usually brings with it the promise of a fresh start as students return to school. Of course, this year is unlike any other due to COVID-19. However, there are still so many ways to continue learning this fall—including refining your emotional, mental, and physical wellness to boost resilience.
Connect to Harvard Square’s Mindful Boston to decompress with Zoom meditations from the sanctuary of home. Register for a virtual Community Meditation Night on September 17. The hourlong class is the perfect way to recharge after work. Can’t make it? Browse their many topical podcasts and videos, so you can decompress on your own time. They even offer COVID-specific short videos addressing ways to conquer anxiety and fear; find resources at www.mindfulboston.com.
Meanwhile, Inman Square’s Center for Mindfulness and Compassion offers stress-reduction classes—something most of us could benefit from these days. Enroll in a live 90-minute, eight-week Saturday course beginning September 12, focusing on topics such as sitting and walking meditation, mindful communication (always important in this newly remote era), and mindful eating at www.chacmc.org.
In nearby Arlington, Green Room Wellness Center’s Kimber Green brings her signature meditation sessions to loyal fans on Monday evenings with a free half-hour recharge; it’s the perfect way to press pause with a deep breath before a busy week. Visit her at www.greenroomwellnesscenter.com.
Want even more flexibility? Browse the offerings at Cambridge Mind Body in North Cambridge, which offers a suite of on-demand guided breathing videos as well as intensive, COVID-19-specific virtual retreat and counseling options at www.cambridgemindbody.com.
Speaking of flexibility: Harvard Square’s soothing Inner Space offers a combination of yoga and meditation in the coming months. Take an online raja yoga meditation beginners’ course this fall, by appointment only, or drop into topical classes each Saturday focusing on yoga, healing, and stress relief at www.innerspaceharvardsq.org. Or stream classes whenever you choose through the Om Namo Center in West Cambridge, with an emphasis on namo (muscle-focused, inflammation-reducing), vinyasa, and hatha yoga practices. Attend livestreamed classes or prerecorded ones on demand to suit your schedule at www.omnamocenter.com.
The Harvard Center for Wellness is also a wonderful yoga and movement resource for uncertain times. Drop in virtually during your lunch break for daily half-hour meditations; end the day with a 30-minute prerecorded yoga nidra tutorial, designed to promote deep relaxation before sleep. And if you’re growing overwhelmed with work-life balance and needing to rein in your emotions, take a moment to cue up a recorded meditation focused on labeling thoughts and feelings, all at www.wellness.huhs.harvard.edu.
Yes, it may be an autumn unlike any other—but there are still plenty of ways to turn over a healthy new leaf.
