By Tara Ghias, Third Year History
The Croft Magazine // A run-through of activities to help you chill out.
This first term, we can all agree, has been very hectic. Not only are all students having to adjust to being back at university, surviving living alone again after seven months of food being cooked for them and their dirty clothes being washed, but the recent spread of Corona in Bristol has resulted in many people isolating. Social lives have been reduced to zero for young people, and the transition to online teaching hasn’t been a smooth ride for some.
In this article, I hope to show you some ways to rewind and chill out after all the busy events of the last few weeks.
Exercise
I know, you must be groaning right now. But trust me when I say exercise is one of the best ways to feel good and release all the stresses of life. Lucky for us, there are so many different forms of exercise we can do. There is something to fit every individual in terms of what they like. I have recently taken up strength and conditioning with the University Cricket society.
One way I found to really help the resulting sore muscles is yoga. Yoga is the minimalist’s exercise. It doesn’t require much equipment and if you don’t possess a yoga mat you can always use a thick towel or even a carpet. Just pop on a 10-minute yoga video from YouTube and let your body relax.
If you’re looking for something a bit sweatier, try HIIT workouts at home. My personal favourite is a Mamma Mia one, where I can not only break a sweat but sing my heart out to ABBA for 30 minutes while doing it. Again, they require minimal equipment, and are something you can even just complete in your room (so rainy days can’t stop you anymore).
Flat dinners and movie nights
As many students will be spending more time with their housemates due to isolation or the lack of social gatherings, flat dinners and movie nights are one of the best ways to hang out. My flat have recently had roast dinners and curry nights, where we all bring some ingredients, which makes it cheaper overall. This delicious dinner is followed up with a movie. Recently we chose to binge-watch all of Twilight again (not because we like it, more just to trash it as we watch).
Reading books/listening to podcasts
Another really good way to relax and chill during this week off is reading and listening to podcasts. I know some of us spend most of our days reading for our degree anyway, but there is no harm picking up fiction, or maybe even non-fiction, books when we have a spare minute. If the idea of reading anything in your spare time daunts you, there are always podcasts to listen to, in topics ranging from self-care, confidence or just advice in general. I recommend Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast, and The Mindful podcast, to help relieve stress and anxiety.
I have recently been reading The Rules to Break by Richard Templar, and I would highly recommend everyone check it out. It really puts things - such as life, emotions and memories - into perspective. I think everyone needs to hear these words during these difficult times
Featured Image: Epigram / Freya Scott-Turner
