While we all adapt to a new life at home, we asked some Outer friends how they’re adjusting — and how they’re staying active, healthy, and nourished. Whether it’s finding a family-friendly stretching session in the backyard, grilling a healthy dinner, or looking for some ways to connect body to earth, our community offered up dozens of ways to find some peace and physical movement, all in our own backyards.
Grounding fitness moves for the backyard
A few minutes is sometimes all we have to spare for a daily fitness routine. Luckily, that’s all you need. Katie Keller Geer, a yoga instructor at Los Angeles’ Modo Yoga, suggests a few stress-alleviating poses for a quick backyard workout.
“It's always a good idea to get upside down so that you can flip your own perspective," she says.
She recommends standing or seated forward folds as a great way to get your head below your heart. “They automatically take you out of your fight-or-flight response into parasympathetic (rest and digestion) mode, and help you turn inward.”
Hinge from the waist and let your torso and arms dangle to the floor; or take a seat cross-legged and reach both arms forward out in front of you on the ground. Touching body to earth has its own rewards.
“Connecting with nature is a mood lifter,” Linden Schaffer, founder of holistic travel company Pravassa tells us. “Spending five minutes outside taking deep breaths will slow your heart rate, reduce your cortisol (aka stress) levels, and bring your body back into rhythm.”
Outer Co-founder Terry Lin loves kicking off his shoes at the end of an at-home workout and standing barefoot on the earth to feel grounded. "Just get outside."
Bonus: kids can easily do all of these with you.
Healthy in, healthy out
“We’ve been cooking more in the past two weeks than we have in the past few years,” says Lin. This new reality forced him to get creative and aim for consistently balanced meals for his daughter, Piper.
“Piper likes to flex her bicep to show me how strong she is. Like many kids, she has a preference for the bread, crackers, tortillas, and sweets, so I’ve told her that if she eats more proteins like meat and eggs, her muscles will get even bigger.”
Go beyond the physical
As a proprietor of unique wellness experiences for her clients, Schaffer knows several techniques to help people find calm, reset mentally, and focus inward.
The Buddhist practice of walking meditation is a great stress reducer and grounding exercise.
“This deep spiritual practice can be found in countries such as Thailand and Sri Lanka, and we can practice it ourselves, barefoot outdoors,” says Schaffer.
This slow walking meditation focuses on breath, mind, and feet. Essentially, you’re asking yourself how it feels to connect fully to the earth. Put one bare foot in front of the other, and make sure you gently place your heel, middle of the foot, ball of the foot, then toes on the ground, and then slowly transition to the other foot. You can sync each step to your breath or to the phrase, “I have arrived. I am here.”
“The key is to move like you're in molasses and focus only on your feet coming into contact with the ground,” Schaffer says. “Ten minutes of this can lift your spirits and calm anxiety.”
We’d love to hear which emotional and mental wellness practices and physical rejuvenation techniques help get you through your days. What online workouts have become your new favorites? How do you get your kids up and active day-to-day? Tell us in the comments or on one of our social pages (@liveouter on Instagram and Facebook).
Let’s keep inspiring one another, and collectively finding new ways to live better — at home and outside.