Zoomed Out? Wiped Out From WebEx? Napping in Google Classroom? 5 Ideas to Refresh Your Body and Soul

Talking with my friends recently on Zoom the topic of conversation turned to how tired we all were from video calls. The teachers in our group are especially exhausted because they are not used to sitting at a computer all day. Many of them have students coming to their Google Classroom at all hours. Others in our group are used to being in an office having those face to face interactions. On top of those work calls we are all on social video calls with parents, children, grandchildren or friends.

Video chat is beginning to take its toll.

This BBC article cites many reasons for these feeling of exhaustion when on video calls:

  • the need to work harder processing verbal cues,

  • uncomfortable silence because of technology issues,

  • the blur of work/family/personal space,

  • and being out of our natural social rhythms.

Is your body, mind and soul waving the white flag, too? Are you feeling the unintended effects of this new way of communicating, like “tiredness, anxiousness or worry with yet another video call” and can’t seem to find ways to care for yourself?

5 ideas to refresh your body and soul

Taking breaks between video calls is so important. Walk around a bit, take a stretch break, even take a few of those calls on the phone instead of video. Here are a few other ideas to try in between your calls, at lunch time or at the end of the day.

1) Give your eyes a rest. Erika Fritz, a yoga teacher at Down Under Yoga suggests these 7 tips to rest your eyes. One technique called palming works this way: rub your hands together powerfully. This action creates heat. Then, place your palms over your eyes to block out light. Slowly open and close your eyes for at least thirty seconds. Erika mentions that the darkness will give the retinas a reprieve and blinking will replenish moisture to dry eyes.

2) Move your shoulders away from your ears. If you sit a lot, work at a computer, or talk on the phone, you may find your upper body starts to collapse after a while and your shoulders hunch up closer to your ears causing neck and shoulder tension. Take a five- minute break and try these neck and shoulder exercises. Pop in your earbuds and listen as I guide you through.

3) Shake your booty. Do you feel your butt going numb? You may not realize it but an inactive gluteus can throw off posture and cause back pain. Muscles in the lower back, hips and the glutes all work together to create stability in the body. When these the large gluteus muscles aren’t working well, you can feel pain in other areas of the body as well. Try a standing kickback, with or without a resistance band to activate your gluteus maximus muscle.

4) Sit tall. Bad posture can lead to pain in a lot of areas of the body especially in the neck and the lower back. When working from home at your kitchen table or on your couch you might be slouching a lot more than if you were sitting at your desk at work. To help improve your posture, try Mountain pose: Stand tall with your feet under your hips. Notice that you feel strong in the feet and the legs. Bring your navel back towards your spine (like you are zipping up your pants) to support your lower back. Lift your shoulders up towards your ears and roll them down your back. Close your eyes and imagine your spine being straight. You may also want to try these exercises.

5) Take an emotional breather. Literally. Breathe. Try this 5 minute breath awareness that will help reduce stress and bring you back into balance.

Susan Andersen