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COVID-19: Entertainment, Physical Activity and Self Care

COVID-19: Entertainment, Physical Activity and Self Care

Entertainment

It’s important to take a break and take time for yourself. The internet is home to a great many sources of entertainment including streaming movies and tv, arts and culture, books and podcasts, some for a small subscription price and many offered for free.

Have any suggestions to add to this list? Email office@jsalliance.org.

 

Arts and Culture

Many cultural institutions are making their collections available for free online:

Hermitage Museum: Watch a tour of Russia’s iconic Hermitage museum.

MoMA: The Museum of Modern Art (New York) is offering classes, art-making activities, an online magazine and more!

Galleries and MuseumsLinks to hundreds of galleries and museums across the world.

Vancouver Art Gallery – Art Connects: Every Tuesday and Friday, the Gallery will stream live and interactive conversations into your homes, featuring guests from local and international arts communities. Everyone is invited to join through the webinar platform Zoom.

The Tate Museum: Explore galleries online, listen to podcasts, and watch Curator-led tours of Tate’s exhibit’s on their youtube channel.

 

Film, Music and Theatre

National Film Board: Explore the library at National Film Board of Canada.

Cirque du Soleil: Cirque du Soleil is offering videos, workouts, music and more!

Austin City Limits: Watch musical performances.

The Shows Must Go On: Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals are free.

The Metropolitan Opera: Each day, a different encore presentation from the company’s Live in HD series is being made available for free streaming on the Met website, with each performance available for a period of 23 hours, from 7:30 p.m. EDT until 6:30 p.m. the following day.

Warner Classics: A unique collection of official classical music videos, live performances and studio sessions.

National Theatre at Home: The National Theatre of London is making their productions available online. A new one each week. each play will be available for 7 days.

Berlin PhilharmonicRedeem the BERLINPHIL voucher code and get free access to all concerts and films in the Digital Concert Hall for 30 days.

The Social Distancing Festival: A theater artist has created The Social Distancing Festival, which gathers live streams and videos of all different types of performances in one place, on one calendar.     

 

Learn Something New

Jewish Museum and Archives of BC: Explore online exhibits.

San Diego Zoo: Watch live cams of the animal exhibits.

The Smithsonian Museum: Explore a vast array of exhibits and topics.

 

Streaming Movies and TV

The following are subscription services for streaming Movies and TV:

Netflix features many not-to-be-missed documentaries, movies and television series.

Amazon Prime features movies, TV and original content.

Disney+ includes the entire Disney and Pixar catalogue. It also includes National Geographic as well as original content produced for the channel for $8.99/month.

Apple TV+ offers original comedies, dramas, thrillers, documentaries, and kids shows by well known creators for $5.99/month.

Crave  offers a large variety of movies and TV, include HBO.

HBO Max launches May 2020. Get unlimited access to critically acclaimed films and shows from HBO—plus favorites from Warner Bros., Studio Ghibli, New Line Cinema, and more. Available in Canada through Crave for $20/month.

Hayu, a subscription-based video-on-demand service dedicated to reality shows. $5.99 a month.

 

Audio Books and EBooks

The Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library at the JCC has a large selection of EBooks and audiobooks.

Vancouver Public Library: The VPL remains a wonderful resource for learning and enjoyment. If you don’t have an account with the VPL, call them at 604-331-3670 and they will set up an account for you to read e-books, digital newspapers, listen to digital audiobooks, etc. 

Audible: The cost is $14.95 per month, after a 30-day free trial with one free book a month. Listen to your favourite books wherever
you are with the free Audible app. 

Audible is offering a free library of audiobooks for kids while schools are closed due to COVID-19: find them here: https://stories.audible.com/start-listen.

Physical Activity

It’s important to maintain physical fitness even when staying at home. Go for a walk, do floor or chair exercises, and follow virtual Yoga, Pilates and other workouts online. 

Virtual JCC experience Visit onlyatthej.com for classes, programs, live events, library resources, children and family content, entertainment suggestions and more.

Primary Care Fall Prevention Home Activity Program for fall prevention in-home exercise tips.

The YMCA is offering over 60 totally free fitness classes online for a range of ability levels from yoga, barre, Tai Chi, to boot camp and weight lifting.

Do Yoga with Me offers a huge library of free yoga classes in many different styles. 

Safe Osteo-Arthritis Exercises: find videos of safe exercises, and lots of information about looking after yourself as you live with arthritis from the Arthritis Society of Canada.

South Granville Seniors Centre Vancouver: Find virtual tai chi and yoga in English and Spanish

Self Care

Tune in, Tune Down, and Listen. Meditation Minis is hosted by Chel Hamilton and they offer 10ish minute guided meditations to help manage stress and anxiety.

The Weekly Podcast at the Hammer by USL offers a free weekly podcast or live stream with short talk on various mindfulness topics and a guided meditation led by leading expects in the field. 

MindShift CBT: This free App for your devices provides access to guided meditations and visualizations. Get quick relief, track anxiety over time, work through CBT activities, set goals, and easily export data to facilitate communication with a psychologist, counsellor, or therapist. You’ll learn to relax, develop more effective ways of thinking, and take active steps to take charge of your anxiety.

Headspace: Self-care audio. Just a few minutes a day can reduce your stress and help you sleep better.

Creating Calm: Simple Activities for Stressful Times: This 12-minute webinar offers 5 practical activities for anyone to help reduce worry and create calm for themselves, and for those that they are supporting. The webinar comes with downloadable handouts.

 

Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook

In this unprecedented period of global uncertainty, it’s completely normal to be experiencing a wide range of emotions. The Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook, produced by The Wellness Society, offers several tools for dealing with anxiety including many links and ideas for how to spend time in a healthy way. and helps you create a Stress Resilience Action Plan. Download the Workbook Here.