Breathing, BirdSong, Walks, Fitness, Volunteering, Donating Locally During Covid19

On this page and sub-pages you can find some recommendations for a mix of activities to help with wellbeing and fitness, such as sounds of nature to explore, history trails around Cambridge to follow, links to meditation sessions, yoga and pilates, and general fitness sessions you may like to try out - enjoy! 

NATURE SOUNDS - BIRDSONG RECOMMENDATIONS 

Many people are enjoying in new ways to nurture their souls through nature, especially taking time to listen to birds in their own gardens or in walks along meadows or along waterways like the River Cam.  Here are a few top websites and films with audio you may enjoy for identifying birds and birdsong:

River Wildlife Website: just hover your curser over picture to hear their song - River Birds

TOUR OF KEW GARDENS:

Lovely film to watch of Kew Gardens and Wakehurst - view here

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BREATHING EXERCISES

BREATHING EXERCISES IN COVID19 ERA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVEIiOOlguE

COVID19 EXERCISES RECOMMENDED FOR BREATHING DIFFICULTIES TO HELP CLEAR LUNGS - FILM BY DOCTOR SARAFARAX MUNSHI AT QUEEN'S HOSPITAL TO HELP PREVENT SECONDARY PNEUMONIA, FILMED FOR HIS MUM AND SHARED WITH WHATSAPP GROUPS, HELPING MANY TO RECOVER FROM COVID INCLUDING JK ROWLING:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwLzAdriec0&feature=youtu.be

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MINDFULNESS & MEDITATION COURSES

WELLBEING MINDFULNESS COURSE FOR FREE

Mindfulness is especially good to help deal with stress and anxiety during this time of lack of control over our daily lives during Covid 19 lockdown - here is a 28 day bite-sized course: https://mindfulnessexercises.com/free-online-mindfulness-courses/28-day-mindfulness-challenge/

Also, helpful 6 top tips to manage anxiety and stress during the Covid crisis to find positive mental health habits, backed up by Uni research, offered in this easy-to-digest article at THE CONVERSATION

MEDITATION SESSIONS FOR FREE 

Free sessions in Cambridge recommended for meditation and yoga:

https://www.meetup.com/Free-Meditation-Yoga-Cambridge/

 

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FITNESS SESSIONS FOR FREE

CUCT FRIENDLIES FOR THE FAMILY

with very user-friendly Simon Wall from Cambridge United Community Trust - daily sessinos for FREE at 11am daily and you can join in on catch-up via Facebook at any time using Simon's video here:

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialCambridgeUnited/videos/1089262601449815/

50 top workouts for how to exercise at home:

https://makeyourbodywork.com/how-to-exercise-at-home/

Free Joe Wick's sessions enjoyable for kids and all the family - you can watch anytime - or join live 9.30am weekdays via 

https://www.youtube.com/thebodycoachtv

Free session by Joe Wicks for chair exercises for seniors - watch on screen via Joe Wicks' Senior Playlist

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HISTORY WALKS

CAMBRIDGE TRAILS WITH AUDIO 

For history trails around Cambridge, we have our scripted walks by Helen Weinstein narrated by Michael Rosen which are freely available to download here:

http://www.creatingmycambridge.com/trails/schools-history-trails/

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YOGA & PILATES

PILATES FOR BEGINNERS

Free class with teacher showing positions on film recommended via youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-PpDkbcNGo

 

FREE YOGA SESSIONS

Free sessions in Cambridge recommended for meditation and yoga:

https://www.meetup.com/Free-Meditation-Yoga-Cambridge/

 

OFFERED VIA FILM ON FACEBOOK =  FOR KIDS, FAMILIES, SENIORS - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY FRIENDS:

https://www.facebook.com/lvyogafareham

 

RECOMMENDED BY FRIEND IN CAMBRIDGE - NOTE SOME FEES TO TEACHERS TO JOIN ZOOM CLASSES:

The yoga centre recommended by friends is called Satyam and have a variety of classes some suitable for beginners https://www.satyamyogacentre.co.uk/  Most of their classes are now being streamed through zoom.  You sign up and get the link sent to you just before the class.  My yoga teacher is also doing some sessions including 30min lunchtime yoga for regular yoga goers at £5 per a class.  Her website is: http://www.kayoga.co.uk/

YOGA SESSIONS IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO YOGA APP 

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VOLUNTEERING & DONATING

Volunteering & Donations are needed in Cambridge by a variety of organizations and charity, for doing tasks like donating to food banks, delivering food, helping make masks and visors for NHS and service workers.  Here are just a few suggestions, as you may have already signed up to be one of the almost 1 million volunteers but not yet been given a task, so do think about offering your services to one of these tasks in the meantime...

FOODBANK DONATIONS

If you are able to donate directly to food banks at co-op or donate cash the Cambridge network is in desperate need of ingredients and funds, and you can find the drop-off places & times here:

https://cambridgecity.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food/

DELVERING FOOD - HELPING WITH VULNERABLE 

In Cambridge, excellent place to donate time, groceries, cash is the Red Hen Project:

https://redhenproject.charitycheckout.co.uk/cf/corona

or find out about volunteering via your community hub & lead cllr during the covid19 crisis:

https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/coronavirus-community-group-contact-details

Also, delivering free school lunches and food parcels during the holidays is a great way to volunteer, and give support to the most disadvantaged in Cambridge where many do not have sufficient to eat, especially children not attending school, so Cllr Alex Collis in Arbury is coordinating food prep and deliveries, often putting out calls for kitchens/cooks (based at places like Cambridge United Community Trust and Arbury Baptist Church) needing drivers too to collect groceries and/or deliver the lunches to families, so keep an eye out on her Alex's twitter feed @CllrAlexCollis OR contact via Alex Collis email at Cambridge City Council: alex.collis@cambridge.gov.uk

If you are in Petersfield the key location is Romsey Mill to support vulnerable communities and you can directly contact local cllr, Mike Davey, and if you want to volunteer for the Ainsworth Street Area go to the WhatsApp group or email to the Friends of Ainsworth Area Residents Association via UpperAinsworthRA@gmail.com

ASSEMBLING FACE SHEILD VISORS & DONATING TIME FOR DELIVERIES or DONATING ELASTIC TO PROJECT

Some  friends are helping with the production and assembly of face-shields - initially provided for NHS staff at Addenbrookes and now deliveries are for wider services beyond - see fantastic project & find form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5CnLGsZjSIX9ioKEDEma4xE_aD8p7IxTVyIJkpXKQD2el_A/viewform

So my friend Sue's experience where her family assembled 400 face sheilds in 4 hours (that's 150 metres of elastic!), was very straightforward and a great satisfaction in completeing the task for a family of 4 with young adults with a family productin line around a bleached kitchen table, with each person assembling 100 face sheilds in 4 hours -  you can read up about the project in Cambridge Indy here:

 

If you understandably don't have time or skills for helping produce Face Shields, you can donate £ for buying materials at the gofundme charitable site online, track record already raised £40K and delivered 43,000 face shields and so started next 40K here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-to-make-40000-face-shields-for-the-nhs

MAKING MASKS

Design to make your own mask, or to order a kit to make masks for adults or children go to MakeSpace: https://web.makespace.org/mask/

PRODUCING SCRUBS  

SCRUB HUB is a fantastic network of sewers making SCRUBS for health professionals and service workers who need them and can't get scrubs or get sufficient to clean between sessions, so if you are a keen sewer please join in! The Home page for Scrub Hub = https://scrubhub.org.uk/

DIRECTLY DONATE TO NHS & POETRY NHS FUNDRAISER

You can directly donate cash to NHS for Addenbrookes NHS Trust here:

https://donate.act4addenbrookes.org.uk/helpyourhospital/

You can purchase NHS book of poetry which is a fundraiser for NHS, introduced by Michael Rosen called 'These are the Hands - Poems from the Heart of the NHS' in support of the Covid19 NHS Emergency Fund: