Episode 009: Reduce Stress and Anxiety with Disney Fun (and More!)

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Many of us are feeling more stress and anxiety these days, during this COVID-19 crisis. Our normal routines have changed. Some people are experiencing job losses or health issues. Families are adjusting to parents working from home, and kids home schooling. People who live alone are very isolated.  

Fortunately, there are many resources to help reduce stress and anxiety, from the comfort of our homes. My dear friend, Connie Viglietti, is a certified yoga and meditation teacher and a wellness coach. Connie is co-founder of Emaya, a women’s wellness company. She’s also a wife and a mom, and she shares how her family is dealing with stress and anxiety during this trying time. You can connect with Connie at Emaya’s website, or on Facebook or Instagram. 

Disney Fun

Disney has been creating and releasing for us some great sources of education and entertainment, for both kids and adults. 

Disney+ continues to be an amazing source of Disney entertainment. Disney released Frozen II much earlier than anticipated, and it is now available. Onward is available on Disney+ as of April 3rd, and it is available now for digital purchase. Disney+ continues to release more original series, including Disney Insider that started March 20th.  Disney Insider is a documentary series with behind-the-scenes looks on projects in Disney entertainment, in the parks, and more. Connie shares how her family is bonding over the Star Wars franchise entertainment as well.

Imagineering in a Box shares 35 free educational videos, lessons by Disney Imagineers on creating the worlds, or parks, and lands within each park; designing attractions, and bringing characters to life. 

The Disney Parks Blog is sharing YouTube videos of how-to tutorials called Learn to Draw, on drawing Mickey Mouse through the years. Also, if you search YouTube, there are several similar videos by Disney Parks from 2014 of learning to draw different characters. 

Disney Animals on Disney NOW is a Disney Parks video series on the animals at Animal Kingdom. The series offers fun facts on different animals like the meerkat, and behind-the-scenes looks at caring for the animals in Animal Kingdom, like the hippo. 

The Play Disney app can now be used at home! This is a free app that has been out for awhile now for both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. When you are in the parks, you earn achievements by riding attractions. There are over 40 achievements to earn in Star Wars Land alone. Usually, you have to be in the parks to play games on the app. They are meant to entertain people while waiting in line for attractions. But now, several of the games are available to play at home! Some are single player, and some require multiple players. I enjoyed the Splash Mountain game, which has 15 mini-games in it. The Art of Animation Resort even has a game! Check it out.

Are you missing the Disney parks? Visit the theme parks virtually, using Google Maps Street View. Take a walk through Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom’s Pandora, Disney Hollywood Studios (pre-Star Wars Land), and also Universal Studios Florida. I took a virtual walk through the Magic Kingdom. As soon as I saw the Hub and Cinderella’s Castle, I felt my body relax. I played around with going to Adventureland, and it was such a good feeling to see my familiar happy place.

Get active with Disney Zumba videos! InsidetheMagic.net has shared 10 Disney Zumba videos to work up a magical sweat. One video is of a young woman stretching and dancing on a beach to “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana as the surf comes in around her feet. I loved it! I can’t wait to do the Zumba video to “Try Everything”, Shakira’s wonderful dance song from Zootopia.

And More!

 

There are so many helpful resources to reduce stress and anxiety beyond Disney. Here are some of my favorites that I’ve found incredibly helpful. 

Through Emaya, Connie and Michaela are offering free weekly yoga and meditation to anyone. They are also offering 70% off their Back to HER program, a 40-day program of daily meditation and yoga, along with weekly coaching and transformational work sessions to get in touch with who we are and what we want. They are also launching Do Less & Be More, a 7-day empowerment program for women that is very affordable. This program gives you tools to do less and be more, be your brightest.  

Gabrielle Bernstein, best-selling author and spirituality teacher, offered on March 29th a free online anxiety relief workshop, and replays are available for free on her website. In the workshop, Gabby shared 7 different tactics to help relieve anxiety. I found it incredibly helpful. Gabby also has several free guided meditations on YouTube.

The Insight Timer app is a wonderful resource for all different types of guided meditations and talks by spiritual teachers and authors, or to use as a timer with background sounds offered while you sit in meditation. Recently, I discovered Elizabeth Gilbert’s talk about facing fear with compassion, related to this coronavirus crisis. It was very helpful to me. Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of “Eat Pray Love” and several other books.

Brene Brown, one of my favorite authors and speakers on vulnerability and shame, just launched a podcast, and I am so glad! The podcast is called Unlocking Us. The last episode from March 27th was so relevant to how I’m feeling right now, that we are past the initial burst of adrenaline when we went into survival mode, and we are seeing this is not going to end quickly, and we are feeling major fatigue. I can’t speak highly enough of this podcast and Brene Brown.

I lived in New York City for 15 years before I moved to Tampa nearly 2 years ago. I love the performing arts, and the performing arts in New York have a special place in my heart. The Metropolitan Opera is offering free encore performances, streaming nightly starting at 7:30 PM EST. 

Broadway stars are posting many videos online of spur-of-the-moment performances. Broadway World kicked off a Living Room Concert series and it’s just like it sounds - former and current Broadway stars singing in their living rooms. 

My new favorite feel-good show is Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, on HGTV.
Hosted by Modern Family’s Jesse Ferguson, this uplifting show shines the light brightly on giving to those who deserve it, the goodness in people, the importance of community, and how wonderful it is to help others. It’s the perfect show for this moment in time. Have a box of tissues close by, because I cried a lot watching the first 2 episodes! 

Thank you for listening! I hope you found these resources helpful to you, as you and your loved ones continue navigating through these uncharted waters during this coronavirus crisis. 

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Thank you so much for listening! Until next time, keep dreaming!

Amanda