While in quarantine, families are spending more time together, having meals around the dinner table, playing games, reading stories at bedtime.  There is no longer the hustle and bustle of getting from one activity to the next. In some cases, parents are working from home and kids are involved in e-learning.  It’s a way of life most of us have not experienced. Some may be enjoying this new, slower-paced life, while others are stressed out and struggling to cope with all the changes, including the fear of worrying about exposure to COVID-19.  In the midst of everything, it is important to maintain not only physical and emotional health but also spiritual health.  Now could be the time for your family to make a spiritual connection or reconnection to improve their overall health.  Here are 4 more ways to improve your family’s spiritual health:

1.  Pray Together

Saying a prayer of thanks at mealtime can be a good way to get your family comfortable with praying.  If you have younger children, you may also say a bedtime prayer with them, after a story, when tucking them in at night.  Older children can be encouraged to say a bedtime prayer on their own. You can suggest they pray for the safety and health of their friends and family, since they may have unspoken worries about them.

2.  Watch an Online Service or Devotion

Many spiritual leaders and churches are offering online services and devotions as an alternative to in-person meetings to comply with at-home orders during the quarantine.  Search for a service that meets the spiritual needs of your family and watch and discuss it together.

3.  Listen to Spiritual or Inspirational Music

In addition to listening to secular music, hymns and other spiritual music can be uplifting and relaxing.  There is an endless supply of children’s spiritual music, providing a positive message of love and peace and safety.  To appeal to adolescents, teens, and even young adults, search for current radio stations playing spiritual music or introduce them to familiar hymns.  Music “therapy” can be very beneficial to overall health.

4. Meditate Every Day

It’s wonderful having family togetherness, but everyone needs a little alone time once in a while.  Meditation is a great way to decompress. Each person should have the opportunity and freedom to find a quiet place, with no interruptions or distractions, to find peace and tranquility, reflect on the day, and re-center themselves for better spiritual health.

The stress of the quarantine and COVID-19 can take a toll on all members of the family, from infants and toddlers to teens and young adults.  Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health are all important in coping with these stressors. For more information on healthy living visit Avidity Medical Design Academy or read more informative articles on our blog.

With all of the focus on washing your hands, sanitizing, social distancing, and the medical considerations that go along with safeguarding your medical health in the age of COVID-19, it is easy to forget about other areas of health, such as spiritual health.

As you quarantine for medical health reasons, you may find yourself dealing with frustration when trying to follow the guidelines for social distancing or for self-quarantining in your home. You might miss your friends and coworkers due to the quarantine, and being forced to stay home with family. You might even feel cramped, crowded and scared. You might worry about getting sick, and washing and sanitizing your hands enough during the day. During this time, while everyone is self-quarantining, it is important to remember that protecting yourself and your family goes beyond just hand washing. Protecting yourself during this COVID-19 pandemic is also about maintaining family spiritual health. 

Let’s look at 5 ways that you can maintain your family’s spiritual health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Eat Together at the Table

Family connections often mean just existing beside each other instead of establishing quality time with each other. We sit under the same roof with very little contact and very little conversation with other family members, who may spend more time interacting on social media and less time interacting with other family members. The COVID-19 quarantine gives us an opportunity to change, and to grow into having meaningful family relationships. Eating at the dinner table means everyone sitting together and doing something we enjoy – eating. It also opens the door for stimulating conversation about what is (and was) going on in each others’ lives before the quarantine happened. Your family will become much closer when you have a family routine that everyone can do together. 

2. Give Thanks

The dining room table is an excellent place to recognize the things that are still good in the world, and there’s plenty. When our days are spent listening to breaking news about the quarantine, and stepping on each other’s toes due to being quarantined in the house together, giving thanks for what is going well in your family’s life is a great way to stay positive during the quarantine. 

3. Take Deep Breaths

Meditation is another great way to relieve stress. When you are anxious and stressed, take a few minutes and breathe deeply. Inhale slowly, then exhale slowly. Spend some time on self-reflection and self-appreciation. Take the time to live in the present by practicing some meditation exercises. Life will feel much more relaxed and your family’s spiritual health will benefit. 

4. Laugh

Play some board games with your family, like Monopoly, Twister, Chess, or Checkers. If you have children in the household, listen to some old music that your children may not know about, to stimulate laughs and good conversation about fun social events that happened before they were born or when they were little. Do things that make you and your family smile. The power of fun and recreation will reduce feelings of isolation during the quarantine, and improve your relationship with other members in your family. 

5. Keep a Schedule

Lastly, maintain your schedule, eat right, and exercise. This is not the time to sit on the couch and eat or drink too much. Remain active by exercising at home. Encourage your family to keep living their life and appreciating their life. It will help you and your family remain mentally and spiritually healthy, centered, and connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Remember that maintaining your family’s health is important to help ease the pain and frustration of dealing with the pandemic. Remember that keeping your family strong when times are hard, does not happen by accident. It requires a conscious effort. These five tips are a good starting point, and they can transform this scary and negative time into a positive opportunity to make your family more close knit and unified for years to come.

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