By Hermes Joy Tunac
It’s been almost two weeks now since all of us in Luzon were put in a strict “quarantine”— a word that we have all become acquainted with since the coronavirus pandemic became a clear and present danger in our country. Two weeks akin to a roller coaster ride of bad news, with the continuous increase of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines (more than 500 confirmed cases as of this writing), and good news, as a growing number of individuals, brands and companies in the private sector have answered the call of the times by providing donations in cash and in-kind, especially hard-to-find personal protective equipment (PPE) for our at-risk frontliners.
If you want to get your mind off the news even for a little while, some brands, after having gone digital, are offering free services in their respective fields during this period of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
From taking free online courses offered by the Ivy League schools to virtual museum visits and live workout tutorials, this article lists five activities you can do for free within the safety and comforts of your home.
- Online workout routines/ Live yoga classes
Being forced to stay home for almost a month should not be an excuse to neglect our bodies’ need to sweat! It’s been quite a while now since gyms and other fitness facilities have been ordered closed. In response, ClassPass, Beyond Yoga, YogaHive and YogaPlus, among other fitness entities, are uploading live workout routines daily. Whether you fancy cardio, strength, barre, pilates, yoga or even meditation, these studios’ programs are accessible online 24/7.
For those who want to practice a relatively light workout every day, the author recommends the “Awaken The Body, Steady The Mind” class conducted by Anna Manalastas. To complement your physical activities, Sara Black offers community meditation on her Facebook and Instagram pages.
2. Full-length films on YouTube
If you’ve had enough of Crash Landing on You and Kingdom Season 2 on Netflix, local TV channel CinemaOne and independent film company TBA Studios, uploaded some of its original full-length films on their YouTube channels for free. Some of movies on our list that are worth watching are Red, starring Jericho Rosales, and That Thing Called Tadhana, starring Angelica Panganiban and JM De Guzman.
- Virtual museum tours
Google Arts and Culture is a great website to do virtual tours on well-known museums like Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. How much do they cost? Just a stable internet connection for your uninterrupted tour!
- Free 30-day access to ebooks and magazines
Good news for all the bookworms out there! For a month, Scribd is giving full access to its library, which includes millions of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and more, to anyone for free. “We encourage you to take care of yourself and each other, and we hope reading can offer you solace during these difficult times,” shares Scribd Founder & CEO Trip Adler on a Facebook post.
- Ivy League online courses
Ivy League composed of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the world, namely Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth, Columbia, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania are all offering 500 different courses for you to enroll in. The best part is they’re free! Subjects include Artificial Intelligence, Mobile Development, Entrepreneurship and Business Software.
Have you tried any of these online activities? Let us know in the comment section below! Follow PeopleAsia on Instagram and Facebook.
