A week into level four lockdown, people are probably starting to feel a little cooped up. To help with this, some subscription services and brands have begun to make their products temporarily free. Here are just a few things currently on offer.
For those with the privilege of free time during this isolation period, there’s probably a myriad of things you’ve told yourself you’ll do: clean the pantry, get abs, learn how to cook more than just pasta with butter.
But in order to help us save our brains from the four-week lockdown period, some brands have made their services free to use. From fitness to mindfulness to things to keep your kids entertained, here are some of the best free things you can get right now.
Fitness
Apart from literally the thousands of home workout and ‘no equipment workout’ videos on Youtube, there are a selection of apps and programmes that have become free for isolation-stricken gym-rats.
The partnership we’ve all been waiting for is finally here, with TVNZ airing Les Mills’ virtual classes at 9am and 3pm daily on TVNZ1 and TVNZ2. The classes will also be available on demand. Classes range from high intensity to meditations and there will also be dance classes catered towards children.
I tried an online Les Mills class three days ago and it was… very hard. Good luck New Zealand.
Originally just a home yoga app, Down Dog now also has a HIIT and a barre version, all of which are free until May 1. They’re really easy to follow and require zero equipment so are perfect for people who want an easy way to get a sweat on.
The Kanikani Fitness Channel is offering free, online Zumba classes for kids with a te reo twist, twice a week every Tuesday and Thursday at 9.30am.
Streaming
So you binged Tiger King in one day and now you have no idea what to watch? Here are some options.
Spark Sport is offering its streaming service for free until May where it’s playing games from throughout Kiwi sporting history. It’s also been taking suggestions so if you want to relive the Cricket World Cup final you can let them know.
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
No need to buy a ticket for this one. With all its concerts cancelled for the time being, the NZSO is streaming at-home performances live into people’s living rooms.
This service is always free, and it has heaps of movies. All you need to sign up is a library membership. It looks and works a lot like Netflix and has lots more independent films and heaps of documentaries, too.
Mental health
If you’re stressed at the moment, that’s completely understandable. For some people that stress might be manageable with exercise or some mindfulness activities, while others might need more professional help. Here’s where you can get it.
Check to see whether your workplace is signed up to EAP if you’re in the need for some professional guidance and counselling through the lockdown. If they are, you’ll be entitled to some fully covered counselling sessions (currently being done over video call). The EAP website also has some really useful resources to look through.
One of the OG meditation apps, Headspace, is offering free access to one of their meditation streams called ‘Weathering the Storm’. If you’ve been wanting to start meditation but can’t fathom sitting with your own thoughts for longer than a couple of minutes, the short meditations on this app could work perfectly for you.
The team at Calm have released a bunch of their meditations for free to help people through Covid-19 stress. In addition, it’s also running 10-minute meditation live streams on Facebook and Youtube from Monday to Friday each week.
Kids
We’re not even a week in and you might not be loving the idea of three more weeks inside with your restless kids. As well as streaming services like Beamafilm and kids fitness classes, here are a few storytime options.
Audible is the audiobook platform built by Amazon and shilled by influencers everywhere, and it’s offering a giant catalogue of children’s audiobooks for free at the moment.
Children’s author David Walliams is currently releasing audio of him reading a story a day from his ‘World’s Worst Children’ book series.