Here, Yu shares with us how he and his family are adapting to life during COVID-19: with exercise, getting outside, and maintaining connection with loved ones online, as well as the challenges of self-care during this difficult time: My day-to-day routine is get up, walk my dog, pour coffee, and write. I tried to exercise at least three times a week, either a class or a 3- to 4-mile walk. My wife ordered some home exercise stuff (resistance bands and floor sliders), so we can try to get workouts in while isolated at home. We were starting to get the feeling that it was going to be big, and yet, for a week or so, we continued to live our normal lives. My wife went to Costco on a Monday and stocked up, and by the end of that week, we started seeing photos of all these panic-buyers and shelves being empty. And then last week the announcement of schools closing. It was a gradual drip of dread and anxiety, and then it came all at once. It feels like work doesn’t matter as much—and yet I’m more productive in terms of writing and reading and thinking than I have been in a long time. It’s made me slow down and take the time to dive deep into a book, to take half a day to read a novel and then turn to my own writing. Before it would be hard to have the luxury of so much uninterrupted time. I’ve also reached out to so many people whom I haven’t talked to in a while. I feel guilty and fortunate that my work hasn’t been as affected as many others (so far, anyway). It’s hard to think about all those millions of kids who can’t get their hot meals from school. I have tried to be more thoughtful about my daily interactions with others online and more grateful that my family and I have the necessities. “He stood by the case and found himself moved by every object he saw there, by the human enterprise each object had required.” It might seem like a very scary book to read right now, but for me it’s exactly what I needed. It’s an exquisitely written and a compelling story but also one that inspires a deep appreciation for so many things we normally take for granted: our technologies, our creature comforts, our systems and institutions, and each other. She has additional certifications in public health from the National Board of Public Health Examiners and humanitarian assistance from the Harvard Humanitarian Institute. As a speaker, Kalaichandran has been invited to present for wide-ranging audiences, from Stanford University’s MedX in Palo Alto, California to South by SouthWest in Austin, Texas. Her research interests are primarily focused on the use of complementary health approaches in children (and the perceptions of efficacy and risk), pediatric food intolerance and allergy, and the role of hospital organizational culture as a determinant of well-being and productivity among trainee and early-career physicians. As a regular contributor to the New York Times Well section since 2017, Kalaichandran covers a diverse range of topics, from health and wellness to medical education. In addition to the New York Times, her award-winning writing has been featured in the Washington Post, New York Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Wired, and The Boston Globe (among many others). She is a 200-hr registered yoga teacher of both adults and children and a mindfulness facilitator. Kalaichandran enjoys adventure, mentorship, recipe experimentation, practicing yoga and mindfulness, voraciously reading, and advocating for a better world as she divides her time between New York City and Toronto. She is currently working on her first book.
