10 Wellness Habits to Refresh your Mind Body and Spirit
Are your daily habits supporting you - or moving you further away from - the health and happiness you deserve? Most of us have at least a couple of things that aren’t working for us; we scroll too much, eat more than we need and sleep less than we’d like.
Sound familiar? We’ve all been there. After looking at my own habits recently I noticed that I’d started checking my phone during the day which was having a negative impact on my mood and productivity.
While habits can feel challenging to break, especially when it comes to our phones, the best thing to do is replace the behaviour rather than try to stop it all together; when you reach for your phone, take a moment to repeat your favourite affirmation or taking a few deep breaths rather than get lost in the scroll.
You get the idea and so here are 10 simple wellness habits for your mind body and spirit that you can easily use in place of less supportive habits…
PAUSE
This is so simple and you can fit into any part of your day. Look for natural pauses; waiting in traffic, standing in a queue or waiting for the kettle to boil. Use these moments to be still, rather than reach for your phone. Take a breath, see how you’re feeling, repeat your favourite mantra and release anything that is weighing you down. Not only will you be amazed at how many of these moments you can find in your day but also at the benefits that you feel from pausing for a minute or two.
POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS
Our minds consume so many messages throughout the day, most of them aren’t positive and while we can reduce what we consume, some things - and people - are unavoidable. So, I like to counterbalance them with positive affirmations. My favourite way to do this is to pop on my headphones and quietly enjoy a playlist of supportive mantras while I work. If that isn’t possible then have one or two that you can repeat silently to yourself.
EAT WELL
Boost your health by making a change to your diet. I know it can feel like a challenge but the benefits are long-lasting and help us age with increased health and vitality. So, where could you start? Would you love to eat cleaner - consume less sugar, meat, caffeine or processed food? Remember that slow and steady wins the race. Make incremental changes that you can acclimatise to, and you’ll be much more likely to stay the course and enjoy increased health.
MEDITATE
Meditation is a powerful wellness habit that i encourage you to try. I cultivated my own practice by starting with just two minutes a day, this stopped me from telling myself I didn’t have time because who can really argue that they don’t have two minutes!
You’ll feel some benefits no matter where you start and it’s much better to move forward slowly than not at all. If you’re new to meditation, then here are a few more tips to help you make meditation one of your daily wellness habits.
CREATE QUIET ZONES
Try starting and ending your day with quiet moments of connection. Turn off your phone and TV while you settle down and enjoy time alone or with loved ones. Enjoy meals without distractions and share what’s gone well in your day. Making these moments part of your daily routine soon becomes a healthy habit that helps to strengthen a deeper connection with yourself and those you love most.
RECONNECT WITH NATURE
Even in the colder months, it helps to get outside as often as you can. Nothing made me happier during the lockdown periods than to see so many more people making the most of a simple walk - either alone or with their families - it’s such a great way to re-connect.
Try getting moments of fresh air during your day too, by enjoying your breakfast outside, taking a walk at lunchtime or simply throwing the windows open while you work.
ENJOY NAPS
Most of us think we don’t have time for a nap but can easily find 20 minutes to scroll on our phones! Research shows taking a nap can work wonders for boosting our health and wellbeing…even 10-15 minutes can leave us feeling more alert and more productive.
While taking a nap in the middle of a workday isn’t always a practical option - unless you work from home - but they’re worth adding to your weekend plan if you have a chance. Ready to give naps a try?Here are a few more tips for making power naps one of your wellness habits.
TRY A 30 DAY CHALLENGE
If you’re serous about making a change and creating new habits then make it a 30 day challenge. I love doing this and they really inspire me to keep moving forward. Start by choosing a wellness habit and commit to doing it daily for the next 30 days. Print a copy of my 30-day wellness habit tracker, pin it somewhere you can see it and track your progress daily.
GRATITUDE JOURNAL
Creating a daily gratitude habit is often referred to as life-changing, and I completely agree. In today’s media intense world, it’s so easy to get drawn into negativity and comparison. This causes us to focus on the things that we lack rather than those we are blessed with. Thankfully, it’s simple to change this with a simple daily gratitude practice…(and a little less media if you feel so inclined).
It doesn’t take long to think of 3-5 things that you’re grateful for - try it now. Feels good, doesn’t it? It’s said that writing them down makes the practice even more powerful. Try keeping a gratitude journal or simply jot them down in your day planner, whatever feels more manageable for you.
UNPLUG
We’re overloaded with more information than ever before and our stress and anxiety levels are at an all-time high...coincidence? I doubt it. Give yourself a break from the never-ending noise; the non-stop notifications, posts, messages and emails.
Create clear boundaries around using your devices, such as not before 8am and never after 8 pm. Take back control over the information you consume and enjoy the liberating feeling!
I hope that I’ve given you enough ideas to get started and that you feel inspired to change a few of your daily habits for ones that boost your mind, body and spirit. Again, remember to start slowly and most importantly don’t wait - you don’t need a new week, month or even moon to get started - today is always the best day to make a change, how will you begin?
AUTHOR: LEANNA DOOLIN
Co – Founder of holistic skincare brand, Pure Thoughts and advocate for women finding pause in their day to breathe deeply, give thanks and reconnect to what matters. Loves early mornings, dogs and books that you can’t put down.
Always love your blogs Leanna💕 thank you for taking time to post these💕
Thank you so much Leanna, I really needed these suggestions today. Having lost my husband a year ago, I find myself slipping into all these habits quite easily, specially browsing and wasting so much time on my ipad.
I will try to introduce some new ‘habits’ one by one.
Thank you. Pat
Leave a comment