Every new emergency or disaster piles onto an already chaotic and stressful situation with no clear end in sight. We’re all collectively trying to balance safety with a year and a half worth’s of pent up demands for fun and socializing, and landing in wildly different places on the spectrum. Many of us are mourning our former lives, and missing the extra pleasures and self-care activities that we did to counteract the stress and anxiety of day-to-day life. The stress of every day life has significantly increased since then, and the chances to break away and be completely immersed in a day away at the spa, or a night out party hopping, are still held at bay for responsible people.
Resiliency and adaptation are so important right now, it’s imperative that we adapt and build on what we have learned in the last year and a half going forward. Otherwise it’s the path of least resistance to just give up on critical self-care activities like exercise, meditation, skincare, grooming, getting proper sleep, maintaining a healthy weight through a nutritious diet, and enjoying alcohol in moderation.
Mourning our former Self Care & Wellness Routines Rituals & Activities
I was very hopeful to join a gym and a spa this fall, thinking that we would be in a completely different place by now. But looking towards the fall that simply doesn’t seem realistic.
In order to adapt, I’m making working out at home and outdoors, swimming, and hiking more of a priority than ever. It’s actually harder to work out at home for me, the distractions of housework, pets, and eating seem irresistible when I am exercising. I find that putting on a mindless tv show on the background keeps me focused just enough between sets not to walk away. The feeling I get when I am done feels just as good as when I leave the gym, and even better because I also pushed through the feeling of distraction and therefore exerted more willpower than simply going to the gym.
It’s true that working out at home with just resistance bands, free weights, and without serious equipment won’t get just as good results as the gym. But it’s so close, and such a huge improvement on not exercising at all that it’s so worth it to push through and get in a regular working out at home routine. And this fall I’m challenging myself to learn new and more intense bodyweight and calisthenic exercise.
Here are 5 Self-Care & Wellness Activities to take you into Fall 2021:
- -Exercise at home & outdoors; you don’t need a gym or equipment to get a good workout in. You just need yourself and your time, bodyweight and calisthenic exercises are effective and can be done almost anywhere.
- -Meditate first thing in the morning daily & even 5 minutes is beneficial. Just when we think things are stabilizing and we are looking forward to a better situation, the stress level ramps right back up, and we need coping skills to combat the toll stress and anxiety takes on our mind body and spirits. Why not use the most effective and most powerful self-care tool of them all, which is meditation.
- -Lose weight before the holidays so you can indulge without guilt, hunger is healing! Set aside a few hours every day to allow your stomach to be empty, and excess calories to be consumed by your metabolism. When you do enjoy your favorite treats, enjoy them mindfully, I always tell myself, “indulge don’t binge.”
- -De-clutter & re-arrange your space for the upcoming fall season, looking forward to enjoyable cozy nights. When we take a little bit of time to change our space for the change in conditions, we feel more prepared and have more of a sense of agency over the next season. Especially transitioning from summer to fall, the days are getting shorter, summer vacations are over, and the often-stressful march towards the holidays begins, it’s beneficial to plan your enjoyment and relaxation for the new season.
- -Weekly at home face-mask spa skincare routine – help your skin transition from summer to fall. Do your skincare and grooming routine slowly, with some essential oils in your diffuser, your favorite relaxing tv show, a good book, or just some serene meditation music, and you’ll be surprised by how renewing and calming it is. It’s obviously much easier to unwind and disconnect from the world at a spa, after all they’re purpose built for that entire reason, but it’s still possible to get a similar result at home.
For everyone reading this, please make yourself a priority today. Don’t wait another day to fill your metaphorical cup, psychologically by counteracting the stress and anxiety of daily life, physically by eating nutritious food in moderation, getting enough sleep and water, and exercising regularly, and spiritually by helping others in need during this unprecedentedly trying time.
All the best,
William Z. Brennan, founder of The Original Desert Apothecary for Mind Body & Spirit: Desert Mountain Apothecary & author of upcoming e-book Natural Lifestyle Optimization.
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About Me: I’m William Z. Brennan, natural lifestyle expert, founder of Desert Mountain Apothecary, & author of upcoming e-book Natural Lifestyle Optimization.
For the last 5 years I have dedicated my life to creating 100% natural botanically derived skincare and fragrance products. I soon realized though, that improving one’s outer appearance wasn’t enough. I needed to crack the pervasive issue of low self-esteem and a learned self-hatred of one’s appearance. Through meditation, immersion in nature, loving physical movement, and clean, nourishing eating habits, a complete transformation is made feasible by breaking it down into simple routines and habits.
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