Healthy Habits: 5 Wellness Updates
While I know ‘healthy habits’ sounds like I’m going to dive into New Year’s resolutions, I’m not! I’ve been on a “no New Years’ resolutions” kick, preaching about how one single day does in fact not need to be a determinate in how the year will go. I let myself marinate in a new year and feel its energy before I can know what I want from it. Like moving into a new home, savoring each empty room before jamming it with belongings.
This year has coincided with some fabulous new healthy habits that I have been cultivating, making it appear as though I’m heading into 2022 with the wellness game on lock, when in fact, I’ve been building up to it. How to be healthy is a constantly debated topic, and for me is all rooted in creating easy habits that stack up into health.
My advice: choose one thing to start doing. If you’re an all-in, cold-turkey person, then do that. If you need to do things incrementally, do that. I tend to need some flexibility so that perfectionism and failure don’t overcome me. I like to sprinkle in a change, allowing for some room to mess up or not be seven days a week. That’s just me.
If there is one single thing that I am trying to do, it’s meditation. I had a friend sign me up for a daily practice with her, and I am desperately trying to be disciplined about it.
My Healthy Habit Updates
- Meditation. I have on and off tried to make meditation a daily practice, and have failed miserably each time. However, this year after seeing a therapist for some crippling anxiety, it became blaringly clear that I need to help my brain find calm, find new pathways, find peace. How to meditate? There are a thousand ways. I like to sit with a timer for 10 minutes, and start by box breathing. You count in on your exhale four seconds, then pause for four seconds, then exhale for four seconds, then pause for four seconds. When it feels right, I stop that and calm my mind. If I have a thought, I visually place it on a raft and send it down a river away from me. I don’t judge it. Then I imagine washing my body in white and pink ligtht, feeling my body and sending it love.
- Some apps that I love for mediation: Calm and Headspace.
- Matcha Instead of Coffee: I will never make you feel bad about a coffee habit. I LOVE my morning coffee. Love it. Think about it the night before. Actually, I’m pretty sure I’ve had a creamer addiction for a few years now, which is really a sugar addiction, We’re working on that. However, as of late my body has been craving less acidity. A friend gave me some matcha packets to try, and I love them. I still add some creamer, and am weaning off of that and into almond milk and honey. While you still get the benefit of caffeine, it’s lighter, without jitters, and sharpens my mind through the entire morning.
- The matcha I’m drinking is from Pique Tea, chosen because it’s quadruple filtered to remove toxins (which are rampant in tea).
- TV Detox: this one is tricky. I started noticing with my children that they were acting out a lot more and having these totally uncontrollable mega-tantrums. While four and two year olds have tantrums, these seemed so rooted in their brains just completely melting down. I was chatting with a friend about it, and she referred me to a woman on instagram who has a TV detox program for kids, Jerrica Sannes. You can find her at raisewildflowers.com, HERE The premise is that our children are SO impacted my TV, it acts as a drug. This can even cause the symptoms and misdiagnoses of things like ADHD. It’s an all-day impact – not just while they’re watching. I did her free 7 day detox, which actually is rooted in creating independent play, while replacing TV with gentle options. I have LOVED this, and am going to be very strictly implementing it this week again, since Christmas break has been a free for all.
- Baking all our bread: this is a new thing for me, but started out when I decided that I wanted to make a sourdough starter from scratch. I like learning things in a way that builds up my instincts, and this was such an endeavor. I’ve done sourdough in the past, but really wanted to commit to trying to replace our store-bought bread each week. I have loved it this time around (never give up!), and feel so competant now. I took a sourdough class from my friend Ashley Turner, and that really helped as well. What does baking your own bread have to do with how to be healthy? Well, it’s without preservatives and refined sugars and bleached flour. It’s so simple, and sourdough bread is known to be gentler for people with gluten sensitivities (my husband).
- Sourdough class with Ashley at Turner Farm is HERE if you want to take it.
- Green juice: is a lofty goal and change – mainly because it requires a new appliance and cleaning said appliance. However, my husband and I have been loving and craving (and spending a lot of money) on green juices. I grow parsley and kale already, so will just add celery, lemon, apple in. We’re working on growing the rest too! This is something I hope to get better at – batch juicing for a couple days.
- I just bought THIS juicer online. Let’s juice together?!
Creating new healthy habits for me is about moving in the direction of what feels good to my soul, what my body craves, what my brain needs. I have to find things that excite me and that I can squeeze into a busy life consistently. It helps if I get my husband on board too!
What healthy habits are you working on?? Tell me in comments!