There’s a reason lifestyle wellness is trending. There’s a reason people are looking for ways to get and be healthier. Depression and anxiety rates are at an all-time high with the pandemic, the rapidly growing technology, the inability to comfort one another within proximity… the list is endless for reasons why the world has continued to get darker and darker. But, you have to stop getting drawn into that darkness and take time to reset. Find the light in the midst of the tunnel, not at the end. The best way to do this is through a wellness staycation which has many benefits.
Instead of leaving and running away from your issues face them head-on. When you feel them they move, when you run from them, they will chase after you. Below you can find healthy ways to change your lifestyle for a wellness staycation.
11 Healthy Ways for a Wellness Staycation
1. Go offline
All those notifications you get on Instagram, on your email, on your Twitter, on your Facebook… those will all be there when you get back. They aren’t going anywhere. Instead, they disturb and do not let you enjoy a wellness staycation. So, turn them off. Stop looking at the highlight reels of everyone else’s life and show appreciation for your own. The internet gives us all a false sense of reality and makes us want materialistic things more than REAL things. Being online shortens your fuse, sets up unrealistic expectations on how things should be, and ultimately sets you up for failure.
Nobody’s life is as pretty as the pictures paint it. Even when they’re real and get raw…. there’s still a need for an audience, and that, well that isn’t 100% real. Instant gratification comes from being online, but that fades even quicker than it comes…. so get offline for your wellness staycation and notice how much more time you have to think about the things that actually matter. Like yourself. You matter. This isn’t realistic for the long term but your staycation can help you set boundaries and time frames for when you do go back to the hustle and bustle of smartphone life.
2. Book a massage and or acupuncture for a wellness staycation
You hold the most tension in your neck, shoulders, and hips. Those are the three areas where we, as humans, hold onto things. To release the stress book a local massage. If you’re on a budget there are always options on Groupon and other discount sites. Your wellness is important. Your body is important. Take the time to relax and allow someone to help you unwind.
Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine and it is another great way to treat pain through the insertion of little needles into the pressure points of your body. This can help you sleep better, help with stress, and overall helps wellness. If you have the whole day, make it a spa day and get your nails done too. Pamper yourself, you deserve it.
3. Guided meditation – breath
When you can’t go out you must go in. Discover parts of yourself that need healing. Don’t run from them, instead run to them. If you regularly meditate, add some extra time to delve deeper. If you know a well-guided meditation podcast or YouTube video would work, go for it. Start with body and breathing awareness and then go deeper into the heart and the head. Set a schedule to do this for 10 to 15 minutes every morning when you wake up and calmness will reside in you during your wellness staycation.
4. Daily devotional
For a wellness staycation, it’s important to devote your life to something or someone greater than you. Of course, it is important to love yourself but there is a difference between loving yourself and worshiping yourself. When you live for someone other than yourself, you have goals to reach that need to be met for more than simply yourself.
Whether you read the Bible, the Koran… whether you believe in Buddha or the Universe, take time for positive affirmations in your day and a Bible verse, quote, or passage that serves the betterment of humanity and wellness of the self.
5. Meal prep – eat well
The phrase “you are what you eat” used to bother me, but now I know it’s true. If you eat healthy food, you will be healthy. If you don’t, you won’t. It isn’t all appearance. Some people eat fast food and are thin, others eat healthy every single day and appear “normal.” But there is so much more underneath the surface.
What you eat now affects your tomorrow. Look up easy healthy meal blogs and make meals for the week for a wellness staycation. Try a new green smoothie. Healthy doesn’t have to be boring and what you put into your body will either enhance or drain your energy level affecting your mood either positively or negatively.
6. Routine – exercise for a wellness staycation
Wake up, be mindful and then get that body moving! Whether it’s yoga, CrossFit, a HIIT, movement makes you happy! The release of serotonin is very healthy and, once again, this is healthy for the internal body. The better you look on the outside, the better you feel on the inside. Setting a routine is healthy and makes time productive instead of wasteful. Enjoy your wellness staycation getting in all sorts of shape; mentally, physically, and spiritually!
7. Go outside
Nature is healing. There’s nothing like a nice walk, run or hike to make the day complete. To thank God, or the universe for the sand beneath your feet and the sun above your head. The sound of the birds chirping and the sight of the ocean waves breaking allows for gratitude deeper than the sea itself. Take your walk with God and tell him or her all the things you’re genuinely grateful for.
All the things that you are too consumed with to usually even notice. The little things are actually everything. Climb the mountain and stop along the way, take in the scenery and paint the picture forever in your mind. Nothing is more refreshing than being in the sea and cleansing yourself with the sat water. We are made up of water so being in the water has a purifying purpose and makes us connect with ourselves and flow into wellness and pursue healthy choices.
8. Hydrate hydrate hydrate
Fuel yourself with nature’s natural resources. Take a break from sugary drinks and alcohol and drink water. Alcohol is a depressant so it will not benefit a wellness retreat and sugar is addictive and bad for the body. Fill up on water, supply the body with what it actually needs. Supply the body with what it is made up of! Very few people drink enough water daily for their size.
You should be drinking half to your whole body weight of water in ounces per day! That means if you weigh 150 pounds you should be drinking up to 150 ounces or somewhere less. That is 18 cups a day, far from 8! If you’re hungry, drink a glass of water first and make sure you aren’t just thirsty. Carrying around a water bottle throughout the day makes this very attainable.
9. Journal
Get a notebook and a pen and write your heart out. Journaling has become a lost art with all the technology and posting these days. People write short cliché captions instead of writing out their true feelings that’s they’re too afraid to tell their friends. Journaling allows you to let go of things on paper and free the words from your mind. You’re giving the paper the power instead of allowing your feelings to overtake you. Wellness staycation is a well way of life.
10. Read a book
When’s the last time you read a book with pages? Not a book on your phone or even your kindle but a book that smells like freshly printed paper. Use your imagination and get into the lives of the characters in the story. Learn. Delve into something fun and get out of your own head.
Have you ever spent a day reading a book in a hammock? Time flies because it’s like a dream. You are inside the mind of someone else. You learn to feel about things over than yourself. A compassionate lifestyle is a wellness staycation or lifestyle.
11. Go on a picnic date with yourself or a loved one
A date in the park with food… what could be better? Maybe some flowers or roses to set the mood. Pack up a little basket and make your day fun on a little blanket in the park. Connect with the grass and bring yourself back to the roots like the trees. Take fruits and healthy sweets! Some chocolate-covered berries and grapes and cheese.
Wellness staycation is very important, especially in today’s world! Don’t just focus on wellness staycation. Focus just as much on your everyday life. During your wellness staycation, you can get into the grind and routine that will be sustainable for a healthy and happy life! Every day counts towards your health and your wealth. It is important to set a good example for your children and your children’s children so wellness is passed down through the lineage. Start the pattern today and make your healthy lifestyle contagious.
