5 Wellness Habits for a Better Life

5 Wellness Habits for a Better Life

Being a living example of Workaholism 101, I finally decided that I need to take drastic steps towards wellness. No, I didn’t start meditating (maybe, just not yet), but I did make some subtle tweaks to my daily habits that allowed me to feel a bit more relaxed and anxiety-free.

Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness means different things to different people. For me, the most palpable stay of conscious awareness happens when I’m working out. Technically, you are not allowed to bring a phone to the class so if you signed up for a yoga or barre session so you are basically forced to forget about the technology and focus on the moves.

That’s actually one of the reasons why I started working out so often lately: being a student, a blogger, a girlfriend, and a having social media presence, the only way I have the time to just let my thoughts run is when I don’t overwhelm my brain with information.

Even though I’m sweating and moving around throughout the class, this physical activity does not prohibit me from organizing my thoughts while working out. In a way, my thoughts are somehow being sorted on their own while I’m receiving my shot of endorphins that comes with a sweat session!

My current workout routine consists of two strength sessions with my trainer, one barre, and one yoga class where I let my thoughts go. And one cardio day where I immerse myself in the world of Netflix shows that I barely have a chance to see otherwise.

Considering the amount of physical exhaustion from each workout, I feel that yoga is the class that helps me the best when it comes to exploring mindfulness. Even though I’m always 5 minutes late to any other class I try to come earlier too so I could stretch in a way that works for my body before getting into group exercises.

Drink Your Antioxidants

I was always into drinking tea, but it’s only recently when I started considering this habit as one of the self-care rituals. Drinking more tea for me means drinking less coffee. And I’m one of those people who would substitute all water intake with soy lattes, so even a few cups of tea a day is actually major progress for me.

Usually, I drink my tea at night as a way to symbolize that it’s time to put my phone down and concentrate on getting ready for bed. You might not see it in my videos, but usually, when I report on the next mask in my #365MasksChallenge on Insta Stories, I usually sip this delicious tea!

Commit to Body Love

If you are reading my blog, you probably don’t need an explanation of why taking care of your body is important. For me, taking a moment (okay, maybe half an hour) to take a bath and use some of my favorite body treatments s a ritual that could turn a bad or an “okay” day into the best day of my life.

For starters, having my over-exercised body soaked in warm water helps to loosen up my muscles. While body exfoliation and hydration help work as a fresh manicure—I feel that, in a way, my life is getting more organized. Meaning, if I know how to handle my dry skin, I will totally know how to handle any work-related situation!

I recently wrote an entire post on my favorite bath products so if you are looking for a bath bomb or bath salt recommendations, definitely check it out. Here, I’d like to concentrate on organic body scrub and butter by Resveralife that brought my self-care game to a completely different level.

Know Your Limits

Another important lifestyle change that I’ve been working on lately is learning where to say “no” and stop. This notion is very handy in business, but especially when it comes to working out. I used to go to the gym five times a week no matter what.

Having a cold? Not an excuse to skip on cardio! Having a muscle pulled? It’s a great opportunity to take a yoga class! While some people might argue that such consistency demonstrates a great workout discipline, for me it was actually a problem as I used to work myself out and get sick as a result.

This year, I’m learning to be less dedicated to working out when my body tells me so. In other words, if I can’t reach the top drawer due to the severe soreness in my shoulders, I’ll skip on a class and do a few stretches at home instead. I also have an entirely new muscle soreness relief strategy that I can’t wait to share with you.

When it comes to muscle pain, the first thing I do is to take a warm bath with Epsom Salt. That’s the technique many professional athletes are using as it helps to relax muscles and loosen stiff joints.

After a bath, I’ll put on a simple T-shirt with no bra and lay down on my Resveralife Acupuncture Mat for 10-15 minutes. I’m not sure if you’ve heard about those before but basically, it’s a thick pad with a lot of tiny plastic “needles” that go into your skin and help to soothe the pain. I’ve been using similar products for years, ever since my grandmother (who always had back issues) introduced me to one.

The pain relief mat is very handy if you have a severe backache, but you could also use it for less painful situations when you just feel sore.

Breath In

When I met my boyfriend Ben, I noticed that the saying “Stop and Smells the Roses” was his absolute favorite. He is working at the office and doesn’t have much time to be outdoors.

So, every time he has a moment to reconnect with nature or just appreciate what’s around him, he treats it like a special occasion. Being a self-diagnosed workaholic, I try following his wellness approach as much as I could, but I often end up being stuck on my never-ending to-do list…

Lately, I figured that little things like surrounding yourself with beautiful things is might be my favorite twist on appreciating all little moments that constitute life. It all started with re-decorating my bedroom with beautiful art pieces and linens. I then moved towards our living room that I upgraded with beautiful floral artwork, and finally my office where the re-decoration project is still in process.

Since I spend most of my day at home, it became incredibly important for me to get rid of negative energy from things that I don’t love or make use out of. So, I did a major purge as I’m trying to take a more minimalistic approach towards living.

I also introduced a new idea—having a signature scent—to my apartment. Instead of burning a different candle every day, I finally found just one permanent scent—so when you come home, you know it by how it smells.

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There you have it: an in-depth review of all new wellness strategies that I’ve been using lately. While some of them are brand new and others have been tested for months and months, I feel that each of these tricks helps me to live a more mindful and fulfilled life. On that note, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on some of the wellness strategies that you use and love. Please share these in the comments!

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