8 Wellness Activities to do This Summer

8 Wellness Activities to do This Summer

Doménica Palacios

Are you ready to take a break from work or simply take a few days off to relax and focus on yourself and your own well-being? Self-care doesn’t have to mean extravagant vacations, far away holidays or days at the spa. There are plenty of simple and affordable opportunities to focus on physical and mental wellness without even leaving your house! Waku wants you to experience a fun, interesting and cool summer, but overall, we want you to be able to find inner peace, relaxation and feel replenished at all times. Here are 8 serotonin-boosting activities you can enjoy this summer, take a look!

 

 

Workout in different, fun ways and places

 

Moving your body is one of the most effective tools for stress reduction. It tends to take your mind off of things, it’s hard to think about daily stressors when you’re huffing and puffing up a mountain, for example, and it also boosts your endorphins.But you don’t have to run to get the benefits of moving your body, and you’re better off starting with a brisk walk or any form of activity that you genuinely enjoy than, say, entering a marathon. Whether it’s dancing, kicking a ball around, hula hooping or any other activity, just get moving!



 

Meditate

 

It’s no surprise that meditation brings short-term stress relief, as well as lasting stress management benefits. The beauty of meditation is that you can practice it anywhere. Try repeating a mantra while taking short breaths to relax your mind. You should also take a few minutes a day to practice mindfulness. Pay close attention to what you see, hear, taste, or smell, and you will feel yourself becoming more centered.



 

8 Wellness Activities to do This Summer

 

 

 

Give Yoga a try!

 

Yoga is a perfect way to sharpen your concentration and focus, create body awareness, and relieve stress. Yoga has been shown to increase levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, a chemical in the brain that helps regulate nerve activity. You could search for live online classes, join a presencial one or even follow youtube videos in order to learn and practice yoga from the comfort of your own home and without that much pressure to do it professionally.



 

Start gardening

 

Horticulture heals! Keeping our minds fresh, active, and occupied is pivotal for our well-being and provides a much needed respite from screens and technology. It’s amazing how stepping outside and tending to a garden can instantly reduce anxiety and lift your mood. The caring, cultivation, and nurturing of plants gives us a sense of responsibility to nature and a connection to other living things. Take a look at your garden and see what you could add to it, what needs healing and what could be improved. If you don't have a garden, start by buying some home plants and taking care of them.

 

 

Write a gratitude journal

 

“One of the best ways research has found to reduce anxiety and depression and improve your overall well-being is to write a gratitude journal,” Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C, therapist and director of the Baltimore Therapy Center, tells Woman’s Day. To experiment for yourself, write down a handful of things you’re grateful for from the day before bed. “These can be as broad as your kids, or friendship, or love, or as specific as the egg sandwich you had for breakfast or the wicked new phone case you just bought,” Bilek says. In time, you’ll hopefully start to feel your outlook shift toward the positive.



 

8 Wellness Activities to do This Summer

 

 

Give a room in the house (or a few) a makeover

 

There’s nothing like a clean, organized home to make everything else in life feel a little more streamlined. Take a little time each week to clean out a specific area - closets, pantries, dressers, or anywhere clutter tends to accumulate. Utilizing space and creating organization will help save time and money, reduce spoilage, and keep disorder to a minimum. An added bonus is that once you have organized these spaces in your house, you can donate extra clothing and other non-perishable items to charity.



 

Curate your Social Media profiles

 

As a summer challenge, you could delete social media apps from your phone in order to stay more present and worry/stress less about things that are happening miles away. However, it's true that social media can be a useful tool and sometimes it is very hard or even not possible to get completely rid of it. Instead of deactivating or deleting your accounts, you can make sure you are protecting your mental health by consuming only positive and uplifting content on social media. Follow only the accounts that add to your day and delete those who seem to take away from it or make you feel bad, take a look at who you follow and what you are consuming in order for those virtual spaces to be more “clean” and healthy.



 

Learn or try something new

 

Whether you’ve thought about taking an online course, learning a new language, or finishing a book that you’ve never had time to read, there are more resources than ever to make it happen at home. Look for something you would like to learn throughout the summer and take time daily to practice or research a little about it. Be patient and consistent and with time you will at least be a beginner in something you never even knew you could do or practice before.

 

 

 

References

30 Best Self-Care Ideas to Actually Heal Your Mind and Soul

10 Wellness Activities to Practice at Home

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