Pause for a moment and reflect on your wellness journey. Has it been linear? Or dotted with bumps and detours along the way?
Congratulations, you’re human. You also powered through 2020, with your grace and spirit (mostly) intact.
Sticking to a wellness path isn’t always a walk in the park. Instead, it can be a series of peaks and valleys. We often ascend to a new summit of health and then find ourselves back down at the trailhead of wellness…where you can’t see the forest for the trees.
Uncovering new or ‘never tried’ sources of support can take you from bushwhacking through the woods to forging and maintaining your own wellness trail—with big picture clarity, confidence and compassion.
According to Einstein, doing the same routines and expecting different outcomes is a recipe for insanity. If you’re feeling stagnant or hitting a plateau with your wellness goals, try calling on your inner wisdom to help you out, and tune into other forms of wellness support.
Here are five support sources you may not have tapped into (yet).
Connect with a pet partner.
No need to convince anyone on the therapeutic benefits of pets (although they’ve done studies). If you’re looking to befriend a fur pal on a volunteer basis or be “rescued” by a pup, check with your local foster pet programs, animal shelters or SPCA. Nothing inspires wellness like being greeted by a smiling, elated pet at your door.
Create a grounding playlist.
Certain music genres have a mystical way of evoking ease and restoring well-being. Whether it’s an ambient, downtempo album or a meditative playlist, choose music that resonates with your highest self. Curate a playlist (or a few) to soothe your nerves when you need a minute or provide a calm undercurrent supporting wellness throughout the workday.
Establish new rituals.
Are your daily habits dragging you down? It’s okay if some of them are even “healthy” and explicitly designed for wellness. If you’ve done them a gazillion times (i.e. that same rotation of YouTube yoga videos or podcast on repeat), you may need to press refresh on your rituals.
This could be swapping your morning meditation with a bedtime practice, going out for fresh air at various intervals (and doing your regular walking loop in the opposite direction) or subscribing to a new yoga channel. Establishing new rituals (and sticking to them) helps us feel better mentally, emotionally and physically. Sometimes a change is as good as a rest.
Implement a winter meditation practice.
To create an insulated container of self-care and wellness this winter, you can start by being still. Each ‘sitting session’ will bring up new thoughts and emotions to observe and let dissolve. If you’re off and on with a meditation practice, try starting small (ex. 5-minute practice) and building up.
Perhaps this includes regular journaling, where you notice and record what doesn’t serve you (or steers you away from your wellness path). If you’re not an avid journaler, try writing a sentence or a string of words that distill where you’re at.
Practicing affirmations will also deepen trust in your wellness journey.
Mantra: I am well.
Repeat up to 3 times daily when you need a gentle reminder that wellness abounds within you.
Get a wellness mentor.
Connecting with a wellness mentor, coach or support system will help guide you in ways you may have never thought possible. Allow yourself to be open to support. Whether it’s through a referral – or our 1-1 live well services and wellness coaching – you’ll be happy you did. Most of us know what we need and want, but we also need accountability to successfully reach our wellness goals.
However you find support in these darker days, honour and listen to that little voice inside that whispers, “Yes! This feels aligned.”
Connecting to a new source of wellness support could change one thing or a bit of everything.
