Tips for clean, meaningful, mindful living
SELF-CARE is always in fashion, but these wellness trends for 2022 are all about mindfulness, manifestation and living clean.
Emotional escape rooms
Yoga and meditation are ancient arts and disciplines that originated more than 3 000 years ago. By practising them, you can reconnect with your body. Through meditation, you learn how to focus, think more clearly and become less reactive. As you gain awareness of the impact of your actions on your life, you are more likely to refine your choices. This means you do not act out of compulsion but out of choice. Having a quiet spot with a soft rug, floor pillows, a yoga mat and natural lighting is the perfect indoor escape. An alcohol free year
As a personal challenge, people choose to partake in “Dry January”, to abstain from alcohol for the month. In 2022, it is becoming more popular for people to extend the challenge until the end of the year. There are plenty of benefits, as outlined by Harvard Health Publishing: “Regular drinkers who abstained from alcohol for 30 days, slept better, had more energy, and lost weight, according to a study in BMJ Open. They also lowered their blood pressure and cholesterol levels and reduced cancer-related proteins in their blood.”
Luxurious baths
People are looking to transform the mundane activity of bathing into a luxurious escape to ease stress and treat themselves. Scented candles, bath bombs, lavender and salt tea bags, as well as face masks and spa music are all part of the vibe. Why not sink blissfully into a tub of warm water to soak away all your worries?
Tracking our stress levels
Using smart watches or oldfashioned journalling to lean into our mental mindsets to pick up on early signs of being overwhelmed or stressed is a significant self-care trend for the year. From being able to monitor calorie intake, sleep patterns, heart rate, and more, smart watches help us keep a closer eye on our physical health and, in turn, even our mental health. If you prefer to go for low-tech, journalling is also on the increase. Writing down positive affirmations, goals, what you are grateful for, and letting go of some of the more challenging parts of life by putting pen to paper can be cathartic. The Intermountain Healthcare website says journalling helps keep our brains in shape: “Not only does it boost memory and comprehension, but it also increases working memory capacity, which may reflect improved cognitive processing,” they said.
Mindfulness
The concept that your thoughts can influence your reality is known as “manifesting”. Lately this has received a lot of attention on Tiktok. Social media users, celebrities and everyone in between swear that this continuous process of creation can help people build their dream lives. According to Insider: “Manifestation is the idea that you can turn desires and beliefs into reality through a mixture of writing, praying or affirmations.” There is even research that suggests this form of positive thinking can lead to concrete results.