The dictionary defines wellness as “the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort,” which can be brought about by a seemingly infinite number of things. Wellness practices are unlimited in variety and are crucial to maintaining the quality of life we want to have. In all its forms, wellness is a means of self-preservation. When we fill our buckets, we make sure that we have enough to give back in other facets of our life. With so many types of wellness to meet so many different needs, it can sometimes be difficult to find just the right practice for each season of life.
Trends come and go within the wellness sphere – think jazzercise, sensory deprivation tanks, celery juice. Most of them come about for good reason; people discover something that works for them and they share it, eager to spread the news and help others feel just as great as they do. In the age of social media, that sharing is easier now than ever before. We have a world of resources at our fingertips, with so many to choose from that it can often be difficult to narrow it down to the one or two practices that will make the biggest impact in our own lives.
For one person, running is wellness. For another, it is a forced and inauthentic idea of health. There is no one size fits all prescription for well-being; each person has their own unique needs to meet. For some people, that looks like a bath or a massage, for others, it looks like gardening, crocheting, or reading, or a combination of things. Each of the many forms of wellness is designed to fulfill a need – social, emotional, creative, and more – because only when these needs are met can we live a truly enjoyable life. We are all born with the right to enjoy life, and with that comes the responsibility to figure out how.
Wellness provides a way to get back in touch with ourselves and care for ourselves when the world gets harsh. Sometimes however, things get so harsh that we load up on self-care as if trying to counteract the bad in the world with good. When things start to feel a little out of control, it can be tempting to load up on self-care practices until they, too, become a source of overwhelm.
Throughout the pandemic, I watched my morning routine grow from simply waking up, getting dressed, and having breakfast, to including a full workout, a shower, a journey through a 10-step skincare routine, writing in two different journals, meditating, and making special time for drinking coffee and gazing out the window, all before starting my actual day. If each task was performed in the optimal way I wanted to perform it, my morning routine easily stretched through my entire day and into my evening routine. If I abbreviated any of the elements of my routine, I felt like I’d failed, which completely negated the purpose of the wellness routine I’d so carefully crafted. Eventually, I realized my routine was causing more of the very stress it was designed to relieve.
Sometimes the best thing we can do for ourselves and our well-being is to simply pare back, and shift our focus to the quality of the practices we choose, rather than the quantity. We need to get back to the basics and distinguish between which practices help us feel better, and which practices work for someone else, but feel like excess in our own routines. Wellness isn’t meant to be a chore; self care shouldn’t be a job. These activities are meant to improve our quality of life, not drain our energy.
Is your wellness routine working for you? Maybe you need to create a routine, even if it’s just adding a few seconds of mindfulness while you brush your teeth. Maybe you need to discover new forms of wellness because your old habits don’t suit your lifestyle anymore. Or maybe you need to pare back and reassess what is really working and what just feels like work. Wherever you are in your wellness journey, The Workbench is here to help.
