Do you use the New Year as an annual health seminar with yourself? In the past, I would host my own personal white board session, creating resolutions and brainstorming all the ways I wanted to better myself in the coming year. These included exercising daily, losing weight, dining out less, reading more high-brow literature, analyzing business trade publications weekly and drinking less soda. I loved the idea of a new and improved me, but seldom made it past week two. According to Forbes, only 8% of people actually achieve their New Year’s resolutions. I clearly was in the 92%. So now, after ten-plus years of living clean, embracing a plant-based diet, power-walking and using green products, I’ve comprised a list of 24 simple wellness tips to jump start your 2024 New Year and beyond.
24 Wellness Tips for Attainable New Year’s Resolutions
35 Fit, Fun and Mostly Free Activities for Kids
Growing up in the 80’s, it wasn’t hard to be active. Because social media didn’t exist and phones didn’t have call waiting, if I wanted to see my friends, I ran around the neighborhood to find them. If I couldn’t wait to share a big girly secret, I would walk miles to tell my gal pals or show up at their camp activities.
Today, kids of all ages (and I’m speaking of myself, too) often use technology as their main tool to socialize and communicate. As a result, we don’t have as many opportunities to be active as we once did. While I do enjoy the conveniences and pizzazz of our multi-media lives, I want to be sure to instill a love of activities filled with personal interaction for my son. In an effort to practice what I preach, here is a list of activities to keep a kid (and his mother) fit while having fun. We’ve updated this list from a few years ago, knowing that with COVID-19 restrictions, many families are still looking for interactive activities to enjoy together.
28 Ways and Days of Self-Love
Back when I was a kid, I was HUGE fan of the pastel, sweet conversation heart candies. Not only did I devour the wintergreen tasting, chalky sugar in my teeth, the messages always made me smile. While those little bites packed me with too much sugar, they also filled me with self-love. Through my own research and journey within wellness, I’ve learned that positivity goes a long way. Our minds can be a big tool for resiliency and help with our own stress reduction. While it takes time to turn around habits, including learning to self-love, at Pretty Wellness we’re here to encourage you to take baby steps toward better health and happiness. While I won’t be eating any candy hearts to celebrate Valentine’s Day, I’m excited to celebrate by sharing 28 self-care and self-love ideas so we can all treat ourselves a little better.
Five Signs You’ve Graduated from Being a Yoga Newbie
Yoga can be incredibly intimidating when you’re new. As a beginner, I wore dark layered clothing because I felt self-conscious wishing I was thinner. Wanting to go unnoticed, I feared that everyone would see my stiff body. Within weeks, I bought my own gear. Using it correctly seemed easy, until my underwear flew out of my hot yoga towel. I quickly learned the importance of using fabric softener with these clingy items. So I initially separated myself from the room thinking I wasn’t as good as everyone else. What I soon realized is that it’s not easy to catch on right away. Yoga is more of a practice focused on personal intentions, rather than a class to conquer. No one was looking at me; they were all looking within themselves.
25 Tips for a Healthy Mind & Body
I used to be that person who started her diet or training “tomorrow.” But in recent years, the power of Nike’s famous slogan, “Just Do It” has resonated. An over-thinker to the core, I learned to stop analyzing and just put one foot in front of the other toward a small healthy goal. I remember days with only few hours of sleep, rushing to drop the baby at daycare then off to hours worth of boardroom meetings. My mind was so active with the stress of getting through the day, I always thought I was too busy to take care of myself.
The Best Little League Coaches Instill Healthy Life Lessons
Healthy living is important to me, not just as a cancer survivor and thriving professional, but as a hands-on parent hoping to instill valuable habits for life. So when my son turned four, he joined the ranks of hopeful baseball greats and played his first season of Tee-Ball. Our family has always appreciated the sport, both my husband and I were raised by fathers that whipped out the old fashion scoring book while listening to the games on the radio. While I’m glad we started him young, it wasn’t until this season that we felt the passion of America’s favorite pastime with our child. And boy did we see fireworks. Beyond the sport itself, this season of coach pitch baseball was filled with healthy life lessons. So to all the committed, nurturing, skilled and leadership driven Little League coaches like ours this year – I say thanks.