Sarah Atkinson
Writer and expert5 years ago
At the start of a new year we all feel the same; sluggish from Christmas, reflective on the year that’s passed, and crossing our fingers that the year to come will be packed full of achievements and highlights. You’ve probably scribbled down a list of resolutions somewhere and chances are one of them is to get fit, go back to the gym, or be more active. It’s hard in the wake of festive indulgence to not fall prey to the toxic diet chat and new-year-new-me cliches floating around but try your best. Instead, think about whole-body health, from your brain to your toes. Your new year health kick should include your mind just as much as your abs, so kick off your new year with a refresh of mind, body and soul. To help you get started, here are our tips and suggestions for whole-body wellness in 2020.
Mind
Meditation
Make 2020 the year you actually start meditating. You’ve heard about all the benefits, so we think it’s finally time to give it a go. Apps like Calm, Headspace and Aura offer short and easy guided meditations on almost any topic or situation you could think of, as well as beginners courses to help you get to grips with turning off. Just a short meditation is supposed to work wonders for your wellness, helping to control anxiety, lengthen your attention span and even help fight off old-age memory loss.
Our favourite mindfulness app is Aura. Giving you a free 3-minute meditation each day, an easy-to-use and analyse mood tracker, access to a bank of white noise tracks to help you sleep and space to write gratitude lists, this app is a mindfulness haven. Having a one-stop-shop complete with everything you could want or need will help make building a new healthy habit far easier, you can even set your set notifications to remind yourself to meditation, breathe and drink more water.
Yoga
You might think this suggestion should belong in the body category, but that’s exactly where you’re going wrong. A lot of us have been avoiding yoga for a while, put off by the fear of not being flexible enough to master a simple warrior pose, let alone the flow that the instructor seems to do with no effort at all. But that’s not the point. Yoga isn’t about how deep into a stretch you can go, but about listening to your body, reconnecting and doing what feels right, all about mental wellness over physical gains. It doesn’t have to be strenuous or sweat-inducing, instead, you can see yoga as a form of meditation, helping your body feel relaxed as well as your mind. If you struggle to turn off during a classic sit-down meditation, yoga is a great option as it keeps your mind focused while still promoting de-stressing and relaxing. If you can change your view of yoga from exercise to a task for your mental wellness, it suddenly becomes a great act of self-care.And the best thing? There are a million and one types of yoga for you to try and thousands of incredible studios up and down the country to visit. From goat yoga to hot yoga, there’s a strand for everyone, giving you enough options to find a style that feels the best for you and your brain.
We especially love Chroma Yoga, a studio in London that’s combining light therapy with yoga. Using scientific-research, Chroma yoga uses different colour lights to help undo the damage of the blue light we are fed by our phones and laptops all day, a light frequency that is stress-inducing and sleep reducing. Their classes mix light, sound and scent with gentle yoga flows to promote a happy, refreshed mind. They look so beautiful, we’re obsessed.Alternative, get into the habit at home with the hundreds of yoga channels on youtube. A favourite of ours is Yoga Dose. His videos are easy to follow and don’t overdo it on all the namastes and affirmations if that kind of spiritual wellness isn't really your thing. Youtube videos are a great way to start and many channels offer 30-day beginners challenges to get you suitably hooked.
Body
One of the best ways to avoid the toxic culture of new years fitness is to inject some fun into the whole thing. Unlike your boring old spin case, unconventional fitness classic stop exercise feeling like a chore, helping draw your attention away from the calorie counter and towards how exercise makes you feel. More and more people are getting bored of the dull, stuffy gym so fun exercise classes are popping up all over the place. Here are some of our favourites…Blok
Blok is a new generation gym offering a huge range of different classes working out your imagination as well as your body. Taking classic exercise forms like boxing and pilates and infusing them with a bit of competitive energy, fun and expertise, their classes are taught by amazing leaders that know how to keep you engaged. You’ll feel like you’ve had a good workout by the end, but you’ll skip on the boredom that comes from the treadmill. Try out Blok Beat for a high-intensity cardio workout that feels as fun as a night out. With locations in Manchester and London, you’ll have never seen such a pretty gym that's so committed to your whole-body wellness.
Rabble
Ever wish you could just get outside and play some rounders? Us too. Though we hated it at the time, P.E really was the peak of fun fitness which is why Rabble are using social games to re imagine fitness by taking it right back to basics. From classic British bulldog to capture the flag, Rabble groups across the country come together for a high-intensity cardio workout via your old favourite playground games. The game disguises the HIIT workout so you can focus on fun, not what you look like, taking you back to the childish joy of a good run about. They’re also great social occasions as the friendly competition creates community, eases stress and breaks down barriers. We’ll see you on the field.Good Gym
On the boundary between body and soul is Good Gym and we’re in love with their ethos. Good Gym combine personal fitness with community, mixing exercise with helping the elderly and partaking in local projects. Run and change a light bulb for an elderly person, get your squats in while lifting bags of compost at a community allotment, sprint over to a food bank to help sort cans. Incentivise your exercise with goodwill rather than calories or weight loss, helping out on one-off ‘mission runs’ to do tasks for people who can no longer do them independently or join in on a group run to help the community. Good Gym groups are active around the country so you can give back to your local people while looking after yourself as well.
Soul
Our health has extended far beyond blood pressure and bones into whole-body wellness, inclusive of our mental health and spiritual satisfaction. In recent years, our interest in soul health and spirituality has been on the rise as we all hunt out ways to feel connected to ourselves and the world around us. Beyond personal tasks like journalling, meditation and mindfulness that we know do us good, a big part of making our soul feel good is giving back and feeling fulfilled.Volunteer
For too many of us volunteering ends when we leave secondary school, but we can all sacrifice a little time to give back and you’d be surprised how much you’ll gain in return. Do-It is an online database of volunteering opportunities, making it super easy to find something to suit your schedule and match up with a cause you’re passionate about. There’s even an option to volunteer from the comfort of your own home, offering up your skills like editing, CV reviewing and more. With everything from volunteering at a kids club to helping at a charity shop to baking cakes for a tea party for lonely elderly people, giving away some of your free time will help you gain some soul health. One hour a week less scrolling can do a world of good.
Gratitude Lists
Rather than constantly thinking about what you don’t have or what you want in 2020, dedicate some time to thinking about what you have. One of the best things you can do for your wellness is simply to relax, de-stress and create a sense of contentment which is exactly what writing gratitude lists aims to do. Reconnecting you with your own life and reminding you of the good, committing to a couple of minutes a week to think of the positives is definitely a good habit to get into in the new year.EXPLORE SPORTS ON THE HUT
Written by Lucy Harbron
Sarah Atkinson
Writer and expert
