Nourish your body and soul daily

23 February 2023

Welcome to my first edition of Wellness wanderlust!

Over the coming months I will be sharing all things Wellness and Travel hoping to inspire you to indulge and nourish in self-care, guilt-free! We are all thinking of travel with longer brighter days here and I’m excited to share some Wellness spaces globally and Hotel destinations and retreats that are listening to their guests needs and helping with that all important switch off. More than ever people are seeking greater ‘connectivity’ from Wellness services and Hotel destinations. There’s lots of exciting and deeply nourishing Wellness offerings services and spaces globally that allow us to do just that. More of that soon.

Today, I share some common Wellness issues from my experience of working in the Corporate World and delivering and managing onsite Wellness programmes to busy Offices around Dublin. I offer some simple solutions that are easily implemented. We all have the ability to manage and improve our well being for the mind and body. With Spring here (in Ireland) it’s a great time to start moving more with longer days arriving and as we feel the Yang energy increasing in our bodies.

Enjoy,

Yasmina

Some wellness tips that will help keep you feeling recharged

Here at the Wellness circle we believe self-care should be deeply nourishing, fun and an integral part of our lives, where we celebrate ‘not being busy’.

We understand how stress can play havoc to the body if left unchecked. We love to keep the mind and body balanced with those happy dopamine and calming serotonin hormones that dance around our bodies, bringing the feeling of ease and joy.

Yasmina, owner of the Wellness circle loves to swim and aims to sea swim daily towards the summer, usually early morning before anything else gets in the way!

Water is my element and brings me great joy, energy and a sense of awe each time I’m close to it. It takes me on great adventures around the world and has led me to meet some great fellow adventurers and formed life-long friendships. I get to discover the most beautiful seas and marine life diving.

Aegean Sea, Greece

Finding something you love to do is key to fully immersing yourself in wellness. It will make the practise more fulfilling and ensuring it forms part of your weekly routine. If you travel, it’s great to have a routine, self care practise that can be easily carried out away, e.g. yoga, running, hiking etc. We understand the value self-care offers daily in helping to keep our cups full, helping to build resilience and importantly keeping us feeling well, strong and inspired.

However Yasmina has witnessed burn out too often in staff when leading Wellness Programmes around Dublin. She has heard repeated stories of having to work very long hours and eating at the desk and not being able to ‘switch off’ at weekends and feeling sleep deprived.

The irony is often when we really need to make that time for ourselves, when life gets extra busy, we don’t and there are usually subtle signs of burn-out that we ignore and illness usually follows if not addressed.

Having worked in Corporate fast paced environments for over 15 years Yasmina too witnessed first hand how sometimes doing your best to keep healthy and active was not enough. If there is a unhealthy culture in the workplace for example, where well being is not prioritised for staff, it’s very hard to get that balance right from the outset. Often your health can suffer as a result.

Yasmina decided to break away from such a setting one day after repeatedly sitting in traffic to get to work and most days struggling to find parking for up to 30 minutes. It was a hefty ticket fine that same day, that made her realise something had to give as she began to feel work was controlling her life. It was the realisation it was the work environment culture that was preventing a more balanced lifestyle.

Today she loves to work with CEO’s and managers who prioritise staff well being and Hotels that want to make a difference for their guest on their Wellness journey.

Connemara

Here are some common feedback self care issues Yasmina heard from clients when delivering her Onsite Wellness Programmes, with some easy to implement solutions;

❌ I don’t have any spare time. I’m SO busy.

💡 There is always time, sometimes you just have to look for it.

Find those little openings of time, make them happen, e.g. walk at lunch/ to work, when children are doing sports, do something yourself :) We are great multi-taskers. Ask for help to free up time.
Schedule it and give it the same importance. This is a game changer for the mindset when self-care is given equal importance.
If you are in a position to do so, an Onsite Well being Programme for staff is a great way asking for a tailored programme for your staff needs.

❌ I have no energy to do anything after work

💡Try with small goals and build them up over time as your energy increases. Write and plan it out, importantly schedule it.

Start by asking ➡ Why is my energy so low?

Where are the aches coming from in the body and what can I do to help alleviate the pain? We have become quite desensitised to signals from our nervous system and feeling off- balance. Listen carefully, tune in, our bodies tell us so much.
Sometimes simply lying on a mat with gently stretches is all you need to help ease tension and create space for the head. Be extra kind to yourself. Treat yourself to a bath to help regulate hormones. Use uplifting scents, lemon and orange in the home with essentials oils. Listen to music that lifts your soul. Remember there is always help out there.
Nourish with good food daily (often a fast meal can be a culprit to energy crashes), drink lots of water. Keep a refill water bottle beside you. Take vitamins and depending on age give your body what it needs.
Meet a friend, nothing is more energising than good company, feel those good endorphin hormones in the body that helps regulate stress and keep it at bay. We all need hugs and support.
Importantly prioritise sleep, understand your sleep pattern. It’s amazing how good you feel after a good nights rest and all the much needed repair work happens when we sleep. As a nation we don’t get enough sleep. Great sleep aids- Lavendar spray on pillow helps soothe the nervous system relax, soothing music. Make your room Tech-free. Are you getting enough sunlight to help regulate sleep?
Practise gratitude- It may sound whoo-whoo but Yasmina practices daily and believe it helps focus on the good and small things in life. Everyone has their own method, it can be as simple as ending your day thinking of three things you are grateful for, be prepared for many more though!

❌ I don’t get a break in between treatments and I’m seeing too many clients, I feel tired alot.

💡 This is common issue among therapists. For Spa’s, it can lead to not so positive feed-back. Yasmina’s solution was to ensure therapists had regular breaks and did a maximum number of treatments per day so that they would be ready to give their best for their clients. Make sure Spa/ Wellness staff too are enjoying treatments.

❌ I really dread going to the Gym

💡 So why not try something you do enjoy doing. The self-talk is as important and feeling the love for the activity to help with motivation. Remind yourself how you will feel after doing a self-care activity you love. This always gets me out the door.

eg. I love dancing and I’m looking forward to dancing and seeing friends this evening and I know I will feel great afterwards :)

❌ I can’t afford classes or a health programme

💡Try activities that are free, bring a friend with you for motivation. Nature is a great therapy for the mind and body, filling your lungs with pure air, re- oxygenating your cells, simply taking in the beauty around you and sounds helps to ground the body.

Join a local club in your area. Hiking, going for a picnic after a walk, a hobby that leads to self-care, art, photography and with a little healthy reward at the end to end on a high. There’s a pattern here…self- care then reward, small stepping stones to help form life long healthy habits. Build up a community of support that will help you on your well-being journey. Get excited about self-care and importantly enjoy it.

Thank you for reading.

About:

Yasmina offers 1-1 Consultations for Luxury Hotels to help curate the Wellness journey for guests.

Email: [email protected]

Find out more here: https://thewellnesscircle.ie/services/wellness-services/

Follow us on Instagram for visual lovers: https://www.instagram.com/yasminaswellnesscircle/

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