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Spring has Sprung, Spring into Wellness

 

We are now coming out of the colder months where many of us face challenges such as isolation, seasonal affective disorder, holiday overload, lethargy, etc and into the warmer times! Hooray! Spring is a time for rejuvenation, growth, longer days, greener surroundings, outdoor activities, and so much more. We might be doing some spring cleaning, planting gardens, planning summer activities, or maybe even just staring out the window daydreaming a little more fondly than the last few months of staring at snow. In the spirit of rebirth and spring, I wanted to offer one wellness tip that we can work on in spring for each of the seven areas of wellness!

 

Social- plan a picnic in the park, a spring social sort of deal. Make it a potluck with your friends and simply enjoy some munchies and being able to soak in some sunshine for a vitamin D boost and to strengthen your connections with your peers.

 

Intellectual- Learn your surroundings. Maybe download an app or buy a guide, but even in an urban environment you can learn about your local biodiversity. Maybe do some birdwatching and learn to identify your local avian friends. Maybe try to identify some trees or flowers in your yard or a local park. If you’re feeling a little ore bold, try to identify some wild edibles or medicinals and start your own little apothecary!

 

Environmental- organize a “Green Up” day. Even if it’s just you, try to clean up a patch of earth near you. It’s doing something better for your community and the earth. At home, rearrange your furniture to something new and do a little spring cleaning. Make sure your environment is ready for and conducive to your spring growth!

 

Occupational- Think growth. What are your plans for your profession, and what would you like to see? Make a vision board to illustrate your projected growth, and then a reasonable timeline on when you’d like to see milestones accomplished by. What steps will it take to put you on track to see the growth you are craving?
 

Spiritual- Go for a mindfulness walk at least weekly. Not goose-stepping hoofing it through the streets, but a leisurely stroll. Find things to appreciate. Smell a flower, notice the sky, smile as the warm breeze caresses your face, listen to the wind in the trees and the calls of birds, and appreciate that you are able to take this moment and that you are a part of the larger beautiful world around you.

 

Physical- Gardening is good movement but isn’t “exercise.” I’m not going to sit here and preach exercise as I usually do because you should get it by now. Exercise is planned, consistent, and progressive. However, I want to encourage you to think of ways to increase your physicality, and gardening is great. Not only is it manual work, it also increases your wellness by providing good food, intrinsic satisfaction, increasing your immune system, and makes your surroundings (which is part of physical wellness too- what is PHYSICALLY around you) a more pleasant place to be. And don’t tell me you don’t have a yard. If you have a window you can have a garden. I had 37 potted plants in my first apartment!

 

Emotional- Spring clean your head. Seriously, have an emotional enema. Melt the ice that is freezing you, things that you are carrying around in your mind, and put them into a journal. GET. IT. OUT.  It seriously helps to just get them down on paper, even if you never read through them again. It helps to organize thoughts and not just let them keep rattling around and bouncing off the walls inside your head like they own the place. They don’t, and don’t let them live rent free. Start journaling daily. What I do is I write the date, then one key word at the top that describes how I’m feeling today, and only one page daily about my current experience. It NEVER fails to make me feel better. And I always like to end my journaling with an affirmation or some positivity for myself.

 

So there you have it. Nothing preachy, nothing insanely complicated. Just seven ideas on how you can grow with the buds and the flowers around you, and help to provide a little more spring sunshine into your own existence. Be well!