We are beyond happy that wellness tourism has really taken off in recent years. We have been extolling the benefits of looking after yourself on a vacation for a long time now and it does seem as though the industry – and society in general – is now picking up on this way of holidaying.
Basing your vacation on concentrating on improving your quality of life and taking time to care for yourself can be a hugely rewarding experience and set you up for when you return home. It can even start you off on a whole new lifestyle – placing wellness at the core of everything you do.
Relaxing and looking after yourself is an intensely personal experience, of course, and should be completely suited to your individual needs and desires. Checking out sports betting in Texas or hitting the beaches in California might be what eases your mind. But if you need some tips on how to enjoy a wellness break, here are seven activities to explore until you find out what really works for you.
Spa Days
This is what many people immediately think of when it comes to wellness. These kinds of wellness breaks are all about looking after yourself – and what better way than being pampered while forgetting about everything going on in the outside world? Spa treatments don’t have to be expensive either, so it doesn’t have to be a prohibitive experience.
There is a whole range of massages and other treatments to choose from when you visit a spa. But you can just enjoy a spa location without even spending the extra money on personal care. Lounge in the pool or enjoy an invigorating sauna and feel those worries disappearing away.
Yoga
This is another iconic well-being experience. The combination of relaxing, zoning out, and toning your body can be a winner for a lot of people and booking specialist yoga sessions can really be the start of something. Once you feel the tension leaving your body, you will want to continue yoga sessions long after you return home.
Expert yoga instructors will be able to identify what kind of activity is best for you but whichever way you go, the calming, yet stimulating, experience will certainly help. Not only will you become more flexible and healthy, but you should also find a sense of inner calm that can be leaned on whenever you need it most.
Enjoying Wildlife
If the thought of exercise – even the more relaxing style of yoga – fills you with dread, then there are plenty of wellness activities that come with much less, well, activity. Just getting out into nature has been proven to relax and spending some time wildlife spotting can be hugely rewarding.
You don’t have to be on some kind of wildlife safari either. We would always recommend making a proper break of it with your wellness activities, but taking in local bird populations – and the melodic chorus they produce – can be just as relaxing. There are also specialist wildlife wellness retreats available.
Stargazing
Even if you live in a busy city, there is something calming about staring out into space. Taking in the stars may not be as simple in urban areas because of the pollution in the air but there is still the possibility to turn off the noise of the streets below and lose yourself in space.
But this kind of experience is heightened if you seek out a more remote or coastal location. There are places all over the country – and around the world – designated dark skies status now and they offer a stargazing experience without the interruption of man-made light. It doesn’t get more contemplative than that!
Painting
Being creative is also able to boost feelings of well-being and wellness breaks. You may feel as though there is not enough creativity in your life because of work and family pressures. So, taking time out to find some peace and quiet to draw and paint will really bring you down to Earth.
You could begin by taking in the galleries and museums of your location to get you in the mood and inspire your own creations. But the most important thing to remember is that the quality of the finished product is not important. The process of painting and being creative is the idea here.
Foraging
This is one activity that might not immediately be considered as a wellness break experience. But taking time out to walk through nature and forage for berries, herbs, and other food types can be hugely rewarding. Being able to find the ingredients for your evening meal without having to face the stores is a relaxing thought on its own!
We should say that if you have never foraged before it is very important to enlist the help of a guide or other knowledgeable foragers. There are a lot of things that can cause you harm out there. But once you do get the hang of foraging, you may find that you never want to buy processed food again.
Figure 2 Foraging can be relaxing and hugely rewarding
Feeling the Sand Between Your Toes
We think we have covered a wide range of wellness activities in this guide. You can spend money on priceless spa treatments or you can forage for your own food. Whatever manages to calm and relax you is worth it, in our opinion. But one of the simplest wellness experiences can be just slipping off your shoes and socks and walking on the sand.
There is something instantly calming about feeling sand between your toes and the only thing stopping that from happening is your location. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a beach holiday. Just find some local scenery and take time to find a way to relax. That’s all wellness is – but it can be incredibly rewarding.