We're sharing seven tips you can incorporate into your daily routine to help maintain mental wellness

Looking after our mental wellbeing goes a long way to leading a fulfilled life, tuning into our minds and bodies, and supporting our physical health. But maintaining good mental wellness can be a challenge in the hustle and bustle of daily life and we are all susceptible to pushing it to one side if we aren’t consciously checking in with ourselves. Fortunately, there are several things we can do to maintain mental wellness as part of our daily routines.

1. Start the day right

Getting out of bed can be difficult, particularly during the darker winter mornings or if you’ve had a bad night’s sleep the night before. But getting up and making your bed is a great way to set your day off on the right foot. Having a tidy bedroom brings a wealth of benefits to our mental wellbeing, such as resetting focus, increasing productivity, reducing stress and improving our mood. Although it might only seem like a small accomplishment, making the bed is a little win that will likely see you completing another task, and another...

2. Avoid checking emails first thing

Since the pandemic, far more of us are working from home and, whilst this brings many benefits, it can be easy to fall into the trap of checking your workload before your day has even started. Anxiety can be heightened first thing in the morning with the unknown of what the day might bring, so ensuring you're up, washed, dressed, and ready for the day before logging on will prevent you from encountering a potential stressor before your working day begins.

3. Excercise

Exercising doesn't have to feel like a chore. Not only is it a great way to reap the benefits of the outdoors and being in nature, but it can also help you to clear your mind and recharge. Whatever time of day you decide to do it - on your morning commute, your lunch break, or after your working day is done - try and do around 30 minutes of exercise a day. Exercising releases feel-good hormones and helps you feel energised, so you can do more of the things you enjoy.

4. Take a lunch break

This tip might seem obvious, but with 56% of workers not taking their full lunch break, we thought it was worth a mention. As the way we work becomes more flexible, it can be easy to lose track of time and stay sitting at our desks. Even if it’s just for 15 minutes, try and stand up, move about and get some fresh air. Most importantly, make sure you’re fueling your body with the nutrients it needs to carry on with your day. It doesn't just have to be whilst you’re working either; ensuring you’re making time to take a break even on your days off is key to mental wellness.

5. Make a list

Whether it's for work or personal life, you can beat a good old ‘to-do’ list. Lists create order, relieve stress, and allow you to organise your time and set priorities - all of which contribute to maintaining good mental health as we’re able to break down our day into more manageable tasks. Just like making your bed in the morning, setting smaller, achievable goals will help you stay focused and see you achieve lots of little wins.

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Getting to Know Us

I do have a real name.
And a real family who also have names.
I just sometimes forget that we need to introduce ourselves.
It only takes a few people saying, “hey, oh sweet basil!” When we are out and about to remind me🤣
So hiiiiii! We love love love meeting you and what better chance than right here, right now!
So!

Cade is from all over but we claim #SouthCarolina since that was the last place he lived. He works as an administrator in #healthcare and loves the #gym, #sushi and #traveling with all of us.

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Crisp tortillas filled with tender bites of steak and plenty of melting cheese create this easy-as-can-be Steak Quesadilla.

Steak Quesadilla

My whole crew loves quesadillas so much, I tend to set aside a bit of whatever meat we are cooking for dinner, so we can make quesadillas the next day.

I made these with leftover buttered steak bites, just slice the cold steak bites as thin as possible and layer them into the quesadillas. (If you’re lucky enough to have mushrooms leftover, definitely add them too!)

Steak quesadillas are great made with Southwest steak bites, Cajun steak bites, and these Asian steak bites too.

Set aside some steak bites next time you make them. Then slice those leftover steak bites thin and pile the strips of beef onto the tortillas.

You only need a handful of ingredients to make these quesadillas:

• flour tortillas
• butter
• freshly shredded cheese Mozzarella, cheddar, Colby jack, Pepper jack all work well
• cooked steak sliced very thin and chopped bite-size
• sauteed bell peppers and onions OPTIONAL

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Teeth falling out your mouth and stumbling walks...what can our dreams tell us about ourselves? And how can we learn to interpret them?

Human’s have been searching for the meaning of dreams for a very, very long time. In fact, the Babylonian Dream Tablet offers a series of dream interpretations – including “If he carries beer in the street his heart will be glad. If he carries water in the street his sins will be forgiven” – and dates all the way back to about the 15th century B.C. Beyond that, dreams appear in everything from myths to religious texts, literature, art, and psychology, as for millennia people have tried to figure out what our nighttime creations were trying to tell us.

The latest science has some theories. In a 2021 study by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, results found that 53.5% of dreams were traced back to a memory, and nearly 50% of reports with a memory source were connected to multiple past experiences. What’s more, the study also found that 25.7% of dreams were related to specific impending events, and 37.4% of dreams about the future were also related to one or more memories of past experiences.

With that in mind, what can these dreams tell us about ourselves, and our wellbeing? Here are some clues…

A window to our minds

“I believe dreams offer us a little window into the mysteries of the psyche and subconscious mind,” says Rhian Kivits, a psychodynamic therapist and sex and relationship expert. “What’s normally unseen is able to be seen, in such a fascinating and vibrant way. I believe that when we remember our dreams, there may be something powerful to be learned from their signs and symbols through dream analysis. Perhaps a wise inner part of ourselves is speaking? If this is the case, it feels important to me to listen.”

Rhian points to how our dreams can help us to process things, something that tends to occur in REM sleep, where we have our most vivid dreams. During this time, the region of the brain responsible for functions including self-awareness, inhibition, and emotional control – known as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex – closes down. The result is a period of time where our emotions can be explored without boundaries.

“I believe dreams help us work through and organise information about past memories and present situations that we may not have the capacity to consciously or fully process in our busy, waking lives,” Rhian explains.

“Since they can be highly detailed, colourful, and packed with emotion, dreams can make an intense impression upon us. I’ve certainly noticed that I can relate aspects of my own dreams to dilemmas in my life in an extremely helpful way. Although science can’t confirm exactly why we dream or what our dreams mean, clients who share my belief that dreams have meaning find dream analysis supportive.”

Catch feelings

When it comes to dream interpretation, there’s no rule book that can tell you a definitive answer. Instead, Rhian suggests that you should consider the feeling of the dream, and what that might tell you about your current wellbeing.

“For example, if you feel happy and excited during the dream, then I believe it could be offering a positive message of hope and expectation,” she says. “If you feel desperate and sad, perhaps youȁ

Searching for spa cuisine recipes? These fresh recipes, loaded with colorful veggies and lean protein, are busting with flavor and nutrition to help you feel good and glowy sans an expensive trip to the spa. 

Hi friends! I hope you’re enjoying the week so far. Today is day 3 of the Dr. Cabral detox (use FITNESSISTA20 if you want to do this at your own time!), and I’m feeling amazing. It was just the little boost and reset I’ve been craving, and I’ve slept so well the past two nights.

For today’s post, I wanted to talk a bit about spa cuisine, since I’m focusing on extra flavorful and fresh eats the next week. Spa cuisine is typically made up of fresh, local, seasonal, or organic ingredients that are presented in a simple yet colorful way. They tend to focus on quality rather than quantity, and are not only nutrient-dense but are packed with flavors. You’ll often see lots of fresh produce, herbs, and citrus in spa meals. Today, I’m sharing a roundup of spa cuisine recipes that you can easily recreate anytime.

Many of these recipes are also gluten-free and dairy-free. 

10 Spa Cuisine Recipes

1. Winter Spa Salad with Lemon Chicken via Pinch of Yum

Winter Spa Salad with Lemon Chicken! Loaded with chickpeas, spinach, pomegranates, Cara Cara oranges, avocado, shallots, herbs, dressing, and lemon chicken.

2. Thai Cauliflower Rice Salad With Peanut Butter Sauce via The Awesome Green

An exotic and colorful combination, which replaces the rice with the nutrient-loaded cauliflower. The secret of this dish is a delicious ginger-peanut butter sauce.

3. Healthy Chicken Quinoa Beet Bowls with Herb Gremolata via Aberdeen’s Kitchen

Healthy chicken quinoa beet bowls with herb gremolata – Clean eating, healthy living, and a tasty recipe all in one bowl! Tons of protein, nutrients, and even some vitamin C to keep you going, topped with a fresh herb gremolata.

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