The year 2020 has been such a tough one for everyone, so it’s really understandable if you ever felt a bit more stressed and mentally unbalanced this year. I totally can relate! But I want you to know that feeling not okay is okay. It’s absolutely normal. But hey, we are a few weeks away from a new year, which gives us all a chance to turn a new leaf and start again.
Of course, we can’t get back on track if we don’t start with looking after our own wellbeing. As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup! So before we conquer a whole new year ahead, time for a little self-check first and make sure you are taking care of yourself before anything else.
Need a little help in that department? Showering yourself with lots of care doesn’t have to be a difficult task. There are simple things you can change in your daily life that can make a big impact on your mental health and wellbeing in the long run. Want to know how we’ve been taking care of ourselves? Here are 5 simple lifestyle changes you can make to take better care of yourself in 2021.
1. Start a yoga practice.
You probably hear this advice thrown around a lot that it almost sounds like a cliché, but it’s because practicing yoga really promises great benefits that can improve your wellbeing in countless ways. Even science agrees — a daily yoga practice can immensely help with relieving stress, anxiety, and even depression. It can also help fight inflammation, improve heart health, and promote good breathing that are all beneficial to your overall health. And you don’t even have to spend a lot to start a yoga practice. There are countless free videos online that can provide guidance. And when you’re ready, there are also a ton of amazing local yoga instructors that offer affordable online yoga classes.
To start a yoga practice at home, it will be important to invest in good yoga equipment. Most importantly would be a yoga mat of course, but a yoga towel would be useful, too. Sure there are 500-peso yoga mats that you can get at your local sports store, but as someone who started with those, I can tell you that they’re super slippery and wear down fast. They also don’t provide good support for your knees and wrists (which you should protect at all costs!).
Made for Movement
Fortunately, there are a number of local yoga equipment shops online that can provide you the support and protection you need for your practice. My personal favorite would be Made for Movement, because of the amazing quality of their products. I’m so happy that I discovered them. I’ve been using their 6mm yoga mat that is so wonderfully thick, my poor sensitive knees no longer ache during my practice. I dare say Made for Movement is comparable to Manduka (international brand, a.k.a. the Apple of yoga mats), with its non-slip grip, the thickness, and overall support. But what makes Made for Movement better is that it’s half the price of expensive yoga mats, plus it’s locally made. And you know we #lovelocal. <3
Made for Movement yoga mats, towels, and more equipment are available here. They are also available at Urban Ashram Yoga.
www.madeformovement.ph
www.instagram.com/madeformovement
www.instagram.com/urbanashramyoga
2. Stay active and make sure you move everyday.
While yoga is an amazing way to keep the stress away, it’s understandable if you’re tried it and feel like it’s just not your cup of tea. That’s all right. We’re all built differently and therefore need different things as well. But the key thing is this — keep moving. Especially during this period when so many of us have been limited and spending majority of our time at home, it’s important to find ways to stay active. Movement will keep the blues away and keep your heart and body healthy.
If yoga isn’t your thing, try home workouts like cardio exercises and HIIT. Again, there are endless videos available online to help you get started on this. The past year, Chloe Ting’s workout videos blew up on the internet — and as someone who also tried her programs (I alternated it with yoga), I can tell you for sure that her programs work. And best of all, they’re free! There’s also Blogilates and PopSugar Fitness for more options, and THENX for men. You can find them all on YouTube.
Core Athletics PH
To make your workouts more efficient, you have to dress the part and act like you’re actually going to the gym to get into the proper headspace. I mean, that’s one aspect of it, but mostly because wearing proper workout clothes provide the support and comfort your body needs to perform the movements better and keep your practice injure-free. Core Athletics PH has been my go-to athleisure brand. This local brand offers good-quality activewear that is inclusive — their products are for everyone, no matter the age, size, and shape. As a self-proclaimed Core Athletics girl, I can attest that their products feel amazing when worn. They’re light and comfortable, while also feeling firm with that proper compression that supports your legs and joints. Plus, their designs are so classy and pretty! Love them, honestly.
You can get your own Core Athletics PH activewear here:
www.coreathleticsph.com
www.facebook.com/coreathleticsph
www.instagram.com/coreathleticsph
3. Equip your home with an air purifier.
Image: LIFAair
I never really understood the power of air purifiers until I actually owned one. Now I’m a convert and on a mission to convince everyone to give themselves the gift of clean air, too. First of all, it seems a lot of people confuse humidifiers and air purifiers. To be clear, humidifiers add moisture to the air via the mist they emit. This is useful if the air in your room gets too dry because of airconditioning. On the other hand, air purifiers purify or clean the air, as its name suggest. And these devices are more powerful than you think. Quality air purifiers can clear air in your home of harmful elements, pollutants, and particles that are so small we can’t even see them. And that includes respiratory droplets (that might carry sickness, like COVID-19), bacteria, and viruses. If we wear a mask to protect ourselves when we step out of our homes, it also just makes sense to have your home protected as well. After all, outside pollutants can still penetrate your home as well as indoor harmful elements like dust, mold residue, and more.
Image: LIFAair
LIFAair, a Finnish brand of purifiers, has really been a game changer for me. As someone who’s been dealing with allergic rhinitis, breathing has just been a struggle on days my allergies are triggered. One time at home I noticed that my chest and breathing got heavier — instantly I noticed my LIFAair purifier increase its fan power, so I went to check its wireless touch control monitor. The air status reader had turned red, with words that said “unsafe for sensitive individuals” — and I instantly thought, that’s amazing! An irritant probably had built up in the air that triggered my allergy, and which LIFAair incredibly detected, that’s why it automatically increased its power so it could work double to cleanse the air. But of course everyone would benefit from this, not just persons with allergies or asthma. After all, LIFAair air purifier is like an N95 for your home. It has a purifying power of up to PM2.5, which is the same standard as N95 masks.
To know more about LIFAair home air purifiers, car air purifiers, and their N95 standard respiratory masks, head to this article:Â What is an Air Purifier? Here’s Worth Investing on Air Purifiers for Your Home
Follow LIFAair through the links below, and join the LIFAair PH Viber group for any inquiries.
www.lifa-air.com
www.facebook.com/LIFAair.ph/
www.instagram.com/lifaair.ph
Viber: http://tiny.cc/LIFAair_PH-Viber
YouTube: LIFAair Philippines
4. Eat more natural, healthy, and organic foods.
You can’t want to improve your lifestyle and not look at your eating habits. After all, improving one’s wellbeing always starts from within. When we eat well, we feel well, and that good feeling spills towards all the other aspects of our lives. Eating healthier and more consciously is probably the most common advice you’ll hear when talking about lifestyle changes, and yet for most, it’s the most challenging. Many people think that healthy food is hard to make, because healthy, organic ingredients are much harder to find that preservative-filled commercial brands, which are so accessible. But that’s not true. You simply have to know where to find them.
weNOURISH.ph
Thankfully, getting access to healthy, all-natural, and organic finds have now been made much easier for Filipinos, no matter where in the country you are. We Nourish PH, established just this year, is an online one-stop-shop marketplace for all things healthy. You can get everything you’ll need here for your lifestyle change — beverages, healthy snacks, pantry essentials, sports nutrition items, supplements, and even chocolates! Personally, I’ve always leaned towards mindful eating. I’ve always been conscious about what I consume. The problem is, as someone who lives outside of Metro Manila, healthy goods are not as accessible to me. Which is why I was so happy when I found out about We Nourish PH, which delivers nationwide. I tried it right away! Within three days I got my order, which consisted of organic almond milk, raw cocoa powder, sunflower seeds, and adlai. It even came with a free sample of Health Aid Bifina, a popular probiotics supplement from Japan.
No excuse now! Check out the amazing finds at We Nourish PH through the links below:
www.wenourish.ph
www.instagram.com/wenourish.ph
www.facebook.com/wenourish.ph
5. No need to give up meat. Just go for chemical-free, preservative-free meats.
When you hear advice to “eat healthier,” don’t feel pressured and think you need to start avoiding meat. That’s not the case at all! You don’t need to suddenly give up your favorite, bacon. You only need to start eating more consciously and be more mindful of what you consume and put into your body. Why? Because we are surrounded by such unhealthy foods that, although might taste good, are actually really harmful to your body in the long run. For example, your go-to frozen packed meats in the supermarket? Most of those are full of chemicals for extra flavor, and preservatives to extend their shelf life.
Antwe Crafted Meats
I discovered Antwe Crafted Meats when they launched last year, and honestly, they have been a go-to meat brand since. Antwe Crafted Meats promises handcrafted, quality products that are chemical-free and preservative-free, making them an ideal brand for healthy conscious Pinoys that can’t seem to give up meat just yet (like myself). You have to try their line of Filipino-favorite meats. They have five types of longganisa including Vigan Longganisa, as well as Chicken Tocino and Angus Tapa (yum!). For sausage-lovers they have Frankfurter and Hugarian, and of course, don’t forget the crowd-favorite bacon! This year Antwe also started offering oriental favorites like siopao, dumplings, gyoza, and more. Love siopao? Go crazy and try their MEGA Siopao that’s 1-kilo heavy. Not kidding!
Order your Antwe Crafted Meats through the links below:
www.antwecraftedmeats.com
www.facebook.com/antwecraftedmeats
www.instagram.com/antwecraftedmeats
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Ready to take back control of your life and live better, healthier, and happier in 2021? Share your lifestyle goals for the new year with us in the comments!
