Summer Wellness–9 Ways to Make It a Regular Part of Your Life

Although I still hope to enjoy and share new adventures and experiences, I will be sharing more wellness ideas and suggestions in this post. Hopefully you will find my experiences and ideas beneficial and inspire you to continue to focus on improving and maintaining your personal wellness.

Summer is finally approaching!! Here are nine suggestions to help you focus on personal wellness this summer in an enjoyable way but without spending a fortune. You may notice a lot of overlapping within these ideas. That is fine and intentional! Make the most of your summer!

1) WALK. Go outside. Just walk. Walk alone, with a friend, with your dog. Just move your body. If you are limited on time, just walk around the neighborhood. Interested in a different view? Walk around the local park or nature preserve. Check out another nearby neighborhood. Is there an event you are interested in attending? Can you walk there? With so many community events in the summer, walking is a viable option in many situations. Any local festivals? Feel free to just walk around and observe. Who doesn’t love people watching? Seriously, who? Farmers’ markets will be popping up soon. Those are good places to walk as well. Do you want some “you” time? Put on a headset and listen to some music, an audiobook, or a podcast. Alternatively, just walk and pay attention to your body and your surroundings. Take it all in. One step at a time.

2) READ. Read what interests you. Read non-fiction to learn something new. Read fiction to be transported to a different place or time or to simply enjoy a good story. Pick up a magazine. Participate in a book club. Plant yourself outside on a park bench, beach, back patio, local library, or any other outside spot which is comfortable to you. (Remember your sunscreen and hat.) Does the weather suck? Find your comfy chair at home. Check out the local library—nowadays they have a lot of comfortable indoor reading areas. Visit a local coffee shop to sip and read. Go by yourself or go with a friend. It is perfectly acceptable for two people to be together but do their own thing. Perhaps read together but separately for a while and then discuss what you are reading (or discuss something completely unrelated.) Something as basic as reading can be very powerful.

3) SPEND TIME WITH OTHERS. Positive relationships have a huge impact on our overall health. You can try to make plans with family or friends; one person, a few, or several. If you all don’t have large free chunks of time, do something which does not require too much time. Go for that walk together. Get together for a quick cup of iced tea, iced coffee, or whatever other cold drink you find refreshing. (One of the beauties of a basic coffee shop IMHO is that there is no “formal” amount of time to spend there compared to ordering a meal at a restaurant. After a meal, there is more of the obligation to leave. At a coffee shop, you all leave when it works best for you.) Are you planning on going to a local event such as a concert? If so, let others know that you will be there, and perhaps they will join you. Nothing to lose! As referenced above, perhaps enjoy a book as a member of a book club. Try to enjoy a meal with your family. If doesn’t have to be a big, fancy meal, but chances are that you all want to eat. Despite busy schedules, make the effort to spend time with others. It’s worth it.

4) CHECK OUT THE FARMERS’ MARKETS. Personally, I am always inspired to prepare something healthy when I attend a farmer’s market. Try something new. Ask the farmers for suggestions on how to prepare the produce. Remember, any produce you get at a farmer’s market is in season, so it should be at its tastiest. Spend time walking around and enjoying the atmosphere. Enjoy going as alone time or enjoy going with a family member or friend. Relish the fresh air. Oftentimes, there is some other entertainment on site as well. Don’t limit yourself to just one market. Chances are there are multiple other ones taking place on different days and different times in places not too far away. Check out a variety. They may have different vendors, different entertainment, different atmospheres. The ones that take place in the evening often have a different feel than the ones in the morning. Walking around a farmer’s market just feels like summer. Personally, when I have the time in the summer and the weather cooperates, I will walk to my local farmer’s market, pick a few items, tote them back home, and then enjoy preparing the produce that night to enjoy with my family—so many benefits just connected to the market. Take advantage of this summer staple!

5) PREPARE MEALS AT HOME. We don’t have to go all fancy, but try using more simple ingredients and fewer heavily processed or prepared foods. Pasta, rice, quinoa, couscous, and other grains can be great bases that can be mixed with so many different foods and seasonings. Make large portions with the plan to have leftovers—prep once, eat twice!! (If you are good at weekly food prep, props to you. If that doesn’t work for you, simply make a double portion of a meal so that you can enjoy the home cooking more than once without the extra prep.) I believe that frozen fruits and vegetables are our friends! Use them! Take advantage of the farmer’s markets. You benefit from the fact that the food is in season and therefore, as you may remember from earlier, likely at its peak flavor. If you are good with a grill, slice, season, and grill your protein, vegetables, and even your fruit. You may be familiar with grilled apples or pineapple. If you haven’t tried them, stone fruits such as peaches, apricots, and plums are SO DELICIOUS when grilled. The sweetness becomes concentrated. Yum! (Warning: My husband and I did try grilled watermelon once. I don’t recommend it. It tasted like warm watermelon. Blech.) You don’t have to go crazy to enjoy some homemade or semi-homemade meals.

6) ENJOY MUSIC. I won’t go into detail here, but music can have significant positive effects on the brain and body. There are many ways to enjoy music in the summertime. Check out local concerts or even open mic nights. Many communities have summer concert series. Pack up a picnic, a bag of snacks, or just a nice beverage; grab your picnic blanket or chair; and enjoy. If no one is free to join you, don’t let that stop you from enjoying music and being part of a community. Several communities also have musical theater productions near the end of the summer. (I will be in another one this summer! Check out my previous posts from my experiences with “Footloose” and “Cinderella.” ) You can enjoy some wonderful performances with a lot of talent and still be able to find good parking! You can also just play some music on a portable device, put on a headset, and relax outside in the fresh air. Does your music get your body moving? Perhaps listening to your favorite tunes will be part of an after dinner stroll. If the weather is cooperative, consider enjoying your meal outdoors with music playing in the background. Don’t be afraid to join in a fire pit sing-a-long. Maybe this is the summer when you try to learn a new instrument, dust off an instrument you have had sitting around for a while, or have some fun with an instrument you currently play. If you play an instrument, find other musicians for a jam session just for fun. Make music part of your summer if it isn’t already part of your routine.

7) DRINK TEA. There are multiple benefits to tea, and it is a great beverage to enjoy all year. In the summer, a refreshing glass of iced tea can hit the spot! If you really cannot handle caffeine, try an herbal tea . Herbal tea is what is called an infusion or a tisane and does not actually contain leaves or buds of tea plants. (Granted, if you have issues with specific herbal tea ingredients, be careful.) If you have never made a cup of tea using loose tea leaves, I highly recommend you give it a try. It is really quite easy, and it really does taste a lot better than many types of tea in tea bags. Pour your tea over ice. Throw in some frozen fruit. Use it instead of water when making a smoothie. Mix your iced tea with some seltzer water for a little fizz. It’s just a fancier and fun way to enjoy staying hydrated in a healthy way.

8) GO OUTSIDE. Everything mentioned above can be enjoyed outdoor. Get some natural light. Give your eyes a break from screens. Breathe in some (hopefully) fresh air. (Please remember your sunscreen and insect repellent.) Enjoy some nature. If you live in a cold climate, don’t let the warmer weather pass you by. Take in your surroundings. Perhaps catch up with a neighbor or meet a neighbor for the first time. Just go out!

9) LEARN OR TRY SOMETHING NEW. Learning helps keep our brains active and sharp. It allows for the formation of new connections and new pathways. Try a new recipe. Learn a new skill. (I still love playing with my Rubik’s Cube!) Attempt a new outdoor activity. Play a backyard game you haven’t played before. Attend a guided nature hike. Read a book. Maybe you and someone else can teach each other something new. Have someone explain the rules at a local little league game. Check out the local historical societies or other museums. Attend a library program—there are often many available either on-line or in person. Enjoy the process of learning! (When no testing or grading is involved, I find learning much more fun!)

These are some of the ways I plan to work on my personal wellness over the summer. I hope that you think that these suggestions can be incorporated into your life.

Stay healthy, and have fun! Please share any thoughts or ideas!