Image © Nick Keppol, © Moyan Brenn,© Kirinohana
Hope your 2016 is going well - more importantly, have you kept up with your resolutions? If you are lagging a bit, I'll admit I've been a little behind with mine, then perhaps these five wellness trends buzzing on the internet will inspire you once again.
1. Minimalism
Pinterest recently released a list of top health topics that are spiking for the new year. One leading topic on the list is minimalism. They say minimalist lifestyle pins have increased by 19% since December 2014, while pins about decluttering have grown by 35%.
It turns out much of this trend is inspired by the best-selling book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo. The book is all about transforming cluttered homes into spaces of serenity and inspiration. Marie Kondo is actually a highly sought after consultant in Japan for her services and I've been meaning to pick up her book as one of my new year's resolutions is to simplify my home and life!
2. Journaling
This one ties well with going minimal. It's about organization. According to Yahoo, Pinterest says pins for "Bullet Journals" have increased by 67%.
What are Bullet Journals? They are customizable journaling systems that use daily and monthly to-do lists structured in short, bulleted sentences. I like that these journals are old school and are about pen and paper.
3. Group Meditation
Meditation is no longer a solo activity. According to Melisse Gelula, co-founder of lifestyle magazine Well + Good:
"A lot of millennials are getting together in groups to do this as part of their social life...In New York, we recently had one for more than 800 people in an auditorium. And it's young people, which is really heartening; they have stress-management tools early on. But they're also seeing it as a cool part of their lifestyle."
I like that mediation is becoming more social and fun. I'm definitely thinking about trying group meditation with some of my friends.
4. Seaweed and Green Tea
These are two products I've been a huge fan of for a long time and I'm happy that more are recognizing their benefits. Health magazines are saying seaweed is the new kale, it's about to be the new "it" green in diets. According to Alexia Brue, co-founder of lifestyle magazine Well + Good:
"It's really high in protein. It has a lot of great B vitamins that are really hard to get."
Green tea will also have it's moment this year. Green tea has been on CBS News' trend-watcher's radar for some time now but it's finally going mainstream from coffee bars to baked goods. It's rich in antioxidants and comes in powder form which makes it easy to include in many things.
5. Athleisure
Athleisure are clothes designed for working out that can also be worn outside the gym - think yoga pants, tights, leggings that we see everyone running errands in or out to lunch in today. You probably know the big brands that have popularized athleisure like Lululemon, Nike, Athleta, Land's End, Old Navy, etc. Well this trend is only going to grow in 2016 as even more fashion brands expand into this market and as small, independents arise. This all just means more inspiration to get active and healthy which I'm definitely into.
6. (Bonus) Sunscreen Everyday
Wearing sunblock everyday is a trend I hope to see in 2016! It's the best way to protect against skin damage like premature aging and skin cancer. So beneficial and so easy to do.
You can find even more wellness ideas from Pinterest's 100 list for 2016. I hope I've helped kick-start you back into gear for the year.
