Re: Working Towards Wellness: April 2026
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A brief description of the self-care activities in the squares for this month's Be Well bingo card is below. Please note:β Some s
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A brief description of the self-care activities in the squares for this month's Be Well bingo card is below. Please note:β Some squares on the wellness card include more general activities or types of activities. The information included below serves as a guideline or example of how you might go about the activity described. There are other approaches to take. Looking forward to hearing what everyone does for the squares they mark off.β For some activities, reference may be made to another resource or third party, each and every one of which are, to my knowledge (without inquiry) independent of, and not affiliated with, nor endorsed by, me, Sephora, its parent company or affiliates, unless otherwise explicitly noted.β Safety first. If conditions are such that it is not safe to perform the activity in question, be it due to weather, the location, your physical, mental or emotional state, do not engage in the activity. Make any appropriate modification or skip the activity altogether. If there are limitations or conditions that may prevent you from safely undertaking the activity, consult with your health care professional first to determine whether it is appropriate to engage in the activity. β If an activity includes a time duration that you are not comfortable with or capable of doing, adjust accordingly. Start with what works for you, whether that's starting out at 5 minutes or 10, or otherwise. β Where a reference is made to a website and includes "(dot)" please replace the "(dot)" with a "." / period. ***** ROW 1: gratitudeGratitude is the heart's recognition of the goodness in our lives (big or small) on the days when we feel on top of the world as well as the ones when it feels like a struggle to just hit the snooze button. To practice gratitude is to be thankful for something or someone, to recognize the value of that thing, event or person in your life, and to acknowledge it - aloud, on paper, to them, or in your heart, or any combination of those ways. There's no one way to practice gratitude, but sometimes it helps to have some examples of a few ways to go about it. For some practical tips and ideas on how to practice gratitude, feel free to check out one of the following online articles, and, if you know of an approach to practicing gratitude that has been meaningful for you, please do share. "What is gratitude? 12 tips for how to start a gratitude practice" at Better Up - betterup(dot)com"20 Gratitude Exercises & Activities to Boost Wellbeing" at Positive Psychology - positivepsychology(dot)com 2026 self-care focus revisitedThink back, way back to ... January. One of the self-care activities for BIC wellness bingo was to identify at least one self-care area or activity you wanted to focus on for 2026 (See spoiler below for a full description of the activity). For the square this month, (1) decide whether you want to keep that self-care area / activity as your focus for 2026, or if life has changed in such a way that you'll be better served if you shift your focus for the year to another self-care area / activity, shift your focus; and then (2) depending on what you decide, do an activity within that original or modified self-care area or that particular self-care activity, as applicable. If, for any reason, you did not get a chance to pick a self-care area/activity in January to focus on for the year, here's a chance to give it a go. See spoiler below for a full description of the activity. Spoiler stretch (30 minutes)Go for a full body stretch or focus on one or more body parts. Set aside 30 minutes to stretch those muscles at once or break up your time throughout the day, fitting in what works for you when you can - whether it's 5 minutes during your morning or afternoon break, during your lunch period, by way of your yoga, pilates, barre or ballet class, or as part of the warm up or cool down before your cardio or weight training session. Tailor your stretching routine (the movements and the duration) for what your body needs and what you can carve out in your schedule. For example: If you sit in front of a computer all day, consider spending a good chunk of this time on your hands and wrists, along with your neck, shoulders and core. If you stand all day, maybe you want to focus some extra time on your legs and back. If you don't have 30 full minutes to spare (or if that's just a long time to devote to stretching), break it up for something that's more realistic for your schedule, your body, your lifestyle - maybe it's 3 10-minute sessions throughout the day. Maybe it's a series of 2 - 5-minutes stretches while you're on hold, on a video conference call (a great time to do some ankle stretches without anyone seeing what you're doing on screen). Or, maybe you start off the month trying to get in 10 minutes a day and work your way up to 30 over a longer stretch of time (pun completely intended). check in with a friend - focus: themThere's a lot going on in the world. Take some time to check in with someone you care about, be it a family member, close friend, coworker, or perhaps even an acquaintance. This can be as simple as a genuine and sincere "how are you?" to meeting up over coffee or going for a walk (bundle up if it's still a bit chilly out, and maybe grab a cup of coffee while you're at it!). It can be a conversation on the phone, FaceTime, over text, by e-mail, as well as face-to-face. You can start by sending a card or with an invite to catch up - over a meal, drinks, a shopping trip, a mani/pedi, a workout, etc. It can be about you as well (and if it is, there's that Check-In with a friend re: YOU box at Row 3, Column 3 that can be marked off), but be sure to make it meaningfully about them. free spaceAhhhh, the free space! This square is all yours for the taking. You can choose to undertake a self-care activity for this square if you wish to do so. Or, you can choose to do nothing at all. That, too, can be a form of self-care in and of itself. ROW 2: hydrateWhat's your water number? Are you all about 8-glasses or more a day? Or do you subscribe to the half your body weight philosophy? Or some other benchmark? Do you prefer filtered, still or sparkling water? Plain or infused with flavor? Warm or cold? With or without ice? Whatever your preferences, just do it! Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! digital detox (30 minutes)Unplug from your electronics for a minimum of 30 minutes. Let your unwinding time really be about unwinding. You can combine it with another self-care activity and check off multiple squares at once - e.g., like stretching (that's this square and the fourth square in Row 1). In previous wellness bingo challenges, the digital detox time has been before bed, but for this month, it can be anytime. Remember: If you are aiming to do a digital detox before bed and if reading on your Kindle, listening to music or a podcast on your phone or using an app like Headspace is part of your unwinding routine, please keep doing those activities - think of this square as more unplugging from phone activities related to social media, work, etc.If you're driving somewhere and need your GPS, please use your GPS. Perhaps find another time to do your digital detox. If 30 minutes seems too long, start off small, with a 10 or 15-minute detox and work your way up from there.If you want to or can unplug from your electronics for a longer period of time, go for it!! quiet time - journal - meditate - breatheSpending quality time with ourselves in solitude can be helpful to our well-being. No TikTok. No Instagram. No BIC. Spend some time in quietness, whether it be in the practice of being still or in meditation. Or, maybe you prefer to carve out some time in the day to journal (digitally or with pen-and paper). Or, take time out to focus on your breathing. Quiet Time - Set aside some time to just sit (or lie down) and be still. The first thing to do is to identify how much time you want to spend being quiet. Start out by easing into if you're doing this for the first time or if you're just short on time - 5 or 10 minutes. Journal - Write down your thoughts, in general, or in response to a prompt/question. If you're looking for a prompt to get you started, check out the online article from silkandsonder(dot)com titled "60 Fun Writing Prompts for When Your Journaling Practice Needs a Shake-Up" Breathe - There are a host of breathing exercises and techniques available online, including "10 Simple Breathing Exercises for Sleep and Relaxation" on the Oura Ring blog. If you do an internet search for "oura" and "10 simple breathing exercises" it should pull up an article titled "10 Simple Breathing Exercises for Sleep and Relaxation" - the post includes written instruction as well as illustration of the steps involved in the 10 different exercises described. own your awesomeThink of this activity as "speaking kindly to yourself" on steroids, but in an authentic-not-arrogant, humble-not-haughty, and empowering-not-egotistical sort of way. Hear me out. I'm going to assume (and I'm fairly certain it's an accurate assumption) that for many here, "speaking kindly to yourself" or even taking that up a level, "tooting your own horn" is not something that feels natural. I suspect there may be a teensy bit of cringe just thinking about doing it or making an effort to do it. But, for the sake of checking off this square, let's just try. Here's one way to go about it. [NOTE: You won't have to share any of this. Also, If doing all 4 subparts of Part 2 below feels like it would be too much or is too big a step right now, just pick one - (a), (b), (c) or (d).] 1. Choose your medium, be it a journal, the 'notes' feature on your phone, an e-mail, letter/card, post-it notes, or scraps of paper. If you choose one of the latter two, have some place to put the post-it notes or scraps of paper, whether it be affixed to the fridge with magnets, into a jar, on a corkboard with thumbtacks, or somewhere else. 2. At certain points this month (yes, the activity for this square doesn't have to be completed in one sitting - it can be, but doesn't have to be), write about the following in or on your medium of choice from Part 1, above: (a) Something you accomplished this month that you are proud of - it can be big, small, or anything in between. You could have accomplished it on your own or as part of a team. It can but doesn't have to be self-care related. It can be an obstacle you overcame or doing something outside of your comfort zone. It can be a milestone you achieved at work; with your side-hustle; as a mom, dad, child, aunt, etc. Heck, so long as you do all parts of this activity, it can even be "Doing this (tooting my own horn / owning my awesome) activity makes me so uncomfortable but I'm doing it anyway and I'm proud of myself for going through with it." I'm serious about this; I know this isn't going to be easy for some of us. (btw, I appreciate you just making an effort to do it; I really do.) - Examples include: "went to the gym 3x this week" or "helped a coworker meet their targets" or "received a promotion" or "kept to my low/no buy" or "didn't overreact when ...." or "went outside my comfort zone ..." (b) At least one character trait or personal attribute you possess that you are proud of. - For instance, being adaptable, resilient, calm, hard-working, forgiving, creative, open minded, funny, tactful, analytical, independent, ambitious, disciplined, optimistic, trustworthy, supportive, being authentic, true to yourself, etc. (c) One of your best skills/talents, personal or professional. - Some skills and talents might include: being sociable, hospitable, encouraging; making people feel at ease; being good at painting, photography, gardening, cooking, fixing things. Or programming, playing a musical instrument or being detail oriented. Having a strong memory or a great voice. (d) Your favorite physical feature of yours (bonus points if you include on your note/paper why you chose the feature you did). - i.e., my eyes; my smile; my hair because I pay good money to maintain it; my dimples; my scar because it tells a story; my uterus because it carried my babies; my abs because I worked hard for them; my skin, my cheekbones, etc. For those electing a journal as your medium of choice in Part 1 (e.g., the 'notes' feature on your phone, an email or letter/card), all four sections of Part 2 [subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d)] can be included on the same "page". For those using post-it notes or scraps of paper, use one post-it or scrap for each of Parts 2(a), 2(b), 2(c) and 2(d). 3. Once you've completed Parts 1 & 2:* If you used a journal or your phone to memorialize your responses, keep them stored / tagged, in case you ever want to go back to it - or if there's ever a time it wouldn't hurt to be reminded of how great you are. We all have those moments. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of our own value. * If you responded to these items in an email, letter or card, send them to yourself. Or, with the letter/card, place them somewhere readily accessible and where you will remember.* If you wrote down your responses on a post it note or a scrap of paper, put them up on the fridge, cork board, or in a jar, or somewhere accessible and where you'll remember where you placed them. 4. Check off this box. All done! NOTE: To those for whom this self care activity is a challenge, well, to everyone actually, zero expectation to post your responses. You can certainly do so if you want to, but zero pressure, obligation or expectation. I'm just going into this one with the hope that if you decide to give this square a go, that it gives you an opportunity to celebrate you. If doing all 4 subsections of part 2 seems like a lot, start with just one. Which one is completely up to you. tour your townSometimes our best adventures can be found in our own backyard. Be a tourist in your own town. You never know what hidden gems you may discover. Not sure how to go about it? Here are a few ideas to consider (remember your camera, and sunscreen and water if you'll be spending any time outdoors): Check out one of the popular tourist attractions that you've not otherwise visited Take a guided tour - of a particular neighborhood or with a focus on a particular type of food (e.g., donuts, ice cream, etc.), cuisine (e.g., Italian, Chinese, Mexican, or small bites, street food, etc.) or drink (e.g., coffee, craft beer, wine, smoothies, milkshakes, etc.). Or of things that your city/town is known for that you might not otherwise have known about. Create your own tour of certain spots - either based on a particular dish/food (e.g., deep dish pizza, dim sum, mole, buffalo wings, grits, burgers, burrito, froyo, bagels, margarita, etc.) or if a local magazine, online or print, publishes an annual list of "must try" dishes, work your way through that list Check out various neighborhoods in your city - one every 10 days, one a month, one every other month, etc. Some cities have street fairs during the year that may be worth checking out Explore local museums, historical sites, city parks or gardens (Description of activities for Rows 3, 4 & 5 continued below)
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