Working Towards Wellness: July 2025

[itsfi]

Hey BIC, let's kick off the latter half of the year with some wellness bingo! Whether you're just starting out wit focusing on your self-care or you're a seasoned pro at it; or, you're somewhere in between, with your good days, and your not-so-good ones, welcome! (See spoiler below ⤵️ "How To Play" for more details)

We're each on our own personal self-care journey, one that, if you're like me, varies - some days (weeks, months, years) are better than others. Wellness is a process - it's about progress, not perfection. It takes work. Much of that work falls on us individually, and our efforts towards self-care, as it should, but that effort is and can be helped, inspired, encouraged, and supported by others, be it friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances, or the members of  this Community. Wellness takes work - let's do the work together, BIC!

How To Play:

Spoiler

The short-and-sweet of it is to just jump right on in, by undertaking one or more of the activities described in a square. Once you've performed the activity, that square is yours - check it off however you like. Just remember, be safe and make adjustments, if and as applicable.

This game of wellness bingo is about YOU and YOUR WELLNESS. If you want to try for BINGO (5 squares in a row - across, down, diagonal), go for it. If you want to pick activities that are already part of your wellness activities or are ones you've been interested in trying, have at it. You can also choose to go about this by picking a row or column to focus each week, or for the entire month. Tailor your approach to meet your self-care needs and the time you have to give towards it in a particular day, week, or month. 

More information on "How To Play" can be found here ➡️ Ideas For How to Go About Wellness Bingo

Posting:

Spoiler

If you feel up to sharing about the self-care activities you undertook, please do, no matter the number of activities! We love hearing about what worked or what didn't work for you. And, we're always down for picking up some real life tips, tricks and techniques. To post, click "Reply" in the lower left hand corner of this original post and write away in the box that will appear. You can list the activities you performed, with or without your thoughts on the activity. You can if you choose, attach a copy of the wellness bingo card with the applicable squares marked off. 

Looking forward towards working towards another month of wellness with you, BIC!

[Samtian]

@itsfi Thank you! The challenge is 1600 oz drank in July basically. 

[danielledanielle]

Aw, I like how your fireworks came out @Samtian and I love what the model said to you

[Samtian]

@danielledanielle @itsfi Thank you both!

[itsfi]

💯 no, 1000% agree. On both counts! 

@Samtian @danielledanielle 

[CorgiMommy]

@itsfi thanks for the tag.  I love the childhood favorite.   Will definitely be doing that.  

[itsfi]

@CorgiMommy, it's always been a fun one - to do and to hear from others about. 

[CorgiMommy]

I can't wait to see what others do for that one @itsfi 

[itsfi]

Welcome to Wellness Bingo for June 2025! 

▶️  How To Play - There are several ways to go about this wellness challenge, including, but not limited to:

• Go for BINGO, 5 consecutive squares, whether they be 5 squares in a row, in a column or diagonal
• Pick a row or column and work your way through the activity noted - you can aim to do a square a day, moving on to another row or column each week.
• You can pick a different square you want to work on for each week
• Select activities that interest you or challenge you and work towards checking off those squares
• Choose at random what self-care activity you want to engage in for the day

For a more detailed description (and examples) of the self-care activities listed in the squares or examples of how you might go about those activities, check out the posts below.

If you're interested in seeing examples of previous month's bingo activities and how other BIC beauties have gone about it, here are links to a couple BIC BWell bingo games from previous months. Working Towards Wellness: June 2025 Wellness In Progress: May 2025 

[NOTE: doing a little rebranding, so you'll see "Wellness In Progress" as the working title for wellness bingo from past months. Same concept, different name. 🎬] 

⚠️  Make Adjustments As Needed - We are all at different stages of our wellness / self-care journey. While it can be good to challenge ourselves, sometimes, it's best to take make adjustments. I'm not at expert at this at all, and if there's an activity that is not something you are ready for, or one that you should not engage in, make the adjustments you need to, or just skip that square altogether.

• Be Safe. Consider weather conditions and your health and physical condition before engaging in any activities listed. For activities you're unsure of, especially the physial ones, before starting an activity, consult with your physician or health care professional before make any adjustments, if and as appropriate.

• Duration For Activities. As you will see, some activities include in parenthesis a time period. These are arbitrary and should be taken as a suggestion. If you are able to safely spend more time performing the activty, go for it. If it's better to start out with a shorter time period, do so. If you're starting out or are aware of certain conditions that may make it more challenging to engage in the activity listed, please discuss with your physician or health care provider before starting, and adjust accordingly.

Practicing wellness is a process, one that takes time and effort. Sometimes it's about finding what works for you, while other times, it's all about hitting your stride and maintaining your routine. We have our good days ... and our bad ones. Self-care can be a very personal effort - what works for one person may not work for someone else. And, that's okay. It doesn't hurt to have some support and encouragement along the way. Or just knowing that there are others working towards wellness.

[itsfi]

Below are brief descriptions (and occasionally, examples) of the self-care activities listed in the squares on the wellness bingo card. These can serve as a guide but are by no means the only way to go about doing the activities in the squares. References may be made to articles or self-carepractices from third parties, and are included as options for your self-care practice and wellness bingo. NOTE: Neither I, nor to my knowledge (without inquiry), Sephora, are affiliated with any of the third parties referenced.

FIRST ROW:

Work on Joy: Working on joy is a form of self-care and a way to look after and increase our well-being. It's about more than managing stress or negative feelings. It's about being deliberate in seeking out and cultivating positive experiences to nurture the spirit and bring happiness and content. If there are activities or practices that bring you joy, work on those things. If you're looking for something new, consider doing what Psychology Today refers to, in its article titled "Reclaiming Joy in a World That Feels Hopeless" as "starting your own tiny little joys practice" - 

Summer Stroll: Take a leisure walk outside (weather permitting). Bundle up and wear sunscreen, if and as necessary. 

Quiet Time - Meditate - Journal - Breathe: Spend some time in quietness, whether it be practicing being still, or meditation. Or, carving out some time in your day to journal (digitally or with pen-and-paper). Or, take time to focus on your breathing. 

There are a host of breathing exercises and techniques.  While doing some research for this month's wellness activity, I found an article 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.

Have a cool & refreshing drink: Make one or buy one, up to you. With or without alcohol. Be safe if your drink involves alcohol.

Financial Wellness Revisited: One of the squares in the April 2025 wellness card included a square for financial wellness - Wellness In Progress: April 2025. There were several ways to approach the activity. We're revisiting that self-care activity again. Check of this square by either (a) continuing the approach you took in April; (b) undertaking another approach to financial wellness; or (c) if you didn't get a chance to try that activity in the spring, try it now. Here's the description of the activity - 

SECOND ROW:

Brain Teasers: Crosswords, puzzles, sodoku, Rubik's cube, riddles, logic games, etc. Learning a foreign language, or learning a new skill (or refining an existing one). 

Childhood Favorite(s): Did you have a summertime activity or activities, meal or treat you loved as a child? Try it again as an adult. 

Digital Detox Before Bed (30 minutes) Unplug from your electronics for a minimum of 30 minutes before you go to bed. Let your unwinding time really be about unwinding. 

• 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, keep doing those activities - unplug from social media, work, etc.
• If 30 minutes seems too long, start off small, with a 10 or 15-minute detox and work your way up from there. 

Music-Therapy: Music can be a wonderful form of self-care - whether it's listening to a soothing, mellow tune or a catchy upbeat one. Or, singing along to the music, or dancing to it. Or all of the above. If there's a tune you're loving, let us know here and/or at the 🎶✨Song of the Day and Music Thread!✨🎶.

Meaningful Compliment Received: For many of us, speaking kindly to ourselves is easier said than done. So, we're going to take a different approach.

1. What is a meaningful compliment you received, something someone shared with you about you (or about something you did) that reaches beyond the surface?
2. Write it down - on a piece of paper, a post-it note, in your journal, on your phone. Somewhere you can easily access it.
3. Read it to yourself, aloud or silently. 
4. Be grateful for the compliment. For the person who spoke it.
5. Own the compliment.
6. Repeat steps 3, 4 & 5, at least once a week, every week this month. 

If you want to share, you are more than welcome to. You can also just check the box and keep the moments to yourself (that goes for all the activities, but this one especially).

THIRD ROW:

Routine - Keep, Break, or Reset: Routines can be great, but sometimes we need to either adjust them or break them, for our own wellbeing. Take a look at your routines. Which are worth keeping just as they are? Which do you need to break, either to add some newness in your daily schedule or to reinvigorate your love for something. Which of your routines needs a bit of an adjustment or reset? If you have a routine that you need to break from or reset, it doesn't have to be a complete break from your routine - little changes can have a big impact. It could be taking a different route to work, or going to another cafe to get your morning coffee. It could be adding a placeholder in your schedule to "do nothing" and then doing nothing when that time comes up. 

Engage in Creative Activities: Creative activities can be a meaningful form of self-care, providing an outlet for stress, promoting relaxation, and assisting in regulating emotional and mental well-being. Examples of creative activities, include, but are not limited to, drawing, painting, sculpting, writing, playing a musical instrument, singing, dancing, listening to music, writing in a journal, creating poetry, a short story, writing a letter to yourself, pottery, making a collage, knitting, crocheting, making jewelry, trying out a new recipe, baking, gardening, taking photos, etc.

Free Space: Do a self-care activity of your own choosing or do nothing at all.

Soak Up The Sun (Remember SPF + H2O): Get outdoors (if it's safe to do so). Remember to apply (and reapply, as necessary) sunscreen and stay hydrated.

Read - Audiobook - Podcast - TV / Movie: Read, listen to an audiobook or podcast, watch a TV show or movie. For leisure.

FOURTH ROW:

Hydrate: Get in your daily dose of water, whether that's eight (8) 8-oz glasses or half your body weight. If you're exerting a lot of energy or working under conditions where you need extra water, consider drinking some electrolyte water as well.

Social Wellness: Connect with others; spend quality time with others, whether it's a family outing; a weekend with friends, date night. Or, taking a cooking class, training with others for a run, taking group lessons, like pickleball, water aerobics, spinning, etc. 

Have a healthy meal: Whether you're cooking at home, going out, getting  take-out or having it delivered, or reheating leftovers, etc., sit down, slow down, and practice self-care by nourishing your body with a healthy meal. If you have a food pic or recipe to share, have at it here or check out the What's on your plate? thread.

Explore New-To-You Spot: Is there a cafe, restaurant, park, hiking trail, food truck, shop, etc., you haven't visited or tried? Use this opportunity to give it a go, and, who knows, you may find a new hot spot or a new fave.

Stretch (30 minutes) Go for a full body stretch or focus on one or more body parts. 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).

FIFTH ROW:

Practice Gratitude: What or who are the things or people you are grateful for? Some examples for practicing gratitude, include but are not limited to:

- Making an effort / carving out time in your day to be (more mindful) of the people, events and things in your life this week that you are thankful for
- Letting someone know in an email, text, in person, etc. that you are grateful/thankful for them or for something they did
- Writing in a journal about the people, things you appreciate

Seasonal Fruits & Veggies: Get in your fruits and veggies. Summer offers a plethora of delicious fruits and vegetables. Grill 'em. Add 'em to your oatmeal, salad, water, and/or smoothies. Or just eat them as they are.  If you have a farmers' market near you, grab a bag & head on over to see what's available. If not or that's not your thing, have a helping of fruits and veggies, seasonal or otherwise.

Wellness Motivators: What quote(s) motivate, inspire, uplift or encourage you?

Prioritize Sleep: Quality sleep - a well rested brain and body - can play a crucial role in our wellness, our wellbeing. It can be hard to make time for it with all the things we have on our plates, but every effort counts. A few ways to prioritize sleep include:

• Limiting your screen time or disconnecting from electronics as you unwind and  prepare for bed
• Creating a wind-down pre-sleep routine and work on keeping to it consistently
• Going to bed and wake up at the same time every day
• Avoiding a large meal, alcohol, and caffeine before bed

 

Spiritual Health & Wellness: We've been working through the wellness wheel / 8 dimensions of wellness. One of those focuses on spiritual wellness. There are are many ways to practice or increase our spiritual health and wellness, including ones noted by UC Davis Office of Wellness Education and the coaching and mental health platform, Better Up. 

Other resources on this area of welllness have noted the following wellness activities:

• Self-reflection
• Go into nature
• Self-cherish
• Sing
• Dance
• Play
• Be inspired
• Take yoga
• Play with children
• Meditate
• Pray
• Volunteer for a cause
• Foster self-forgiveness
• Watch sunsets