Working Towards Wellness: June 2025

[itsfi]

Self-Care Month kicks off on June 24, right on the heels of the summer solstice (June 20), but we don't have to wait until then to kickstart (or kick up) our wellness efforts. Whether you already have a solid self-care routine you engage in consistently, or you're dipping your toes into self-care for the first time, or you're stuck in a rut & looking for a refresh on your way to wellness, welcome!! 😀 

What Is This About?: 

Simply put, it's about focusing on our personal wellness, in a fun way à la the bingo card, with a few adjustments to the  traditional bingo rules. 

How To Play/Participate:

Work towards completing the activities on the bingo card during the month, taking into account where you are personally on your wellness journey & what will serve you best as you care for yourself. You may want to complete several of the activities in one week, or none at all. The next week may include checking off one square or taking the free space. You may find an activity to be something you want to hone in on and work on little by little, for a week or the whole month.

Do what you can when you can as you can. Make adjustments as needed. Remember, we're all in different places and spaces - physically, mentally, environmentally. Please tailor the activities to meet those places and spaces, including doing things incrementally, starting out slowly, bit by bit, and building up gradually from there, if and as needed.   

• For additional ideas on how to participate, have a look at BWell Bingo - How To Participate

• For more details (and examples) of the activities described in each square, check out: June 2025 Wellness Activities Described

We love hearing about how everyone goes about these monthly wellness bingo activities. If you're up for it, feel free (but not obligated) to share what activity / activities you've undertaken, what has worked for you - it can be once a month, once every other week, every 7-10 days, etc. It can include photos, or be as quick and easy as hitting "Reply" at the bottom left to this original post, sharing your activities, and then clicking "Post".

[danielledanielle]

June was a wellness win, we exercised, did a fun staycation, I did prioritize sleep (like twice), there's tunes and spiffy SPF

[itsfi]

Wow, that's some marvelous work towards self-care @danielledanielle! And a few bingo's, to boot! How many staycations during the year do you find to be ideal? Or think would be good to work towards? I always envision doing more of them than I actually get around to. They make a great way to get in some R&R. 

[danielledanielle]

@itsfi Agreed on the R&R.  We need more breaks in this current life.

As many as one is comfortable to do! I think for less traveled holidays (think Presidents Day, Juneteenth, Veterans Day, Indigenous Peoples Day) this will be something for me to consider.  I think I'd do it quarterly, but I'm not budgeted for that at the moment , so for now, just once/twice a year.

[CorgiMommy]

WTG!  @danielledanielle 

[itsfi]

Hey there everyone! We have a new wellness bingo card for July. If you're interested, check out Working Towards Wellness: July 2025 - looking forward to another month of working towards wellness with everyone!

Spoiler

Tagging a few folks who gave a heart to or posted on this thread / who may be interested in July's wellness bingo card - Working Towards Wellness: July 2025 :

@ather @AmandaWestt @PrettyPaint @Lilypad07 @Rags2Riches25 @BrittBeany @Alpha1Mama @DaveShow @Suzanne713 @blackkitty2014 @caitbird @danielledanielle @byme4u @Mellmars1185 @curlychiquita @CorgiMommy 

In the meantime, if you have June self-care activities you'd like to share, continue to do so on this thread.

[curlychiquita]

Thanks, @itsfi! I’m looking forward to participating more in July! 

[PrettyPaint]

Thanks for the tag @itsfi 

[itsfi]

Last check-in for working towards wellness this June, which includes a mix of newness and some oldies but goodies. The last few wellness activities are marked with a bottle of sunscreen 😉 in the upper right hand corner. Speaking of sunscreen, if you have a favorite (or favorites), consider swinging by the National SPF Day ☀️ to share your go-to's!

🎶  Music - Listen, Sing (and/or) Dance: I don't have a set summertime playlist (though it's on my "to do" list) but have been enjoying some summer tunes, in general, and in connection with the Summer Cheek Challenge 2025: A Song & A Slay and the 🎶✨Song of the Day and Music Thread!✨🎶 . 

🌊  Exercise Outdoors (30 Minutes): There were a couple of days spent outdoors, one swimming/playing in the pool and one walking along the beach. With the dynamic duo of sunscreen and water, of course! 

🏖  Free Space: Spent some time by the pool.

💗  Pay It Forward: ✔️ What a feeling to add a little goodness, a little kindness to someone's day! 

🥗  Have a healthy meal: While I enjoy eating out, I also like to cook. Made Alaskan Salmon with a Blueberry Compote. This plate was made with the very last bits of the compote so all the blueberry pieces had already been served. I don't always follow recipes to a T, but the general approach for this dish - "Wild Alaskan King Salmon with Blueberry Sauce" - can be found at the Savor The Best website - savorthebest(dot)com - they serve the dish over quinoa. I went with a bed of mixed baby lettuces, lightly dressed with homemade lemon vinaigrette - olive oil, champagne vinegar, shallots, and lemons (mix of Eureka and Meyer lemons). 

😎  New-to-You OR Tried-and-True: I tried one of those floating pods / sensory deprivation tanks when I was on vacay. Wasn't completely sure about it, did my research, went in with an open mind, and was pleasantly surprised with how beneficial the experience was for me. 

🌺  Digital Detox Before Bed (30 Minutes): This practice has been good for my quality of sleep and just overall well-being. I haven't yet come up with a set routine for the summer but it's been fine - I've been enjoying the practice of unplugging without a routine, doing what I need that particular evening, whether it's a cup of chamomile tea or reading or quiet time or stretching. 

Alaskan salmon with blueberry compote over a bed of mixed greens

A day in and out of the pool - swimming, playing games, exploring (with sunscreen, of course!)

[CorgiMommy]

You had me at salmon and blueberries @itsfi 

[itsfi]

@CorgiMommy, it's a good combo.

[ather]

@itsfi  Great job!!! That Alaskan salmon looks amazing! A beach day and a pool day!!! Jealous!

[itsfi]

Thanks so much @ather. I went through a fish phase with cooking at home before vacay and kept up with that on vacation, the fish part not the cooking. 😝 

[ather]

@itsfi  I love that you took a break on cooking for vacation!!! That’s awesome! 

[itsfi]

@ather, I was definitely spoiled. Especially at breakfast while on vacay - all the fresh pineapple I could eat. 😋

[ather]

@itsfi  Omg!!!!! We are two peas in a pod! When I was in Mexico in the winter I literally ate my weight in fresh pineapple!!! 🍍 the best!! 

[itsfi]

Wellness bingo activities from last week (thru the 19th?), marked with a pineapple (🍍) in the bottom right corner of each square.

🍍  Practice Gratitude: It's been really good to be able to get away and have time to reset. I'm not quite sure I'm ready to head back. #grateful

☀️  Get Outdoors (Remember SPF & H2O): Definitely remembered the sunscreen and water whenever we were out and about. It's a good 20+ degrees warmer and a lot more humid here than back home. 

👟  Summer Stroll: Yes, but in the mornings or later in the evenings when the weather is a little cooler here.

🏖  Eat/Drink Outside: They ran out of fruit for acai bowls the first time I tried to get one. I made sure to get to the cafe before the lunch crowd the next day and added a sparkling yuzu drink. The plan was to enjoy the treats while working on some "to do"s, but I ended up just taking in the sights and sounds of the ocean.

📵  Limit Screen Time: I spent very little time online while here, not even bothering to open my laptop for the first few days 🙌 and limiting my screen time when I am on my phone or computer. 

🍹  Have a Cool & Refreshing Drink: Dinner the first night - the restaurant's version of an Old Fashioned. 🥃

🌺  Quiet Time - Meditate - Journal - Breathe: I started off every morning with some quiet time on the lanai, at the pool, or on the beach. Something about being away makes quiet time that much more restorative. 🙏 The time difference has worked to my advantage in the mornings as I've just naturally gotten up early, and not many people are up and about at that time of day.

Cool & Refreshing Drink

Eat / Drink Outdoors

Get outdoors

[itsfi]

@byme4u, nicely done! Those are some fantastic wellness activities. 🙌

Love your perspective on being in traffic and being grateful for your car with AC. Now you have me curious - what new trends have you been learning about when it comes to sustainable energy during times of peak usage?

[jaaayp]

Mid-ish month update:

I'm still struggling a bit with prioritizing sleep but i was able to knock out the "easy" items:

• Practice gratitude - I've been kind of complaining about how busy i am lately, whether it's about the endless weeds i'm pulling or attending to tenants or the constant DIYs i'm doing on my 1956 home and fixing minor things like overflowing toilet tanks or having 9 meetings a day or going to my second job. However, I started journaling and writing all of these "complaints" down and started changing my mindset
  1. Weeds, DIYs, and minor fixing - I am thankful that I have a home to complain about when there are many out there who would kill to be pulling weeds in their own home
  2. 9 meetings a day - I am thankful that these 9 meetings keep me employed and funds my needs for #1.
  3. Tenants - I really do have wonderful tenants. The fact that they have needs taken care of, I am just thankful to be a landlord and someone wants to rent from me and pay me rent on time, every month.
  4. Second job - is this mandatory? no. it's really just fun money. I'm actually really grateful to have found this job when i did because they really pulled through for me whether it be accommodating my schedule or letting me borrow their tools to fix things around my house. I really shouldn't be complaining about this. the negative nancy just gets me sometimes.
• Tried and true - I've been really consistent with my pilates/yoga practice this month. I've been trying to go every week this month and it's happening!! fingers crossed! I actually really love pilates and yoga. I found it difficult to make it to class times but I promised myself that if I can't make it to class, I'll do it at home and I kept that promise to myself twice this month.

Hope everyone else is doing wellness this month!

[itsfi]

@jaaayp, nice to get in that weekly yoga/pilates, whether at home or in a studio/gym. 👍 Good pivot on perspective - journaling is a great way to express thoughts and feelings and that, in and of itself, can be really beneficial. Congrats on your bingo's!