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If you feel like you've been covered with sand over the past few months and buried in a yellow pyramid of inactivity it's time to break out of the lethargy and start moving those limbs once again. Summer is the perfect time to get back into healthy habits. Start with small achievable goals and work towards big results. 

Vegan Diet 

Eating a healthy cruelty-free diet is undoubtedly the trendy thing to do these days, but preventing the needless death of countless living beings and supporting a vast industrial death machine aren't the only reasons to ditch the beef.  

A vegan diet is guaranteed to help you lose excess weight, prevent type 2 diabetes from developing, and guard against an assortment of risky cancers. On the whole, vegan foods are jam-packed with fiber, nutrients, and proteins, so like Aerosmith, your body won't miss a thing. 

Outdoor Exercise 

At some point there's no more excuses, the afternoon is beaming and you've been staring at your smartphone for far too long, it's time to remind your body what it's there for and get some exercise. Think running, cycling, yoga, swimming, or something more imaginative. Your body and brain will thank you. 

The summer is the perfect opportunity to pick up something new or to get back into that healthy habit of exercise that's gathering dust over the winter and spring. You get a solid four months of long days with pretty good weather, so why not make it a memorable year. 

Morning Yoga 

Do you feel tired in the mornings, unable to get out of bed for about an hour, or even at all? Morning Yoga can help. It not only gives you that excuse to get up and get moving, it also provides you with an extra energy boost for productivity, the best energy boost you'll find anywhere. 

That's not all morning yoga is good though. If you have a repetitive strain injury from working too many hours at the keyboard, or, with other work equipment, a regular morning yoga routine will show you how to prevent RSI and maintain healthy joints.

Meditation 

A garden takes a lot of maintenance and management, especially in the summer months when there is so much exponential growth. You need to till the soil, weed the paths, plant new seedlings, and paint the fence: surprise, surprise, it doesn't last for long. 

Your meditation practice is like this. Unless you stay on top of your sits in the morning and evening, missing as few as possible, the mind-weeds will start to grow again and remind you that you need to pay more attention. But a healthy habit can be as little as ten or fifteen minutes per day. I provide free guided meditations here on the free app, Insight Timer.

Forest Bathing

You might have heard of mindfulness by now, and you've definitely heard of nature walks – but what about "Forest Bathing?" The terminology might not be as common – here in the west at least – but the concept is much the same, with a few tweaks here and there. 

Forest Bathing originates in Japan where it was used as some kind of nature therapy for stressed-out inner-city workers. It involves walking in a lush green forest and absorbing nature's healing Chi. What do you know, it's summer now, and green Chi is everywhere. 

If you can't find any wonderful forests, get in the sea! I have personally conducted research that explores the numerous wellbeing effects of the sea!

Loads of summery love,

Jenna