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If you've been following me for a while, you may have caught this post from last year, where I was all gung-ho about my 2017 plans and writing out my editorial calendar… and funny story, I actually intended to write about the wellness trends I wanted to try LAST year! HA! But as a lot of you know, I fell all out of whack last year and really struggled in my wellness journey until the last few months of the year.

So here I am, a year later, finally embracing my wellness journey publicly. I think it was hard for me to write about last year, because my wellness journey isn't complete. It's ever evolving and changing. I'm by no means an expert, but rather a student. I kept avoiding this post – or any post in this realm for that matter – because I felt completely insecure sharing about it since I'm still discovering it.

I heard this definition of wellness on the That's So Retrograde podcast recently and wholeheartedly agree with it, “wellness is whatever lends to one's alignment”

Butttt, since so many of you requested more wellness content, here is the start of it!

The Confused Millennial's Wellness Trends To Try In 2018:

I've tried out a few of these wellness trends the last couple of months, and others I'm planning on trying throughout the year. If you've tried any of these or have other suggestions, make sure to drop me a comment at the end of the post!

Ice rolling.

The Skinny Confidential totally inspired me with this! I’m kind of obsessed. I’ve always heard about ice facials, but honestly they were more hassle than I wanted to deal with. Maybe I was doing it wrong? But it just never felt easy. However, I loveee the idea of incorporating ice into my anti-aging routine since it has been said to have so many benefits. Like shrinking pores, tightening up and preventing wrinkles, reducing swelling, and reducing redness! Um, yes, yes, yes, and YASSS! I can’t get enough of it! Here’s a link to the exact ice roller I use.

Collagen.

Has been said to not only prevent but legit REVERSE the signs of aging and is supposed to be amazing for digestion and gut health! You have probably seen countless of your favorite influencers singing Vital Proteins praises from the roof tops all last year. The reason for it? Because it’s the leader in the collagen protein space (collagen protein powders are dubbed the cleanest and free of additives). While I haven’t tried Vital Proteins *yet*, I have started incorporating collagen into my daily routine by picking up a jar of collagen supplements from Trader Joe’s and add it to my Sun Warrior vegan protein blend each morning!

I also started wearing collagen eye masks (shop them here). While I like these (especially for their price tag), I am not totally in loveee with the ones I have so if you have other suggestions LMK in the comments!

Smudging.

Okay, smudging isn't a 2018 trend per se, but it's a trend I have gotten super into it and look forward to exploring more in 2018! First, what is smudging? It's the burning of herbs and plant resin for medicinal and/or spiritual use. Smudging helps cleanse negative energy, boosts healing, increases clarity, and generally purifies and protects our environment.

While I’ve smudged in the past, I never knew how often I should do it, if I was doing it “right,” or if it was all silliness. I knew that whenever I would sage my workspace I’d feel better, but it wasn’t until recently that I started smudging myself every day. Yup! I sage myself every day and I feel so much clearer. LMK if you guys want a post on what the process looks like in the comments! Shop smudging options here.

Edible essential oils.

We all already know that essential oils are a huge craze – love them or hate them, they aren’t going anywhere. Well people are taking it a step further and getting *food grade* essential oils to, you guessed it, EAT! Personally I LOVE this idea! Lavender Kombucha is already one of my favorite things to sip on and lavender lemonade, and lavender, well anything TBH – so I’m definitely excited about trying this trend! I still don’t know a lot about how this trend works, it seems like you just use your favorite oil to enhance your meals, like lemon, peppermint, etc. So if you've incorporated it in your life, LMK in the comments! Shop *food grade* essential oils here.

Crystals.

Also not a 2018 trend per se, but started getting more into them towards the end of last year and am excited to explore more in 2018. It all started with an episode from the Soul On Fire Podcast featuring Energy Muse, shop them here (and grab their book about crystals here). I have always gravitated towards crystals but never fully understood how to cleanse, charge, or use them until now! The benefits of crystals are endless and can be really specific to the crystal being used. Do you guys want a full post on how I use them?

Intermittent fasting.

The hubs started doing this last month after reading about all the benefits and hearing his coworkers rave. He SWEARS by it! Intermittent fasting has been steadily growing throughout last year as part of the ketogenic trend. And more and more research keeps singing it’s praises! Intermittent fasting has been linked to decreased inflammation, increased energy, focus, and mental clarity, and better blood sugar balance. To do it, you basically don’t eat anything for 15-16 hours. My husband does drink water and coffee during that time. It’s a chance for your gut to have a little time out, allowing the cells to properly rebuild and regenerate as old proteins and materials are cleared out. He has also been craving less sugar. Read more about intermittent fasting here.

Acupressure mat.

Another trend courtesy of TSC! I order my acupressure mat about two months ago and have to say I’m obsessed! It’s said that acupressure mats have TONS of benefits like: relieving muscle tension, inflammation, stress, headaches and pain throughout the body! Plus it’s also been said to alleviate fatigue, reduce digestive issues, energize the mind and body, help with sleep issues, increase circulation, and SO much more. Basically sounds like a miracle right? It’s so easy, all you do is sit on the mat. I try to sit on it for an hour a day on my lower half (think glutes and hamstrings) and then on my upper half (back and neck) while working. It’s really that easy!

It does feel like a bunch of little needles, so maybe start with a t-shirt and leggings and work your way up to thinner material and eventually bare skin (especially if you're standing directly on it because the feet have a ton of pressure points and it can be a little painful). It’s really an amazing tool for between my monthly massages and I can’t get enough. This is the acupressure mat I ordered and use, but honestly they all do the same thing so get whichever is cheapest here.

Air purifying plants.

Millennials and our plants! The trend experts have been talking about plants being a millennial thing for a while now, and honestly all the plants in my house were fake! I just can’t deal with taking care of one more thing if I’m honest… but fast forward to my crystal obsession and I needed a plant in order to cleanse the crystals!

You might be wondering “uhh, why?” right now, well it’s because when you get crystals, you are supposed to plant them in the earth (and we don’t have a yard) or a healthy house plant for 24 hours to start the cleansing process. So I went and bought my first ever plant! Since I plan on getting more crystals, I kind of want to keep this baby alive. It’s weird having a plant, but I’m excited to have some air purifying energy in the house and it’s kind of nice taking care of something that’s also helping me… but traditionally I have a black thumb so we will see how this goes!

DEEP post workout/day stretches.

I’ve been looking for deeper ways to get into my stretches. Everyone is raving about the yoga wheel which I totally want to try (if you have one drop me a comment with your thoughts!). Right now, I'm currently working on deep evening stretches for my posture with this $15 stretcher per the suggestion of my masseuse. I lay on it for at least 5 minutes a night to help reverse “computer shrug.” I hope that by the end of 2018 my posture if finally better!

The photo below is not an example using this properly. Normally you'll want your arms down (mine are up so you can see how it arches you), and you'll engage your shoulder blades so they are drawing down your back and tuck your chin. You should feel like you're standing super upright with a string on your chest that's pulling up to the sky almost. You can also shift yourself further up, so you're getting a stretch on different parts of your back. Think of it as a gentler back bend.

Self care staycations.

I think the first time I heard of this concept was loosely (and not in those words) from a friend a few years ago. She had put on a vacation responder to her business saying she was just hanging out at home enjoying her self-care and creative side for a few weeks and would return to work after. I was so inspired by it that it comes to mind as I keep hearing more and more people doing these “self care staycations.” Basically you can really set whatever rules you want, but you should set rules! Think along the lines of meditation, journaling, reiki, or being a tourist in your city. Basically getting off technology and back into the present in whatever way you feel called to!

Judgment detox.

Y'all know from my manifesting post how much I love Gabby Bernstein and I'm so excited for her new book, Judgment Detox which just arriving today! I'm really focusing on purifying not only my home and body this year, but also my mind and I can't think of a better way than the practices in her book. Grab your copy here.

The Confused Millennial’s Wellness Trends To Try In 2018