PEAK’s 2022 Self-Care and Wellness Roundup

Developing self-care practices can help you to weather the personal and professional hurdles you need to clear. As PEAK prepares to wrap up this year (and rev up for the next), we thought this was a prime opportunity to build our growing library of articles on self-care and wellness that will fortify you as an individual and philanthropy as a whole. We asked PEAK staff members and partners to share their practices, and we hope they will inspire you in cultivating or deepening your own.

Center yourself

My favorite wellness tip is deep breathing. You can do it anywhere at any time. Regular deep breathing can relieve stress, boost your immune system, and increase your energy. Deep breathing helps me keep my mouth shut long enough in a heated moment to avoid saying something I will regret later. Wow! Don’t we all want more of these benefits during the holidays and all year long? If you own a smart watch, look for the free mindfulness app. With a tap of your finger and one minute, you can clear your mind for the task ahead. There are many mindfulness apps available for smartphones, tablets, and laptops. My personal favorite is Calm, but there are many others. You can even find Headspace on Netflix. Choose and access a mindfulness app that fits your budget, needs, and lifestyle. Or just start deep breathing. It works, and it’s free.
Mia Roberts, Freshpower

Create the intentional practice of grace and space for others and more importantly for ourselves. The holiday season can be a time when we lean into overused strengths or old habits that let the ghosts of narratives past get louder and limit our joy.  A tool can be to check in with the narratives or assumptions from a place of do I think that, feel that, know that it is true? Over all, I encourage true grace and space for ourselves to be and feel without judgment or justification as it is truly an opportunity to notice, heal, and be.
Jackie Hanselmann Sergi, Radical Spark Coaching

When I’m feeling stretched and fragmented, I think about this acronym for BUSY: But, U (You) Said YES! It helps me to remember that I have more agency than I often realize when it comes to setting and keeping boundaries that honor my needs. It allows me to feel more empowered to respond to requests with a full-bodied yes or with a clear, but polite no. My intention for 2023 is to lean into my truth, not my capacity. I will carve out time over the break to think about how I want to align my energy, time, and priorities to move in that direction as I head into the new year.
Marissa Lifshen Steinberger, One Eleven Leadership

Breathe! The average person takes about 20 breaths per minute. The recommended rate of respiration is roughly 6 breaths per minute. Our hyperactive breathing habits are partly to blame for our all-time high levels of anxiety, stress, heart disease and many other mental and physical challenges. For example, when we make our exhales longer than our inhales, we stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms the body down. When we make our inhales longer than our exhales, we stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, which brings energy into the body.
Daniel Weinzveg, Weinzveg Consulting

Focus on simple pleasures

Music moves me through the triumphs and trials of life and work, powering my workouts and those barely one-minute micro moments between meetings. I keep music flowing in the background (even during virtual presentations) moving between classic jazz, 80s rock, R&B, 1st wave, rap, and classical. Steaming will never beat vinyl, but I love that both Spotify and Pandora subscriptions allows me to create collections of a single song. Recently, I did a mix of The Beatles song “Blackbird,” which includes this wonderful original and covers by artists from Nina Simone, to Carly Simon, to Zac Brown Band. I recently added sound baths featuring the deeply moving sound of crystal bowls to my downloads. It’s music to my ears and soul. There’s a soundtrack for every life. I encourage you all to find yours and put it in heavy rotation. I am always available for a virtual (or actual) dance party!
Satonya Fair, President and CEO, PEAK

My wellness practice depends on what I’m feeling. It’s important for me to first recognize how I’m feeling and then decide if I want to sit with these feelings or not. If I’m anxious, I declutter my workspace, exercise, or practice breath work to slow down my mind. If I’m annoyed, I listen to a favorite playlist to help level myself. If I’m sad, I flip through a collection of my favorite photos and videos on my phone so I can smile and laugh.
Caitlin McDanels, Marketing and Experience Manager, PEAK

My favorite go-to self-care practice is super basic: I love to take a piping hot bubble bath while watching a fun show on my phone. For a couple years now, I’ve enjoyed Hot Ones, where celebrities answer in-depth and interesting interview questions while also eating outrageously hot chicken wings. Plus, episodes are only about 20 minutes so I can squeeze in a quick bath and show when I’m feeling stressed. I’m a true believer that self-care only works if it really sparks joy, whatever that means for you!
Sara Sanders, Membership and Community Engagement Director, PEAK

I like to dive into puzzles, which require my full attention and let my mind calm itself. The intense focus of finding the right piece for the right place in a jigsaw puzzle or deciphering the clues in a New York Times Sunday crossword are soothing remedies. Sudoku, Wordle, and Globle are other favorites.
Carolyn Sosnowski, Senior Operations Manager, PEAK

Connect with nature

“Go touch some grass” is a snarky saying that I take quite literally to instantly de-stress. If I’m out on a hike or just lounging or playing fetch with my dog in my yard, I just take off my shoes and put my bare feet on the ground or just sit and touch the ground with my bare hands. It is a wonderful way to feel calm, present, and connected to the earth. There’s also some science behind it: studies show that electrical charges from the earth can have positive effects on your body. So next time you are having a bad day or feeling stressed, go touch some grass!
Nichia McFarlane, Member Outreach Coordinator, PEAK

Even though it’s cold outside, deeply breathing outdoor air and finding a big sky helps to ground me. I try to make it outdoors rain or shine.  When walking or paddling, I try to pick something to notice in the trees or the sky like the birds or the leaves or the squirrels. It’s a meditation that allows me to catch the rhythm around me.
Davis Parchment, Partnerships Director, PEAK

Transforming a sunny corner of our yard into a bird and pollinator garden has created a place of joy and wonder year round. Watching the bees and butterflies dancing among the flowers and the birds feasting on seeds and berries is an invitation to pause, observe, appreciate, and reflect.
Betsy Reid, Senior Communications Director, PEAK

Image: Let Equality Bloom by Brooke Fisher for Amplifier.org