Grace in Wellness: Sometimes You’re Handed a Gift

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Sometimes you’re handed a gift.

I have a friend who’s a realtor and hence works in an environment that can go from zero to 60 in an instant. She’s really good at her job and has tremendous intuition and insight when it comes to helping her clients navigate the stressful decision-making process.

She reminds them that even though it can feel like making a decision under duress, “sometimes you’re handed a gift.”

I’ve come to value and appreciate that perspective.

Recently, a little gift landed in my email inbox. Reading it, I couldn’t help but feel like it was written for our Grace in the Race community. It embodies all 6 of our Pillars: Wellness, Growth, Home, Family, Productivity and Awareness.

And, in case that’s not prudent enough, the article is centered on wellness (the pillar we focus on for January and February).

Rather than simply suggesting it in our Smart Reads this week, we decided it was worth highlighting because a recurring undertone in the piece is grace.

The article, written by Sarah Yang for The/Thirty, offers 44 popular wellness trends for 2021 – predicted by the experts.

The very first item on the list took me by surprise. It invited me to view wellness through a much broader lens. And at that, I was hooked.

I devoured all 44 morsels and put my proverbial fork down feeling nourished and inspired (just as the article promised).

We hope you have a similar response and that this piece will help you reframe your approach to wellness for the new year.

Here is the link to all 44 trends with a nod to six notable gems that really exemplify Grace in Wellness and resonate with our 6 Pillars:

These Are the Grace in Wellness Trends We’ll Be Talking About in 2021

Grace in Awareness

1. MORE INCLUSIVITY IN ALL FORMS

“We are in a global moment of change. Many people, for the first time, are realizing that life is valuable and quite precious. I believe that the wellness industry has started to listen to the call to action saying wellness is for everyone, not only a select few. The industry is taking steps to be more inclusive with regard to representations of race, gender, body shape, size, and ability. My hope is that it will continue to shift to a focus centering on the individual and what it means for that person to be ‘well,’ taking into consideration socio-political variables as well as their individual needs and cultural foodways and what is available and accessible to them.” — Maya Feller, MS, RD, CDN, of Brooklyn-based Maya Feller Nutrition

Grace in Home

3. HEALTH FROM HOME

“I think 2021 will be a year of nurturing ourselves deeply. Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, I am seeing people becoming more and more aware of their health and what they are able to do at home to support their own wellness. This means deeper self-care, more intuitive wellness, fitness from home, more homemade products (everything from meals to teas to beauty products), and creating spaces in the home that support healing and happiness.” — Serena Poon, CN, CHC, CHN, chef, nutritionist, Reiki master, and founder of the Culinary Alchemy program

Grace in Productivity

17. SHORTER ONLINE CLASSES

“We’re getting a lot of feedback that it’s difficult to do one-hour classes online. Shorter, snackable classes are more accessible for people’s schedules and online attention spans.” — Jones

Grace in Family

19. FAMILY FITNESS

“We’re seeing a lot of people practicing with their parents, kids, and even grandparents! I think we’ll be seeing a lot more classes online geared toward the whole family.” — Jones

Grace in Wellness

24. CYCLE SYNCING

“In 2020, I wrote the first book ever that discusses the female infradian rhythm and its impact on every system of her body: In the Flo. Even the U.S. women’s soccer team now trains their female athletes according to this updated understanding of women’s biology and biological rhythm. The book also describes the new method that tens of thousands of women are turning to to lose weight, boost energy, clear skin, reduce PMS, reduce stress, and increase productivity: the Cycle Syncing Method.

There are three pillars—diet, fitness, and time management—based on the infradian rhythmic effect on metabolism, hormones, and brain chemistry. It allows women to biohack in a way that actually factors in their actual biology so they get the results they deserve. It is essential for women to change their caloric intake and their workout intensity in order to optimize their biology across the month. Doing anything else leads to imbalance—period. Learn more here and here.” — Vitti

Grace in Growth

28. WORKING MENTAL HEALTH INTO YOUR SCHEDULE

“We’ve gone through so much change that 2021 will be about finding ways to prioritize your mental health that work for your schedule and lifestyle. It no longer makes sense to commute to an unfamiliar office in the middle of the day for an in-person therapy appointment. It also no longer feels isolating to question the health of our minds and the importance of maintaining them. People will be carving out time for mental healthcare when and however they need it—whether that means taking five minutes during a 3 a.m. wake-up for meditation or dedicating an evening to a mental health event.

That’s why I’m so excited about what we’re doing at Real. We’re meeting people where they are with a range of offerings, from on-demand therapy Pathways to intimate scheduled Roundtables and events, so they can take care of their mental health however best works for them, not the system.” — Ariela Safira, founder and CEO of Real

Final thoughts…

What moved us about this list is that it feels so opportune. It’s a welcomed deviation from the generic January wellness advice to exercise and eat more vegetables.

More importantly, while the pandemic is still very much affecting our everyday lives, the aftermath of 2020 is starting to open doors to a new normal. This new normal acknowledges that there’s no turning back and that grace in wellness will be pivotal to moving forward.

Sometimes, you’re handed a gift. What will you do with yours?

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