You can tell a lot about a person from their secret wellness hacks, even something as simple as a quick morning run. Not the reformer Pilates classes or the Instagram-approved charcoal-infused vitamin water, but the unsexy rituals we genuinely rely on to stumble through the world. From doing Goop-coded guided visualisation exercises each morning to eating the same (largely uninspiring) handful of meals on repeat, most of mine have come from convenience and necessity rather than self-optimisation.
My approach to wellness also comes in waves. Sometimes, it’s litres of water and scarfing down low-GI foods. Other times, I drop off into the-second-cheapest-white-wine-on-the-menu and a big late night territory. Despite my utterances of “body is a temple” (albeit varying in sincerity) I am consistently a morning person, and exercising first thing has always been how I try to keep the demons at bay.
Earlier this year, I went to a Rob Rea retreat (a human potential coach and breathwork practitioner) where he talked about the importance of doing one thing at a time. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, much like “emptying your mind,” it’s actually 10 times harder in practice. Turns out, I’m constantly doing a million things at once and usually ingesting multiple forms of media: a podcast while walking, checking my phone on the Tube, listening to the new Rosalía album while typing and, yes, doing all of the above running. I seem to always be jumping between inputs and often the effects of consuming everything and retaining nothing make me feel like I’m malfunctioning in slow motion.
It was this generally frazzled feeling, and the advice from Rea, that caused me to abandon my tangled wired headphones one morning and pound the pavements without an abrasive mix of hyper-pop ringing in my ears.
After the phantom voice of Addison Rae subsided and I stopped feeling panicked by hearing my own thoughts, I realised that, perhaps, silence can be a good thing. Without music, you actually become aware of your surroundings and even the clattering neon BuzzBallz cans lining the streets took on a sort of peaceful, poetic meaning at 7am.
With no notifications dinging through my headphones or interruptions from the head training coach at the Nike Run Club App, I was able to reach a kind meditative dissociation, presumably from not being completely bombarded from all angles.
As Dr Vijay Murthy, Ayurvedic doctor and co-founder of Harley Street clinic, Murthy Health, previously told Vogue, “Total silence can feel daunting for many people.” Instead, he recommends starting slow, embracing “intentional silence, rather than shutting everything out completely. It doesn’t mean you need to move to the mountains. Instead, try small breaks.” He also says that doing so outside can reap benefits. “Step away from your devices or find moments of quiet between tasks. Spend more time outdoors, too. Trees and natural spaces are like noise-cancelling headphones for the soul.”
