A Vibe Shift Is Upon Us, But What Does It Mean For Our Wellness Routines?

Don’t pack up your yoga mats just yet.

If you haven’t already heard, a ‘vibe shift’ is on its way (or maybe it’s already here), and according to trend forecaster and founder of weekly newsletter 8Ball, Sean Monahan, it’s all about prioritising fun, and boy, do we deserve it!

What does a ‘vibe shift’ mean?

With some digging, the general answer we found was that a ‘vibe shift’ is a term that refers to the zeitgeist changing. Think of it as a cultural change that has occurred throughout the years. From the music you listen to, fashion (the Hipster Vibe 2003-2009) and societal trends (like brunch dates etc.) to even behavioural influences i.e. how you spend your time. These are all ‘vibe shifts’ that most of us have lived through, and maybe even guilty of following.

As mentioned earlier, this new vibe is all about prioritising fun above all else. We’ve had more than a taste of life with restrictions and now we’re shifting focus to live up every day like it’s our last. We’re talking late nights spent sweating it out on dance floors, music festival mosh pits, and we’re not thinking twice about it.

So what does that mean for our wellness routines?

With COVID-19 hitting us pretty hard, it meant culturally things weren’t really progressing. It also made things feel a little slow and as though we had lost some time – let’s all agree, those last two birthdays do not count!

We endured lockdowns, restrictions, social distancing, which forced us to re-evaluate our ‘normal’ everyday routine; starting from working from home and shifting to online workout classes.

The pandemic also challenged us mentally and made us focus on our wellness habits, with some of us turning to yoga, meditation, outdoor running, extra long walks and mindfulness to help ease our fear and anxiety.

Even though we had lost a lot, there were times we felt we gained so much. How? For some of us, it gave us a chance to take a moment to slow down and re-evaluate our lives. Our activewear turned into our favourite loungewear, yoga pants were now our WFH workwear staple, and our ASICS runners were also our ‘going out’ shoes. In a time of uncertainty and where we felt like we had very little control, the one thing we could take charge of was prioritising our wellbeing, and for some of us, that’s what helped us get through these last two years.

Fast-forward to 2022, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Some of us are starting to fill up our social calendars, indulging at restaurants, booking holidays and enjoying human interaction again – seeing someone other than a family member, our significant other, our bubble buddy or roomie has never been more exciting (sorry, we still love you!).

So where does this leave our daily wellness practices? Do we say bye-bye to our Zoom bootcamp crew and YouTube yoga instructor? Well, keeping in mind that the new ‘vibe shift’ is all about putting fun first and having a carefree attitude, these wellness rituals that have been a part of our daily routine can still be very beneficial to our mental and physical health – life is all about balance right?

So we say, have fun and do whatever fuels your soul! Continue your outdoor running, take part in your online classes, keep your home workout accessories in action and maybe even add more sports equipment to your lounge room circuit, but also enjoy getting dressed up, consider a night out dancing with friends as a workout, and don’t be so hard on yourself. Life has been tough lately, this is your time to shine!

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