Optimising your health

Fifteen little ways I keep on track, including my ultimate sleep saviour, a good alternative to booze and medical spas that are worth the money

Wellness. It’s such a vast concept isn’t it? It is it your body? Your mind? Your soul? Personally I reckon it’s a little bit of all of the above, and believe me when I say that I’ve spent years trying to figure out how to keep all three in some form of equilibrium. I’ve been gym crazy (not as kind a concept to your body as you’d think); swallowed just about every pill you can imagine; fasted, feasted, doused myself in alleged miracle products, visited every health spa there is across the globe (a major perk of editing a health magazine early on in my career) and finally, finally, have stumbled upon what works for me. They are generally small things. Inexpensive. Gentle. Healing. Maybe that’s something to do with where I am in my life right now. Or perhaps in the pursuit of perfect wellness, I’ve come all the way back to the beginning, believing it’s the simplest things that work best.

By the way, good news- this week’s newsletter is sponsored by Fussy, who you’ll see below are a company I’ve loved for a while so I’m really grateful to them for making this week’s round-up free to everyone. (If however you want these round-ups regularly simply upgrade to be a paid subscriber, which you can do below.)

Anyway, onwards- here’s those fifteen little things I mentioned…

Gorgeous Gym Gear

The Zara Home collection

If you, like me, are a fan of working out at home, then you are going to want very good-looking gym accessories. Zarah Home have just scored 10/10 for their new drop of wooden gym pieces that look like they should be in the Rose Uniacke showroom. Be quick however because they always do fabulous ranges that sell out immediately and then you spend your days on Ebay trying to rebuy them. You can find the entire range here.

Health spas

Me at the Mayr Clinic

I have been here twice in my life. Total game changer by the way. Expensive yes, but it nursed me back to health at two critical points in my life. There are two in Austria- the original one which is a little rustic round the edges and the newer more flashier one on the edge of Lake Worthersee called Vivamayr. Both are medical spas that focus on gut health and which leave you feeling revived beyond belief.

Freedom

I don’t know about you but when I sit down to write or read or even just watch a TV show in the evening with my husband there is the persistent need to grab my phone and check, well anything: plant prices on Sarah Raven, Ebay, The Daily Mail to see what Prince Andrew is up… honestly, it’s exhausting. Freedom is an app which basically shuts off access to the internet on your devices for however long you want. Lots of writers I know have been using it for years. Big thumbs up.

Electrolytes

I swear by a packet of these dispensed into a bottle of water every day to help regulate cell function. Which in others words means I feel less jittery for the rest of the day. One of my desert island wellness essentials.

A game-changing beauty product

I have the ‘blush’ colourway- very pleasing

The older I get the more I worry about using anything that isn’t natural. I haven’t touched gel nails in years, and I’ve started to become suspicious about cosmetics that rely heavily on ingredients I can’t pronounce. Antiperspirants are something I’ve long been nervous about, but I was always too afraid to use natural products. (I think this is because I was a child of the eighties where only hippies used natural deodorants - and often without much success.) A few friends have been using a British brand called Fussy, which I like because the packaging is cool-looking and it uses compostable refills, so it’s all very planet-friendly. It’s also vegan, doesn’t use any parabens or aluminium and unlike anti-perspirants (the clue’s in the name) it doesn’t stop the actual biological act of sweating. I think how it works is they have devised some sort of probiotic formula that neutralises your natural stench. Anyway, my point is, it works. And I’m sort of amazed to be honest. I use it every single day- even for pilates and the gym. Oh and the scents are pretty lovely too. If you want to try it I have as always got us a special discount. Use this link and make sure you pop the word FARRAH in at checkout to get 15% off.

Loop Ear Plugs

Sexy? Not at all. But if you, like me, occasionally find the outside world and all it’s noise a bit much, these dial everything down by about 50 per cent so it’s sort of like walking around in a cloud. (I have the Loop Quiet 2 version)

The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk

There’s a reason this book is a global best seller. It completely changed the way I see and treat my body.

Apple Cider Vinegar

A shot with hot water after a big night always perks me up. I use Willy’s Cider Vinegar.

A French Sunday

I love this term which attempts to encapsulates how the French spend their Sunday afternoons. Which is to say they do very little- walk, visit museums, take long lunches, rest..you get the idea. They truly treat Sunday as a day of restoration. This is what I have been attempting to do for the last 6 months and honestly it sets me up for the week.

The Almanac

Forgive the giant tea stain on the front- it also serves as a very good coaster now and then too

My friend Jo bought me this last year and I had no idea what to do with it. But every month I read each chapter which tells me about the moon, the earth, how the natural world around me is building away in the background and it makes me feel grounded and deeply connected to the world outside my head. Magically transformative.

Alcohol

I am basically tee-total which means over the years I have become very good at finding out about all the best drinks you can substitute for booze. At fancy restaurants that is usually a sparkling tea, which is much more delicious than it sounds. Most stock Copenhagen Sparkling Tea, which I also buy to have at home. I also love Belvoir Farm’s Sparkling Cucumber and Mint served in a fancy wine glass in the bath.

Scent

I light a lot of candles and have them dotted around the house. They are mainly beeswax, which give a beautiful soft glow and a sweet delicate scent. The light somehow steadies my nervous system too which is a generous bonus. But when I do buy scented candles I have always loved NEOM candles which have the gentlest, most calming scents and are free of any nasties. They have a brand new one out right now that I’m burning at this very moment called It’s All Rosy Scented Candle.

Travel workouts

Cheap as chips , resistance bands come everywhere with me when I travel. These ones are about as aesthetically pleasing as they come.

Sleep

This is going to sound crazy but I have been sleeping with a few spritzes of this pillow spray on my pillow case every night for the last fifteen years. I discovered it after a blissful night at a lovely hotel in the Oxfordshire countryside called Le Manoir Aux Qaut’Saisons (if anyone ever takes you you must hang onto that person for the rest of your life) after the most perfect night’s sleep. Drifting to sleep with the scent of a Provencal evening on your silk pillowcase works better than anything else for me.

Clothing

I’ve said this until I’m blue in the face: Lululemon’s Super High Rise Align leggings in black are the softest, most flattering, chicest leggings you will find on the market. I will wear nothing else.

As ever tell me what I’ve missed? What do you swear by? Share the love below and if you liked this post I would, as ever, be eternally grateful if you would give me a little like. This helps shapes everything i write for you going forward.

Farrah x