CREATIVE WELLNESS

Wellness, spoken about with authority by so many, should be one of our most personal practices and biggest gifts to ourselves. Developing a wellness routine that works well for your personal mind and body can elevate your everyday and change your life. Every mind and body is completely unique, however, what works for one person could have an opposite effect on another. Getting to know your body and its needs is an integral first step in any wellness journey.

For creatives, ensuring one's mind and body are operating well is paramount to a sustained artistic practice. As we know at LES, a functional wellness routine makes all the difference in our work. We spoke to some of our LES Artists and other creative friends about their personal wellness routines - how they've identified health issues and implemented changes within their lives, and what products they can't live without.

Lauren Sands, Founder of LES Collection and Painter

For me, wellness encompasses many things: mental, physical, and beauty. As I have gotten older, it has become a huge focus because I literally cannot function if I don't tend to my wellness. However, my current life right now is CHAOTIC. Between running a new business and having two young children, my time is VERY limited. So recently, my main focus has been finding the things that make the most impact.

I find that my morning and night routines significantly impact my days. In the mornings, I try not to jump right onto my phone. Instead, I wake up, do my skincare routine, spend some time with my kids, and try to get at least 10 minutes of natural daylight in my eyes (this means being outside, not looking through a window). If I have time to walk my daughter to school or go on a hike with my dog in the summer, that's a major plus. I drink Athletic Greens, which fills me up, so I am usually not hungry for breakfast. Occasionally I will journal in the morning, setting my goals for how I want to feel and show up that day and jotting down tools to help me achieve those goals. I notice a difference when I do this, but I don't always have time. I was very skeptical about journaling and did not think it would be for me, but my life coach (more on her later) pushed me to do it, and I reluctantly relented my skepticism.

My night routine makes the most impact. Most importantly, I am off my computer and phone between 7:30-8pm - we have a no phone in the bedroom rule - I put mine in the bathroom to charge and don't look at it again until the morning. I notice a massive difference if I break my rule and look at my phone later at night.

Before bed, I like to ensure that all the lights in the house have been dimmed - ours are set on a timer, so everything dims at 5:30. I often play 578H frequency music as I prepare for bed (there are playlists on Spotify). I always have my Canopy humidifier, and because my bedroom is on the larger side, I use two (overkill? Probably). I am trying to give up falling asleep to the TV but have not been successful - one day. I'm a work in progress.

Another thing I do that makes a huge impact is life coaching sessions with Masha Kay. It is an hour and a half (sometimes two hours) every other week. It's a big-time commitment but has made a massive difference in how I show up as a mother, boss, partner, friend, daughter, etc.

I truly believe that a regular exercise and a meditation routine would make a huge impact, but the reality is there are only so many hours in the day, and I just have not been able to make this a priority. As I said, my wellness journey is a work in progress. I can't do everything (which frustrates me to no end). But within the next year, I am trying to make these things a bigger priority.

AG1

by Athletic Greens

CREATIVE WELLNESS

Lauren Sands, Founder of LES Collection and Painter

KERRY PIERI, Painter

MICHELLE PELLETIER, Founder of Love Me Not Floral

KEAVY MURPHREE, Ceramicist

RACHEL MILLER, Founder of Layered Logan

TINA SCEPANOVIC, Artist