Ready to become your best self? Photos courtesy of Adobe Stock
New year, new you! From health and self-care to recreation and exercise, here are 20 ways to become your best self in Delaware in 2023.
It’s a new year, a fresh slate on which you can write your aspirations for a healthy, happy future. By all means, resolve to purge your closets, call your mother and hit the gym three times a week. But go beyond that in your quest for your authentic self. Check out resources that can help you feel more youthful, more energetic, more accomplished. Here are ways you can start improving your mind, body and spirit in 2023.
1.
Keep your resolution to eat healthy by shopping at community farmers markets, which offer fruits, veggies and honey produced by First State farms. You’ll improve your diet while supporting local agriculture in all three counties.
2.
Library cards offer much more than books. Your free card to Delaware’s public libraries is also the key to personal enrichment programs, including story hours for children, craft workshops, painting lessons, job coaching and more. The state’s roster of 35 public libraries includes bookmobiles in all three counties.
3.
At Holistic Life Delaware in Lewes, health coach Anna Fugate takes a holistic approach to health, from nutrition counseling to evaluating cleaning supplies. Reiki-Seichim sessions enhance energy and promote physical, spiritual and emotional healing.
4.
Cultivate your green thumb at the Delaware Center for Horticulture, where you can learn to plant an elevated garden, create a green roof, identify plants, arrange flowers and tour the Brandywine Valley’s most inspirational gardens. Upcoming trips include a visit to Martha Stewart’s gardens in Maine.
5.
Explore your inner artist with group classes or private lessons for kids and adults at the Center for the Creative Arts in Yorklyn. Disciplines include drawing, painting, sculpture, pottery, fused glass, mosaics, printmaking, stained glass, mixed media, theater, music and dance.
6.
Say “namaste” to 2023. At Dimitra Yoga in Lewes, a structured 40-day wellness regime includes yoga five days a week, meditation, an anti-inflammatory food cleanse, meditation, an optional plank challenge and weekly motivational meetings.
7.
In flotation therapy, stress, chronic pain and insomnia drift away with a soak in a buoyant tank of magnesium sulfate, commonly known as Epsom salts. Urban Float in Rehoboth Beach offers memberships for monthly floaters, as well as infrared sauna pods. Bonus: Epsom salts are one the best—and cheapest—ways to remedy dry, itchy winter skin.
8.
At Mint + Needle in Middletown, rejuvenate skin with a SaltFacial, available only at medical aesthetic practices. The treatment improves texture, tone and pigmentation by combining natural sea salt with ultrasound and LED phototherapy to exfoliate the top layer and drive peptides, antioxidants and hyaluronic acid into the skin.
9.
Toss your mascara in 2023 and wake up to sumptuous lashes. At Beauty Bar Artistry in Christiana, founder and aesthetician Ita applies custom extensions to create long, lush lashes that last for weeks. Or make the most of what nature gave you with a lash lift.
10.
Microneedling simulates the production of collagen by puncturing the skin with a series of tiny needles that send a “heal me” message to the derma. The result: plumper, younger-looking skin. Clients at Dr. Christopher Saunders’ medispa in North Wilmington typically have a series of treatments to rejuvenate skin, as well as treat acne scars and stretch marks.
11.
Deepen your connection with your partner during the new year with a getaway to Bellmoor Inn and Spa in Rehoboth Beach. The fourth floor is reserved for guests over 25 and features suites with fireplaces and balconies. Gather in the inn’s intimate sitting rooms or bar. Wake up to a breakfast buffet served in the sunroom. Keep the togetherness vibe going with a couples massage at the serene Spa at the Bellmoor, enhanced with bamboo or hot stones. Or schedule a massage for two in the privacy of your suite.
12.
From Auburn Valley in Yorklyn to Killen’s Pond in Felton, Delaware State Parks offer opportunities to commune with nature and enjoy amenities from waterfront cottages to zip lining. There’s a bargain bonus for Delawareans 65 and up: a lifetime pass for a mere $65.
13.
Occult curiosities? Tap into alternative healing modalities in 2023 with crystals, spells, energy workshops and readings at Mandie’s Magical Marketplace, which has locations in Lewes and Pike Creek. Connect with like-minded souls at monthly Full Moon Gatherings, where hundreds circle around a bonfire for sound healing and to restore energy and balance.
14.
At Heaven and Health in Greenville, massage therapists are trained in reflexology, the application of pressure to the feet or hands to reduce pain, relieve stress and enhance sleep. The theory behind reflexology is that areas of the feet and hand correspond to the body’s organs and systems, channeling healing vibes.
15.
What separates movie stars from mere mortals? Professional makeup, that’s what. You too can look runway ready after a session with makeup artist Tonia Marisa at Ooh La La—The Makeup Studio in Centreville. Pick up professional tips you can try at home.
16.
Strengthen your core this new year at Pure Yoga Pilates Studio in Wilmington’s Trolley Square with Springboard Pilates, a technique using coils to enhance resistance. Devotees say the practice improves balance, tones muscles and can even help your golf swing.
17.
Give your skin a rejuvenating boost with a HydraFacial at Houppette in Greenville, a technology that combines cleansing, exfoliation, extraction and hydration, removing dead skin cells and impurities while delivering serums and antioxidants to the skin. Add a Lip PERK to cleanse and hydrate the lips.
18.
Whether you’re biking to work up a sweat or take in the scenery, Delaware Greenways offers a cycling route that’s a match for you, from the Brandywine Trail in northern New Castle County to Capital City Trail through historic Dover to Gordon Ponds Trail at Cape Henlopen.
19.
New year, new skin! Erica Suppa, founder of Fresh Faced Skin Care and a specialist in treating troubled skin, developed the Clear Skin Essentials Kit to treat teen, adult and cystic acne. Build collagen without heavy peeling or redness with a Customized Signature Peel at Fresh Faced studios in Greenville and New Castle.
20.
Trying to get fit in the new year? Beyond spinning, Sea Barre Sea Cycle in Lewes offers a high-intensity, full-body indoor workout that includes pushups, hand weights and crunches, and such focused approaches as exercising in darkness. Belly Up to the Barre for fat-burning interval training.
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