French wellness tips I swear by (and some bad habits I don't)

The French wellness tips I swear by:

Eat your meals away from screens. (I swear as I scarf a blueberry orange muffin while typing up this blog). Literally nothing is more compelling than a French woman writing or reading on a cafe terrace or tucked into a cozy booth on a rainy day. Meals, particularly lunches, are eaten away from the desk with colleagues. Smushing a sandwich in your face hole while smearing crumbs into your keyboard isn’t just frowned upon, you’d be breaking a cultural norm and French labor law, which prohibits employees from eating lunch at their workstations (a historical health and safety regulation dating back to 1894 to keep workers away from workplace dust, chemicals, and germs) (Source: NPR)

Walk everywhere, whenever possible. Again, this is a benefit of living in a European city built before cars. Denser cities are more walkable. Recent investment in Paris’s infrastructure via bike lanes, and higher taxes on cars driving into the city means a more pleasant walking experience.

Invest in long term friendships: French people make friends and maintain those friendships for life. This can make it hard to break in socially with a French friend group, but it also means that French people, when they do become friends with you, intend to invest in that friendship for the long haul. Data from Harvard’s Longevity Study backs this up. People who invest in social connections are happier.

France Yoga Retreat

Spend time outside. Walkable cities means time outside, strolling the avenues, or sitting at a cafe. With widely accessible public transit in the bigger French cities, many French folks don’t even need cars. 🚗

Eat with the seasons. Tomatoes taste horrendous in January and taste like a revelation in August. Your food, even the simplest dishes, will taste one million times better (**science**) when you cook with in-season produce. It’s not a hard and fast rule but it will elevate your cooking and have your friends demanding “what’s your secret?”

Dress for the occasion. The French have mastered the art of putting on real pants, swiping on a bit of lip color, and sliding on a crisp button down to (at least appear like) they give a sh*t. And, for Pete’s sake, don’t wear sweatpants to the theater (something I legitimately saw last spring at our local theater)

Read more than you scroll or mindlessly watch Netflix. French education prioritizes the greats in French literature and philosophy and it shows. The French are more of a “no but” sparring types when it comes to conversation. It can come off as combative for Americans but it’s a hell of a lot of fun when you get used to it. Talking to a French person asks you to actually use your brain to engage in a real dialogue. Shocking!

What to read before a trip to Paris: My favorite Paris books

Shop at the weekly market. Buy directly from the farmer when you can. French markets are world famous for their abundance and mouth-watering fruits, veggies, cheeses (bien sûr), meat, and fish. Not only do you get to walk to the market but you also eat whatever’s freshest and most in-season (see above note on eating in accordance with the seasons).

Decenter capitalism from your daily experience. Buy items that will actually last and wear them, frequently, for years. This is less wellness tip and more wellbeing/happiness tip. But, you get the idea! The American drive to consume constantly only leaves us with an unabating hunger for more. (To hear more of my thoughts on this particular topic, check out this post: When are you enough?)

French bad habits that I don’t recommend:

Smoking. Eh. Cigarettes are everywhere, and walking outside can feel like inhaling an ashtray. This one feels self explanatory. 17-25% of French adults smoke daily compared to about 11% of American adults.

Not working out: This is somewhat of an outdated stereotype (of the stick-thin Parisienne who shares her croissant with the trash can) that has shifted immensely since my 2014 study abroad semester in France. (More on that semester here and here.) But the U.S. still remains the gold standard in terms of cutting edge fitness trends and sheer accessibility.

Not picking up les crottes de chien. For a country where so many people walk about, there’s a carelessness with dog poop that I don’t care for. (This has bothered me since I lived there in 2014.)

51 Days in France

Before and after my Morocco retreat, I’ll be in Paris to write, create, wander through museums and generally reset. Follow along for more about my love for French art, food, and people who call this city home.

Wondering Soul Yoga