Looking for that special Valentine’s Day gift? Bellabeat has you covered with a wellness tracker that looks like jewelry!
The folks at Bellabeat sent me an Ivy to try – and now I am completely hooked! I love the way it looks, like a delicate bracelet. But it’s hardy and water resistant.
The Ivy sinks up to the Bellabeat app on your phone and you track your fitness, heart health, sleep, and more. For those of you in perimenopause and still having cycles, it tracks your menstrual patterns as well.
A coaching section contains workouts for fitness: core, pilates, yoga and more. Exercises for beauty include neck toner and cheek sculpting. There are lots included in the app – you can unlock others with a subscription. (I’ve not yet done this, but probably will in the future.)
There are articles about health, wellness, and finding the right exercise for you. Articles change daily, which is terrific. And no, I haven’t read them all.
There’s a section called “my diary” for you to journal what is happening for you each day eg. mood, symptoms, weight, and other pertinent notes. I’ve long advocated for a hot flash journal, so that triggers can be identified and subsequently avoided. Now all your wellness info can be in one place.
My favorite part of the Bellabeat Ivy and app? I confess that it’s the “Spend 10 quiet minutes” part of daily wellness. I felt like I spend a fair amount of quiet time, but these 10 minute offerings really relax me. So maybe I have been more stressed than I realized – which is not crazy considering the times we’ve been living in.
In “Spend 10 quiet minutes”, there are loads of meditations, recordings for calming and de-stressing, compassion and love meditations, and my absolute favorite: Ambient Journey.
Years ago (a lot of years ago), I attended the San Francisco Art Institute. A group of us from Art History spent a weekend being subjects in a test of binaural beats recordings. These hour-long recordings were thought to mimic the brain wave activity of meditation. Some were geared to help with concentration and focus, others with peace. Anxiety was thought to decrease. I remember loving the whole process and have since listened to binaural beats recordings in spas. Since I am already relaxed after a spa treatment or massage, I couldn’t be sure that the recordings were anything but a nice adjunct. But listening to the ones on my Bellabeat app for only 10 minutes have my shoulders coming down and I feel generally more at ease. I really love the one called Deep Ocean with it’s sounds of waves and whale song. Who knew 10 minutes could be so restorative?
If there is one problem with the Ivy, it’s really just me. Now that I use it, my obsessive-compulsive desire to meet all my fitness goals every day has kicked in. Then again, maybe that’s not a bug but a feature.
Hint to a loved one that you’d like your own Ivy for Valentine’s Day. Better yet, gift one to yourself. Click here to order and learn more: Bellabeat Ivy
