Wellness habits you can start now - at no (or little) cost

Wellness has become a buzzword that often carries a steep price tag. Luxury spa days, floating baths in five‑star hotels, and retreats that cost thousands of pounds are wonderful options—if you can afford them. For everyone else, wellness experts, entrepreneurs and influencers share ways to nurture a healthy body, mind and spirit without draining your bank account. **Head to wellness meet‑ups** Gym memberships can be pricey, so many people are organizing their own free or low‑cost wellness gatherings. These events are often listed in local groups on social media or on platforms such as Meetup. Yoga teacher Anastasiia Mirraslavska, for example, runs a Sunday Reset meetup in London. Each month the group gathers in a different city park to practice yoga and meditation together, and they also hold online sessions via Zoom. Some sessions cost about £10, while others are free. “I wanted to make a space where people could learn yoga and meditation in a simple and accessible way,” she told the BBC. Erica Correa, a model, is launching a similar initiative in Liverpool called Soft Sunday. The gatherings offer curated wellness experiences; the most recent event featured a pilates class followed by a nature walk. “Everything about Soft Sunday is free of expense,” she told the BBC. “Wellness is really about the choices you make in life and how you protect your time.” For now the meetups are invitation‑only, but Correa hopes to open them to a wider audience soon. **Start gardening (even if you don’t have a garden)** Gardening boosts both physical and mental wellbeing, and it doesn’t require spending hundreds of pounds on plants and equipment. Research from the Royal Horticultural Society shows that people who garden regularly report higher wellbeing and lower stress levels. If you lack a private garden, many councils offer allotments that can be rented for a modest annual fee. Community gardens provide another option; you can locate nearby plots using the Good to Grow map or the RHS’s community‑gardening directory. Numerous sites welcome volunteers at no charge and supply tools, making it easy to get outdoors, meet new people and learn fresh skills. Thrive, a charity that uses gardening to support health and wellbeing, emphasizes that community gardens are about more than just growing plants. Damien Newman, Thrive’s training, learning and consultancy manager, said they offer “the chance to be engaged in gardening and connect with a welcoming social group.” He added, “It’s great across our holistic wellness spectrum—good physically, cognitively, socially, psychologically and emotionally.” **Take up an ‘old‑fashioned’ hobby** Activities once seen as old‑fashioned—such as birdwatching and crocheting—are finding new audiences as people look for inexpensive ways to improve wellbeing. Birdwatching can cost little more than a trip to your local park, with groups and online communities across the UK. You can locate nearby clubs on the RSPB website. Research suggests that just 30 minutes of birdwatching can increase happiness, improve wellbeing and help people feel more connected to nature. Crochet is also enjoying a revival and can be started for just a few pounds. All you need is a hook and a ball of yarn. Studies have linked crochet with improved wellbeing, with practitioners saying it helps them cope with stress, grief, chronic illness and other life challenges. **Exercise doesn’t have to revolve around the gym** You don’t need a gym to stay active. Bodyweight workouts, outdoor yoga or running provide plenty of ways to move without spending much money. Bodyweight training, also known as calisthenics, uses your own weight for exercises such as push‑ups, squats and pull‑ups to build strength. Because it requires little or no equipment, it’s an easy way to improve strength, flexibility and coordination at home or in a local park. Running has grown in popularity, with about 7.1 million adults now taking part—an increase of more than 500,000 over the past year—while many join local running clubs or run on their own. For beginners, the NHS Couch to 5K programme offers a free nine‑week plan designed to gradually build fitness and help people run five kilometres without stopping. Once you reach that milestone, you could try one of the roughly 1,500 free parkruns held across the UK each week; find a nearby event on the Parkrun website. **Find your zen with online sound baths** Sound baths are described as a 2026 trend. For those unfamiliar, a sound bath involves a practitioner playing crystal or Tibetan singing bowls, gongs and chimes in a soothing manner. The experience is calming, relaxing and the vibrations can help guide you into a meditative state. In‑person sessions can be costly or hard to access depending on where you live. As an affordable alternative, recordings of sound baths are available on platforms such as YouTube and Spotify, allowing you to recreate the experience at home. Some meditation apps also include built‑in sound options, though these sometimes require a subscription. Lyz Cooper, founder of the British Academy of Sound Therapy, told the BBC that while the quality of online recordings varies, there are good ones available—just be sure to seek out recordings made by experienced practitioners or established organisations. “If you wear over‑ear headphones, lie down, close your eyes and make sure you are in a place where you won’t be disturbed, the therapeutic benefits of listening are possibly very good,” she said. “Ultimately, the most important thing is that people find an approach they’ll actually use.”