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

Wellness has become a bit of a buzzword - and one that often comes with a hefty price tag.

Luxury spa days, floating sound baths in five-star hotels, retreats costing thousands of pounds; these are all wonderful, if you can afford them.

But what about the rest of us? From health experts, entrepreneurs and influencers, here are ways to pursue a healthy body, mind and soul without exhausting your overdraft.

The cost of studio memberships can be pretty high, so people are increasingly organising their own free or affordable wellness-based gatherings - these can usually be found through local groups on social media, and on platforms like Meetup.

Yoga teacher Anastasiia Mirraslavska, for example, hosts a meetup called Sunday Reset in London. Every month the group meets in a different city park to do yoga and meditate together, and they also come together for online meditation sessions over Zoom. Some of the sessions are paid-for - about £10 - and others are free.

"I wanted to create a space where people could experience [yoga and meditation] in a simple and accessible way," she told the BBC.

Erica Correa, a model, is trying to do something similar in Liverpool. She's started arranging a regular meetup called Soft Sunday, where people come together for curated wellness experiences. The last session was a pilates class, followed by a beauty experience.

"Everything about Soft Sunday is intention over expense," she told the BBC. "Wellness is more about the decisions that you make in life, how you protect your time."

For now they're invitation-only, but she's hoping to open them up to more people soon.

Gardening is often described as boosting physical and mental wellbeing, and it doesn't have to mean spending hundreds of pounds on plants and equipment. Research by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) found that people who garden every day report higher wellbeing and lower stress levels, external.

If you don't have your own garden, many councils offer allotments where you can rent a plot for a relatively small annual fee.

Community gardens are another option - you can find ones local to you on the Good to Grow map, external, or the RHS's website, external. Many welcome volunteers free of charge and provide tools and equipment, making it easy to get outdoors, meet new people and learn new skills.

Thrive, a charity that uses gardening to support people's health and wellbeing, says community gardens are about much more than growing plants.

Damien Newman, Thrive's training, education and consultancy manager, said they provided "the opportunity to be engaged in gardening and connect to a welcoming social group".

"It's good across our holistic health spectrum, good physically, cognitively, socially, psychologically and emotionally," he said.

From birdwatching to crocheting, hobbies once seen as old-fashioned are also finding a new audience as people look for inexpensive ways to improve their wellbeing.

Birdwatching, for example, costs little more than a trip to your local park, with local groups and online communities across the UK. You can search for birdwatching groups near you on the RSPB's website, external.

And its benefits may go beyond simply spending time outdoors. Research suggests that just 30 minutes of birdwatching, external can boost happiness, improve wellbeing and help people feel more connected to nature.

Crochet is also making a comeback and can be picked up for just a few pounds. All you need to get started is a hook and a ball of yarn.

Research has also linked crochet with improved wellbeing, external, with people saying it helped them cope with stress, grief, chronic illness and other life challenges.

Exercise doesn't have to revolve around the gym. Whether it's bodyweight workouts, outdoor yoga or running, there are plenty of ways to stay active without spending much money.

Bodyweight training, also known as calisthenics, uses your own body weight for exercises such as push-ups, squats and pull-ups to help build strength. Because it requires little or no equipment, it's an easy way to improve strength, flexibility and co-ordination at home or in your local park.

Running has also grown in popularity, with about 7.1 million adults now taking part - an increase of more than 500,000 over the past year - with more people joining local run clubs or heading out 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.

And once you've reached that point, you could try one of the almost 1,500 free parkruns in the UK every weekend - find one close to you on the Parkrun website, external.

Sound baths are very 2026.

For the uninitiated, a sound bath is where a practitioner plays crystal or Tibetan sound bowls, gongs and chimes in a soothing way. They're calming, relaxing, and the vibrations can help put you into a meditative state.

But depending on where you are, in-person sessions can be pricey, or hard to come by.

So, for an affordable alternative, you can find recordings of sound baths on platforms like YouTube and Spotify and recreate the experience at home. Some meditation apps also have in-built sound options that you can meditate to, though these sometimes come with a subscription cost.

Lyz Cooper, founder of the British Academy of Sound Therapy, told the BBC that while the quality of recordings online can vary, there are good ones out there - just make sure to look up recordings created 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're not going to be disturbed, the therapeutic benefits of listening are potentially very good," she said.

"Ultimately, the most important thing is that people find an approach they'll genuinely use."