Wellness is an everyday choice. Join Sheri Davidson, licensed acupuncturist, integrative health coach and co-host of the Health + Dwellness Podcast, in conversations and interviews to help you achieve a higher level of well-being and performance. Each episode will inspire, empower, motivate, and encourage you in the pursuit of wellness. You deserve it! If you are struggling with change, needing extra support, interested in a like-minded community, or have a wellness passion, come along for the adventure. We'll laugh, learn, love, and grow together. It's time to thrive!
In this cozy episode of Wellness Inspired, I dive into the Danish concept of hygge and its power to elevate your holiday gatherings. Learn how to design a space that fosters connection, from setting up your dining table for meaningful dinners to using the “vacant chair” principle for a warm, inviting atmosphere. Discover tips for arranging seating to spark deeper conversations and incorporating sensory elements like lighting, scents, and textures for a cozy vibe. Whether hosting a large family or an intimate group, this episode will inspire you to slow down, savor the season, and carry hygge-inspired wellness into your everyday life.
Hi Wellness Warriors. Welcome back to another episode of the Wellness Insp inspired podcast, a place where you can find inspiration, motivation and empowerment in the pursuit of a wellness lifestyle. I'm your host, sherry Davidson. I'm a wellness coach, acupuncturist, trail runner and former interior designer in Houston, texas, and I am deeply passionate about health and wellbeing. And, as always, I'm here with my co-host, finn, and if you're new to the podcast, finn is my Terrier, mix Rescue Dog, trail runner and loyal companion. He is also a therapy dog and greeter at Element 5, acupuncture and Wellness. I have a timely and heartwarming episode for you.
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Today we are diving into one of my favorite topics this time of the year Well, actually any time of the year, but especially this time of year and it's the. It's the concept of hygge. Now, I heard about hygge early on in my my design design years and once I discovered this concept, it has been a part of my life since I can, since I first read about it. I mean even right now. Like I decided to celebrate a little bit more of this concept as I'm doing the podcast today and I have lit candles. It is daylight, but I have some candles lit. I have a warm blanket. I have some candles lit. I have a warm blanket over my lap. It's a little chilly. I have created a nice cozy bed for my dog, finn, to lay next to me as I do the podcast. It is definitely a cozy vibe, and that is the essence of what hygge is it is a warm, safe, cozy space. So if you're not familiar with the term hygge, it is pronounced hygge, so it's like H-O-O-G-H and it is a beautiful Danish concept centered on coziness, comfort and connection. It's about creating spaces and moments that feel warm, inviting and meaningful, and the holidays are a time of gathering with loved ones, and hygge offers a way to make those moments more special. So that's why I thought that this was a great time for this content, and by intentionally designing your spaces for connection, you can create an atmosphere that encourages longer conversations, deeper bonds and joyful memories. In this episode, we're focusing on how to use the hygge principles to bring people together. From thoughtful table settings that inspire lingering dinners to creating cozy nooks that invite heartfelt conversations, I'll share practical tips to make your holiday gatherings truly magical. So grab your favorite cozy drink and let's dive in. But first you know what I have to talk about.
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For those avid listeners who have turned into the podcast over the past year, you've likely caught wind of the Wellness River Cruise. Well, friends, the moment has arrived. Mark your calendars for April, the 20th 2025. That's four months away. We'll set sail on an unforgettable seven-night cruise along the Danube River. We'll traverse the picturesque landscape of Austria, germany, hungary and Slovakia. Prepare for many active sightseeing adventures, including invigorating hikes, scenic bike rides and even a few brisk runs, maybe, or maybe a long bike ride, not sure yet. Alongside these activities, indulge in the serenity of yoga sessions, engage in enlightening wellness discussions and savor the flavors of locally sourced cuisine. Excitement is already brewing, as several enthusiasts have secured their spots. For those intrigued, I'll put the link in the show notes and, if you want more information, in episode 63 and 64, a journey of wellness and wonder on the Danube with Ammo Waterways.
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I had the pleasure of sitting down with Laurie, a representative from Ammo Waterways, and Tammy, my friend and a seasoned travel concierge. They came on the podcast to discuss the full river cruise experience. So feel free to check out those episodes if you want to learn more. And this all has to happen quickly. The river cruise is around the corner, four months away, like I said, and there are only 129 cabins on the boat. They sell out quickly. So if you're interested, put your deposit down. It's not a lot to hold your spot. Okay, let's get started.
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One of the most beautiful things about hygge is its focus on relationships. As Mike Wicking says in his book my Hygge, home hygge is the art of creating a nice atmosphere. It is about being with the people we love, a feeling that we are safe, that we are shielded from the world and can allow ourselves to let our guard down. Hookah is about how we turn a house into a home, a place where we find comfort and connection. So, as you can see, the holidays are a perfect time to lean into this right. Research consistently shows that strong relationships are one of the biggest contributors to happiness and wellbeing. And isn't that what the holidays are supposed to be about? Connection, love and belonging. But here's the thing Connection doesn't always just happen, but sometimes it takes a little intentionality, and that's where the design of your space can play a huge role.
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By making thoughtful choices about how to arrange your home and host your gatherings, you can create an environment that invites deeper conversation, shared experiences and lasting memories. Conversation, shared experiences and lasting memories. All right. So what I want to do now is I want to get into the practical side of things. So how do you design your space to foster connection this holiday season?
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Let's start with the dining table. I tend to like round dining tables because I feel that you know it's, everybody can see each other and it's easy to have conversation. Nobody's really left out of the conversation is when you have a square or rectangle table. The people at the opposite end sometimes are not in conversation with each other, so I tend to like round tables or oval tables. But when you have large gatherings, most of the time you're going to see rectangular tables, so that's okay.
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Your dining table is ground zero for connection during the holiday season. So consider the dishes that encourage longer meals. So think fondue, shared platters or family style servings. You don't want to spend all your time in your kitchen, although that's how me and my family connect is cooking together, so that's okay too. We have a big joke we spend so much time in the kitchen cooking that when we sit down and we eat, it's like gone in like 10 minutes, right, and I think that's okay. We have very small gatherings, so we're able to connect with each other in one space. It's a little bit harder to do something like that when you have, you know, 20 people over for dinner. So that's where sitting down at a dining table and applying some of these concepts is really helpful.
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Okay, so, where was I? We were talking about food. Yeah, so we want to incorporate foods that require a bit of interaction. That naturally. This naturally slows the pace and creates opportunities for conversations, right? So if you are doing a fondue, I mean that takes some time. It slows the eating process down. It opens up the space for conversation to take place.
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Okay, so next is, when we're setting the table, think about how you can arrange it to make everyone feel included. And if you're hosting a larger group, try grouping people in a way that sparks conversation. Maybe mix up the family members with friends, or paired introverts with chatty types. Maybe that's not a good idea, I don't know, but the idea is to include everybody, be mindful of everybody and encourage positive conversation. And I'm going to tell you guys about a principle here. It's called the vacant chair principle, and maybe you've heard of this before, maybe you haven't, I don't know, but I love it, especially when you have really large groups and you are integrating different sides of family maybe friends and family but a situation where not necessarily maybe everybody knows each other, or even kids, you know, if you have kids running around.
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But this is a concept from hygge that I absolutely love. It's about creating room, both physically and emotionally, for unexpected guests, guests that don't know each other very well, or spontaneous moments. So maybe this means adding an extra chair or two to your dining room, maybe adding an extra chair to your living room, or having cozy floor cushions ready to pull out when the conversation moves away from the table. The idea of this is to make everyone feel welcome and included. Okay, let's go on to the next one. You want to arrange your seating for intimacy, so think about how your chairs and sofa are positioned. Are they facing each other in a way that invites conversation, or are they aligned towards the TV? You know, small adjustments like creating a circle of chairs or pulling a love seat closer to the coffee table can make a big difference on how people interact. I think what you'll find if you implement some of these. You're going to find that these small changes have a huge impact. You'll be super surprised, okay. So once you have set your physical space up to encourage great conversation. The other thing to remember is that stimulating and meaningful conversations don't always happen naturally. So you can inspire them with little details, like a jar of conversation starters on the table or a stack of nostalgic photo albums for people to flip through.
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So I have a personal story. When I was married, my husband at the time was in Boston Well, he was from Massachusetts and we would alternate every other Christmas, so we'd spend a Christmas at my parents, we'd go there and spend a Christmas with his family, and the first time I went I thought that I was going to get a white Christmas. Um, cause, I've never. I'm from Texas and I've never had a white Christmas. And so when we went I did not get that. They had like a heat wave and then when we left they ended up having like a blizzard. So, um, go figure, but I did not have a white Christmas. But that year, uh, my parents on the Gulf coast got a foot of snow on Christmas Eve. Can you believe that? I cannot believe that my parents took pictures of that wonderful evening that they had there without me and they put it in a photo album. So every year I am reminded that I was not there the only Christmas that it ever snowed. I could have had a white Christmas if I stayed in Texas, in Houston, actually right outside of Houston, on the San Bernard River.
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So it's a great conversation starter. We talk about it every single year and I flip through it every single year to remind myself that I was not there for my white Christmas. Okay, so that's just one example, but you could also set up like a memory station if you wanted to get really, really fancy and set up a memory station where guests can jot down their favorite holiday memories to share. Sometimes, once you get the ball rolling, it just starts to take a life of its own. So I highly encourage doing something fun like that.
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But you also want to focus on sensory details. Fuga is all about this. It's all about atmosphere, and that includes sound, smells and touch. So play soft, inviting music, light a candle with a subtle scent like cinnamon or pine something that reminds you of the holidays and drape blankets over chairs for an extra coziness. We do this all the time, even though we're in Texas and it's super hot all the time. It just adds a bit of coziness and comfort and that safe space that we can let our guard down in. These little touches really do make people feel more at ease, which sets the stage for that connection, because people do drop their guard down and they will start talking more and connecting more Also, the last thing I want to talk about.
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My last tip is to build in pauses for presence. You guys know how much I love mindfulness and really connecting to the here and the now, and so I want to talk about that here, because I think that that is also part of what hygge is. Consider designing moments into your gathering where everyone can pause and appreciate the moment. This could be gratitude circle for dinner or a quiet break in the evening to sip hot cocoa by the fire If you're lucky enough to have a fire, which I hope we are this year, because I really do love doing that. But those mindful moments, those moments to just be silent and just appreciate what you have, I think are so, so essential to our, to our wellbeing. Okay, so the last thing I want to touch on before we wrap things up here is you know I talk a lot about who go during the holidays because it seems to be, uh, something that you think about when it's colder outside and um, you're seeing more family. But here's the thing you don't have to save these ideas for the holidays.
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Designing for connection is something you can carry into your everyday life throughout the year. So maybe it's rearranging your living room to feel more welcoming, or starting a tradition of Sunday dinners with friends. I keep saying I'm going to do it every single year. It's on my it's on my um new year's resolutions list that I'm going to have a dinner at home for friends once a month, and um, I think I've done it a couple of times and then I've kind of fall off. I just get so busy. But you know, hookah is about creating spaces and rituals that bring us closer to the people who matter the most. It's about choosing connection over distraction and presence over perfection. So here's your challenge Think about one small change you can make this week to design for connection.
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Maybe it is as simple as lighting a candle at dinner or rearranging your chairs to face each other. Whatever it is, I would love to hear about it. That's it for today's episode of the Wellness Inspired Podcast. I hope that you feel inspired to create a hygge-inspired space that brings people together this holiday season and, like I said, if you try these tips, share them with me on social media. Use the hashtag wellness inspired hygge. I would love to see how you're designing for connection this holiday season. Thank you so much for tuning in and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Until then, stay cozy, stay connected and I'll see you next time on the wellness inspired podcast. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to the podcast and share with your family and friends. You can also give me a rating and review.
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If you're in the Houston area or just visiting and interested in our services acupuncture, herbal medicine, cupping, zinchiatsu or dry needling therapy contact us. You can find out more on our website at element5omcom that's element5, the number 5, omcom, and again I'll put the link in the show notes. If you're interested in health and wellness coaching. We can connect in the clinic or on zoom. Reach out to us and we'll get you on the schedule and, as always, I would love to hear your feedback. I am dedicated to bringing you great content that is inspiring and informative, with an artsy, fun, edgy spin. Thank you so much for listening. We'll meet here again next time and remember, never stop exploring, learning, loving and being you. Bye.
