Spark joy: 5 instant happiness benefits from Virgin Red rewards

Interest in wellness has boomed in recent years – but it’s more than just a passing fad. Beyond anything involving crystals, chia seeds or Kundalini yoga, wellness is really about putting yourself first – regular moments built up through small steps and simple daily rituals.

Virgin Red is full of ideas to help you along the way. From stress-reducing mindfulness courses to adventures based in nature, Virgin Red members can choose from a host of rewards designed to bring a little zest and lightness to the daily grind, using Virgin Points. 

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Rewards to reduce stress and calm the mind

An online meditation course (available via a Virgin Experience Days' Enjoy at Home voucher for 6,250 Virgin Points) will help you build a mindful coping kit for life. There are four modules with the New Skills Academy, which you can complete at any point in your own time. Tap into this happiness elixir of mindfulness, and learn how to better manage anything from pain to addiction or chronic stress.

An iconic Saint Fragrance scented candle (6,250 points) may help lift your lessons, too. 

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Rewards to help foster your closest relationships

An 80-year study from Harvard university concluded that good relationships are the most important thing when it comes to how happy we feel in life. Spending time with people you truly love (not frenemies, or relatives who stress you out) can boost your physical and mental health, and even help you live longer. 

Want to bond with a few more members of your crew? Choose from a paintballing day for four (7,750 points), a dome stay with huskies (42,500 points via Virgin Experience Days’ Chrome Collection) and lots more.

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Virgin Red has a string of outdoor rewards ready and waiting to tune into the wilderness elixir. A Segway safari, for example (via Virgin Experience Days’ Amber Collection) is your chance to blow out the cobwebs on a super-fun ride in stunning parkland.

Brave types could also try tackling the rapids in a hot dog for two at Lee Valley (via Virgin Experience Days’ Scarlet Collection), or even a vineyard tour in East Sussex (via the Graphite Collection). The Great Outdoors with wine involved? We’re in. 

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Rewards for therapeutic cooking (and eating)

To spark a little dopamine of your own, try an introductory cookery class with Masterchef star Ann Hood (17,500 points via a Virgin Experience Days' Scarlet Collection voucher) and learn how to create restaurant-standard dishes – from moreish gnocchi with sage butter to terrific tarte tatin.

Since chocolate has an especially potent effect on happiness, you could also go full-whammy with a chocolate-making workshop for one (8,750 points via a Virgin Experience Days' Amber Collection voucher). Creamy ganache goodness awaits – for all the feel-good vibes you need.

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Rewards for reviving adventure 

Trying something new can transform your outlook on life, leaving you with a whole new sense of energy and verve. Hop right in with a helicopter buzz flight (9,500 points), a thrilling supercar blast in a Ford Mustang (6,000 points) or return Virgin Atlantic reward flights to the Caribbean (starting from 20,000+ points*). Your appetite for life that’s been on leave for the past year and a half? It’ll come whooshing back with any one of these adventures. 

Check out more extraordinary experiences, from foodie forays to far-flung holidays, with Virgin Red’s rewards club.

* Taxes, fees and carrier imposed surcharges apply to all Virgin Red reward flights. Points based on off-peak rates.