Your Guide to Easy Self Care

Never has it been more important to relax our minds and bodies and practice some self care than in this crazy world that we currently find ourselves in. So this week I thought I’d share my personal tips on how I relax and turn off whenever I can find the time, and a few things that make me feel good for the whole week.

PAMPER YO’SELF

One of my favourite ways to pamper myself at home is to give myself a home spa! While I am missing a lovely deep tissue massage there are ways we can have a home spa and enjoy lots of the benefits without leaving the house!

My home pamper tends to start with a nice hot bath using a decedent bath product. I have three favourites at the moment that I usually swap between so I can tailor my bath to my mood. I do love a good bath bomb and the Tisserand bath oils feel lovely but my current top favourite is the Bloomtown salt soak in the fragrance The Grove (made up of blood orange and pink grapefruit) which has a revitalising and sweet fragrance.

I love spending the bath time with some relaxing music on (just look up spa music on YouTube or Spotify and I am sure you will find something that picks your fancy) and a face mask. I love the Beauty Pro Coconut face mask, especially at this time of year as it is so nourishing, my skin always feels so amazing after.

Once I have had a good soak I like to chill out with a chick flick and do my nails. Painting my nails is such a simple thing but I do find that when my nails look gorgeous it picks me up all week! It’s the pamper that keeps on giving.

HOME FACIAL

I have been known to dedicate a whole weekend day to a home pamper and after my soak and manicure I like to follow it with a good facial. Spending an hour looking after your skin will not only leave your skin glowing but also make you feel good! This can be tailored depending on what time of year it is, during winter our skin needs more hydration and moisturising due to the drying effects of heating.

Find somewhere quiet with water, put on some relaxing music and use the following products in this order.

Apply a cleanser to clean away the dirt of the day.

Follow with the face scrub and rinse well.

Apply a face mask, sit back for 15 minutes and enjoy the quiet or read a book.

Rinse off with warm water. If you have already applied a mask during your bath you can skip this step.

Apply the cleanser again to ensure that your skin is super clean.

Close your eyes and spray a toner onto your face and neck.

Massage in using upwards hand strokes.

Apply the moisturiser. If giving yourself a facial at night be sure to use the night cream. During winter I also use a face oil and a night moisturiser which I apply before the moisturiser. This can be tailored to what you use and what you love.

Who wouldn’t feel amazing and pampered after a skin treat like this!?

How about giving your body a pamper too and add in one of the Tisserand Lavender warming body wraps that we have recently started stocking.

DATE NIGHT AT HOME

A very different type of relaxing evening but none the less important is a date at home. There is no reason for you to miss out on this if you live on your own, why not have a self date? Or if you live with a partner you can make this a romantic evening for two, if you want to share this of course!

For me I get my the ingredients for my favourite meal in and spend time prepping and cooking with some of my favourite music on. I am a big fan of a good boogie and sing along in the kitchen while prepping a meal! If cooking isn’t your thing though then a take away would also work! Make sitting down and eating a bit more special than normal; lay up a nice table and light some candles if you like! After my meal I do what I know will make me feel great, whether this is continuing my dance party in the kitchen or watching my favourite film. If you would like a personal recommendation of a fabulous feel good film that will leave you feeling empowered, positive with a warm fuzzy glow check out ‘The Secret- Dare to Dream’ with Katie Holmes on Netflix. It was only released in September or October last year and I have watched it so many times already and I always feel so positive after watching it!

MEDITATION

One of the things that keeps me most relaxed is mediation. In these times I am currently meditating about three times a day, once in the morning, straight after I log off from work and before bed. It keeps my mind focused but also stops me from getting bogged down with negativity or stress. For me it is the ultimate relaxation technique.

Sometimes for my meditation I like to visualise and this really helps my mind to let go of the current situation. I tend to focus on places I have been as I find that easier to visualise. As a scuba diver I often find myself visualising that I am diving on a beautiful coral reef, the bright colours all around and the different fish going about their business. If I am really lucky I might even spot a shark, dolphin or whale! But this really could be anything, walking on the beach in your favourite holiday spot, imagine the sounds, the smells, the heat on your face. Literally the world is yours for the taking!

If you are not sure how to meditate and want to give it a go I recently fumbled on a mini series on Netflix by Headspace called ‘Guide to meditation’ which is a collection of short 20 minute episodes that can really help guide you as you start mediating.

My favourite guide is actually a free app called ‘Insight Timer’ where there are lots of different guided meditations or you can just pick a background music to meditate too. Definitely worth checking it out.

There are also lots of different meditations on YouTube just search for the type of mediation you are after.

NATURE

Another great relaxing technique is getting out into nature. My favourite form of this is to go to down to the woods for a bit of tree rejuvenation. If you don’t have woods near you then it can be anywhere in nature where you feel relaxed, whether that is a tiny bit of green space or standing next to the ocean, you can utilise whatever you have in your reach. Get out, get some fresh air and go home feeling better for it!

GRATITUDE AND POSITIVITY

It would not be me if I did not at least mention gratitude and positivity.

Lots of spiritual coaches talk about how you can not have a negative emotion (such as stress or anger) if you practice gratitude meaning it is literally impossible to be grateful AND angry!

You can of course combine gratitude with meditation and find a guided meditation that help you to do both.

Personally I have a gratitude journal that I fill out every morning with everything I am grateful for, and there is so much to be grateful for!

I am also currently working through a book by Rhona Byrne called ‘The Magic’ this is a great way to start working with gratitude if you haven’t before. Each day you start and end your day with a gratitude practice for 30 days with additional tasks each day. I am currently on day 11 of the practice. What was really interesting was on day 7 the task was to write 10 positive things that have come out of something negative. I wrote it for Covid and what 10 positive things have come out of this negative situation, this could be spending more time with your family, finally getting round to sorting out a room or finishing reading a book. Try it for yourself and see what you come up with, it might surprise you!