Taking one day and dedicating it to yourself to do all the things for yourself that you normally don’t get the time for. Caring for yourself and setting yourself up for the week is important, self-care can be however you see it but it’ll help you to have a better work-life balance, reduce stress and improves physical and mental health. A self-care routine should be approached like a sweet store, you indulge in one go – would you? You’d take what you want that day and come back for more. Self-care should be the same, don’t overwhelm yourself. Even change it up from week to week so it doesn’t become mundane.
I need to start the week off right and of course getting a good night’s sleep is key. So today, I'm taking the time out to make myself feel good & yes, ok for many it's 'superficial' but remember the age-old meaning 'look good, feel good'? It rings true for many. Today is all about dry brushing & soaking in the bath, doing my hair, calming smells, meditation & journaling.
A Calm & Silent Start
Waking this morning, it was all about just taking a moment to be aware of my surroundings, gather my thoughts. I have lately set my phone onto certain DND settings either for when I'm working or just to have 'me time'. As I do feel there is a need to be away from the phone from time to time. Not to be too dependant, my first thought in the morning shouldn't be to look at others [not in a bad way] but to focus on my own mind.I've mentioned in previous posts how my back and neck sometimes when I wake, are the absolute worst. Doing stretches before & [even the position I sleep in] after I wake has been really beneficial.
This leads onto my morning journal prompts:
- What are 3 things I'm thankful for today?
- What are 3 things I can get done today?
- What's my intention for the day?
- How do I want to feel at the end of the day?
- What is something I'm going to do for myself today?
DAILY AFFIRMATION
Abundance and beauty flow my way everyday.
A wonderful affirmation for gratitude. By recognising the good things in life and the beauty all around us, we’re opening ourselves up to more and more of the same.
What is the Wim Hof Breathing Method?
In the morning, I have started to do a Guided Wim Hof Method Breathing, it's been said that with consistent practice some of the benefits include; boosting your immune system, improving concentration, improving your mental well-being & increasing willpower. It's recommended to be done in the morning as the stomach is still empty. It's a great technique to just concentrate on the breath...I'll take about 10 minutes to relax afterwards & feel the after effects & hydrate.Mood Enhancing Scents
Essential Oils play a big part in my day, you can get pure scents or a blend & they are targeted towards helping your moods. I'm going to be using Nourish London Essential Oil Blends this week. I have two in Calm & Focus. As I run the shower, I want to keep the calm mood continuing, so what I do is, I put a couple of drops on the bath so when the shower is running, it helps to diffuse the blend. Calm is made up of 9 essential oils: Frankincense, Bergamot, Lavender, Sweet Orange, Geranium, Patchouli, Sweet marjoram, Juniper & Rose.
Alot of these oils have properties to help feelings of relaxation and helping to ease stress or anxiety.
Before I leave to go into the bathroom, I put my diffuser on with the Focus blend, so when I leave from one aroma, I'm already surrounded by another, especially when it's warm, having scented candles on, aren't always the best choice for me, being an extra heat source. The next best thing is a diffuser, helps to purify the air but also have a constant aroma that will enhance the mood.
Bathroom Routine
Hygiene is a big part of wellbeing, it's the taking care of ourselves part for our health that is needed. Brushing our teeth & taking care of our oral health is important, for some it can be hard just because of their mental wellbeing, what is routine & easy to do for others can be the hardest for others. I take a lot of time to brush my teeth, I do manual & electric as I like to brush my tongue with a manual toothbrush & floss then finish up with mouthwash. My next step will always be dry brushing, I've done a post on dry brushing & cellulite before.
It helps to exfoliate, clean pores, reduce cellulite, boost energy, gets your blood circulating, lymphatic support, reduces acne & tightens the skin. We always brush towards the heart & where we do the circular motions those are where our lymph nodes are located: behind the knee, groin, elbow crease, armpit, neck & jaw (we massage towards our ears).
The same for our arms, the elbow crease & elbow are where we do the circular motions. Our neck & chest, downwards towards the heart and our stomach circular motions around the belly button area & then upwards.
I enjoy having mood uplifting products while in the bath & shower. My go-to for that is Soap & Glory. Their products are next to none when it comes to scents plus they're affordable.
Great post I find my mornings are the busiest time of the day and evenings are my time to relax and unwind with tlc, I am a firm believer in my skincare routine
ReplyDeleteI shower daily and rub oil into my skin. I should follow your lead and dry brush too. I always brush my tongue after cleaning my teeth.
ReplyDeleteI very rarely get self care time thanks to the kids but I try to set aside at least a little time to relax and unwind and pamper myself.
ReplyDeleteSetting my phone to DND is a lifesaver for my ADHD and self care. I feel fortunate that I have a zen den (yoga space) in my home I can retreat to and relax at any time. Yoga is my self care.
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to look into the Wim Hof Method Breathing Method a bit more, it sounds like it has some really amazing benefits and is definitely something I could use!
ReplyDeleteI really wish I was a morning person, but I just can't find a routine that works for me so I try to get as much done the night before so my mornings can be as relaxed as possible.
ReplyDelete