Looking after yourself

The rain continues to pour down outside and the wind is howling around every corner of the house. So, I’ve taken shelter from the storm, and nourishment from the warm, by creating my own special space.  It’s something which I’ve found to be invaluable, particularly recently, and I’d love to share some of it with you because it is very much about Looking After Yourself.    I’m finding that doing certain things,  on a regular basis,  is just so beneficial.  And, no, this isn’t about skin care.  Nor am I advising you to drink more water (although that does go without saying it’s good advice coming from a beauty therapist!). 

Recently, I did my first live, online presentation on Zoom to members of a business networking group I belong to.  It was about how essential I have found it to create time and space in a particular way, and using certain techniques which can promote our general wellbeing and health all year round.

The wake up alarm call (and how to find your Hygge!)

How it came about was when the alarm went off one morning around 7.00 a.m. and the news on the radio was shocking.  Before my brain was able to assimilate what I was hearing, I could feel an overwhelming sense of doom and gloom enveloping me:  my heart was pounding and my head started to follow.  My stomach began to churn and my breathing started to quicken.  It was a moment of overwhelm which I needed to take control of. 

Switching off the radio, I walked into another room (which I now call my Hygge* space pronounced Hooguh) in the early morning darkness.  I switched on my Himalayan salt lamp, lit some aromatic candles, laid on my yoga mat and covered my body in a soft fleece blanket for extra warmth.  I played gentle music like I do when clients come for massage or facials or Reiki (in fact all treatments) and began some yoga stretches and deep breathing.  

Don’t forget to breathe …

Breathing deeply focusses the mind.  It allows you the space to pay attention to the current moment, for that is all we have …. Just that moment, without judging.   I found It to be wonderful!  The perfect place, my own retreat, with just the dawn chorus as a welcome, intermittent, distraction outside as the world begins to open.

The wafting of aromas from the candles while deep breathing awakened my senses, gently, kindly, invitingly as my body started to become more alive with the rhythm of each breath.  I set my intentions for the day as I breathed in the happy thoughts, and released those which didn’t  serve me.  It worked for me.  Just 20 minutes or so in that space created that beautiful calmness without drama, without tension, just reinforcing that Life is Good for that moment in time.

 I had heard about Hygge on a breakfast TV show.  I remembered it being about a Danish way of life which is cosy and warm.  It is described as The Art of Creating A Cosy Atmosphere.  My own Beauty Works Horsham treatment room  happens to also be very Hygge. Soft fleeces drape the couch, warm duvets are interlaced with heat pads, gentle colours are easy on the eye There is no clutter (especially since the Covid scare and all the extensive cleaning to meet hygiene requirements).  But there are always candles burning.  I can’t do without candles.   Tiny flames are mesmerising as they dance invitingly.  They seem to beckon their welcome to everyone who comes for treatments and therapies which are essential holistically.

What your mind believes, your body will follow

When I had a time of illness, I proved to myself that what our minds think, our bodies respond to.  It is so vital to try and keep focussed on all the good in our lives.  If you look inwards, you get to know yourself better and learn what you really want, really need, really love.  Taking time out regularly enables this to happen.  Clients often say to me that just an hour on my warm couch, in their own space, having deeply relaxing treatments, feels like they have had a weekend away. Just the routine I now follow does that for me ….

So many of us work for years and years without any thoughts of looking after Number One.  We strive to keep all the plates spinning until, one day, if we are not careful they come crashing to the floor.  If we are totally exhausted, we have fewer reserves to build ourselves up again.  So, I believe it is important that we keep our minds vibrant and flourishing with positivity and our bodies, hopefully, become a mirror of that.  But it can only happen if we give ourselves time out.

 Such is the benefit of finding something which nourishes the mind, the body and the soul alike.  So I urge you to find your own little place of Hygge, stretch, and breathe and remember Life is Good.  Enjoy!