6 daily self-care rituals to keep stress & anxiety at bay.
1. SET YOURSELF UP FOR THE DAY
Have a practice that you can do in the morning to set the tone for the day. It’s super important to connect to yourself, your centre and to find a little bit of grounding.
This can be a 5 minute practice that could include the below:
Sitting down and simply pause and observe your breath.
After a minute or so flash through your mind things you deeply appreciate in your life right now.
Pause observe the mind for a minute or so with openness and receptivity.
Visualise your future self that day and how you want to interact with the world. What energy do you want to give off?
Place your hands on your heart and say 3 affirmations that support the visualisation.
I have a FREE meditation practice you might like called the ‘Positivity Booster’. It’s a 7 minute practice that helps to get your mind in a positive mindset for the day ahead.
2. USE YOUR BREATH
Our breath is the number 1 tool that we can use that will help us to feel calmer and more grounded when we feel the simmering of overwhelm, stress, anxiety and worry. If you want to learn more about the science and why it works you can read about it here.
Here’s a very simple but very affective practice you can do for a few minutes.
Place hands on lower lobes of the lungs.
Inhale through your nose and direct your breath into the lower lobes of your lungs.
Purse your lips and gently exhale out your mouth like you’re trying to make a candle flicker.
Repeat for 3 - 5 minutes or as long as you like.
Close your eyes and really focus on the breath moving in through your nose and out through your mouth. Keep the focus on the breath.
I have recorded this exact practice and other similar practices on my online channel, or you can find a couple of free practices on my instagram.
3. EVENING ROUTINE
How we wind down from our day is SO important as it will help us sleep better and when we sleep better we are more resilient to stress and anxiety.
Here are some simple steps -
Take a nourishing long bath. Light candles and use an essential oil such as lavender to help your body and mind relax. Listen to relaxing music with dim lighting.
Try not to watch anything that will over stimulate you or have any intense conversations.
Read before bed to help your mind wind down but nothing that excites you too much.
Keep things light and joyful.
4. WATCH SOMETHING FUNNY on TV
Laughter is one of the greatest healers and helps us to shift into a more relaxed state. Give yourself permission to watch your favourite comedy or read a funny book.
5. SELF MASSAGE
Grab some massage oil and nurture your body with self massage.
6. WRITE STUFF DOWN
Write a list of all the things you can control and all the things you can't. All the things that are out of your control put aside, throw away or pocket them as a reminder for later. Write action points next to all the things you can control and begin to take necessary steps. This is a great way to manage catastrophizing thoughts and to ground and focus the mind.
It's the catasrophizing and projecting into the future that can cause so much unnecessary angst. Capturing our thoughts and taking a little bit of control will help manage unnecessary spiralling.