Last year in particularly was a very stressful year for so many, so it was no surprise that wellness products and especially ones for relaxation were very much in demand. Aromatherapy products in particular became everyday essentials as we created mini relaxation rituals at home to help us feel more uplifted and less stressed. I love the idea of this because it means that you can turn an everyday chore into something that helps you to feel more uplifted, positive and calm without needing too much extra time. Whether it's an aromatherapy bath, shower, inhalation or scrub, spending a little time each day using the wonderful benefits of aromatherapy can really enhance our wellbeing. It's also a moment in the day that we can have to ourselves to focus on solely on ourselves instead of thinking of all the other things we have to do.
Along with that, I've always been a big believer of meditation. It doesn't have to be time consuming and it doesn't have to be complicated. Just a few minutes of switching off from the outside world and focusing on our breathing can completely change our perspective on things and it creates a change both physically and emotionally, I usually start my day with a quick meditation but I’ll often meditate during a busy day just to get a few minutes of calm if I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. Meditation is also a really useful way to get in touch with my intuition, something I use in my personal and business life.
Along with meditation, I'm also a big fan of visualisations, which at it's core is getting into a relaxed state and seeing and feeling something in your life that makes you happy or something that you would like to change and visualising how that would be if it was the way you wanted it to be. I use visualisations often and it seems I’m in good company as many athletes also use this method to see the outcome of what they want to achieve. I'm often amazed at how well this works. Over the years I’ve visualised and made happen many things in my life including living at the beach, a job that I really wanted, creating my business, a move to another city and even love!
So Aromatherapy, meditation and visualsations are a bit part of my life along with a bit of positive self talk which I truly believe can make all the difference in how we feel about ourselves. It’s especially beneficial if we’re comparing ourselves to others or being critical about ourselves in some way. A good way to start is to just decide not to let any negative thoughts come into your head for the next hour. If they do (and it’s amazing how often they do) just gently guide your thinking back to something more positive. It's quite amazing how quickly you’ll start to feel much better and even though it might not change a particular situation it will start to change how you cope with it.
You can start doing this with any area of life - work, love, the way that you feel about your physical appearance - just gently (and always lovingly) guide your mind back to a more positive feeling. In other words treat yourself in the same way that you would treat and speak to a friend.
While these things can definitely help with everyday stress, please seek professional help or reach out to someone if your stress is ongoing.
Audra x