Let’s face it, as much as we would love every day to be cruisey, stress free and smooth sailing…. that usually isn’t the case. Life moves at a rapid pace, we all seem to be living with what has become a constant and normalised level of daily stress (even if you aren’t always aware you are stressed, it is often at a subconscious level). I have found it so important for my state of mind and emotional and mental wellbeing to try to find a small amount of time when I feel things are really getting too hectic, stressed or out of control, to just unwind, recalibrate and de-stress!

I wanted to share a few of my favourite things to do to bring some calm back into my day. These are simple little things that I can do even in the shortest amount of time. Some days I am lucky enough to have an hour to be able to spend on myself and other days I am lucky if I can grab 10 minutes of alone and quite time. We are all doing the best we can in whatever roles we are playing (and we are usually juggling multiple roles at once)… whether that is mum life, business/work life, in our relationships and at home. It is absolutely ok to feel overwhelmed and stressed out, in fact, acknowledging it is super important and allows us to reevaluate our situation and make some valuable time to prioritise our own health, wellbeing and happiness. Next time you feel like it’s you against the world, or you know you are letting a stressful situation get the better of you, I want you to prioritise yourself by scheduling in a small amount of time to do one of the following:

1. {Sit. Reflect. Relax. Breathe} Find 10 minutes to just sit somewhere quiet, nice and relaxing. You want to bring some peace and calm back into your day by just sitting down comfortably. This does not have to be a meditation, this can be as simple as just a few big, deep, belly breaths slowly in and out, ensuring to fill  your lungs up and to exhale all of the air out. This will help slow your heart rate, calm your mind and body and even detoxify your body by getting rid of any stale air in your lungs and eliminate harmful toxins. When we are stressed, we take short, shallow and rapid breaths and our lungs don’t fully expand and our body produces adrenaline and cortisol. By concentrating on taking deep, full and slow breaths, your body will respond in a positive way and  you will feel the benefits of your blood pressure lowering, your heart rate dropping and your muscles and mind relaxing! You can even make yourself a nice cup of herbal tea (I like Peppermint to calm me down) and just sit quietly sipping it while working on your breathing! Try it… this one won’t take much time out of your day at all but the effects are immediate and you will feel less stressed.

2. {Lace up your shoes and head outside} Even if you don’t feel like it or you are not feeling motivated, I strongly suggest just putting on your sneakers, lacing them up and walking outside. There is something about being outdoors, soaking up some vitamin D and smelling the fresh air that just makes us feel better. Once you are outside, just head off on a little stroll, again concentrating on your breathing. This can be as short or as long as you like or you feel you need. A longer walk will obviously increase your heart rate and hopefully release those endorphins, but the benefits of even a short walk are huge, especially mentally! So, make it easy for yourself by keeping your walking shoes handy and don’t let excuses sneak in – excuses are a form of self sabotage and we want to eliminate that from our lives to enjoy a less stressed daily life.

3. {Magnesium Bath} Soaking in a magnesium bath will help relieve muscle aches and tension and also relax your body and mind. Magnesium helps our bodies by relaxing certain receptors in our brain and nervous system. It can also aid neurological and physiological processes when the body is under stress and pressure and help alleviate headaches. You can apply magnesium oil directly to different areas of your body, however I love to add mine to a warm bath and just relax and let the oil soak straight into my body. I find this a great part of my post workout recovery or even if I just find I have a spare 30 minutes at night once the kids are in bed to unwind from the day that was! I use an amazing South Australian Magnesium, MgLIFE, which is made from organically sourced magnesium chloride and you can get your magnesium here and try it for yourself.

4. {Self Massage} Relieve those knots and muscular tensions by giving yourself a little hand, neck, scalp or foot massage. We hold a lot of tension in our feet and hands so give them some love and massage your stress away. You can use some coconut oil or your favourite lotion and just knead the muscles, starting gently and apply desired pressure to loosen the tension. If you have a small massage ball, tennis ball or golf ball you can use this as a foot massager, just stand on it and roll your foot over it applying as much pressure as you can handle.

5. {Music on and belt out your fave tunes} It is amazing how much your mood can change when you hear songs you love. It can be any type of music, depending on what you feel will lift your mood… from loud dance songs that you can boogie around the house to, to power ballads that you can sing at the top of your lungs, through to some chill out beats to just relax and escape! I would prefer to listen to music all day long than put the TV on (I’m not a big TV person at all) and music always lifts my mood and if the kids are cranky or being a bit whingey, I will often put the music dock on and tell them to choose a song each and we just sing and dance with it up loud and it usually works a treat to change their mood and settle the situation.

Find a little routine, ritual or activity that works for you and try to use it as much as you can when you feel you need to. Looking after your mental health and state of mind is so important to your overall health and wellbeing! I would love to hear some of the other things that you do that help you unwind after a stressful day? I am always looking to include some new ideas into my day so let me know what you find relaxing.

Kel xx