7 Self Care Tips to Help You Be the Best Version of You in 2020

by GracefulTouchMassageTherapy | Jan 7, 2020 | Self Care

The New Year is here and the new page of the calendar is the perfect opportunity to begin including self-care in our daily routines!

Self-care, a practice intended to improve one’s health, well-being, and happiness, has become a hot topic over the last few years. Treating yourself to a self-care routine is an attainable goal that doesn’t have to be complicated, time-consuming, or expensive. Putting yourself first has numerous benefits and improves overall happiness and productivity.

If your resolution is to add self-care to your to-do list during 2020, here are 7 tips to help you be the best version of yourself in the New Year.

1. Enjoy a healthy snack. Not sure how to start practicing self-care? One of the easiest ways to begin taking care of yourself and improving your health and wellness is to fuel your body with nutritious snacks and meals. Eating mindfully and incorporating healthy snacks into your day can be as simple as choosing fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins over sugary snacks.
2. Get creative! If you’re feeling stuck in a rut or bored in your daily routines, try something new – or even pick up an old hobby. Creative activities such as writing and drawing have been proven to decrease your stress levels. Focusing on learning a new task or engaging your brain in a different way can be relaxing and fun.
3. Book a massage. Massages benefit your mind as well as your body and are the perfect way to add self-care to your schedule in 2020. In addition to physical benefits such as pain relief, promoting circulation, lower blood pressure, and boosted immunity, massages are proven to decrease stress and anxiety. Massage therapy can also be personalized to suit your individual needs – whether you need additional pressure to loosen tight muscles or aromatherapy to make your experience even more relaxing.
4. Take time to be grateful. Practicing gratitude is a simple way to begin to shift any negative mindset into a positive attitude. In addition to reducing stress and anxiety, taking time to pause and reflect on the things you’re grateful for can rewire your brain to seek out the positive in every situation instead of dwelling on the negative. Begin by taking several moments at the start of your day to list out five things in your life you’re grateful for. As you continue your practice, you may be surprised to find your list growing!
5. Go outside. Taking a few minutes to get outside and take in fresh air and sunlight has many benefits, both physical and mental. A quick trip outdoors can lower both your stress levels and your heart rate!  If inclement weather prevents you from stepping outside, try simply changing your environment. Go for a short walk around your office. Sometimes, simply taking a break from your routine can be enough to leave you feeling energized and refocused.
6. Get moving. Adding exercise to your daily routine doesn’t necessarily require an expensive gym membership or cumbersome gym equipment. You can reap the benefits of exercise by start small by walking for 30 minutes three to four times per week. Increasing your heart rate, even for short periods of time, improves both your mood and your physical health.
7. Catch some extra zzz’s. If you find that you are tired more frequently than not, it may be time to practice self-care by adding more sleep to your schedule. With our hectic schedules and busy lives, this component of self-care can be challenging, but like many other self-care practices, it’s easy to start small. Try to go to bed 15 minutes earlier each night, and if this is doable, perhaps try 30 minutes earlier. If your current bedtime works for you but you find that you’re not sleeping well, work on removing distractions from your bedroom or turning them off sooner. Put away laptops and tablets and turn off the television earlier to allow your body and mind a little more time to fall asleep.

Start Self Care Today and Book a Massage!

Self-care begins with setting an intention to add practices to your routine that will improve your health and wellness. Making healthier snack choices, adding exercise to your routine, and booking a massage with Graceful Touch Massage Therapy will have you on your way to feeling your best in 2020! We offer massage to fit every schedule and budget. Check out our massage services then message us online to book your massage today!

Using Your Weekend to Recover from Your Week

by GracefulTouchMassageTherapy | Nov 5, 2019 | Self Care

The cycle continued every week…you’re so excited on Friday because the weekend has rolled around again. While you may think of spending that entire time relaxing, you more than likely have a huge list of things to do and places you need to be. Yes, life is busy, but there are ways we can set ourselves up to get some much-needed recovery time and prepare ourselves for the week ahead. So, here are a few tips on how to use your weekend the way it was intended.

Utilize your free time throughout the week

While your work week schedule may be pretty busy, there are a few ways to utilize your time through the week in order to get things done around the house. If you cook dinner every night for yourself or the family, why not try slow cooker meals. They’re quick and easy and cut down your cooking time each night. You can cook a full meal, soups, or your main dish and just add a quick and easy side when you get home. Or use 1 or 2 nights to meal prep or double or triple your recipes so lunch and dinner is already done for the rest of the week. This frees up more time each evening to either take care of some other must-dos or to just enjoy so you don’t need the weekend so desperately.

If you find yourself cleaning all weekend trying to make up for doing nothing around the house all week, try using that extra time each night to get one room or one task done. Whether its cleaning a bathroom, mopping the floor, or a doing just one or two loads of laundry, doing one thing each evening when you’re already up and moving can mean you get to sleep in on Saturday instead of rushing to clean the house each weekend.

Set boundaries for anything work related

Depending on your job, this may be difficult, but it’s definitely achievable. While you may be receiving work emails that need attention, unplug from work as much as possible. Unless it’s truly a requirement of your job, most things can wait until Monday. But if you absolutely must work, do it strategically. So instead of reacting every time you get a notification, set a certain time each day you’ll check in on work stuff. The rest of the day is yours. It’s also important to set clear boundaries with co-workers as well as your boss. Make sure you let them know that in order to do your job well, you need time to take care of yourself on the weekends.

Go with the flow: We tend to feel as if everything we do needs a schedule that’s set in stone, even when it involves our free time. While you may have events to attend like a birthday party or social outing, try your hardest to allow yourself just to be. Have you ever woken up on a Saturday and realized you had nowhere to be and the day was TRULY yours? It’s one of the best feelings ever.

Learn to say no: While socializing with our loved ones and friends can be therapy in so many ways, overscheduling yourself on the days you should be resting is exhausting. Don’t spread yourself too thin. If you already have plans and get invited to another event, don’t feel like you have to find a way to make it work. Say no. These events are meant to be fun and enjoyable, not you rushing from one place to another, never really being able to relax. It’s okay to say no, or “I already have plans”, even if that plan is you relaxing on your own.

When there’s no way around it, get it done: Sometimes having a to do list on the weekend is unavoidable. Generally, those to-dos drag along with you throughout the weekend as you put it off again and again. When you have things to get done on the weekend, try to get them done as soon as possible, so you don’t have that weight on your shoulder anymore. Then you really can just enjoy your weekend.

 While the weekends may be your favorite part of the week, be sure you’re using them wisely and taking advantage of every second you have to take care of you. Get that well-deserved downtime…you’ve earned it.

Browse our massage services, then contact me online to book your next massage today!