Thursday, October 6, 2016

10 Self Care Activities When Life Gets Stressful

Fall is a busy time for us. I start teaching several new classes at the end of September, there are five birthdays in October in our family, and the calendar gets quickly filled with numerous holidays and celebrations.

I can easily feel overwhelmed and feel like I have no time for myself. When I was younger, I thought “powering through” busy and stressful times was the answer. But that really didn’t work all that well as it always left me exhausted and often even sick. As I’m getting older, I have learned to take a little time for myself every day, no matter how busy I am. I feel much less stressed and am actually more productive and get my work done quicker if I do this consistently.

Here are 10 ways I have found to take care of myself when life gets stressful:
  • a short yoga routine at home
  • a barre class at a studio
  • an early morning walk (or a walk any time of the day)
  • a bath - an epsom salt bath is especially relaxing
  • a pedicure
  • reading a good book (reading for pleasure every day is an absolute must!)
  • journaling first thing in the morning
  • coloring in an adult coloring book
  • a facial mask
  • lighting a candle and listening to music while sipping on some tea
For a while now I have been intrigued by a “new” way people are relaxing: adult coloring books. I even gave some adult coloring books as gifts earlier this year, but I hadn’t tried them myself. Both recipients of the coloring books told me afterward that they loved coloring in them but that they had been skeptical when I first sent them (they both live in Europe, and I had them sent via Amazon).

Because I was curious about adult coloring books, I happily accepted when Sourcebooks offered to send me Color Your Dreams: 100 Inspiring Words, Captivating Coloring Images & Uplifting Activities.* The coloring book not only has coloring pages, but each coloring page is accompanied by a page that contains a quote and a reflective and meditative activity that goes along with the coloring.

Color Your Dreams 1
Color Your Dreams 2

Coloring and doing the activities at the same time is very relaxing and has become one of my favorite ways to relax. I love doing it right before I go to bed at night as it calms me down and is a much better way to end the day than watching TV or being on the computer or my phone (which used to be the way I would end the day - to be honest, I often did all three at once! Crazy, I know).

And lately, you’ll also find me on the couch at night in my PJs and my new cozy chenille robe.*

Bath and Robes Buttoned Chenille Robe 1

It was serendipity when Bath and Robes contacted me via Instagram to see if they could send me one of their robes as I had been looking for a new robe for a while now. The robe is cozy and soft, and I love feeling it against my skin. It’s perfect to wear at the end of the day when I’m winding down. And it’s also wonderful to put on in the morning to start the day.

Bath and Robes Buttoned Chenille Robe 2

Questions: How do you take care of yourself when life gets stressful? Have you ever tried an adult coloring book? I’m so glad I finally did as it’s a truly relaxing and fun activity... Is your robe as cozy and comfortable as it could be? My old robe definitely wasn’t, but I’m very happy with my new one from Bath and Robes.
  
Click here to check out the fabulous bloggers I’m linking up with.


Be well,
Andrea
 
*Disclosures: I was provided both the coloring book and the robe free of charge. As always, all opinions are my own. #coloryourdreams