image: flickr-Ben Dodson
create a retreat at home
Yoga retreats and festivals like Wanderlust are great ways to eliminate the day-to-day stresses and restore your life’s natural equilibrium. What do you do when day-to-day stresses don’t let you get away from it all? When we asked on Facebook and Twitter how you re-energize at home, the common themes were eats & drinks, exercise and a little bit of pampering.
eat
Comfort foods, like mac & cheese or chocolate, score highly as easy stress relievers, as do eating out at a favourite restaurant. When it comes to relaxing drinks, the jury is still out as to whether a cup of herbal tea (green, chamomile, jasmine, etc.) or a glass of wine is the most effective for dispatching distress.
exercise
The majority of us regain control through yoga but there is a definite contingent that exercises to music, whether it’s throwing on our iPods and running or cutting loose with an impromptu dance party. The surprise entry into this category was house-cleaning. While some swore off chores, others swore that cleaning the house from top to bottom left them in a brighter space, both figuratively and literally.
pamper
Bubbles. Bubbles. Bubbles. There’s something about bubble baths that makes us breathe deeply and relax - optional extras include scented candles and Epsom or lavender salts. A good hand cream or taking the time for a mani/pedi is another fantastic way to remind us all how much we value ourselves (and rightly so, we’re pretty awesome).
Obviously, the ideal home retreat would include all three characteristics (although we’re pretty sure that running in the bath while holding a glass of wine is a bad idea). The fundamental essence is to forget the small stuff and to focus on what you’re doing: the taste and texture of wine; the meditative zone of yoga or running (or vacuuming) and the muscle-relaxing heat of a deep bath.
