We already know how relaxing it can be to simply soak in a long hot bath, but to up the relaxation ante after a hard day, try adding some aromatherapy to your tub.
For a PM bath:
*Fill a new, clean pantyhose with oatmeal, lavender, and a hand-full of dried rose petals. Tie the stalking over your bath faucet as you let your bath fill up with hot water and soak away your troubled day.
*Or add four drops of lavender, four drops of chamomile and two to four drops of eucalyptus straight into your warm bath water and soak for 20 minutes.
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Clear your mind
You can't accomplish all your "to-dos" each day if you don't start with a clear mind. Which is why Hoyt suggests using aromatherapy in the shower before your mad dash out the door. It'll help reduce mind clutter and allow you to focus as you start your day.
In your AM shower:
*Fill a coffee mug with steaming hot water and add 10 drops of peppermint, 10 drops of lime and 10 drops of rosemary essential oils. Place the mug near your head (where your shampoo usually sits) and allow yourself to breath in the scents as you shower.
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Relax your back
Lipka says that so many women hold tension and stress in their backs, especially if they sit a lot during the day.
To access the reflex points in your back via your hands, Lipka suggests applying gentle pressure on the fleshy part of the base of your palm with your thumb for 30-60 seconds. You can also gently massage this area too.
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Calm your eyes
Cedar wood and clary sage are plants that have calming properties that can ease sore muscles and reduce anxiety, which in turn can give you less wrinkles. Hoyt suggests filling a clean sock with these herbs and resting them on your eyes to instantly ease your mind and body.
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Treat your feet
We know you already take great care of the look of your feet with pedicures (learn how to give yourself a pro DIY pedicure here) but with aromatherapy you can pamper your feet and get relaxing benefits at the same time.
Hoyt loves making pampering her tired feet with a body powder. To make her mix, follow this recipe:
Combine 1 cup cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of baking soda in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Then add 15-20 drops of your favorite essential oils and a few drops of peppermint oil and shake well. After your bath, apply to clean feet and anywhere else you feel on your body that needs pampering.
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Let's start with the obvious assertion that the world we live in is a hectic and overwhelming place. Now let's move on to the less appropriate reaction we often have to this frenzied existence: total freak-out, meltdown, why-me?, fists-banging-on-the-floor tantrums that are scarily as reckless as Britney Spears shaving her head (a health and beauty cry for help that landed her, among other celebrities, in The Biggest Beauty Blunders of All Time photo gallery). Or, even more dramatic, we suffer from depression, over eating, insomnia and a host of other serious side effects from the heart-attack king known as "stress." See how to relieve stress and body tension now.
Not only is stress bad for our brain, our body and our heart; it's bad for our beauty. Seriously, your natural beauty can't shine through when you're experiencing body tension and stress-induced anxiety, which causes wrinkles, acne and other skin care issues that even the best makeup can't hide. Simply, your health and beauty are at risk when you are stressed out.
But what's a busy gal, who's concerned about her health and beauty, to do? We are expected to have as many balls in the air as Bozo the Clown and we are supposed to look way better than he does doing it. Fair? Not quite. Unfortunately we can't stop the constant emails, or ask our bosses to lay off a bit. Stress and tension are facts of this crazy life.
So before you bite your nails into stubs, break a capillary or have a meltdown cry fest on your tiled bathroom floor (it happens to the best of us), try these tried and true ways to make your life less stressful through aromatherapy (the use of essential oils to fight stress) and reflexology (an ancient alternative medicine that can relieve body tension through pressure points on the body) and reap the health and beauty benefits they provide.
Before you can use these essential oils, you have to know which oils work to relieve stress. Here is a quick cheat sheet of oils you can find at health food stores (think Whole Foods) or a spa:
Oils for stress relief and relaxation:
*Bergamot
*Chamomile
*Neroli
*Ylang Ylang
*Lavender
*Marjoram
*Nutmeg
*Valerian
*Vetiver
*Rose
*Clary Sage
*Frankincense
*Cedar Wood
For a full list of what each essential oil can do for you, visit Lather.com
Now check out these tips from Lather founder and aromatherapist, Emilie Davidson Hoyt, so you can use these oils to the best of their abilities, then see how reflexologist, Cristina Lipka, uses simple tricks to reduce stress and body tension.
