7 Ways to Help Relieve Stress

by Ainslie Mackie April 20, 2021

As far as years go, this one has been more stressful that usual for most of us. How many times have you found yourself tense, jaw clenched or just feeling anxious or on the 'low' side. In fact, take a moment right now.. release your jaw, relax your shoulders and shake of any excess tension in your body.. that feels good right?

I can't count the amount of times I have had conversations with friends and family about how weird, on edge and unnerved we all have felt over the last year. If I am honest the anticipation of things reopening and life possibly/maybe going back to normal seems to have us feeling almost the same too. These waves of emotions are what has inspired me to write these 7 stress relieving tips.....

1

Light a candle & breathe

After watching the goop documentary on Wim Hof my husband and I decided to download the app and try out the 'guided breathing exercises'.. Stay with me here, I am often a sceptic but after reading and hearing about the results we decided to give it a go. I highly recommend you do too, you can find out more about Wim Hof's guided breathing here. Or if that sounds perhaps slightly airy fairy for you, just take the time out of your day to light a candle and take 10 deep breathes.

Choose from one of our soy wax scented candles, all hand poured in Cornwall and made from the highest quality oils.

2

Release your jaw

This is your second warning, relax those shoulders..

3

Make a list

For me personally, this is a life saver. If I am feeling stressed, I create a list. If I am feeling frustrated, I create a list. If I am feeling lazy, I create a list. If a list could save lives, it would be one of mine! I find writing down what I need to do and then ticking it off incredibly therapeutic.

Our pocket sized notebooks are perfect to jot down any niggling thoughts or jobs ready to be ticked off. Each notebook is made and embossed in Cornwall.

4

Get active

I don't know who needs to hear this but... get outside. Just realised you haven't left the house for 24 hours? Don't worry you are NOT alone in this. Take a walk, jog, cycle or whatever it is you want to do, encourage deep breathes through the nose and out through the mouth.

5

Take a bath

If you follow us on instagram you will already know my little sister Safi is totally obsessed with baths. If I am honest I am totally with her, being child free and living a in fairly calm household I am lucky enough to be able to take a bath a few times a week. I love nothing more than popping on an audio book, running a bath and adding a large handful of bath salts choosing my scents depending my mood.

Choose from Clary Sage, Bergamot & Sandalwood or Lavender & Calendula or Citrus Lemon, Lime & petitgrain. Every scent is made with Cornish seasalt and real flowers.

6

Help aid a good nights sleep

Lavender has been used to treat a range of ailments since ancient times including insomnia. Follow a relaxing bath (or shower) by generously smothering yourself in our Lavender and calendula 3 in 1 body oil. The scents are known to promote calmness and reduce stress resulting in a better nights sleep.

Use our 3 in 1 body oils in the bath, on the body or combine with our St. Ives Co. bath salts to make a luxurious exfoliator.

We also recommend spritzing our calming room and pillow mist around your bedroom and on linen to help get you in to a relaxed, zen headspace for bedtime.

7

Put down your phone

We are all a little bit addicted to our phones right? For me it's about keeping my hands busy, I feel a constant need to be doing something with my hands. So instead of picking up your phone for a scroll on instagram, a check of emails or maybe a flick through tinder try one of our DIY needle felting kits instead or if you aren't much of a crafter we have also recently launched our 500 piece St. Ives puzzle. Jigsaw puzzles have been hailed as a great meditation tool and stress reliever.

If you have got this far, thank you for reading and please do pop any of your stress relieving tips in to the comments!!

Have a glorious (and hopefully a stress free) week,

Ainslie xx