Moru's Crafts

Having a couple of Big Bosses in the restaurant today made me a little stressed out. So I decided to come home and pamper myself. I feel like a lot of the time I let myself get too stressed over the little things. Especially when my bosses are stressed out. I get stressed out pretty easily, so I generally have to come home and vent about what happened at work, take a few deep breaths and then go find something that has nothing to do with work to soothe my nerves. I figured I’d put together some of my favorite ways to relax and recoup from a long day at work.

#1 – Ice Bath For the Feet. The first thing I feel like doing when I get home is taking my shoes off. Of course I stick dryer sheets in my shoes because after a long day on my feet, they can stink up the entire room… but also, my feet throb. Tile and carpet over concrete isn’t very good to my feet, especially since I have high arches. I can feel my feet throb when I sit down.

The best remedy I’ve found that counteracts that is to get a shallow dish filled with ice cubes. I put a towel over it to keep my feet from freezing (and it keeps my dog from realizing that there is ice in the bowl). I do two minutes with my foot on, and then two with the other. Basically after a long day on your feet, the bottoms of your feet are practically bruised. The ice helps to reduce the swelling, and it is the best.

#2 – Epsom Salt Bath. I love to come home and soak in the tub. That’s one of my favorite things to do. I don’t get to do it very often, because my dog doesn’t like it when I’m behind a closed door for too long. When I take baths, I really soak. I get pruny. I can’t help myself. I bring a good book, hopefully keeping it out of the water as much as possible, and light a few candles. I like to light vanilla candles. I find the scent soothing.

I also add some Epsom Salts to my bath to make aches and pains melt away. If my back is hurting before I get in, I come back out feeling refreshed.

#3 – At-Home Facial. Every once in a while you need to pamper your self a little extra. This is a list of 25 recipes for face masks to help rejuvenate whatever type of skin you might have. My favorite recipe is just oatmeal, plain yogurt and a few drops of honey. I also like sugar scrubs. I want to try to make a sugar scrub for myself. Whenever I sit down to do it, something always seems to come up. There are so many great resources for skin care on the internet, and feeling good about your skin is a good way to feel less stressed, and thus have less breakouts!

#4 – Yoga. Yoga can be very relaxing. If you don’t have time to take a class, just look up youtube videos on the breathing exercises. My stress stems from not being able to think things through properly, especailly if I’m very busy. A few Yoga breaths help to center me and keep me from jumping to any rash decisions.

#5 – Listen to some calming music. That always cheers me up. I like to listen to mellow electronica when I’m feeling stressed. It keeps idle thoughts at bay while I’m trying to concentrate.

That’s about it. My 5 tips for less stress. I hope they work as well for you as they do for me!