A growing trend in recent years has been to holiday at home or close to home, a great idea particularly during a wonderful summer like we’ve had. Fully recharging your batteries can be difficult, though, if you’re working, cooking, cleaning and looking after the children as normal so it’s worth taking time, however brief, to make sure you relax and de-stress. Decide when it would be best for you to have some time out and what you’d like to do – run, walk, swim, tuck yourself away to read a book or catch up with friends abroad over Skype. I advise clients to take a long bath and then ask a partner to massage them or do a simple massage on themselves. You might like to use neroli, a wonderfully relaxing essential oil and one of my favourites due to its scent, or try a massage oil candle. Whatever your preference, after a warm bath, follow with a gentle massage with massage oil, on the nape of the neck, temples, shoulders, solar plexus, lower part of the back and feet to help to relieve tensions of the day. Inhale the aromas deeply and relax for 10 minutes. This will give a great feeling of peace and help nervous tension disappear. This calming and relaxing effect can be particularly valuable in pregnancy. If you’re alone, you may like to massage the nape of your neck, pulse points, top of the hands and inside wrists and elbows – a gentle rhythmic massage for a few minutes would be helpful and can be such a great help after a long car journey!
