A session of relaxation is probably the best beauty treatment you can give yourself, as when you’re stressed and tired, you often don’t look your best. But you don’t have to go to expensive massage therapists for your beauty treatment; you can teach yourself some fail safe relaxation techniques that can be used at home whenever you feel the need.
Deep Breathing Relaxation Techniques
There are several methods of relaxing yourself at home that can be used anywhere else too – on the train, in the office or on a walk. If you’re going to try them at home first, you could combine it with a beauty treatment and maybe have a face pack on while you relax, to make sure you get the best from your session!
Deep breathing in itself is a great beauty treatment because it gets oxygen to all the cells of your body and gets your circulation going, a must have for good complexion.
If you’re doing this at home, you might like to light an aromatherapy candle or oil burner to help the atmosphere, but that’s not essential. First, close your eyes, and breathe in deeply to a count of two. Hold the breath for a further two counts, and then breathe it out to a count of four. If it feels more comfortable, you can breathe in to three and out to six, or whatever feels right, as long as the exhalation is twice as long as the inhalation.
While you’re doing this, imagine a white bubble of light moving down into your head, and making your head feel warm and relaxed. Concentrate on the feeling and imagine the bubble moving down through your neck and shoulders, into your chest, down through your arms and hands, all the time feeling warm and relaxed.
Carry the bubble of light through every part of your body until you feel completely warm, concentrate on the feeling of warmth and relaxation, and all the time keep counting and breathing. Do this for at least five minutes, preferably 15.
Another Quick Relaxation Technique
This one isn’t best used with a beauty treatment as such, but it’s a quick stress relief technique to teach yourself for when your mind is racing and you can’t seem to get rid of the mental to-do list that’s churning around in your head.
Sit still and breathe deeply, as in the previous exercise. Now, keeping your head straight, roll your eyes to look upwards, and focus on a point above your head. Try to focus on this point for long as you can – but if you blink it doesn’t matter. The reason that this works is because of the way our eyes naturally work when we are recalling events or imagining future events – we will tend to look left or right. If we look straight up we are neither recalling or imagining – and it stills the mind!
Aromatherapy as Relaxation
You can aid relaxation by using the right aromatherapy oils and simply burning them around the house to help enhance your mood. Good oils to promote relaxation include lavender and chamomile. Breathe deeply and inhale the aromas as you lie back and relax. Of course, essential oils are also good used in the bath, or in making your own beauty treatments such as creams and body scrubs. Pour a warm bath and soak in some lavender oil scented water after a stressful day.
