Home Self Care

Home Self Care Tips

Relaxation

Relaxation is our natural state, as seen more obviously in nature,  for example the trees aren’t sweating that they don’t know what the future look likes, nor the flowers quivering due to fearing lack of money, or the bees worrying about their bumbly round body image, they are just doing their thing in complete relaxation.

Relaxation supports all of our body systems & mind to work at their best. A regular form of relaxation is a great way to provide self care & it can be whatever works & provides support to you. I love to take short moments of mind & body relaxation, also called strong mind, which can be carried out anytime, anywhere, with nothing else needed, it is so easeful & the results are very quick & profound. It supports stability of mind no matter the worries, fears of uncertainty, we never know what is around the corner, so to simply focus on each moment is very refreshing. This doesn’t mean that we can’t plan or prepare for the future, but for me, it has meant I can live a happier life where I feel contented, no matter the thoughts or emotions I have.

It is an ancient Tibetan practice that has been developed for the modern day. This practice has ultimately supported me to see the best way to take care of the self, how to make decisions & have clarity on how I would like to live my life. This is a pic of me below on a relaxation retreat, ahhhh super relaxed. See here for more info https://www.bright.how/ also books can be found here.

Relaxation self care tips

Exercise You Enjoy

Do something you actually enjoy, working out doesn’t need to look like pain & misery e.g. running for hours on the treadmill, do what is practical & will fit into your life, maybe a 7 minute workout each morning would work for you, or a Pilates class? There are many around, I personally love Sean Vigue pilates, he is on YouTube, so you just need a mat. I also have been tuning into a kundalini yoga class with Kirsty who is so down to earth, lovely & Bristol based. What about Hula Hooping!? It will help boost the happy endorphins & to promote good sleep, which is essential at this time.

Food To Nourish You

Our eating habits may well have changed due to panic buying, fear taking over when shopping that you forget what you need, or comfort eating. Even amidst comfort eating, be kind & gentle on yourself, you are a soft squidgy animal being that is feeling a lot at this time. I definitely laid into eating more sugars, alcohol & caffeine at the start of the pandemic, but now I have settled back into a typical diet, one where I relax, eat plenty of veg, protein, carbs, choccie & cake when I feel like it, but mostly cut out alcohol & caffeine as it triggers off urinary infections for me. I always say go with what you see you need to eat, if you listen to your body it will tell you. It definitely feels a time to nourish, bake & enjoy food together if you can. If you notice some foods don’t agree with you, test it out by not eating them for a few weeks & see how you respond, even better go & get some intolerance testing done here is a great lady I know which can help with that. She is still doing online testing.

I love juicing, my favourite is apple, carrot & ginger, I also love raw choccie occasionally, here is my fav, yum yum!

Self care chocolate includedCarrot orange ginger juice

Office/Work Posture at Home

Adapting to working from home, I wonder what are postures are like? How many hours a week, a month, a year do we spend doing the same actions repeatedly at work? If you are used to staring at a screen, give yourself little eye breaks every so often by looking away into the distance, hopefully there will be something nice to look at too! Below is a suggested desk height posture, I use a portable adjustable laptop stand, but there are fixed stands available too. You can also get an iPad stand & a phone stand to save holding the item, its way more relaxing just try it! An ergonomic mouse really supports my wrists & a good chair is a great help too, here are some supportive chair options. These can all be used at home as they are lightweight and portable.

Self care correct posture working at desk

Earthing Mat & Electromagnetic Chips

I love Wifi & the benefits of the internet & I am often seen with at least two devices! Yet I also give myself down time away from the screen, this can look like doing something else that you love, maybe going for a walk. There is this idea that Wifi rays can not be so good for us & we do not really know the long term side effects of living with Wifi. The truth is I am not sure what to believe, but what I do know is I love to take care & it feels supportive for me to sleep on an earthing mat & I buy earthing chips which can be stuck on all your devices too. I do not need to intellectually understand how this works but it feels a supportive thing to do & I share it here so you can read more & go for it if you would like to.

Fresh Air

Whether in your garden, sticking your head out of the window, like a dog in the car, or your daily allowed walk, really enjoy the fresh air, which is seriously low in pollution at this time. I have seen more stars at current in Bristol than ever before as there is less pollution. The bluebells are amazing at this time!

Lavender fields Dorset

Bed Time!

We spend a vast amount of time in bed over our lifetime, please invest in a good quality pillow & mattress that will support to keep your spine aligned. Also how do you wind down for bed? A few stretches? A bath? I love to relax in short moments which supports me to feel calm & when I remember, I naturally reflect on the day & all the things I enjoyed. It is when we are asleep that the body gets a chance to reset, so do take care of yourself here.

Comfortable sleeping position self care

Relaxing Treatments at Home

Whether a hot epsom salt bath, full of magnesium to soothe aches & pains, a foot soak with some rose petals, foot scrub, home made facial, gua sha crystal massage, don’t forget to treat yourself. I found these heated eyemasks by Spacemasks, which are amazing.

Spacemasks Eyemask Bristol

Focus on What You Love!

For me that looks like dancing, colouring in book for grown ups, walking & smelling flowers, watching netflix, catching up with friends & family. This is a time which is difficult, but we also are having to adapt to a new schedule, so to focus on your loves is a good support with the change. You could start by writing a list if you are not sure, no matter how small it is.

Reach out, for personalised self-care guidance or to share any feedback from this post.

Thanks for reading, please take care of yourself you little precious beings.

Emily xx

Bowen Technique Bristol – What is Bowen Technique

What is Bowen Technique?

Bowen Technique is a soft tissue technique where the therapist makes a rolling move over precise points of the body, working over muscles, fascia, ligaments and nerves. This sends neurological impulses to the brain, creating a vibrational pattern that re-aligns the muscular-skeletal system, improving muscle flexibility, movement and posture.

Bowen can relax and relieve stress, as it works mainly via the autonomic nervous system, therefore producing good results by penetrating to a deep cellular level. It is also balancing to all the systems of the body.

rolling move over precise point

What to expect from a Bowen treatment?

A Bowen treatment can give immediate relief and you will experience benefits over a very short course of treatments, as little as 1 to 3 sessions.

Practitioners will treat you over thin clothes or underwear and you will be covered using towel techniques similar to traditional massage at all times. There is NO forceful manipulation. 

Pauses are inserted between sets of rolling moves to give the brain time to integrate and process the treatment. This is when Bowen ‘asks’ the body to recognise and make the changes it requires. Each pause allows the body to hold the adjustments for longer, ‘the body prefers a whisper to a shout’ and in the week after your treatment, the body continues to respond and re-adjust safely according to its needs.

During the pauses, your therapist may stay or choose to leave the room to reduce interference with the healing process. It is a relaxing experience and unique for each person. You may encounter a number of sensations and reactions during your treatment such as changes in pain, movement of pain, feeling a change in symptoms or change in temperature

Relaxing treatment for health care

How does it work?

Bowen influences the body through the connective tissue known as fascia. Fascia plays a major role in muscle coordination, postural alignment, and overall structural and functional integrity.

A Bowen treatment aims to help the body as a whole – helping bring the body back into balance, while also addressing the injury/pain site.

Posture and compensatory patterns are also assessed, to ensure the problem has a higher chance of staying resolved.

An example below of side effects when the pelvis is out of alignment.

Pelvis misalignment bowen


What can it help?

This treatment is perfect for those that have musculoskeletal discomfort, misalignments, exercise/sports injury, a previous injury that never fully resolved, tension, want some support with your posture and in need of some relaxation too! 

  • Back pain & Sciatica

  • Neck & Shoulder Restrictions, including Frozen Shoulder

  • Migraines & Headaches

  • Pelvic Tilt/misalignment, uneven Foot Length

  • Knee, Ankle & Foot complaints

  • Hormonal Imbalances/Fertility complaints

  • Pre & Postoperative Recovery

  • RSI, Carpal Tunnel & Tennis Elbow

  • Sports injuries & Accident Injuries (can support realignment after accidents and falls)

  • Stress Reducing & Emotional Release from tissues & cells

  • TMJ & Jaw complaints

  • General wellness maintenance (Like for your car, you can do the same for your health and wellbeing)

Booking details found here.

See also my back pain case studies blog too.

Self Care Tips

Self Care Routine Ideas

Simple and effective self care tips, to take the best care of you! These aim to be responsive to your preferences and lifestyle.

Relaxation – find inner peace in each moment

Relaxation is our natural state, like in nature, everything already is as it is and relaxation supports all of our body systems & mind to work at their best. A regular form of relaxation is a great way to provide self care and it can be whatever works and provides support to you. I love to take short moments of mind and body relaxation, which can be carried out anytime, anywhere, with nothing else needed, it is so easeful and the results are very quick and profound. It supports stability of mind no matter what we might think or feel. It is an ancient practice that has been developed for the modern day. This practice has ultimately supported me to see the best way to take care of the self. This is a pic of me below on a relaxation retreat, ahhhh super relaxed. See here for more info https://www.bright.how/

Exercise You Enjoy

Do something you actually enjoy, working out doesn’t need to look like pain and misery e.g. running for hours on the treadmill, do what is practical and will fit into your life, maybe a 7 minute workout each morning would work for you, or a Pilates class? There are many around and I personally love Sean Vigue pilates, he is on YouTube, so you just need a mat. I also love weight training with dumbbells to strengthen my muscles, I do a lot of massage so this helps to keep me strong & prevents injury. What about swimming, Kundalini Yoga or Hula Hooping!?

Food To Nourish You

Food can nourish body, mind & soul and different foods can support you at different times depending on what your body needs. There seems to be great awareness about the importance of eating for nutrients, it makes sense that each meal is full of goodies your body needs to heal & repair. I always say go with what you see you need to eat, if you listen to your body it will tell you. If you are like me and get hungry quickly, I do like to prepare a little with meal plans and snacks as this can support blood sugar levels. If you notice some foods don’t agree with you, test it out by not eating them for a few weeks and see how you respond, even better go and get some intolerance testing done here is a great lady I know which can help with that.

I love juicing, my favourite is apple, carrot & ginger, I also love raw choccie occasionally, here is my fav, yum yum!

Self care chocolate includedCarrot orange ginger juice

Office/Work Posture

How many hours a week, a month, a year do we spend doing the same actions repeatedly at work? If you are used to staring at a screen, give yourself little eye breaks every so often, by looking away into the distance, hopefully there will be something nice to look at too! Below is a suggested desk height posture, I use a portable adjustable laptop stand, but there are fixed stands available too. You can also get an iPad stand & a phone stand to save holding the item, its way more relaxing just try it! An ergonomic mouse really supports my wrists and a good chair is a great help too, here are some supportive chair options.

Self care correct posture working at desk

Earthing Mat & Electromagnetic Chips

I love Wifi and the benefits of the internet & I am often seen with at least two devices! Yet I also give myself down time away from the screen, this can look like doing something else that you love, maybe going for a walk by the sea. There is this idea that Wifi rays can not be so good for us and we do not really know the long term side effects of living with Wifi. The truth is I am not sure what to believe, but what I do know is I love to take care and it feels supportive for me to sleep on an earthing mat and I buy earthing chips which can be stuck on all your devices too. I do not need to intellectually understand how this works but it feels a supportive thing to do and I share it here so you can read more and go for it if you would like to.

Fresh Air

Weather countryside, forest, sea air or just a walk away from your work at lunchtime, it really supports you in all ways to take time out. Sometimes it can be tempting to feel too busy to stop, but ultimately time away restores and provides clarity so you might even come back with more ooomp to finish off the task you started. Also the extra O2 and exercise will support circulation.

Blue sky fresh air self care

Saunas

Yippee for saunas, sweating out toxins, easing up joint ache, limbering up muscles, flushing toxins, cleansing the skin, helping to support the immune system and a good recovery post workout. I also heard it can make your hair shinier by allowing the sebaceous glands on the scalp to secrete! Wahoo. I also sneak in Eucalyptus or Peppermint oil to add even more of a kick, breathing in all the antibacterial goodness. See below some benefits of Eucalyptus oil. 

Health benefits eucalyptus self care tips

Bed Time!

We spent a vast amount of time in bed over our lifetime, please invest in a good quality pillow and mattress that will support to keep your spine aligned. Also how do you wind down for bed? I love to relax in short moments which supports me to feel calm and when I remember, I naturally reflect on the day and all the things I enjoyed. It is when we are asleep that the body gets a chance to reset, so do take care of yourself here. 

Comfortable sleeping position self care

Relaxing Treatments

We all need an MOT, like our cars, to prevent and maintain good health there are so many amazing treatments to support you! I offer treatments in Bowen Technique, which is great for healing injuries new or old, it realigns fascia, which is an amazing sticky tissue surrounding all our joints, muscles, ligaments and nerves. I find after a Bowen treatment, I train better at the gym, as my posture is straighter and I have better movement of my muscles and joints. Aromatherapy massage and Reflexology are also great for supporting tense muscles too, using bespoke essential oils to match your health needs. 

Relaxing treatment self care tips

To reach out to ask a question, or to know more about the treatments I offer, please click here. Thanks for reading, please take care of yourself you little precious beings.

Emily xx