Is your day a sudoku of meetings, emails, “urgent” things and more emails? Before you burn out, breathe. Express self-care is your new best friend.
Start with 5 minutes of mindful breathing: just you, your mind, and the universe. Closing your eyes and pausing the chaos, even for just a few minutes, lowers cortisol and boosts calm. And no worries if you find it hard to quiet the “monkey mind”. Don’t get frustrated; just take a deep breath when you find that your mind is wandering, and renew your focus.
Pro tip: keep a paper and pen next to you so if anything related to your busy day pops into your mind that you’re afraid you’ll forget, you can jot it down quickly and refocus.
As you continue your day, treat yourself to a quick neck, back, and/or wrist stretch between one task and the next. Your back and fingers will thank you.
And while a mindful pause and workplace stretches are good, here’s the thing: a therapeutic massage can reduce anxiety and stress perception even more than either of those things, as shown in a PubMed study comparing massage with guided relaxation.
In other words, massage = less stress. Period.
If you can sneak a 60-minute massage into your week, you’ll be sending your stress on an early vacation.
In short: breathe, stretch, and book that massage your body needs like a brand-new Sunday show. You deserve it – and your mind does too.