Stress and anxiety are part of our emotions that we experience on a daily basis. Especially in this age of civilization, worries and emotions can unknowingly creep up and bog us down.

It is important we know how to unwind ourselves for stress relief. Here are 5 simple tips we could use in our daily lives.

Setting your personal sacred time daily

In this world where we live in a highly connected society, we barely have personal time for ourselves. Disconnect from everything and spend 30 minutes to an hour doing something you love for yourself, this helps us to re-connect to our hearts and inner thoughts.

This could be taking a nice warm bath with your favourite essential oils for some self-pampering time after a tiring day at work. Other ideas could be reading a light hearted novel while sipping on chamomile tea. Drinking non-caffeinated chamomile tea helps to keep the bodies in a calmer state which prepares us for deep resting at night.

In essence, you could be doing anything you like or not doing anything at all, the idea is to set sacred time for personal space daily.

Incorporate essential oils to your lifestyle

The use of essential oil has many purposes and benefits. As different therapeutic grade essential oils have different purposes, we should pick those that have properties for relaxation of the bodies and minds. Here are two of my favourite essential oils that also have properties for relaxation.

Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender (lavandula angustifolia) is an essential oil that is really versatile. A therapeutic grade lavender essential oil can heal cuts and skin irritations. Diffusing the oil or apply 1-2 drops of it on the sides of the neck immediately promotes a sense of relaxation. Lavender has a floral, light and pleasant scent that is generally well accepted.

Geranium Essential Oil

Geranium was used by the Egyptians during ancient times for beauty such as promoting radiant skin. This sweet smelling oil is naturally uplifting and promotes emotional wellness. It works by balancing our hormones and is a great choice for females during the PMS period.

Diffuse 5 to 7 drops of geranium while taking a warm bath or apply 2 drops onto the lower abdomen during PMS period. Other ways to pamper yourself includes adding geranium essential oil to a therapeutic grade or cold pressed carrier oil for a oil massage with smooth and gentle strokes.

Restorative yoga before bedtime

Setting aside 30 minutes before bedtime to practice some restorative yoga poses and meditation will be beneficial for stress relief. Choose poses that your body feels like it needs for the day.

This could be yoga poses that relieve tension on the neck and shoulders, upper back, lower back, hips or hamstrings. Releasing tension on tight areas of our bodies helps to relax the muscles. In addition, this releases negative emotions and energy trapped within the tense areas of our bodies.

Adding essential oil to our restorative yoga practice could make it even more effective in reaching our intentions. We could either diffuse 5-7 drops of our favourite essential oil or apply 2-3 drops on one of the vital points such as the wrist, sides of the neck, soles of the feet or abdomen.

If you are unsure of how to develop a personal restorative yoga session at home, learn how to do so at The Art of Essential Oil and Yoga Workshop. This workshop aims to help learners develop their own self yoga practice at home with the use of essential oils.

Take 2 to 3 short breaks in a year

Taking short breaks over the weekend to go for a wellness vacation or yoga retreat helps us to relax and recharge our bodies and minds. Choose the theme of a yoga retreat that sounds like what your body needs. There are different themes that focus on detox meal plans or beauty and spa etc. Taking personal trips to pamper yourself and having time for self reflection does wonders for inner healing.

Classic Yoga designs 4D3N luxurious small group yoga retreats in Bali that focuses on relaxation and rewinding bodies and minds through special meals, therapeutic grade essential oil and well balanced yoga classes.

Have regular sleep hours

Most of us set alarms to wake up in the mornings, we should also set alarms to remind us to go to bed. Having adequate sleep at regular hours allows our bodies to adapt to a deep resting routine.

This promotes better quality sleep and rest which in turn allows better cell regeneration in our bodies. We will also wake up with higher energy and have better concentration during the day.