self-care

Relaxing Self-Care Rituals to Battle the Winter Blues

Do you practice self-care? It’s so hard for me to make time for it, but it can be such a great decompression ritual. Whether you’re anxious, sick, or simply just want to indulge, having fun self-care rituals to rely on are a nice treat.

Anxious? Take a bath. Sniffly? Drink some echinacea tea. Date night? Paint your nails!

Whichever you pick, I’m pretty sure a playlist is 100% necessary as an accompaniment. For me, music is a huge part of my self-care routine. Whether I’m trying to wind down or wake up, music is there for me. I’m always listening to my Discover Playlist on Spotify, saving music to my current “New Music Playlist.”

Here’s my current new music playlist if you want to check it out:

After all the holiday traveling, I decided it was time for some facial self-care.

 

Enter the Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask. This mask is a facial peel, without the bright, painful redness afterwards. In fact, you can’t really even see if while it’s on your face. Doesn’t really make for the best goofy face mask picture, but trust me it’s on there.

self-care

Once I washed the mask off, my face felt so smooth and soft. I’ve been looking a little red, blotchy and dry lately, and that’s gone too. Happy happy day! This mask is a little pricy, but so are facials, and you get at least four uses out of this little jar.

After the face mask, it’s time for a full on body self-care soak.

self-care

If you’ve never tried epsom salts, you’re missing out. I love Dr. Teal’s and have tried both the lavender and the eucalyptus. Epsom salts can be used for a foot or hand soak, or you can go full on and take a bath. I choose the bath method usually, because my body is sore EVERYWHERE from all the high-intensity workouts that I do. If you’ve got aching joints or you’re sore from workouts like me, try this stuff out! Much cheaper than getting a massage, but very similar health benefits. Plus it smells really good, so do the health benefits really even matter?

Next step to today’s self-care routine, paint your nails.

This is something that I don’t do all the time, and I never get a manicure. Too expensive and I’m going to ruin my nails within 24 hours anyways. Let’s be real, probably within the hour after I get them done. So at home and on the cheap it is. I’ve got a huge bag full of polish, stocked with nail files, base coats, and top coats as well. I like to paint my nails when I have a fun event coming up, or simply when I just want a little pop of color to brighten my day. I’m too impatient to paint my nails often, but when I do it makes me happy to see those bright little colors on the tips of my fingers.

Alright, day is over, time to wind down for bed.

That means tea time! I LOVE tea. So much so that for one birthday my boyfriend got me little containers to organize my overwhelming variety. I love organizing and I love tea. So this was one the best gifts ever. Some people might be like…seriously? Containers are you favorite birthday gift? Yes, seriously.

self-care

When I’m getting ready for bed I love a good herbal tea. That means it has no caffeine. I try to avoid caffeine after 2 pm because I’m super sensitive to it. My favorite tea flavors are cinnamon, ginger, and chamomile. But I swear by my echinacea tea when I feel like I might be getting a cold.

I’m someone who loves routines and rituals, so my list of self-care habits goes on and on. But now, during the winter months when it’s darker outside, your skin feels dry, and you need a little burst of feel-good vibes in your day, these are perfect. I hope you’ll give them a try.

What’s your favorite station to listen to while practicing self-care? Is there a band I should know about!? Let me know in the comments below.

Emily

Hey! Iā€™m Emily. A food-loving, journalism and sociology major turned AmeriCorps member, turned craft beertender, turned personal trainer. I'm a recent transplant to the Twin Cities, where I live with my boyfriend, Erik and my cat, Trout. Prepare to get well with me: mind, body and soul.

2 thoughts on “Relaxing Self-Care Rituals to Battle the Winter Blues

  1. I love listening to my local station called 97.1 in the mornings- they play acoustic versions of songs super early in the morning. I love Stu Larsen, Passengers and The Once! šŸ™‚

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