Unwinding in the city

I’m sure you’ve all heard the phrase ‘New York is the city that never sleeps’-  and after a few months of living here, I completely understand why people say that. I mean I got to sleep, but for some reason I was tired 24/7. There is just so much to do and see, and ultimately you can only do so much in 24 hours so you’re forced to sleep, but then you wake up and you start all over again.

As tired as I was, I felt exhilarated all the time, I was constantly excited and ready for the next thing. I could chalk all this up to life in a big city or if we’re being honest, I must chalk it up to NYC. A couple of months into us being here, I had expressed to my friend Jake who has lived here for a number of years, how I always felt tired, and his response was simply this: “Drink a coffee at 5pm and keep it moving.” Okay, I admit, I paraphrased that, but the spirit of his words remain.

It was at this point that I decided to actively start carving out time and cultivating relaxing activities that I could slot into busy days to keep up my overall wellbeing and ensure I don’t burnout.

As cliché as it sounds, creating a relaxing ambience in your home is super important and really helps calm your mind. In my case, I love to light some candles, put on some relaxing music, switch on my humidifier and just lay there, or sometimes read a book.

The truth is though, I don’t always have the energy to set all that up so on those occasions, I put on some of my favourite podcasts, pour myself a glass of red wine and just unplug for even thirty minutes. I love using the Insight Timer app for meditation purposes, so I’ll sometimes do musical meditation or if I have a tension headache (which I suffer from a lot!) I’ll put on some guided meditation which really helps lessen the pain and puts me to sleep.

I’ve also really been into incorporating Eucalyptus stems into my shower routine. It’s a fact that a hot shower after a stressful day helps relieve tension and stress. Hanging a bundle of Eucalyptus over my shower head amplifies my entire shower experience. Not only does it make a plain shower feel aromatic and spa-like, but the steam actually releases the oils from the eucalyptus bundle and will loosen things up in your nasal passages and help clear you of any congestion helping you to breathe better. Eucalyptus essential oil is also often used to relax and de-stress as well.

Self-care is so important, and it does not always equate to a trip away or a trip to the spa… there are small things that you can do in your home that help you relax on a daily basis.