Relax & Reset

It has been an amazing week of rest and relaxation on my holiday. Pure bliss to be away from the usual daily life and the craziness of the build up to Christmas.

Despite Christmas trees in the hotel main bar and lounge area, the sunshine and heat do not make you think you are anywhere close to Christmas!

This holiday has certainly come at the best time for me. When all I’ve had to decide on is between what to wear and what restaurant to eat at, the day is as stress free as they come.

It’s been such a freedom to not have work on my mind and instead read all day. I truly needed this break as my stress levels had crept up so much that when I had a massage at the start of my holiday there were many knots she had to contend with. She spent ages on my shoulders and back to get them worked through.

Holiday times are for relaxing your body and mind and this has been absolutely heaven for me this trip as I can honestly say I feel carefree and stress free for the first time in a long time.

With little to do but read and enjoy the beach and view, my main thoughts kept coming back to me about using this time as the start of a reset.

Instead of doing the typical new year reset, mine is going to be now. Something I will take forward into the new year but with its roots ground firmly on being on holiday. Being relaxed and chilled is the way forward. So it’s about fitting this in with my daily routine. See what works for you as this could be adapted for anyone.

• Relax – whether it’s a massage or you just sit and enjoy your surroundings. You don’t need to be ‘on’ all the time, so switch off your mind and body. Close your eyes and picture your favourite space. It could be your holiday, your garden, a peaceful spot on a walk. Take some deep breaths and chill. It can be hard to do this when you’re working so why not carve out five to ten minutes after work each day to relax.
• Do nothing – this often goes hand in hand with relaxing. But don’t feel guilty, you are allowed to. When on holiday you can find yourself just watching the world go by. For me I like watching the waves, the boats and all the movement happening on the ocean. This is relaxing to me but may seem pointless to others. But it brings you into the moment and all you focus on is the here and now. Again if working, this can be tricky, however, at lunchtime go somewhere like a park to sit and enjoy the view and people watch. You’ll likely be amazed at how quickly time flies when you are in the present.
• Read – there is nothing like reading a good book or three. When all you have on a beach holiday is time then there is no excuse for not reading the books you wish. At home you could read as you are eating your breakfast, your lunch, before bed, at the weekends. Set yourself a challenge to see how many books you can read in a year and enjoy fulfilling it.
• Look at photos – we take so many photos on holiday but usually we don’t look at them again for a long time. Print off a few good ones of the scenery you enjoyed and use this to help ground and relax as you remember how this scene played on all your senses.
• Indulge – we over eat and drink too much on holidays, whilst you don’t want to do that daily. Don’t forget that once in a while having a few cocktails or enjoying the delicious steak or whatever your favourite meal or drink is, just do it. It could also be buying yourself an item of clothing or booking a long weekend or indeed a holiday.
• Stress levels – if you start noticing these creeping back up and your shoulders are getting closer to your ears then this is a definite sign to start relaxing and resetting. Unless you are actually saving lives on a daily basis then your job should not be making you stressed. If it is, perhaps it’s time to chat to your manager to see what can be done to help alleviate your stresses and workload.

Having a holiday away from it all is great, it resets your body and mind. Take one thing away from this and know you shouldn’t have to wait to be away on holiday to relax. Bring this into your everyday.

Thank you for reading and have a great week.

Look after you. Love Emma xx