Relief for Stressed-Out Mamas
My lips are chapped and my skin is dry and cracking. My nerves are shot. This has been the longest winter imaginable. I dream daily of a trip to the Carribean to bask in the warm sunshine. Looking at my schedule and my checkbook — that just isn’t going to happen. So what do I do to relieve my stress? I have created a home spa.
I usually start my spa evening with a warm bath filled with bath salts (epson salts also work). Once the tub is filled, I add my Conair jet spa ($40 + at Target, Kohls). It isn’t a Jacuzzi but is the closest thing I will get to one right now. They also make bubbling bath mats (a bit pricier at around $100). I put my favorite mellow music on a portable CD player. I add essential oils (for thousands of years, essential oils have been used to stir the soul and soothe the senses) to my aromatherapy diffuser. An inflatable bath pillow helps me to relax. I shut the world out for about a half an hour and feel so revitalized.
But you don’t like or have time to take a bath? There are lots of other great spa products available. My spa booties (zap the scented inserts for three minutes in the microwave) warm up a cold winter’s night. Want to de-stress in bed while your hubby is still reading? A light blocking scented eye pillow will do just the trick. (My hubby actually borrows mine).
Other stress-busting products include heat-activated neck and small body pillows. They are great for sore and aching muscles. These pillows are available at specialty shops and at Joseph Beth Booksellers ($15 - $50).
Aromatherapy has hit the mainstream now and there is a vast array of reasonably priced products at Bath and Body Works. They’ve got rich shea butter creams, mud body masks, ultrarich foot creams, gel gloves and booties.
AromaFloria makes heavenly products, available on-line at www.aromafloria.com and at Joseph Beth Booksellers. For $7.50 I recently picked up Stress Less Inhalation Beads. They are so soothing and great to take along in your purse for those melt-down moments in the car. Their SinusHelp Hydrating Mist is a great pick-me-up when my allergies are getting me down. The Healing Garden also has quality inexpensive products and is available at most mass merchandisers.
Hope you have as much fun as I did creating my home spa. It is a great retreat from a hectic and crazy world.