Self Care
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Homemade Sugar Scrub
Hi Everyone!
Today, I am sharing a recipe of how to make your own sugar scrub at home! They are so fun and great to give as gifts this holiday season. They also have a ton of great benefits to using them. My two favorites are peppermint and lavender! It’s great to use for self-care.
Ingredients
1 Cup of Sugar
¼ Cup of Coconut Oil
15 Drops of Essential Oil
Recipe
- Melt your coconut oil in your microwave for 20 seconds. (I just put my entire jar in the microwave).
- Mix your melted coconut oil and sugar together in a bowl.
- Add your essential oil and mix well.
- Place in a jar or airtight container.
There are many benefits to using a sugar scrub. It helps to gently exfoliate your skin, which removes a layer of dead skin cells and helps to bring your healthier skin to the surface. It can help to unclog your pores and even prevent ingrown hairs. It can help to brighten and even out your skin texture. By evening out your skin texture, it can help to make a tan last longer, real or fake! You can also add an essential oil that helps to calm you and use it for self-care.
I love using my homemade sugar scrub and try to use it about once a week. Please let me know what you think of this and if you decide to make it yourself! If you want to see more workouts like this please subscribe below for weekly emails. Thank you so much for checking out today’s post.
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Preventing Sciatic Pain
Hi Everyone!
Today, I am sharing with you my best stretches to prevent sciatic pain. Havard Medical School states, “As many as 40% of people will get it during their life, and it becomes more frequent as you age.” Sciatic pain is something I have dealt with almost every year since I was 16. My sciatic pain tends to shoot down one of my legs. Mine usually flares up in the winter months, which I believe is due to the amount of time spent in the car driving to ski resorts. Sitting for long periods of time can cause flare ups.
Over the years, I have found what works best for me in preventing it from flaring up. I do these stretches with my stretching routine after each workout.
Pigeon Pose
I make sure that my front leg is at about 90 degrees and that I am centered over my front leg for the best stretch. I really want to feel this on the side of my hip. Hold for 30 seconds and switch legs.
Seated Spinal Twist
This one really stretches your piriformis muscle, which is usually the muscle that is pinching your sciatic nerve. Make sure that you are twisted toward the hip of your leg that is up. Hold for 30 seconds and switch legs.
Seated Figure 4
This stretch is to open your hips and can even help with low back pain. You can bring your leg as close to you as is comfortable. Sometimes I do this one in the car when we’ve been driving for a long time. Hold for 30 seconds and switch legs.
I really think these stretches help me to prevent sciatic pain. If your muscles get too tight in this area, there is always a chance that you can have a sciatica flare up. Let me know in the comments below if you have ever experienced sciatica and what you did to make it go away. I would love to hear about it.
Thank you for reading today’s post. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
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Coconut Detox Mask
Hey Everyone!
Today, I am bringing back my favorite brand Kopari! I am highlighting their Coconut Detox Mask today. I love the way it makes my skin feel and the smell is great too. Their product is dermatologist-testing, non-allergenic, safe for sensitive skin, has no artificial fragrances, silicone free, and phthalate free.
I love using face masks for self-care because they make me feel relaxed. It helps me to feel like I’m having a mini spa day. Sometimes that’s all I need to feel a little less stressed. My skin always feels so smooth and healthy afterwards too. They state, “Our detoxifying clay mask helps to pull impurities out of pores while probiotics help to calm inflammation, and superfoods replenish skin with essential nutrients.” My skin never feels dry after using this, unlike other clay masks I have used in the past. In fact, my skin even feels more moisturized after using it.
As always you can use my code below for 20% off your entire purchase!!
ACTIVEBEAUTYBLOG20
You can also follow the link below to take you directly to this product!
As always, thank you for taking the time to read my blog. It means the world to me. Please let me know in the comments below what you would like me to talk about next. If you love my blog, please subscribe.
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Listen to Your Body And Mind
Hi Everyone!
Today, I am talking about listening to your body and mind for self-care. I think that we all struggle with this from time to time. I know that I do.
So what do I mean, listen to your body and mind?
A perfect example would be from this morning for me. My leg started hurting yesterday morning while I was running, so I slowed and walked for the rest of my 2 mile goal. When I got home, my leg was still aching. So I iced it. This morning when I got up to go for another run and my leg was still aching. I didn’t go and that’s okay!
I have a goal this month to run 50 miles. I am at 42 and I’m not going to give up. My way of getting there might just look a little different than I had imagined. I thought I would be able to run the full 50. I might end up having to walk 9 of those miles. Though it wasn’t what I originally had planned on, I will still get there.
I have learned over the years to be flexible with my goals. If something isn’t feeling right, maybe I’m too stressed or my body hurts, it’s okay to adjust my goal to match. Now this doesn’t mean be easy on yourself but it does mean don’t be too hard on yourself. If your body is physically hurting, you need to listen to it. If I had kept running, even when my leg was hurting, that could lead to a serious injury. I may have to go easy for a few days until it feels better, but what if I seriously injured it and had to be out for months! It’s so worth it to listen to your body and let it heal itself.
I love the quote, “Your mind and body will tell you exactly what it needs. All you have to do is listen.”. If you are exhausted in the morning, maybe sleep in if you can. If you have a headache, stop doing whatever is triggering it. If you have an achy muscle, ice and rest it. If your mind is racing and stressed, take a break or go easier on yourself.
I also love the quote, “Listening to your body and honoring it’s signals is one of the true forms of self-love”.
I think that this topic is very important and I hope you loved learning about it. I challenge you to listen to your body and mind, please take care of yourself before you are forced to. Please let me know what you think of this topic in the comments below. If you love my content, please subscribe! Thanks for reading!
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Healthy Venting for Self-Care
Hi Everyone!
Today I am talking about a kind of controversial topic and that is venting. I understand why this topic is controversial and that is because a lot of people don’t know the difference between healthy and unhealthy venting.
So let’s go over that:
Healthy: Short and to the point (usually lasts about 5 minutes), owns up to mistakes, doesn’t repeat the same things over and over, looks for solutions, doesn’t blame others, wants constructive feedback.
Unhealthy: Long and repeating (can last up to an hour or even more), multiple topics at once, repeats over and over, doesn’t look for a solution, overwhelming, plays the victim, defensive.
Healthy venting can be very good and helpful for getting things off your chest. I don’t know about you but when I keep things bottled up over a long period of time, things never end well. I prefer to practice this regularly to prevent that from happening.
I actually like to do this with my husband when we get home from work, if we have had a frustrating day. Instead of letting the thing bothering us waste our whole night, we just talk for about five minutes about that thing and move on. By doing this frequently, we can focus on the topic on hand and quickly work through it. We may even be able to help each other find a solution for when those things happen in the future.
A healthy venting session can easily tip into the unhealthy side, so make sure you know the difference. If you do end up tipping, you can always correct yourself and try better next time. It’s the only way we can learn to do better.
I hope you loved today’s topic. Please let me know what you think or what you would like to learn more about next in the comments below. Subscribe, if you would like to see my weekly content.
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How Unplugging Can Truly Help You
Hey Everyone. I wanted to share something with you all that I experienced this weekend, unplugging. I went up to the Uinta Mountains for some camping with my family. When you start heading up the dirt road to get to the campsite all cell phone service is lost. Honestly, it started to stress me out. I not only check my notifications a billion times a day but I also have a very active Poshmark account. Not having service meant potentially missing out on a sale. I felt completely addicted to my phone.
I began to think about how sad it was that I was so stressed out about it. I seriously can’t go just 48 hours without having cell phone service? I am truly dependent on my phone. Before the trip had even begun, I decided that my husband and I would take a trip to town to check my phone for sales that were pending, then head back up. That would take close to an hour alone in driving time. While we were headed up, I asked myself why? Were a few sales seriously worth missing out on quality time with my family? Hell no. I decided right then that I would not be taking that trip and I was going to unplug for the rest of the weekend.
Guess what? It felt great AND the world didn’t end. All of the sales I would have missed, I just resubmitted and they accepted my offers. It was so nice not to be on my phone the whole time and I even read part of a book. I felt so much more relaxed without my phone glued to my hand.
So what can we do to unplug without going on a trip? You can start by deciding to unplug for one hour a day. Put your phone in another room and start the timer. You will learn that just by doing this you will be more present in whatever you choose to do in that moment. You can also turn off notifications to apps you tend to spend more time on. I personally had to turn off my notifications to Instagram. If I hadn’t I would be getting different notifications all day long. I am going to do this with my Poshmark as well, so I can spend less of my day on it. You can monitor how many hours per week you are spending on each app and try to be a little better each week. Be patient with yourself, habits are hard to break and to change.
Some amazing benefits you may notice while practicing these behaviors are: improved mood, better relationships, sleeping better, increased productivity, and being more present in the moment. I believe that unplugging can make you happier because “comparison is the thief of joy”. I tend to compare myself to others on social media, so if I am spending less time on it, I am therefore happier. It helps with relationships because you can give your significant other your undivided attention they need and deserve. If you unplug an hour before bedtime it is actually proven to improve your sleep. Unplugging boosts productivity because it gives you less distractions to worry about. It can help you to become more present in the moment because you are no longer distracted by your phone, you can enjoy the little things.
I hope you will join me in a challenge to unplug more frequently. I hope you loved today’s post, if you did please subscribe below for weekly content. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to read my post.
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Simple Heatless Curls
Hi Everyone!
Today I am doing something a little bit different for self-care. I am going to teach you how I curl my hair without heat! I actually got this idea from Milabu on Facebook. I will link her page below so that you can check it out if you are interested. She’s got a lot of great beauty tips and video tutorials. I’ve been trying to find a healthier way to style my hair lately. I hate using heat on it all of the time. I’m sure any of you that use heat on your hair know what kind of damage it can do to it. I’ve been noticing a lot of damage lately and I’ve been dying to find something new.
I tried to naturally wave my hair in a similar way but it was only turning out about half of the time, which was very frustrating. When I saw Mila’s video, I thought why not try it out. It looked like it worked great for her. So I did and it worked great. I had to share it with you guys!!
So, how do you do them? First, you want to make sure your hair is damp. I usually do it after I’ve let my hair dry for a little while after getting out of the shower. I also really like to use some products in my hair, so that it doesn’t get too fluffy. I personally use Bed Head Smalltalk and Sexy Healthy Hair Soy Oil. These products also make my hair dry faster, so I can spend less time waiting for my hair to dry. You need a robe belt (just the rope you tie your robe with), two hair ties, and a scrunchie (if you want to pull it back while it’s drying). Comb out your hair like normal and part it where you normally do. Split your hair in the back in half as if you were going to put your hair into pigtails. Place your belt one inch back from the front of your hairline and pull one side up with the scrunchie so it is not in the way. Take one inch of the front of the side you are working on and twist it around the robe belt, combine it with your next inch section and continue until you get to the end of that side of hair. Once you get to the end of the side, continue to twist your hair around the robe until you get to the end of your hair. Grab your hair tie and tie it up to finish. Take the hair out of the first scrunchie used to separate sides and repeat the process. I have attached a video below to show how it’s done.
I really love to curl my hair this way and I have been doing it for a few weeks now. Let me know if you try it out, I would love to hear about it. If you loved today’s post, please subscribe below!
Thanks so much for reading today!
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Adequate Sleep
Hey Everyone!
Today, I am talking about the importance of getting an adequate amount of sleep each night. So let’s start with what the recommended amount of sleep for the average adult is. It is 7-8 hours per night from ages 18-65 years old. Sleep can affect many different aspects of your life. It can affect your concentration, your mental health, your physical health, and even your relationships.
If you do not get enough sleep, it can really have a negative impact on your brain function. It can lead you to making mistakes you would not otherwise make. According to the NHI, after several nights of losing sleep (even just 1-2 hours) your ability to function can suffer as much as not sleeping for 1-2 DAYS! When people experience sleep deficiency they can make minor to severe mistakes. Some examples of things that have happened due to lack of sleep are: aviation accidents, car accidents, and even a nuclear reactor meltdown.
Did you know that not getting enough sleep can lead you to see more severe symptoms of anxiety and depression? Getting enough sleep is proven to help with your mental health. Not only that but sleep deprivation can even lead to developing these conditions! According to the Gateway to Mental Health Services, sleep deprivation sets the stage for depression, negative thinking, emotional vulnerability, and anxiety.
Lack of sleep can lead to multiple health issues as well. The amount of things that sleep affects in your body really surprised me at first! According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, an ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even stroke! A sleep deficiency can also cause obesity! A decreased amount of sleep can also wear on your immune system. I saw this a lot when I was in college, when I was sleep deprived, I almost always got sick. Unfortunately, I was working graves and trying to attend college during the day, so I was sick a ton!
How to improve your sleep? There are many things that you can do to improve your quality of sleep at night. Routines are great. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. Try not to vary by more than an hour, even on the weekends. Avoid caffeine and nicotine for eight hours before going to bed. They are stimulants and can keep you up. Be physically active, it has been proven that physical activity can improve your sleep tremendously. If we can choose to fix this simple thing in our life, we can avoid so many issues in our future!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog today! It really means a lot to me. If you loved it please subscribe below for weekly notifications of new posts and exclusive information.
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Micro Self-Care
Today, I am talking about something that is super easy to do and can really help you out in the long run. It’s micro self-care. I know a lot of the time when I think of self-care I tend to think of things that can take long amounts of time that I just don’t have everyday. Examples are getting a massage, taking a bubble bath, doing a face mask, and reading a book. While all of these things are awesome and I do love to do them, I don’t have time to do something like that every day. Micro self-care is something that you can complete in seconds to minutes. They still prove to be very helpful.
Here are some examples:
- Listen to your favorite song
- Eat a fruit or veggie that you enjoy
- Spend a few minutes meditating
- Go for a walk around your building or block
- Go for a bike ride or skateboard around the block
- Send a text to someone you appreciate
- Read one page of a book you are reading
- Take in three deep breaths
- Write down three good things that happened in the last 24 hours
- Take a 3-minute break from whatever you are doing
- Drink a glass of water
- Make your bed
Remember no one can take care of you the way you do. Make sure to put yourself first for self-care, it is so important. Self-care is not selfish; it is a necessity. Self-care can help us to better care for others. It’s like how they say on the airplane safety video, “Place your mask on first, before helping others.”
Please let me know in the comments below what you thought of this post. Also comment any ideas about micro self-care that you can let others know about.
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Social Distancing Self-Care
Hi Everyone!
I know that self-care can often be one of the first things to go while we are under stress and boy this is a stressful time. Self-care is SO IMPORTANT. Don’t do that to yourself. Today I am going to introduce an idea of how to get some self-care in AND potentially make a positive impact on our environment.
My idea is picking up litter or trash while you go on a walk. You can do this almost anywhere. Of course, you will keep your 6-foot distance from anyone that you may encounter. I personally did this the other day and it felt so nice. Not only was I getting some fresh air, but I really did feel like I was making a difference. After only about five minutes, I had filled an entire bag full of trash. I looked around the area and it looked so much better. Just think if everyone did this, how much cleaner our environment would be.
I know some of you might think this is a great idea, but maybe you aren’t allowed to go outside. In Utah, for now, we have no such restrictions. I honestly don’t personally know of anywhere with that strict of guidelines, but I have heard rumors. If you do have something like that, or just prefer to stay inside, you could clean out something you’ve been putting off. This will help to keep your mind busy and help to relieve stress when things go back to normal. It won’t be looming in the back of your mind anymore.
In closing, please stay home if you can or away from groups of people. Only go out for errands that are absolutely essential. We really can make a difference by doing this. Staying away from others WILL save lives. We will get through this.
Thank you so much for reading. Please subscribe below if you enjoy my posts.
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