“In this fast-paced, overachieving, and mindless multitasking age, we often try to be everything to everyone, which leaves us harried and spread too thin to be truly good to anyone, let alone ourselves,” says Laurel House, the Santa Monica, California-based author of The Gurus’ Guide to Serenity (HarperCollins, 2005). This month, de-stress with House’s five-minute me-time tips.
Try a yogurt mask. Yogurt is filled with lactic acids and milk proteins that moisturize and firm the skin. Simply smooth a generous amount of full-fat plain yogurt all over your face. Let it soak in for 5 to 20 minutes (depending on how much time you have). Rinse off with warm water.
Release anxiety with a quick foot rub. Use your fingers or a ball to gently press at the base of the ball of the big toe, the point connected to the brain, your body’s mental stress center. Next, rub the stomach point, located at the arch of the foot. Then press the center of the ball of the foot (associated with the solar plexus). Rub each point for 20 to 30 seconds on each foot.
Take a yogic meditation time-out. Sit up straight with legs crossed. Make fists with your hands and hold them up, palms facing out, about 6 inches from your eyes. Extend your thumbs toward each other and press the tips firmly together until they become white. Let the thumbs bend down, pointing toward the floor, and concentrate your gaze on the white tips. Then close your eyes and mentally visualize your thumb tips. Breathe deeply. On the inhale, say sat (truth) to yourself, and on the exhale nam (identity). Combined, sat nam means “truth is my identity.” Repeat for five minutes.
