CALMING EXERCISES TO SUPPORT YOUR BODY AND MIND IN FEELING THEIR BEST
If there was ever a time in which more and more of us could benefit from learning different techniques to help soothe, support and calm our minds and bodies, that time is now. Many people report experiencing unprecedented levels of stress in recent years, with worries and fears stemming from financial, professional and personal insecurities.
One of the most important ways we can work to combat stress and find relief from difficult feelings and situations is to practice mindfulness and intentional calm. Fortunately, there are many different ways in which people can express their emotions, tap into their inner stillness and work to create peace and calm in their day to day.
There is no one size fits all when it comes to mindfulness, which is why we’re using this article to introduce some popular calming exercises and let you know how you can use natural wellness products to support you in feeling your best. Read on to learn more!
CALMING EXERCISES: DEEP BREATHING
One of the simplest and most important ways to calm both the body and mind is through the breath. Throughout the world, you see the breath as being central to many different cultural practices, rituals and ceremonies and the breath is often referenced as a quick acting way to re-gain present moment awareness.
Here’s a simple breathing exercise we recommend with your favorite Saje roll-on; we call it the Saje Breath:
- Roll product generously into the palms of your freshly washed hands
- Rub hands together to warm and emulsify the essential oils
- Make a cupping shape with the hands over the nose and mouth and breathe deeply
- We recommend inhaling slowly through the nose and exhaling slowly through the mouth
- Repeat as desired, a minimum of 2 to 3 times for maximum impact
Some of the roll-ons we like to use when performing a Saje Breath are as follows:
Stress Release roll-on: a floral and herbal blend of lavender, orange, clary sage and geranium, Stress Release helps you to feel balanced and at ease.
Unwind roll-on: a citrusy-floral blend of bergamot, lavender, orange and cinnamon, Unwind helps you to feel centered and grounded.
Energy roll-on: an herbal and fresh blend of peppermint, lemon, rosemary and basil, Energy helps you to feel revitalized and uplifted.
CALMING EXERCISES: MASSAGE
Massage is one of the universally recognized wellness practices that has benefits for the both the body and the mind. Massage helps to ease and relieve soreness, tension and tightness in the body, which in turn helps to support calm, centeredness and focus in the mind. Regular massage can help to lower our levels of stress, help to improve our physical fitness by making the muscles and joints more pliable and can boost our mental health and wellness by improving our energy levels and our quality of sleep.
We like to recommend our massage oils as part of a partnered or solo massage, to help hydrate and nourish the body while providing various benefits from essential oils. Our go-to massage oils include:
Stress Release massage oil: smooth on this powerful, grounding blend of essential oils like lavender, orange, roman chamomile and vetiver in this deeply hydrating blend of grapeseed oil, apricot kernel oil and skin-nourishing vitamin E.
Pain Release massage oil: massage soothing relief into your overworked body with this comforting and relieving blend of essential oils that warm and stimulate the skin, like marjoram, eucalyptus, rosemary and cajeput. The same nourishing carrier oils of grapeseed, apricot kernel and vitamin E make up the base of this product for skin smoothing and soothing additional benefits.
CALMING EXERCISES: MEDITATION
It’s been proven time and again that meditation is one of the most effective calming exercises available to us, anywhere and any time. This article discusses many of the backed-by-science benefits of meditation, including:
- Stress reduction, including the reduction of the inflammation response that stress causes in our bodies
- Promoting emotional health, including a healthy self-image and a more positive outlook on life
- Enhancing self-awareness, which for some can translate as developing a stronger understanding of yourself and how you relate to those around you
If you’re curious about incorporating 100% natural wellness products into your meditation practice, we recommend:
- Try diffusing a grounding, harmonizing blend like Present Moment. This blend was designed to help you tune out the noise so you can further tune into you, and is formulated with stabilizing geranium, balancing cypress and lofty pine.
- Roll-on one of the products we created to support mindfulness as part of our Pocket Farmacy – Mindful Edition. This wellness kit won an award in 2021 from Allure’s Best of Beauty for the Best Essential Oils, and we could not agree more. This kit contains five roll-ons formulated to help connect to your inner stillness, increase your ability to feel confident and reflective, to encourage communion among others and with nature and to help ground you in your true essence. Blends are formulated with different essential oils, from woody and earthy to bright and citrusy, so you can always choose what best suits your mood at the time.
CALMING EXERCISES: YOGA
The last calming exercise we want to share with you is a body movement and breath practice called yoga. One of the reasons we love yoga the way that we do is because it’s flexible (no pun intended!) and adaptable, allowing for each routine to be personalized and tailored to your unique needs and skill level.
Yoga allows us to commune with our breath, our body and our mind, to achieve benefits like increased flexibility, improved strength and balance and patience that is cultivated through holding poses for longer periods of time and breathing deeply.
Yoga is one of our most popular product lines at Saje, well-loved for its grounding, centering properties as well as for its rich, earthy and citrus scent. Here are some of the products from the line that we recommend as part of your yoga practice:
Yoga mat spray: this product was formulated to freshen and cleanse your mat before or after practice. This bright and uplifting formula contains essential oils of niaouli, a natural deodorizer and freshening spearmint, orange and pine needle. Spray directly to your mat or accessories, let stand for a few minutes and then wipe dry.
Yoga diffuser blend: one of the most harmonizing and balancing scents we offer at Saje is this fan-favorite blend of earthy and peaceful patchouli, sweet and uplifting orange and floral and calming neroli. Try adding 5 or so drops to your diffuser before beginning your practice and breathe deeply as your body moves to feel restored.
Yoga body butter: after a bath or shower, we love to treat and hydrate our skin with the softening, nourishing properties of body butter. Post practice, this is a great way to enjoy the benefits of three different butters, mango seed, cocoa seed and shea butter that help to relieve dry, itchy skin and essential oils of patchouli, ho wood, bergamot, cardamom and cedarwood to calm and center the mind.
LIFESTYLE TIPS FOR INCORPORATING CALMING EXERCISES INTO YOUR DAILY ROUTINES
We strongly believe that everyone can benefit from making the time to practice self-care, which can include any of the calming exercises we’ve mentioned above, alongside countless other routines and rituals that may support your mental, emotional and physical health. Don’t know where to start? Here are some tips for incorporating self-care into your life each day:
- Try waking up earlier. This at first may seem counterintuitive because the last thing we’d want is for you to feel under slept, but there really is so much data out there that says waking up early is good for us. Before the hustle and bustle of the day begins, try setting the alarm even 10 minutes earlier for a short meditation or some light stretching to help start your day off on the right foot.
- Take the long way. Whether it’s parking at the back of the lot so you can get a few extra steps in, taking the stairs or even doing a few laps in your apartment before sitting back down at your desk, there are so many benefits to small amounts of movement in your day. Use this time to practice your deep breathing, allowing your mind to refresh before returning to your to-do list.
- Stay hydrated. As simple as it seems, countless people report drinking not nearly enough water each day. Water has so many physical benefits, like helping to keep us regular and promoting glowing skin, but it also has benefits for us mentally and emotionally. Water has been shown to have natural calming properties and helps the brain to function optimally.
You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.
— Pema Chodron
