Quarantine and Chill?

What a time to be alive, amiright? Seriously, this is such a crazy time that I, personally never in a million years thought would happen. I’ve been struggling with it, and I’m sure some or, most of you have been too, at least to some extent. I think we’re all finding our new “normal” for the time being and I am no exception. I thought I would be writing up a storm but, weirdly enough it has been super tough for me, maybe not seeing all my lovely clients has caused some sort of esthi writer’s block.😝

I figured to get out of that funk; I’d take this week just to write, not necessarily about skincare, but life lately. So, this week I’m going to talk about what I’ve been doing in an effort to better myself while I try and regain a little normalcy. First and foremost, I start my day with meditating, like I mentioned in my last blog. I’ve been trying to be consistent since then and it has majorly helped my mental health, way more than I was expecting really, it’s definitely worth the hype it gets. 

Another huge step I’ve made recently was to try and create a welcoming and enjoyable morning routine. Mornings have never been my favorite, and I’m 100% a  night person (hello insomnia🙋🏼‍♀️). This extra time at home has been a great chance to create my routine free of an alarm; I don’t know if you’re anything like me but, that obnoxious noise first thing drives me nuts, which leads to slapping that snooze button. 

Since I'm rarely leaving home, I feel no need to set the alarm, and surprisingly, I have been naturally waking up earlier than I typically do. In an effort to truly welcome the day I have been meditating first thing, as a beginner, I’m just doing a quick 5 minutes because I’m antsier in the am for sure. Then following that I do my skincare routine, as an esthetician, I can’t even start my day without a full regimen and can't forget that SPF!

Not pictured: SPF

Now that my skin feels fresh, clean, and hydrated, I move on to body self-care. Lately I’ve been starting with about 8-20 oz of lemon water, I feel like it hydrates and wakes my system up one step further! Then breakfast, which is still something I struggle with, I hate eating in the morning and usually grab a coffee and go. But in an effort to do better but not push myself, I’ll settle for a quick apple or banana if I don’t feel like a full-on breakfast.

Now it’s time to get moving! With dogs, this has been pretty easy to implement; just getting outdoors with them would make anyone want to run around and play. But still with the extra time, I wanted more, so I started yoga! At first I did really basic sets and have been slowly leading up to full routines. Down dog is a wonderful app that is also offering its services free until May! They have several apps from yoga to HIIT with an array of workouts, I love the simplicity of their layout which makes it a breeze to use.

After a quick workout, I usually wind down with a walk as long as the weather allows it. Aside from our recent rain, it’s been gorgeous out and the pups drag me outside as much as they can. By now, it’s late morning, and I’ve been trying not to force productivity, let my mind rest, and just do whatever feels right. From writing to painting, relieving the pressure to be productive has weirdly enough made me more productive. I think amidst this craziness we are all trying to fill our time instead of trying to enjoy the slow down. I know it can be tough but try to be easy with yourself. I urge you to remind yourself that productivity does not equal self-worth!

I don't want to bore you with every minute of my day so let’s jump to the evening now. As always, I do my full skincare routine, taking my time with each step, cold rolling daily, and masking a few nights a week. I also try to read or disconnect from technology for a bit before laying down, this doesn’t always happen, but I have majorly limited my time online with the help of Apple’s screen time setting which also helps my anxiety and insomnia. You can pick and choose which apps to lock yourself out of or pick by category, I love it so much I think this will definitely carry over to when things return to normal.

Before bed, I’ve been meditating for a lot longer, like 10-30 minutes; this helps calm my busy mind and relax my body. The guided versions is my favorite, easily calms my busy mind, and sends me right to sleep. Since I’m new to meditating I’ve tried a few apps and haven’t landed on a favorite, but I’m enjoying trying them all out. No matter the app, it has helped me get better sleep so I can start fresh and rested for the next day, keep my anxiety in check, and get a little more in tune with my body.

This was slightly different than my typical blogs but I hope you enjoyed a little peek into my day to day in quarantine life. I dearly miss working and it has been tough but these steps have helped alter my mind set and remind myself that this is necessary and for the greater good. I am so ready to be back in the studio with all my lovely clients and I am planning to come back to work as a better version of myself for you all! Thank you for reading as always, and I will see you back here in a couple of weeks.