Taking Care of Your Health & Wellbeing During Covid-19
It’s been an unprecedented and daunting time for everyone these last few months, spending a lot more time at home and for a lot of people it has really felt like life has ground to a halt. We know that being forced to stop your usual every-day routine can play havoc with both your physical and mental wellbeing and we hope to bring you some inspiration for ways in which you can improve your health and wellbeing from home.
The Shibumi girls were really lucky that we were all able to carry on working from home, but this certainly wasn’t without challenges, and not seeing lots of other smiley faces everyday really took its toll! Now that we have been reunited in the Shibumi office, we wanted to come together and share with you the ways in which we coped together and individually throughout the pandemic. These are all things we do regularly, even in ‘normal life’ and we will continue to do… we really hope we may inspire you to do the same!
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Essential Oil Therapy
Essential oils are well noted for their benefits to both your physical and emotional wellbeing and blending different oils together can help to increase their potency and tailor them to your specific needs.
Whether you’re using a diffuser, including essential oils in your bath, adding them to massage oil or using them topically, the presence of essential oils in your daily life is essential ;)
It’s important to remember that there a few rules to follow when using essential oils; it’s always a good idea to dilute essential oils, especially if you are using them on the skin as they can cause irritation if used undiluted.
The easiest way to dilute your oils is with a neutral-smelling carrier oil like jojoba or sweet almond oil. A good rule of thumb is 6 drops per 30ml of carrier oil.
We always have some form of essential oil blend in our diffuser at the Shibumi office, whether we need to help with brain focus, relaxation, or a bit of a wake up we always have something on hand!
Some of our favourite blending recipes below…
For a great night’s sleep:
3 drops of Lavender
2 drops of Bergamot
To replace your face toner (reduces inflammation, redness and discolouration):
3 drops of Rose Geranium
3 drops of Sweet Orange
30ml Witch Hazel (Instead of carrier oil)
For focusing the mind:
3 drops of Rosemary
3 drops of Lemon
For a feeling of inner peace (great to use during meditation!):
3 drops of Sweet Orange
2 drops of Frankincense
1 drop of Lemongrass
To boost your immune system:
2 drops of Rosemary
2 drops of Eucalyptus
2 drops of Cinnamon
2 drops of Sweet Orange
For a positive mindset:
3 drops of Eucalyptus
3 drops of Bergamot
3 drops of Sweet Orange
The Zen Blend:
3 drops of Lavender
3 drops of Frankincense
3 drops of Bergamot
To reduce stress levels:
3 drops of Lavender
3 drops of Lime
1 drop of Peppermint
To create a feeling of bliss:
3 drops of Lavender
3 drops of Lemon
3 drops of Rosemary
Check out this great blog by Isabella Caprario all about the benefits of using Essential Oils in your home.
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Crystal Power
Spirituality is a big part of the Shibumi ethos, and utilising the healing power of crystals is something we love to do.
Crystals are great to have around your home, or wear with your jewellery, they can be great tools for use during meditation and the Shibumi office is full of them!
Here are a few of our favourites…
Rose Quartz
This beautiful pink stone is all about love! It’s famed for improving close connections within your relationships and can provide comfort and calm during times of grief. Rose Quartz is said to also encourage love, respect, trust and worth within one’s self – something we all deserve to feel.
Citrine
Bring joy, wonder and enthusiasm to your life with citrine; this stunning yellow stone can help to release negative thought patterns and encourages positivity, optimism, warmth, motivation, clarity and creativity.
Moonstone
Moonstone is known for being useful around new beginnings. It encourages inner growth and strength, it can soothe feelings of stress around a ‘fresh start’ and promotes positive thinking, intuition and inspiration. This stone is particularly good for women’s cycles.
Bloodstone
Get your blood pumping with the revitalising energy of Bloodstone! This stone is great for inspiring both physical and mental activity, courage self-esteem and motivation. Perfect if you’re feeling a bit ‘meh’.
Turquoise
Turquoise is said by Native American culture to be the bridge between Heaven and Earth; and provides a path to your highest self. Turquoise connects the mind to the infinite possibilities of the universe…
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Daily Affirmations
Meditation is a really important part of all our lives here at Shibumi, and something we find really beneficial is to focus on a daily affirmation, particularly if you are struggling with something in your life.
Picking a daily affirmation to focus on during meditation, or simply to say to yourself once a day can really help to centre your thoughts and move through anything negative you might be experiencing.
See a few of our favourite affirmations below, plus one for you to do yourself!
I create a safe and secure space for myself wherever I am
I allow myself to be who I am without judgment
I make a difference in the world by simply existing in it
And finally, one for you to complete for yourself;
What I love about myself is my ability to …………………
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Meet The Team
We would love to share with you what each of the Shibumi team members likes to do, to keep themselves feeling happy and healthy, throughout life and particularly at this time. On a personal level, I think everyone has had struggles one way or another during this time and we hope that some of our own techniques and methods for wellbeing will be helpful to you.
Ruth
The leading lady of Shibumi, Ruth, is very spiritual and is highly in touch with both the beauty of our natural world and beyond. She practises yoga and meditation every day, particularly the ‘Art of Living’ breath work called Sudarshan Kriya.
She follows the teachings of Adyashanti and Amma, and as part of this she also offers amazing Healing sessions, something that she’s just as passionate about as Shibumi.
Ruth also loves to cycle and dance, and we think having some sort of connection with your body in the form of exercise is so important if it’s something you’re able to do.
A few words from Ruth on staying connected, being present and having a positive outlook on life…
“Take stock of the little things, something as simple as having a gentle sounding reminder on your phone a couple of times a day to remind you to just stop and be present in the moment. Take a deep breath, be still for a moment, step outside for a few minutes to smell a beautiful rose. All of these things help you to come back to your centre and find inner peace.
The earth is a ‘battery’ for healing the body and soul, so being outside with bare feet at least once a day will help you to connect to the earth, you’ll be surprised how amazing this feels! Even when it’s cold!
And finally, make sure you are looking at beauty as much as possible; whether that’s the flowers in your garden, photos of loved ones, or the way the light catches a tree from your window… filling your day with these small but beautiful things can help re-orientate yourself from a negative space in to a positive one.”
Ruth recommends reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, it’s a great introduction to living from our true nature.
“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your soul. How do you know this is the experience that you need? Because it’s the one you are having.”
-Tolle, A New Earth
Of course, Ruth's favourite thing to do in the world is to spend time with her daughter Coco...
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Sophie
Most of you that contact Shibumi will have spoken to Sophie at some point, and she loves speaking to you all! During lockdown Sophie was working from home for over 3 months which was brilliant but she definitely found it challenging at times when she is used to seeing all of your beautiful faces! To keep herself feeling positive and motivated she did lots of walking with her dog Ollie, and particularly found that a good brisk walk before sitting at her desk for the day really helped her to stay focused, and meant Ollie was tired out for the day! She said, “Walking Ollie is like my morning meditation; it’s just me and him in the countryside having fun, any worries get left at home and we just enjoy the here and now, spending time together with no other focus but having a nice walk. It’s so refreshing and relaxing.”
Sophie also loves being creative and finds this a real outlet for reducing stress, whether that’s drawing, sewing or repainting furniture. Additionally, Sophie talks about the importance of self care, “Taking time in your day to pamper yourself has the amazing long term effect of reminding yourself that you are important. Even if it’s 10 minutes to wash your face and gently massage your favourite moisturiser into your skin, I do this every day, and take time once a week to pamper myself with a longer skincare routine. It’s not about being ‘beautiful’, more about knowing your worth it!”
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Kate
Wonderful Kate works at Shibumi part time, but of course is still an integral part of the team. For the Shibumi girls, not seeing each other during lockdown was really hard as we are all good friends as well as colleagues. Kate finds that connecting with nature really helped her to stay centred during lockdown, and she loves to explore the Cotswolds on her bike. Doing regular exercise is so good for your emotional wellbeing, and Kate absolutely loves to be cycling, at the gym or running. She finds great comfort spending time with her gorgeous family and her dog, Fern!
There are so many things we can do to make life feel that extra bit special, even when we’re stuck inside! At Shibumi HQ we love to celebrate life as much as we can; whether that’s eating some yummy cake (something we do a lot!), taking some time to be within nature or meditating together. We also have some amazing neighbours who have a wonderful eco-friendly cosmetics company called Brand Zero Naturals who keep us supplied with incredible shampoo bars, hand cremes and handmade soaps… they make every day feel like a mini spa session!
We really hope you’ve enjoyed reading and that we’ve given you some inspiration for ways to take really good care of your emotional and physical wellbeing, during this time and beyond. We would love to hear from you about the ways you’ve been looking after yourself during lockdown, and we really hope that you’re living in a positive, beautiful space.
With love,
Shibumi
xxx
