If you relish the thought of a spa day to yourself, but can’t quite stretch to visiting one, have a spa day in the comfort of your own home, and emerge relaxed, refreshed and with some money in the bank!
What You’ll Need to Get Your Home Spa Day Started
Before you start your spa day, make sure that you have everything you need in advance, so there’s no last minute rush out to the supermarket. You want your whole day to be as serene and relaxed as possible, so just take the time to plan it well in advance.
- Tea lights
- Aromatherapy oils – lavender, rose and jasmine, plus any other favourites
- Aromatherapy oil burner or diffuser
- Two large bottles of still water
- Herbal and fruit teas, and fruit juices
- Soothing CDs or a relaxing MP3 playlist
- Salad and vegetables of your choice
- White fish of your choice
- Fruit selection of your choice – including lemons
Start Your Spa Day as You Mean to Go On
When you wake, make yourself a mug of boiling water and squeeze in a little fresh lemon juice. It’s a natural cleansing tonic for the liver. Light your aromatherapy burner, and burn refreshing oil – bergamot, grapefruit or lemon work well.
Stretch yourself into the day, with a yoga cat stretch. Start on all fours, with your spine in the neutral position, then lower your head and arch your back while breathing out. Breathe in again, and lift your head while dropping your tummy down. Finish the stretch by inhaling, with your head up, and tummy down. Repeat four times.
Into the Shower
The next step is to have a spa style beauty treatment in the shower. Have your normal shower, but add some homemade scrub to the routine. Try a naturally sweet version by mixing up some brown sugar with a carrier oil (sesame works well) and then add a sweet aromatherapy oil like ginger or lemon. If you prefer, you could make a salt scrub instead, with coarse salt, plus carrier oil and a favourite oil such as jasmine or lavender. Rub the mixture on before you turn on the shower, and let it soak into your skin before rinsing it off thoroughly. If you’re feeling brave, a quick blast of cold water finishes a spa style shower off perfectly!
During the Home Spa Day
Drink plenty of fresh fruit juices, water and fruit/herbal teas throughout the day to keep your levels of hydration up.
If you have a yoga or Pilates DVD, exercise to this during the morning. If not, you may want to try some gentle toning exercises, or just go for a walk outside. Try to get some exercise in, and make the most of your day to yourself.
What to Eat
Naturally you’ll want to make the home spa day as relaxing as possible, so you don’t want to be cooking all day. If you’ve prepared in advance, you should be able to make up a salad for lunch with all the ingredients from the day before. Don’t forget you’ll need some protein in there, so add some feta cheese, some nuts or a small amount of chicken or tuna.
Make time for your meals, and if you can eat them sitting at a table. Chew each mouthful slowly, and don’t rush your food. You have all day, so really enjoy each mouthful and savour the flavours.
Dinner should also be relaxed, and should be light on the digestion. A piece of steamed chicken or fish, with steamed vegetables or more salad, will be nutritious and light.
Snack on nuts, chopped vegetables and fresh fruit if you feel hungry during the day.
Time for a Spa Beauty Treatment Pamper session
Later in the day, pamper yourself all over with a face mask, manicure and pedicure. Apply the face mask and retire to your bedroom, lie down, set the alarm for however long the mask takes, and do some breathing exercises. Breathe in slowly for a count of two, then out to a count of four. Concentrate on the in breath, then the out breath, and as any thoughts come into your mind, just imagine pushing them away.
Wash the mask off, and set about the manicure and pedicure beauty treatments. Once you’ve got the nails salon-perfect, apply some polish and sit down somewhere quiet with a good magazine.
In the evening, after dinner, run yourself a bath and add some aromatherapy oils. Relax into the soothing water, light some candles and play some soothing music.
Have an early night with a cup of camomile tea, and smile to yourself at the money you’ve saved with your DIY spa.