Self-Care in the New Year
It’s important all year round to practice self-care, but it can be especially fitting when the start of a new year rolls around. After leap frogging from house to house for nearly two weeks straight over the holidays, I finally gave the last of my visitors a loving boot and sank into my couch with a warm cup of tea and a new book. Eager to take some time to myself, I settled in…but only to fall asleep three pages into the first chapter. I bid farewell to 2015 with a long overdue nap, and took the New Year as an opportunity to reboot.
Here at the Co-op we had a “self-care” week with classes and workshops for mental and emotional wellness. We kicked off 2016 with a new series: Natural Skin Treatments. First up was Steams & Honey Cleansers with herbalist Jessica LaBrie. As a class, we explored different herbs and curated personal steam bowls filled with custom blends of roses, peppermint, calendula, lavender, chamomile, and orange peel. What’s coming next? Keep a lookout for other offerings in this series like The Nitty Gritty: Masques, Microdermabrasion & Cleansing Grains and Daily Toners & Serums.
Later in the week, massage therapist Jennifer Kiel offered a workshop on self-massage of the hands and forearms. After covering the basics of muscle structure and pressure points, Jennifer led the group in demonstrating and practicing helpful techniques to take care of your tired hands and arms. While I usually associate massage with tense shoulders and necks, it turns out your hands and arms need a little bit of TLC, too! Activities like typing at a computer and biking can strain the smaller muscles in around your fingers, wrists, and forearms. Use some shea butter for a gentler approach or magnesium oil for extra muscle relaxation.
Next, for a dietary approach to starting fresh and feeling great, we delved into kitchari 101. This ancient Ayurvedic dish is simple, composed of mung beans, rice, and a few vegetables. Noted as being the “chicken soup of Ayurveda,” it’s an energy-balancing dish for healing, recalibrating, and rebooting the body’s digestion. Holistic Health Coach Krissy Ruddy explained how to incorporate kitchari into our diets and the basics of using it for a full cleanse.
And don’t think we’re done yet, we’ve got even more offerings to come. Want more? Check out our classes and events here. To make sure you never miss out, sign up for our Classes & Events Newsletter to see our new offerings first!