As a spa owner I specialise in nurturing and holding space for others on a daily basis. I am also incredibly lucky that I get to do so in truly beautiful and tranquil surroundings. Self-care at it’s optimum some may say. But the practice of daily self care doesn’t have to include spending money at your local spa, there are so many quick and easy techniques that we can practice on a daily basis to help ease us back to ourselves and ground our energies.

Here’s ten of my top self care practices that you can incorporate into your daily life.

1.When your alarm goes off in the morning rather than pressing the snooze button or immediately jumping out of bed, take 1-2 minutes to slowly awaken yourself, connect to your breathe and notice how your body feels. Gently become aware of the sounds of the world waking up around you, breathe deeply and then slowly open your eyes.

2.Whilst in the shower take a minute to imagine the water gently cleansing your entire body energetically, washing away any negative thoughts or heaviness from the day before. You can imagine the water bringing a beautiful golden water drops down over your head and body, refreshing, cleansing and renewing your physical being and also your spirit.

3.Before you make yourself a cup of tea or grab that much need coffee, take some time to rehydrate your body by drinking a full glass of water. Our bodies are often dehydrated first thing in the morning, and this small daily task can help reduce tiredness and mental fatigue.

4.Write a short to-do-list of what you would like to get done in the morning, afternoon or during the entire day. This can help focus us on the tasks ahead, make us more productive and reduce feelings of anxiety if we are feeling a little overwhelmed.

7.Introduce a potted plant into your home office or work space. Plants essentially do the opposite of what we do when we breathe: release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. This not only freshens up the air, but also eliminates harmful toxins. Extensive research by NASA has revealed that plants within our environment can remove up to 87% of toxins in the air around us. This in turn helps reduce our stress levels, increases our productivity and boosts our mood.

8.At lunch time or after work get outside and get moving. Even if you choose to take a 10 minute walk to the sandwich shop, eat your lunch in the park or do quick spot of shopping, getting our blood flowing around our body and air in our lungs is good for us. In the sunnier months, it’s also beneficial to get out for quick but regular periods of time in the midday sun as this increases our vitamin D, a vitamin that is imperative to our well being and bone health.

9. Take the odd moment to close your eyes, be still and simply focus on your breathe. Seriously you can do this anywhere, during a quick bathroom visit, on the tube, on the bus or on your lunch break. Our minds and ears are filled with so much stimulation throughout the day its so important to just take time out to stop. If you find it difficult to just be still and focus on the in and out breaths, try this simple technique. As you breathe in, slowly, simply say in your head ‘I am breathing in’, as you then slowly release that breath repeat in your head ‘I am breathing out’. Do this for one or two minutes with every inhalation and exhalation and witness how quickly you feel more centred and grounded.

10.My own spiritual master taught me the practice of gratitude. In every single moment we can find gratitude in something, even during our most challenging and stressful moments. We just simply need to learn how to alter the way we think, to enable us to see such gratitude. At the end of each day, take a few moments to acknowledge three things that have happened during your day that you are grateful for. Even if it’s something you usually take for granted, acknowledge it. It could be something as simple as you managed to park your car in a particular parking space you like, or how delicious your morning coffee tasted from your local coffee store on your way to work. Three things, however big or small that gifted you with a moment of happiness or gratitude.

Self care doesn’t always need to be centred around the obvious things that make us feel nurtured and content, even the smallest of self-care habits can improve our overall happiness and well being.