I've picked up a lot of self-care tips and vibes over the years as a health and wellness coach. I've tried everything from crystal healing therapy to hypnosis and even attempted a 3-day fat fast (major fail). I really love to use my body to experiment with different self care rituals, ways of eating and therapies to see what works for me. I'm fascinated with the body and everything that it's capable of so I'm always looking for healthy, new and improved ways to get the very best out of my body. Over the years, I've come to truly fall in love with 4 alternative, or some of you may see them as crazy, therapies that help me recover fast, think more clearly and creatively and overall live a happier life!
1. Cryotheraphy
This therapy has been around for thousands of years; we have just recently made it much more sophisticated and not quite as brutal as jumping into a frozen lake. Whole body cryotherapy, which is the more modern version of cryo, involves short exposure to extreme cold via a cryochamber. It's basically a human sized tank that's filled with liquid nitrogen cooled air (see me in one on the right). The chamber gets down to about -266F, but since the nitrogen lacks moisture, it feels nothing like jumping into an ice bath. You stand in the chamber for about 3 minutes in socks and gloves, turn around a few times to make sure that every part of your body gets hit with the cold and you're done! It sounds scary but it's really not that bad at all. Plus, cryotherapy has been said to reduce inflammation, help with muscle recovery and soreness, increase metabolism and also increase immunity. So, it's totally worth it!
2. Psychic
This might be the most "out there" one of them all, but seeing a psychic has been instrumental in some big decisions I've made in my life. For years, I was really skeptical of psychics. First off, I didn't really want to know anything about my future (that really freaked me out) and I just wasn't sure if I believed in them. Then, over the last couple of years, I've had family members and close friends all tell me about incredible experiences that they've had with psychics. So last year, when I was making some big changes in my life, I decided to finally pull the trigger and visit a psychic that had I'd heard wonderful things about from several different people. The experience was incredible.
Most people think that when you go and see a psychic, they are going to tell you exactly what is going to happen, some of which may not be what you want to here. My experience and view on psychics is not this. A psychic is there to simply nudge you back on track when you're off of your path a little bit. She's there to ask you the right questions to make you think more deeply about decisions you're making or a challenge you might be facing. In my mind, she works a bit like a therapist with just slightly more insight into who you are and what you're dealing with. On that note, it's really important that you work with the right person. Ask for referrals and do your research.
3. Hypnotherapy
I'm not talking about the hypnosis that you see on stage where people hop around on 1 foot or squawk like birds. Hypnotherapy is a fantastic way to reprogram your software and help you think differently. Let's say you know that you need to lose weight, you're on a strict diet, yet every night around 9PM you reach for those cookies. You don't know why but there's this deep urge inside of you that is just too hard to fight, so you eat the cookies. This is a conflict between your conscious mind, which tells you you're on a diet and you shouldn't eat this, and your unconscious mind, which tells you that this is going to taste amazing and make you feel wonderful. To change this, you can speak to your subconscious, which is exactly what hypnotherapy is. Hypnosis is basically a heightened sense of learning and is a really safe and effective way to change deeply engrained habits. I've seen profound changes in my relationships with food and my body after several hypnotherapy sessions. I had my hypnotherapist record my sessions so now I listen to them a couple of times per week to reset.
4. Reiki
Reiki has been a part of my life for nearly 15 years now and is probably my favorite form of self care. Reiki is a healing technique from Japan that alleviates stress and promotes relaxation. I tend to explain it to people as meditation in steroids. Basically, when you have been opened up or attuned to reiki, your hands are able to transfer energy that help heal and calm. Similar to acupuncture, certain areas or chakras of the body are targeted to help with relaxation and stress reduction. Some advocates have even said that it helps with depression, pain management, disease and can boost energy levels. I practice reiki nearly every night to help me fall asleep and then as a way to help me relax, focus and set intentions during the day. Look for a certified reiki practitioner in your area and schedule a session to get your body into deep relaxation and restoration mode.
Whether you're into reiki, cyrotherapy or simply drawing a warm bath with epsom salts, self care should be an important part of your routine. We are all running at 1 million miles a minute and placing more stress on our bodies than ever before. Therefore, it's more important than ever to prioritize YOU so that you can present the world with the very best version of you. I'd love to hear about how you take care of yourself and if you've tried any of the therapies I talked about! Please share in the comments below. xo