How to Relax: 8 Tips (+ The Best Vegan Pampering Products!)

Last Updated on 19 Mar, 2021

If you’re wondering how to relax, then you’re in the right place. I used to think relaxing was easy, and it was just the absence of work, but it got to the point where I felt burnt out on my weekends and didn’t manage to feel rejuvenated by the time Monday rolled around. It wasn’t until I took a step back and looked at my day-to-day life that I realised I wasn’t spending any time actually relaxing. In my spare time I was either working out or writing this blog, both of which I love doing, but neither of which were letting my body or my brain fully have some time out.

As a result, I reduced the amount of time I spent blogging each week, and made a conscious effort to spend some time relaxing. To do this I had to learn how to relax, and I’ve learnt a lot over the last few months. I’ve compiled a list of easy-to-implement but effective tips and tricks so you too can find it easier to switch off and enjoy some downtime!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means if you follow a link to a product/service and purchase it I might receive a small commission. This helps me to keep creating content for this blog, so thank you!

1. Stop Trying To Be Productive

One of the most important tips in the entire post is stop chasing endless productivity. Productivity is a huge profitable market now, with books, apps, blog posts and entire blogs dedicated to helping you become more productive. About working smarter, getting more done in less time and making you a more efficient person. We live in a culture that rewards productivity at the expense of our mental, physical, social and emotional wellbeing. It’s so easy to get swept up in it, and being busy all of the time makes it easy to neglect looking after ourselves.

So – I give you permission to forget about your to do list for the day, or even just half a day, and dedicate some time to doing something you actually find relaxing. That could be going for a walk, watching some Netflix, reading a book, colouring, drawing, yoga, meditation, or taking a bubble bath. Anything that allows your brain to have some downtime! If half a day seems too long, then at least set aside ten minutes in your daily routine that’s just for YOU.

Remember that time spent relaxing is not time spent wasted, but something that is important for your mental health and wellbeing.

2. Slow Down

If you’re learning how to relax, one of the best things you can do is slow down. If you’re used to being busy and all systems go all of the time, this will feel strange and potentially uncomfortable at first. Sit with that discomfort, because in the end it’ll pay off in terms of making you feel less stressed and hopefully reduce burn out. There will come a point, sooner than you think, where that discomfort turns into joy.

Pause and pay attention to your breathing for 5 breaths. Take a long bubble bath, walk slowly with no destination. Eat slowly paying attention to each bite, savour a cup of tea, or try turning off your phone for ten minutes.

Rushing around all of the time gives us no space to just be. This ties in with the idea of mindfulness, which I talk about in the next section.

I am a firm believer in slowing down in all areas of my life, which includes slow travel. You can learn more about that in my blog post on Eco-Friendly Travelling – 15 Top Tips on How To Be More Sustainable.

3. Practice Mindfulness

It’s not enough to just slow down – you also need to be mindful.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a form of meditation. It involves being present in the here and now and focusing your attention on what you’re feeling and doing in the current moment. It’s about being engaged with your thoughts, your feelings, and the sounds and sensations around you without judgement.

There is research to suggest that mindfulness and meditation actually rewires our brains. It can reduce stress, reduce inflammation in the body, and even make us more compassionate and kinder.

The great thing is that mindfulness is a skill that can be learned and nurtured, and it’s completely free. For some great resources on how to implement mindfulness into your life and learn more about it, check out these websites:

• Mindfulness – NHS
• Five Steps to Mindfulness – Mindful
• Mindfulness – Headspace

4. Put Pen to Paper and Journal

I LOVE journalling. I always feel like it declutters my mind after I’ve had a good journalling session. And there’s research to back up the positive effects of journalling – from reducing stress and trauma to improving the immune system. It can also help us sleep better, which I find to be a huge personal benefit, as I’m not the best at sleeping for my full 8 hours.

Looking for an easy way to start? Don’t worry about getting fancy notebooks or pens, just work with what you have and get writing. It doesn’t have to be gramatically correct, spelled correctly or even make sense. If you find it hard to begin, then try these prompts as a starting point and see where they take you. Remember that you are the only person who has to read your journal, and you don’t even need to re-read it yourself if you don’t want to. You also don’t need to journal every day to reap the benefits, which takes the stress out of making it a daily habit.

Journal Prompts for Relaxation and Mindfulness:

• In the last 24 hours, what are you grateful for?
• What does a perfect day look like to you?
• What brings you happiness?
• What would be your perfect meal? What ingredients, what colour plate, where would you be eating? What time of day would it be, what would you be drinking alongside it? Who would you be eating with? Focus on all the little details!
• What have you learned today? What have you learned this week, or month?
• A sound that made me feel good today was…

5. Stop Multitasking

This is similar to practicing mindfulness, but I wanted to focus on multitasking in particular because it’s often seen as way of being more productive (which we know is the opposite to relaxing!).

Work that is completed while multitasking tends to be of poorer quality, and the act of switching from one task to another and then back again stresses our brains out. And we’re all about trying to figure out ways to relax our brains. Did you know that our brains can only focus on one thing at a time? It may feel like we’re multitasking, but we’re actually quickly switching from one task to another. This involves interrupting our flow and our focus, even if you feel like you’re working effectively.

There is research to suggest that multitasking can lead to poorer memory and poor focus, as well as increasing our level of stress.

When you’re spending time relaxing, make it quality time. That means that the time you’re relaxing is just for relaxing. If it can be uniterrupted then even better. It’s time for YOU. Even if it’s five or ten minutes when you’re taking a hot shower, reading a few pages of a book, colouring, journalling, or shutting your eyes and listening (really listening) to music – don’t try and multitask your relaxation time with something else. It’s precious time.

How to stop multitasking

In learning how to relax, you also need to challenge your working practices and rid yourself of multitasking. Here are some steps towards doing this:

1. Be aware that you’re multitasking – recognising when you’re multitasking means you can work towards stopping, and getting yourself back on track. ‘Back on track’ in this sense doesn’t mean back to work but back to relaxing!
2. Remove distractions (turn off notifications on your phone, put it on silent, or in another room) – this applies to time you’re spending relaxing, even though we may usually think of it in terms of working.
3. Be mindful – fully immerse yourself in what you’re doing. Be present and enjoy your time spent relaxing.

6. Step into Nature

Nature is the ultimate relaxation medicine! There’s even a scientific field called ‘ecotherapy’ that researches the link between spending time outdoors in nature and better mental health (reduced depression, anxiety and stress levels).

Being outside also lets you top up on Vitamin D, of which having enough is necessary for your physical health and energy levels.

Not all of us are lucky enough to live somewhere green, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get the benefits of nature from living in a city. In fact, there is research that suggests that even just listening to nature sounds without even being physically in nature can have a positive effect and reduce stress levels. Visiting a city park can also give you a dose of nature without finding a forest or heading to the mountains. And if you are in nature, then put your phone away and fully enjoy being surrounded by trees and flowers.

7. Put Your Technology Away

It seems like a counterintuivite thing to be writing on a blog post about the practicalities on how to relax, but technology is a huge distraction from what is going on in the world around us. Our phones are tiny little roadblocks to mindfulness and weapons of distraction.

I personally have caught myself on my phone not having realised I’ve spent ten or fifteen minutes just mindlessly scrolling. Most of the time it’s not an activity that brings me genuine joy, happiness or relaxation, but more of a habit or way to kill time. And that’s definitely not a way to relax, nurture the soul or promote mindfulness!

If you can put your phone away when you’re relaxing, and not let yourself get distracted by it, then you will really learn how to relax in a fully present way. Even if it’s just half an hour with your phone on do not disturb mode while you work through a couple of pages in an adult colouring book, or read a few pages of a novel.

8. Carve Out Time for Self-Care (and Pampering!)

If you’re after some cruelty-free and vegan products that can help you relax and spend some time caring for yourself, then here’s the list for you!

• Lush Sleepy Range – Lush have a range of products called ‘Sleepy’ which are all lavender-based, which is calming, relaxing and fragrant (but it’s subtle – not overwhelming). I love using the Sleepy Body Lotion before bed, and there’s also a Sleepy Shower Gel. Lush is against animal testing and the products are always vegetarian, and many are vegan, too.
• The Body Shop Coconut Range – I don’t know what it is about coconut (maybe it reminds me of being on holiday?) but I always find it a relaxing and calming fragrance! The Body Shop has a wide range of coconut products that are all vegan and cruelty-free, including shower cream, body butter and a cooling body mist.
• The Body Shop White Musk Flora – another one from The Body Shop, but I LOVE the White Musk Flora range! It’s a delicate, flowery fragrance that comes in a body lotion, shower gel, eau de toilette and a fragrance mist. It has notes of peony, lily of the valley, bergamot and pink pepper. It’s cruelty-free and vegan of course, and contains fair trade shea butter.
• Faith in Nature – one of the best things about this brand is that it’s all cruelty-free, vegan and has a huge focus on natural ingredients and fragrances. Their bars of soap come in plastic free packaging and there are some lovely scents such as coconut and shea butter, rosemary, and dragon fruit!
• Neal’s Yard Remedies Beauty Sleep Shower Oil – if you’re looking for a bit more luxury (and expense) then Neal’s Yard have a vegan, organic shower oil that intends to moisturise and calm. It can also be used for shaving, and includes almond oil for smooth skin. This is part of the Beauty Sleep Ritual Collection, which also includes a pillow mist and body lotion if you want to get super calm!

What is a cruelty-free product?

Simply put, cruelty-free means no animal testing. There are still many products around the world that involve animal testing in their development. To find out if something is cruelty-free, you can look for the leaping bunny logo!

The Leaping Bunny Logo is an internation symbol that guarantees that a product has not been involved in any animal testing. It can be found on household products, beauty products and packaging all over the world. You’ll most likely recognise it, as lots of brands now have the leaping bunny logo clearly displayed on the back of their products. You can also be reassured that a product is cruelty-free if a product is vegan and clearly displayed as such.

Is cruelty-free the same as vegan?

If a product is vegan, then it is cruelty-free too.

However, a cruelty-free product might not be vegan as it might still contain ingredients such as honey.

Also Read: How to Read Ingredients Labels for New Vegans

How to find more cruelty-free products

Cruelty Free International has a great search function on their website which allows you to search through a database of Leaping Bunny certified products! Try out the Leaping Bunny search to find some cruelty-free products that will allow you to treat yourself with some cruelty-free pampering and relaxation. It also allows you to search for specific companies, so if you are out and about and are unsure, you can type the brand into the search bar and it will tell you if they’re Leaping Bunny certified.

Summary

It’s not realistic that you’ll be able to implement all of these tips into a busy lifestyle. But if you can take one helpful change from this post and implement it into your life, and it makes a difference to your health and wellbeing, then that’s a HUGE win.

To summarise on how to relax:

1. Stop trying to be productive
2. Slow down
3. Practice mindfulness
4. Put pen to paper and journal
5. Stop multitasking
6. Step into nature
7. Put your technology away
8. Carve out some time for self-care – with cruelty-free and vegan products!

Have YOU got any tips and tricks on how to relax that I’ve missed out? Any cruelty-free and vegan pampering products that you recommend? Let me know in the comments below!

Last Updated: 19th March 2021

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