The importance of self-care and ways to elevate your routine

Whether we realize it or not our day is filled with routines. Our commute to work, our favorite corner store for a late-night snack, or early morning coffee and bagel shop. Even starting our day by turning off our alarm and immediately scrolling through Instagram. As humans, we love creating comfort zones and are inherently creatures of habit. The beauty of habits is that they are in fact unbiased and can be good or bad based on the intention we bring to them.

This is how we upgrade our routines to rituals.

Intention requires meaning or purpose in some form. Routines can be effortlessly carried out without intention. But living with intention gives us the opportunity to consciously look at our habits and say “is this actually working for me?” How am I benefiting from this, or is there a better way?

Intention breathes life into the mundane, should we choose to. Making your coffee with intention allows for awareness, of how much you love the smell of your favorite roast wafting out of your french press. Or how the first sip feels like your morning has truly begun.

Intention allows for us to care more deeply about our habits and the results they entail. Which goes a long way particularly in how we care for our bodies. The human body is tangible, deeply sensory, and thus responds to stimulation. Splashing water on our face as we run out the door late for work may wake us up, but not in a way that helps our mind prepare for the day ahead. 

Forgive us for stating the seemingly obvious, but humor us for a moment and feel into the difference between these scenarios.

1. A quick shower, a double-checking of emails, a setting of the alarm, and a final scroll through social media before lights out for the night.
2. Even just once a week, setting your alarm and sending your last email an hour before bed. Then light some candles and soak in a salt bath with tea and a good book. Taking your time to apply your favorite body lotion and oils, soaking up how it feels to give your body and your senses a little extra love. Then going to sleep already feeling relaxed and having decompressed from your day.

Bringing intention into our daily practices holds the opportunity to elevate our entire wellness experience.

Self-care can take a lot of forms but indulging in a better bath and body experience may very well be our favorite. Aromatherapy and relaxation are seamless sisters, working effortlessly together for a holistic experience likened to a deep exhalation or finally falling into savasana. Our vision with Herbo is to make indulgence a part of your everyday. Trust us, your body with love you for it.