Planning your wedding can be one of the most stressful periods of your life so it’s important to keep your nerves in check as you put your wedding plans into place.
Maxine Stead, founder of health and wellbeing spa Alexandra House, advises how you can stay stress-free to ensure you’ll not only enjoy the big day but also take your good health on your honeymoon and back home again to start your new married life.
Creating balance is important for both your mind and body. If you don’t look after yourself, you’ll get run down and risk becoming ill, or you’ll turn into the dreaded bridezilla and stress out your nearest and dearest as well as yourself! Worse still, you may become disorganised and forget about something crucial.
While we usually don’t hesitate to pay a bit more attention to the way we look in the run-up to the big day, we often neglect our own selves and still expect our minds and bodies to keep running on dwindling energy levels.
Instead of booking a facial, why not consider a holistic treatment next time, which will not only give your body some TLC, but will also give you some space to switch off and refocus your mind.
Here’s an overview of the most popular treatments available:
- Indian Head Massage
Indian head massage works on the upper back, shoulders, neck, scalp and face to relieve tension, stimulate circulation and improve joint flexibility.
- Aromatherapy Massage
Aromatherapy massage uses essential oils from plants to heal, alleviate pain and boost your mood. Essential oils are blended to help you feel energised, uplifted, relaxed or refreshed.
- Reflexology
Reflexology works on the feet to help heal and balance the whole person. Reflexology is a relaxing therapy that encourages the body to work naturally to restore its own healthy balance.
- Reiki
Reiki is a gentle healing technique that promotes natural self-healing, treating symptoms and causes of illness, relieving pain, enhancing personal awareness, aiding positive thinking and reducing stress.
Make a commitment to yourself to create some balance and space just for you. Planning a wedding can be incredibly demanding and some regular time out will make a huge difference to your stress levels. It also means that when a problem does occur – which it inevitably will - you don’t react in panic mode but instead respond in a way that allows you to calmly and clearly see that there will be a way around the issue and resolve it.
Maxine’s top 5 tips to stay stress-free:
- Take time out to quieten the mind - this has an impact in your clarity of thought and problem-solving ability, which is key to the smooth and efficient running of our busy day to day lives. The morning is the perfect time to do this. If sitting in silence is challenging, reach for your iPod and listen to a guided meditation by angel expert Doreen Virtue.
- See things in a positive frame of mind - regular meditation will provide you with a calmer, more positive frame of mind and will enhance your outlook – not just about your wedding but your life in general. The energy you give off is therefore better, you’re more relaxed and able to interact at a subtle level which people don’t necessarily realise but it passes onto other people.
- Breathe - one of the simplest ways to relax is to breathe properly. A few slow, deep breaths are instantly beneficial to the mind and body and will calm nerves and allow greater control over the situation, however stressful it may be.
- Achieve clarity: if you imagine shaking up a jar of muddy water, this is similar to your head struggling to see things clearly when you’re stressed and busy. However, when putting it down and letting things settle, clarity appears at the top and you’re then equipped to cope better with problems. With practice, meditation has the same effect on your mind, providing a sense of calm and clarity.
- Keep your eye on the bigger picture – if you only focus on the little picture you will inevitably feel anxious and stressed. Remember why you are getting married—love—not the headache of the table plan, the arguments between your bridesmaids or how much it’s all costing. You will need to make some tricky decisions of course in your planning, but instead of focusing on what is going ‘wrong’, choose a different perception: focus on the bigger picture - the love between two people.
Maxine Stead is the founder and managing director of leading holistic health and well-being spa, Alexandra House, based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
Formerly a nationally recognised clinical researcher within the NHS, academia and pharmaceutical industry, Maxine has built the spa into one of the best-known retreats for emotional and physical wellbeing in the north of England with over 14,000 customers to date.
Add new comment