Happy New Year to you and all your family. I hope however your Christmas break ended up, it was full of fun, laughter and a whole lot of sipping from your favourite Jo D cup!
Our break was quiet and slow which was needed after a brilliantly busy time with Christmas orders. I spent some of this time reflecting on the last 10 months and strangely have felt a wave of shock wash over me in a delayed realisation of where we still are with the Pandemic and all the awful consequences of it. Being busy has helped to keep me going so much and having a chance to stop and reflect seems to have brought the enormity of everything crashing back to me.
However, where there is dark there is always light, and this time around the vaccine has been a remarkable leap forwards towards some light at the end of this long tunnel. I for one, have found the Vaccine another reason to feel enormously proud to be British, with the trials and roll out happening on home soil, just incredible!
Whilst it is good to reflect, the most important thing we can do both individually and collectively, is focus on the positives and on the future! It has never been more important to feel a sense of togetherness and group spirit than it is right now. If we allow ourselves to spiral into a negative outlook it is harder each time to return to the positives. Therefore, here at Jo D, we are encouraging you to do as much as you can to stay positive, proactive and resilient right now.
Sharing a cup of tea or coffee with a loved one, jumping on a zoom chat with a comforting brew or stealing a much needed quiet 10 mins break on your own all helps to still the mind, re-energise you and your thoughts and stride forwards with your day.
To help you along with this, we thought we would give you our top 8 tips for combating the January Blues. We hope these simple steps can help to provide some comfort and focus for this month.
1. Get Organised - Have a clear out of your wardrobe, children's playrooms and their wardrobes and make space for the new gifts and toys that you all received last month. Reorganise your various home corners and perhaps bag up some things for Charity shops, especially anything warm for those who have a lot less choice when it comes to selecting the perfect snuggly jumper to cosy up with.
2. Treat Yourself Daily - Make the process of making your favourite comforting drink a ritual. Perhaps buy some really lovely tea bags, these are some of our favourites, linked below. Perhaps invest in some lovely quality coffee beans, ground coffee or deliciously warming herbal teas. Boil the kettle, whilst doing so take some deep breaths (in to the count of 4, out to the count of 6 and pause at the bottom before taking your next breath). Put your phone down and spend a minute in the quiet whilst you wait for the kettle or coffee machine to ping. This will reset you each time, filling you with fresh air and even a moment as small as this can really help to restore you.
Pukka Love Tea - Good news for filling your heart with love...Made with organic chamomile, elderflower, lavender, licorice, limeflower and marigold. A tender touch of rose fills your heart. The soft embrace of chamomile and lavender soothe your soul!
3. Have a Cleansing Ritual - If Father C didn't bring you some in your stocking then treat yourself to some new shampoo and shower gel and Body Lotion. There is something very spoiling about a long hot shower, washing your hair and drying it and moisturising your skin before putting your cosiest clothes on for the day. We absolutely love these products for their very special qualities and gorgeous smells.
4. Bathing is Best - Invest in some bath salts, ideally epsom salts, they contain magnesium and are a proven way to relax muscles and benefit sleep. Magnesium is an important mineral naturally found in the body, thought to help promote healthy sleeping patterns and encourage relaxation. Transdermal mineral bathing is an effective way to relax, as the magnesium flakes transform your bath into a more comforting environment.
5. Cup of Soup - Make some soup, it takes less than 30 mins and all you need is a decent blender! Warm food is almost as important as warm drinks. Making soup from scratch is so easy and is a brilliant way of using up sad looking veg and left-over roast meat. It is the ultimate comfort if you sip from a Jo D mug too! There are so many options when it comes to making a hearty bowl of goodness, we love Leon for their dinky but brilliant soup inspired cook book!
6. Reading is Key - Find pleasure in the smallest things, daily, even for 5 minutes! Read a chapter of your book, read a magazine cover to cover, go out in nature for a walk (don't forget to always look up!) or sit quietly listening to your favourite music. These are all restorative and mindful things to do. They will do you the world of good and give you a break without having to sit in a darkened room pretending to meditate successfully!
7. Get Your Zzz'd in - Go to bed early. The benefits of sleep before the hours of midnight are enormous. Dr Nerina Ramlakhan explains that "The 90 minute phase before midnight is one of the most powerful phases of sleep, because it’s the period where the body is replenished,” Ramlakhan explains. “It’s rejuvenated on every level – physically, mentally, emotionally and, I believe, spiritually as well. There’s a lot of healing that takes place in that first phase of sleep.”
She continues: “It’s also a really important phase for reorganising the brain. So all the information we’re taking in during the day gets reorganised during that phase of sleep before midnight, and it’s very important for bringing adrenaline levels down – if you’re under a lot of stress, you want to make sure you get that phase before midnight.”
Why not treat yourself to some really gorgeous PJ's too?!
8. Mask Up - Put your PPE mask down and invest in a spoiling face and eye mask instead! We absolutely love Tropic for all their products, but in particular, their face masks, they are amazing. So soothing and spoiling, we cannot get enough of them! As for the ultimate eye mask, look no further than the Space Mask. This will send you into an intergalatic spin of calm and tranquility.
Lots of positivi-tea can come from the smallest things! These are indeed all small things but we feel will make the biggest difference to life in January, better times are coming, in the meantime remain Positive and Get Your Sip On xx
