Improve your life - 6 Tips to get you started...

A new year, change of season and (actually) every day is an opportunity to start incorporating new habits into your life that will help improve your health, life and overall body, mind, spirit balance. Here are 6 tips to get you started...

1. Get Outside

No matter the weather where you live ... make it a point to dress appropriate - especially if you are living in areas like me, where the temps have been hitting -40 C. Get outside everyday for at least 10 minutes. This is great for helping to clear your mind, breathe in fresh air and connecting with nature.

2. Expand Your Knowledge

image credit: August US Vogue 2010

Learning is a life long thing. This year start expanding your mind - make reading part of your daily life; or learn about a topic that interests you. Exercising our mind is as easy as using it.

3. Explore

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Broaden your horizons ...get out of your comfort zone and travel to a place where you do not speak the language or have never visited. Travel is a learning experience not only about another culture - but also about yourself. If you are daring travel on your own.

4. Discover Smart Casual

image credit Google

When we work from a home office or are a stay at home mom/wife - or in my case are recovering from an injury it's easy to develop "Sweatpant Syndrome". I hear you ... you want comfort, but let me tell you never underestimate how much the way you look affects the way you feel. So, make sure you shower, do your hair, apply some make-up (a little lipstick, blush and mascara) and most important get out of your jammies or sweats - Jennifer Aniston is one of my fav inspirations for comfy smart casual wear. Not only will your confidence and productivity increase, you are ready to - when someone calls and asks if you would like to meet for lunch or you find you need to go out an run an errand.

5. Get Social Face to Face

It's important to have a balanced life - that means making time to actually spend and share time with family and friends. And time via social media - does not count. Technology may enable us to connect virtually - but there is no replacement for face to face human interaction.

6. Take 30

Women are known to take care of everyone else's needs ...but when it comes to our self, we often forget to make time in our day for us. Make 2014 the year that you make time for you to re-energize and self-care. Here are links to posts from 2013 that offer suggestions for how to get the most of 30 minutes each day to help balance you body, mind, and spirit. 

Are You worth 30 Minutes in YOUR day? , A Cup of Tea and a Facial mask - 30 minutes for you , 30 minutes with a Cup of Tea ...week 2 , Getting Outside with a Cup of Tea , Meditation and a Cup of Tea, Afternoon Tea Make it Part of your Day, You Haven't had a Bath since ....????

What are you doing to improve your body, mind and spirit?


Stay in Step with High Heeled Life ...

Afternoon Tea Make it Part of your Day ...

“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

This is the 6th installment of 6 in the series 30 minutes minutes for you with a cup of tea. Thank you for reading along and for all the wonderful comments and emails on how this series is getting you to stop for 30 in your day.

Make Tea Part of Your Day...

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Tea has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. As a child living in Europe, I drank tea as it was something that children were permitted to have (over espresso/coffee), it made me feel grown up. My Grandmother made the best tea.  Once I moved to Canada to live with my Parents, I have fond memories of sitting with my Mother and guests sipping tea and eating toast (yes, I did dunk the toast... I know , I know), to me it was the best treat!

Meditation and a Cup of Tea ...

In today's fast paced world ... making time to just sit and be, may seem like a waste of time to many. Reality though is that the few minutes you set aside, to just be -  is exactly what the body needs to re-energize and enable it to be more productive.

One of my favourite ways to relax and decompress from all the busyness of the day is to sit back with a cup of tea. I actually try an make it a regular ritual to stop around 3:00/3:30 pm each afternoon for a cup of tea and 30 minutes for me. The act of preparing the tea and taking in the soothing warmth of the tea in itself is most therapeutic. 

Another way that I find beneficial to maintaining calmness in my day (especially if it's one with anxiety) is to meditate. I know you are probably thinking "must be nice to have ALL that time". The truth is just like you I need to (find) MAKE time in my day - for me time. The difference is I have come to realize that I am worth at least 30 minutes in my day. Sometimes, when I'm really feeling off ... I manage a couple of 30 minutes in my day.... and I no longer feel Guilty about it.

Imagine the benefit of combining a cup of tea with meditation ...

I will steep a pot of tea and enjoy a cup for 5-10 minutes before settling down to meditate. It's a great way to transition a busy active mind into a calm state.

So the next time you are feeling like this ... STOP ... make a pot of tea, let the warmth and aroma of the tea embrace you ~ for 5-10 minutes, while you sit back and let your mind slow down; set your teacup down, close your eyes and just focus on breathing in and out; sit quietly for 15-20 minutes just focusing on breathing in and out. 

I use a timer with a vibration mode ~ so that I'm not focused on how much time has passed - and can be truly in the moment. I have also found that a gentle vibration is much more pleasant to signal the end of your mediation time, than a buzzing sound of an alarm.

You will be amazed at how much more energized and better able to deal with the rest of the day, you will be.

This is the 5th in a series of 6 ~ Are You worth 30 Minutes in your day .

You can read the others here: One, Two, Three , Fourth

Stay in Step with High Heeled Life ...

sharing this post with:   Antiques and Teacups for Tuesday Cuppa Tea ~ Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea time Tuesday ~ Artful Affirmations and Martha's favorites for Teacup Tuesday  Inspiration Tuesday ~  A Return to Loveliness Tuesday ~  Total Fitness Wednesday

Getting Outside with a Cup of Tea

Welcome to the 4th installment of in a series of 6 ~ 30 Minutes for you with a cup of tea. There is something most therapeutic about connecting with nature. 

One of my favourite ways to enjoy my 30 minutes with a cup of tea is to find a spot in our gardens, pour a cup of tea and sit among nature recharging.

Don't have a garden .... no problem ... a backyard patio will do just fine ...

A balcony with some flowers is just as peaceful and relaxing.

If you don't live in the country,  suburbia, or have a balcony, no problem...

A park in the city can be a fabulous place to go and sit back and enjoy nature...

If you are really lucky your park will have a water feature to sit by...

No matter whether you live in the country, suburbia, or  the city ~ there are many ways to carve out a little nature escape. Taking your china teacup and saucer, kettle, and teapot may not be a practical option. Here are some travelling tea items that I like to use.

Enjoying an afternoon of writing in the garden I usually pack up a basket with all the essentials including a Kanteen to keep my tea hot - note you will need a towel to easily and safely manage the Kanteen.

But when I'm taking 30 minutes for me - no computer writing... 

Just a cup of tea and a treat while I sit back and enjoy.

This is a great on-the-go tea mug, it has a built in infuser 

which retracts easily so as to not over steep your tea. 

My sister gifted me one of these and sometimes I even take it on drives and out to the garden.

When was the last time you enjoyed 30 minutes in nature?

This is the 4th in a series of 6 ~ Are You worth 30 Minutes in your day .

You can read the others here: One, Two, Three

Stay in Step with High Heeled Life ...

sharing this post with:   Antiques and Teacups for Tuesday Cuppa Tea ~ Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea time Tuesday ~ Artful Affirmations and Martha's favorites for Teacup Tuesday  Inspiration Tuesday ~  A Return to Loveliness Tuesday ~  

You Haven't had a Bath since ....????

If you are among the many (living the rat race) North Americans who view the time soaking in a bath as a waste of precious time, you may be scratching your head wondering "just when was the last time?". While a shower is quick and efficient to getting clean, there are many wonderful benefits to taking the extra few minutes to enjoy a bath. 

The calming, relaxing, detoxifying, stimulation of circulation  (just a few of the many benefits) of soaking,  makes taking a bath the perfect solution after a long day at the office; running after children; gardening: or dealing with everyday stress in our day.

Ok, a nightly bath may not be possible with the faster and faster paced lifestyles North Americans are living, for everyone ~ but I'm challenging you to add a bath once a week to your routine. Remember You are worth at least 30 minutes in your busy day. So why not enjoy the benefits of a bath?

A study conducted in Osaka, Japan, confirmed the stress-relief effects of bathing. Two sensitive salivary stress markers, cortisol and chromogranin, were measured before and after subjects bathed for 60 minutes.The researchers found a marked reduction in these stress markers. 

I find that 15-20 minutes of soaking works great for me. Regardless of the time you choose to soak in your bath,  plan it so there are no interruption. 

I hope these images will inspire you to start your weekly bath ritual ...

Just lay back and let your imagination take you away ...

Remember the thrill of a bubble bath as a child? Bring back that play time ...

Maybe add a little music a la Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman ...

Perhaps some fragrant candles will help you relax ...

Use this bath time to enjoy a cup of tea ...

Perhaps incorporate a few wonderful relaxing, calming and soothing things~ candle light, bubbles, music and a cup of tea. This is One of my favourite ways to enjoy my bath time.

High Heeled Life Detox Bath Ritual:

1 cup Himalayan salts, 1 cup of Epsonm salts, 2 cups baking soda, 10 drops of lavender essential oil (or other essential oil of your choice). Add into the bath while the tub is filling. 

I like to take this bath either during a New Moon - when the body's ability for detoxification is at it's highest; or on the day of a Full Moon - when the healing process of the body is at its peak as is its absorption potential to absorb the most minerals from the salt bath, activating the body's own energy flow.

What bath rituals do you have?

This is the 3rd in a series of 6 ~ Are You worth 30 Minutes in your day .

You can read the others here: One, Two

Stay in Step with High Heeled Life ...