I firmly believe that being pampered is a necessity – not a luxury. It adds balance to a busy lifestyle and keeps you going. It adds to your quality of life and is important enough to be scheduled as an unmissable appointment with yourself.

A long time ago, I promised I’d have a massage and a facial once a month as a way of saying “thank you” to myself for working hard. I don’t go out for a monthly facial any more, I’m more than happy to do them at home for myself and will go out for one on special occasions. I still enjoy regular aromatherapy massages with blends to reflect my mood depending on whether I need to be invigorated or relaxed.

You can do your own facial using your favourite products. A facial needn’t be a complicated process and could be bumped up a notch by listening to some music whilst spending some extra time on your face. This could mean that you might just shape your eyebrows take care of your, er, moustache ;o), have a face pack and or exfoliate, apply a serum, etc. Make it about spending some quality time with yourself.

Pampering should never be a monetary concern though, always remember that you can do it regardless of your budget or income. For years one of my favourite ways to pamper has been a good old soak in the bath whilst listening to music! I often listened to my sister’s tapes whilst soaking in the bath as a youngster.

I started to explore different music genres (yeah, whilst still in the bath, LOL) and would periodically time it so that I could listen to radio plays or the Book at Bedtime on Radio 4.

I enjoy my bath with blended oils and bubble baths (or Epsom salts), candles and lots of filtered water (or chilled white wine!) – whilst listening to relaxing music or a guided meditation. I insist on having this kind of bath at least once a week to give my life balance.

In leaner times, I’ve simply thrown lots of salt into the bath and soaked whilst meditating in silence (had to save on the electricity!!).

After a good soak, spend a little time massaging yourself with your favourite oil blend. In a relationship? Hand over the massage oil and let your partner do your massage for you!

Besides soaking in the bath, a great way to pamper yourself is to go and sit in a green area just to gather your thoughts. This might be your local park, or green. You may have to travel a bit so you could make an outing of it – just take a flask of hot tea/cocoa or a bottle of water so that you can sit there comfortably for a little while. By the way, you’d be amazed at how much comfort and joy you can get from simply sipping your favourite hot drink from a flask whilst outdoors – honestly, I tell no lie!

…and then there’s meditation…ah, meditation! A free vacation to your favourite destination any time you like. It’s worth learning how to do it so take a course or read up on it. Information on meditation and various techniques are freely available on the internet.

Happy pampering!