Mindfulness what does that mean? Being mindful is an essential element of Buddhist practice. Being mindful has throughout the years in many Western societies gone beyond being part of a religion or belief to being part of many people’s everyday life.
On the 12th of September, we celebrated Mindfulness Day to create awareness of how important it is to live in the present moment. Also, educate people about the importance of being mindful and finding ways to integrate mindfulness into our lives.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a type of meditation where you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Practising mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress. Source: Mayoclinic
To relax the body and the mind and to reduce stress? Doesn’t that sound like something we all need from time to time? Because, unfortunately, stress affects not only our body and our ability to think clearly, but it also affects our skin.
How Stress Affects the Skin
Stress, no matter where the pressure is coming from, causes a chemical response in our bodies. This chemical reaction makes the skin more sensitive and reactive. You might have noticed that you will get breakouts of pimples and other reactions when you are stressed and that your skin is getting more oily.
This is because stress causes your body to make hormones like cortisol, which tells glands in your skin to produce more oil. Oily skin is more prone to acne and other skin problems. Stress also causes the skin to be tighter and tensed, and it is easy to get that tired look where you can really both see and feel that your skin is not “feeling” well. Stress can also make other skin problems worse and aggravate psoriasis, rosacea, and eczema. It can also cause hives and different types of skin rashes and trigger a flare-up of fever blisters. Source: WebMD
“The biggest beauty thief and ager of all time is the stress our minds try to endure day in and day out,” says Amy Wechsler, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and psychiatrist and the author of The Mind-Beauty Connection. “Wound healing slows, oil glands go into overdrive, and inflammation takes off,” she explains.
I am sure that nobody wants to be stressed out. And we all want healthy glowing skin. So let’s take a look at some tips and tricks that can help us reach our goals!
Mindfulness Habits for Healthier Skin
There are a few things that we can do in our everyday life to give a better feeling overall and a more healthy skin.
Breathing consciously
Have you noticed how short your breath becomes when you are stressed out? Try to think about your breathing wherever you are and whenever you feel stressed. Inhale deep while you count to four, hold your breath while counting to one and then slowly exhale, counting to seven. You do not need any particular time or place for this. You can do it anywhere. Try it, and you will see that it works! The whole of you will relax!
Take a break
Isn’t it funny? The more stressed out we are, the lesser we can even think about taking a break. When it is, in fact, a break, even for ten minutes, that will relax us. It makes our thinking clearer and helps us do our tasks faster!
Be Present – enjoy the moment.
If you are like me, you might take your stress with you out, even on a walk with the dog or with the kids. You are not enjoying the moment and not being present. So to let it go, put it aside for a while. Look around you and enjoy the moment. That is a stress releaser in itself. Sure, the task will still be there when you get back. But maybe you will look at it in a more relaxed and positive way.
Walk, jog, go to the gym – whatever you need.
We are all different, some of us prefer to walk, and others like to jog, go to the gym, swim, or whatever it might be. It doesn’t really matter how we exercise as long as we exercise and as we are present in what we do. Furthermore, marrying mindfulness with movement may decrease negative emotions during activity compared with sitting, according to research published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise in July 2018.
Take some “Me Time”
It is so easy to get stuck in a routine with all the “musts” that it is easy to forget how important it is to take some time to reflect. Or to do the things you love to do! Taking my time is not being selfish. It is gaining strength and energy to enjoy life, family, friends, work even more. It is a way to add on more energy and live life to the fullest.
Take one thing at a time.
We are so used to multitasking. To always have several balls in the air. To juggle to keep all the balls up in the air. To be perfect at what we are doing and to never say no…But, according to the Center for Resilience, starting and completing each task on its own is a big part of mindfulness because you’re giving your complete focus to one thing. So like in the famous book F**k it Therapy, by John. C. Parkin, it might be time to start saying no to things, reduce stress, and do what you love doing.
We all react differently to stress, and we all have to find our way in reducing our stress. Mindfulness exercises can be practised anywhere and anytime. Of course, for more structured activities, you will need to set time aside. But as a starting point, these small exercises can do a lot of good!
Help! My skin is stressed. What can I do?
If you recognised some of the examples mentioned above, the skin’s reaction to stress, you might want to try these facial skincare treatments.
SQOOMs Q1 light therapy facial device uses the microcurrent light to deep cleansing the skin and transports the nutrition of the effective ingredients in the serums deep into the skin. This at the same time, blood circulation and oxygen are enhanced. This gives the skin an absolutely relaxed sensation! It is like all the stress would disappear, and the skin is relaxed. You have to try it to really understand the feeling!
Our M2 functions via electronically controlled, continuous or pulsed ultrasound. The ultrasound opens the skin barrier, stimulates cell division, optimises blood circulation and the oxygen supply in the skin. This process, in return, expands the blood vessels and works against inflammation.
Both devices, combined with our All-natural Vegan Serums, relax your skin and you will feel totally rejuvenated!
Combine the best of two things, be mindful, live in the present. Enjoy every moment and be grateful for the beauty of life, and at the same time give your skin that well deserved love and attention!
Relax at home, no stress with appointments at the beautician, take your time, enjoy the feeling these professional facial toning devices give you! Once you have tried it, you know the difference. Welcome to the SQOOM Community!
