I am sending you wishes for a fantastic New Year as I write to you from Hungary. My family and I are finishing up my holiday vacation where we were truly blessed to spend time with my father and many relatives and good friends. Although far away, I am reminded that distance may separate us but our hearts keep us closely connected. We celebrated old memories and created new ones as we shared laughter and wonderful meals together. Those wonderful meals along with my fair share of champagne and of course air travel, has me ready for a bit of post holiday beauty self-care! But no need to beat ourselves up for holiday indulgences, after all that is part of the celebration!
A one-week program for Back to Beauty Self-Care:
Begin with warm water with slices of lemon. A full cup to start the day. To make it easier, slice the lemons ahead of time and store in a container in the freeze or refrigerator. (I actually do this all year round).
Next take time to stretch. I feel my body trying to lengthen and wake up as it shakes out the pastry crumbs from my European holiday adventure! I do this every morning and cannot tell you what a difference it makes for my mind and body. Try to stretch for 10 minutes and work up to 15-20 minutes every morning. A small amount of time that provides so many benefits.
Then I make a large pot of an extremely nutritious, “clean” and delicious Hungarian Chicken Soup and have this for either lunch or dinner for the entire week accompanied by a simple butter leaf lettuce salad. The combination of vegetables and herbs is very cleansing and rebalances my body (and I shed a few of those unwanted pounds I managed to pick up in November and December).
Last but not least (perhaps most important actually), I turn myself inward and spend personal time focusing on gratitude for the past year and I begin to meditate on my hopes and aspirations for 2017. I do this by myself, each day at the end of the day, for an entire week—accompanied by a good cup of herbal tea within reach, my journal and a beautiful candle lit to provide inspiration (there is something about that glow…).
I will be back on January 20 and wish you and yours a 2017 filled with great health and abundance in every area of your lives.
With a full heart,
Eva
