Chamomile balances the emotions
Nutmeg calms the mind
· Add up to 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg to a cup of warm milk (which contains a sleep-inducing amino acid called tryptophan).
· Nutmeg facial mask: mix equal parts of ghee (clarified butter) and nutmeg powder into a paste and smear it around your eyes and across your forehead
Use your mind to calm your mind: Lying on your back in bed, close your eyes, bring your attention to the heart, and think “one.” Bring your attention to your left shoulder and think “two”; left thigh, “three”; the navel center, “four”; the right thigh, “five”; the right shoulder, “six”; back to the heart, “one”; and so on, moving with relaxed attention at a comfortable pace. Let the mind busy itself moving in this pattern and it will tire and come to rest at the heart center, its sleeping abode. As you begin to drift off, break the counting pattern to avoid straining the mind. If you have a personal mantra, you can settle into mental repetitions, which will bring you to rest at the center of your being. Or just roll over and sleep.
Take a Hot Bath with magnesium-rich Epsom salt, baking soda and eucalyptus essential oil
Give Yourself a 5-Minute Massage
– Sitting on a chair or bed, alternately using the flat of your hand and your fingertips, make small, circular motions along the surface of your scalp for two minutes. Then switch to your feet.
– Put oil on your hands and in small, circular motions, rub the top of your right foot from the ankle to the toes; from the ankle to the heel; and on the soles.
– Press your thumb on the top of the foot at the base of the shin. Gently and slowly drag your thumb toward the big toe.
– Return to the base of the shin and drag your thumb toward the second toe. Repeat this motion to the third, fourth, and fifth toes.
– Cross your right ankle over your left knee, place your right hand on the top of the right foot, lace your fingers between your toes, and push the foot inward, outward, and in a circular motion.
– Unlace your fingers and, using your right thumb, apply pressure along the inner border of the sole from the big toe to the heel.
– Drag your thumb along the outer border of the sole, from the root of the fifth toe to the heel.
– Make a fist and massage the sole of the foot in little circles. Slowly pull each toe away from the foot as though you are “popping” the joint.
– Repeat the entire process on your left foot.
When you’ve massaged both feet, soak them for five minutes in a bucket of warm salt water to draw out the dislodged stress and toxins. Cream your feet and put on cotton socks and settle into sleep.