Happy 2022!  The new year’s resolution momentum is tangible and the bustle is real.  With the flip of the calendar, we are offered a new slate, a new start, and potentially a  reset button.  The new year offers an invitation to reflect on the past year and to clarify for ourselves what means the most, what we wish to invite into our lives, what we wish to let go of  and where and with whom we wish to invest more energy and focus.

Our team at Relax! Massage Therapy and Skincare is  here to support you in approaching 2022 in a relaxed way.  Whether the new year, intentions and goals are exciting or overwhelming to you… whether you are feeling crystal clear or a bit cloudy… what would happen if you offered yourself full freedom to be right where you are and to ponder how you wish to feel in 2022?  Inspired by Danielle LaPorte’s book, “The Desire Map”, perhaps 2022 is a year to focus less on the list of things you wish you accomplish and acquire and more on how you wish to feel in your body, your relationships and in your life.   Throughout the month of January we will be sharing our “growing blog” of 4 of our favorite ways to approach the new year in a relaxed way.  Stay tuned for our weekly reveal each Wednesday.  

Tip #1: Commit to drinking one extra glass of water a day!

It seems so simple and is often overlooked.  Drinking just one extra glass of water a day can be a game changer.  Just like the Earth, we are made predominantly of water and it is critical for our health to have consistent access to clean drinking water to stay hydrated.  

Dr. Gretchen Rivas D.Ac., owner of Relax and Infinity, shares why she encourages her patients to drink room temperature water as opposed to iced or cold water.  “We were born with a stomach that likes warm things. Think about it, you wouldn’t give a baby cold milk. Breast milk is warm.  The stomach never stops preferring warm liquids.  Western culture has taught us to drink and prefer cold, icy drinks.  Cold beverages require that the body has to pull energy from other resources in order to warm it up to body temperature.  Drinking cold beverages pulls vital energy from other critical bodily processes.  Simply put, cold drinks disrupt digestion.  Room temperature fluids keeps your body’s digestion working more efficiently and allows you to break down and assimilate your food more easily.” 

The transition from the familiarity of iced and cold water to room temperature can be a journey.  Learning the “why” is helpful in motivating a change of habit and preference.  Be gentle with yourself, drink just one more glass of room temperature water, and know that by this one habit change, you are expanding your capacity to digest not only your food, but the way you take in the world, which is a beautiful and simple way to start 2022.  

Stay tuned for the next tip from our team!