Hi loves.
Welcome back to Lavendaire.
Today I'm going to take you through my evening routine,
showing you how I unwind at the end of the day
with some relaxing activities to do before bed.
After a day working from home,
I like to leave my office to make a physical distinction
that I'm done working and ready to chill,
so I usually head to the living room to watch some TV
and hang out with Wilson.
You never do this.
You never sit like this.
[Reading TV] Too Hot to Handle.
Ooh, that looks so bad.
Oh my God.
Okay, but actually, we're usually doing our own things
because we have different tastes in shows.
So my relaxing time usually looks like this:
me snacking on the couch,
watching Terrace House or something like that.
Then I'll pop into the shower to physically rinse off the day.
A quick shower is so relaxing and really helps my mind unwind.
It really helps to set that intention to wash off
any worries, stress, or tense energy from my day.
Then I allow myself to come out with a refreshed mind and body.
Now onto skincare.
First, I'm spraying a rose toner all over my face and neck.
Then I'm applying this glass skin serum.
I like to start by gently patting it all over my face
and then eventually I work up to like slapping the products in.
I originally wanted to do this ASMR style,
but I realized how loud and obnoxious the slapping actually is,
but that is how you get the products to sink in.
Next, I'm applying a retinol eye cream.
I learned that your late twenties are a great time
to start using retinol to reduce wrinkles, so this is life now.
Then I'm finishing it all off with a generous layer
of this lightweight moisturizer by Belif.
Thanks, Belif, for sponsoring this video.
So this is the True Cream Aqua Bomb Aloe Vera by Belif.
Belif is a clean K-beauty brand,
best known for their popular True Cream Aqua Bomb Moisturizer.
Well, this is their new, limited edition, aloe vera version,
with the same burst of hydration as the Aqua Bomb,
but an extra boost in cooling and soothing properties.
With its smooth gel cream texture,
Aqua Bomb Aloe Vera feels like a drink of water for dull, dry skin.
I love how hydrating and cooling it feels.
It's lightweight, non-greasy, and absorbs quickly.
Because of that, I like to apply generously
and even add an additional layer for extra glowy skin.
To learn more about Belif’s True Cream Aqua Bomb Aloe Vera,
check the link in the description below.
I feel like my consistent skincare routine is paying off
because my skin is doing so well lately.
Maybe it's the extra sleep or less stress in quarantine,
or even just drinking a lot of water, plus skincare.
But honestly, I am just so proud of myself.
My skin looks so good right now.
All right, so onto the relaxing exercises that I'll do before bed.
By the way, I don't usually do all of these in one night.
I'll just alternate and pick what to do depending on how I feel.
First, I'm doing some stretches while deep breathing throughout.
So I'm starting with a side body stretch.
And I love this stretch, it feels so good.
Then I'm doing a little back bend with cactus arms.
I'm doing some twists, and this is just fun to do.
I think it's one of those old Asian lady exercises that Ali Wong talks about.
Next, I'm doing some slow neck circles and stretches.
I love the feeling of stretching my neck.
I love stretching the back of my neck.
And my neck is the type that always cracks when I'm stretching it,
so I feel like I need to give it some extra love
because there's always tension there.
Then some shoulder rolls, going backwards and forwards.
And here I might look really silly,
but I am shaking out my wrists.
Because I'm always working on the computer for hours on end,
my wrist joints are all cracky.
Can you hear them?
Shaking out my wrist helps release that tension
and this is actually an exercise that prevents carpal tunnel.
Next, I'm going into forward fold and a little bit of ragdoll.
If you're in yoga, you know what that means.
It just means you're letting your upper body hang
and allowing your spine to decompress.
So you can keep your knees slightly bent for this pose.
It doesn't have to be straight knees, but it just feels so good.
You're releasing the tension in your back.
Then I'll get into tabletop position
and do some cats and cows,
which just means rounding and arching at your back
while breathing in and breathing out slowly.
So this is also really good for back flexibility.
Then I'm flowing it into a down dog,
and that concludes our little stretch session tonight.
The next exercise that I do more consistently
and I really enjoy doing is legs up the wall pose.
This is super easy.
You just lay on your bed, put your legs up the wall.
I try to get to as close to 90 degrees as possible
and I put a pillow under me for support.
This pose has so many benefits including
improving circulation, helping you relax,
helping with anxiety, arthritis, digestive problems,
insomnia, varicose veins, and so much more.
So I usually do this for about 15 minutes
while either playing games or being on my phone.
I'm usually multitasking with the other exercises I'll share soon
while doing legs up the wall.
But if you want, you can also make this a meditative exercise
and close your eyes and focus on your breath
while laying there for 15 minutes.
The next exercise that I want to share is called toe tapping,
and this is a meditative exercise to help you also circulate and move energy
and is actually surprisingly very relaxing.
What you do is you lay down with your palms facing up,
and then you tap your toes together.
And you notice you have to rotate your entire legs to do this.
You don't have to tap the same point in your toes.
You can switch it up, angle your feet in different ways
to just tap different areas of your foot, if that makes you happy.
So while you're tapping your toes,
breathe deeply throughout the whole exercise.
This is an exercise with roots in Eastern healing.
So I learned this from the book, The Solar Body by Ilchi Lee.
He's the founder of Body & Brain yoga
and they have studios all over the world.
But anyway, this exercise helps increase your body temperature
and circulation to the legs.
It's so helpful for calming your busy mind,
and it also helps with insomnia.
So try doing this for about three minutes and then stop.
And once you relax, you'll notice this tingly feeling in your legs and your feet.
And it's like the best part of this exercise because it's so relaxing.
And what I like to do is, I like to imagine
negative energy flowing out through my toes
just to add an extra benefit.
So you can repeat this exercise
or you can do it in longer sets if you want.
I don't really count how long I do it for,
maybe like five minutes at a time,
but it really helps me fall asleep easier.
So I mentioned earlier that I like to multitask
while doing legs up the wall,
and one of the things that I would do is
record my day in the DayOne journaling app.
So if you followed me for a while,
you know that I have used this app for so many years.
I first started using it in 2012,
and I think maybe five or six years ago,
I started using it to record every single day of my life.
Basically, I just upload some photos that represent my day
and I jot down notes on what happened that day.
And I make it a point to not miss a day
because I just like to have a record of my life.
Although it seems like a lot of work,
I actually only do this maybe once or twice a week
because I can generally remember what I did a couple of days ago.
So I just catch up every few days.
But if you ask me what I did two weeks ago on a Tuesday,
I'll have no idea what I did.
I really have to look at what I wrote down.
Next, I like to review the goals that I've written down in my phone.
So I'll go over my yearly goals, my vivid vision,
and a couple other things like my purpose, who I am,
gentle reminders, and positive affirmations.
I've done many videos on all of these exercises
on envisioning and manifesting your dream life.
I'll link that playlist in the card and down below,
but it's called “Vision Exercises”.
And lastly tonight I decided to pull up a book that I never really finished reading.
It's called 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think.
And I really enjoyed this book,
but it's written in just short essays that are maybe two to three pages long,
so it's one of those books that's really easy to pick up
and start reading from any point.
You don't feel like you're missing out if you don't finish the book.
And the essays are really thought-provoking and mind-opening,
and I think it's definitely worth your time.
Finally, after all of that, I am relaxed, my day is done,
and I'm ready to turn off the lights and go to bed.
Hope you enjoyed watching this one.
Let me know what else you want to see from me in the next coming weeks.
I love you so much.
Bye!