Your Cool Self-Care Ritual
The Soul Reset at Home
Hands up, who loves attending a wellness retreat experience?
If you are anything like me you get ‘chills of excitement’ just thinking about doing one!
I have been extremely fortunate to attend and host many wellness retreats in incredible destinations around the world for more than 10 years. Along with my husband we also operated a wellness resort centre for a number of years. Our white washed finca was situated on the beautiful island of Ibiza, surrounded by orange groves, and tucked away on the tranquil northern coastline.
I truly love everything about wellness retreats! Whether it is a personalised tailor-made experience, or with a small group of likeminded humans. The benefits are incredible and I’ve witnessed women & men arrive feeling battered by life, and leave feeling rejuvenated and energised. It’s so beautiful to witness these transformations.
On a retreat you're often welcomed with a chilled herbal elixir and a warm towel, then guided to your private room or villa. Each morning begins with a sunrise meditation surrounded by nature, followed by a nourishing, beautifully plated plant-based breakfast. Your days unfold gently with choices of deep tissue massages, holistic healing sessions like Reiki or sound /art therapy. Afternoons are for lounging by the pool, mineral soaks, botanical steam rooms, or quiet journaling time in a peaceful shaded garden nook. As the sun sets, you unwind with a restorative yoga or movement class, then it’s time to enjoy a candlelit dinner under the veranda with interesting and thought-provoking conversations. Every detail is intentional, designed to help you feel a deeper connection to your self, more inspired, and completely at ease. It’s truly medicine for the soul, and much needed in this modern hectic world of ours.
In my heart there is always a big space for spending quality time on a retreat, but I understand it’s not always possible to unplug from life and book a relaxing retreat experience away from the family. But I also think that self regulation can be achieved at home, and it’s an important and valuable habit that gives yourself some ‘me time’ as often as possible.
It’s amazing when we leave a retreat feeling energised, but perhaps the real care (test) starts when we’re back home and having to juggle the ups and downs of life, looking after others, preparing meals, going to work etc. Suddenly taking care of our inner peace and self may not be such of a priority, but it’s actually when we need this nurturing time the most!
Slow + Intentional Living is anything that feels like an antidote to the hustle culture, simply saying ‘no’ to overcommitment. It’s a cool vibe of protecting your peace of mind, a ritual over a routine, it’s about making the everyday feel intentional and luxe, something that is accessible but aspirational.
My intention is to make it feel within reach, but still a little elevated. It feels doable, but special. So with this in mind, I’m sharing my carefully crafted cool, cozy, and deeply nourishing self-care ritual with you, something that feels like a mini retreat, that you can do alone at home, and return to again and again. It’s built around an intentional, slow-living, aesthetic-but-authentic vibe. You are welcome to tweak it to suit your time, energy, or mood. It doesn’t have to be complicated, it’s about the intention of pouring love and time into yourself, because you deserve it.
Enjoy!
DURATION: 60–90 minutes (or shorter if needed)
IDEAL TIME: Evening or Sunday Reset
VIBE: Soft, soothing, intentional, and recharging
1. SETTING THE VIBE (5–10 minutes)
Create a sanctuary-like atmosphere, for you to enjoy some ‘me time’
Grab your yoga mat, cushions, blankets
Dim the lights or light candles
Put on a calming playlist (think lofi, ambient, soft indie)
Diffuse essential oils (lavender, eucalyptus, or sandalwood)
Put your phone on silent - Do Not Disturb
2. BREATH + GROUNDING (5 minutes)
Sitting comfortably with an upright spine. Place one hand on your heart and one on your belly, and do 10 rounds of box breathing - Inhale for 4 → Hold for 4 → Exhale for 4 → Hold for 4.
Then relax to your natural rhythmic breath and repeat a grounding affirmation: ‘I am safe. I am present. I am enough.’
GUIDED MEDITATION - Remembering Love (8 minutes)
3. RESTORATIVE MOVEMENT (10–20 minutes)
Flow gently through:
Cat-Cow - alternating between a rounded ‘cat’ position (arching the back) and a dropped ‘cow’ position (dropping the belly and raising the hips) to gently stretch and warm up the spine.
Seated Forward Fold - where you sit with legs extended and fold forward, reaching towards your toes or feet while maintaining a long spine.
Supported Child’s Pose - kneeling with big toes touching and your knees wide apart. Gently fold torso forward and extend your arms out in front along the mat, forehead rests on mat or on a bolster.
Supine Twist - lying on your back and gently twisting your knees to one side while keeping your shoulders grounded.
Legs Up the Wall
Savasana - resting yoga asana where you lie on your back with legs and arms extended, palms facing up, and eyes closed. Wrapped in a blanket for extra coziness.
Stay 2-3 minutes in each pose. Feel free to use blankets, pillows, blocks or a bolster for ultimate coziness.
4. REFLECT + RELEASE (10–15 minutes)
Grab your favourite journal. Use one or two prompts:
What am I ready to let go of right now?
What do I want more of in my life?
How can I be kinder to myself this week?
Let your pen flow, no editing, no judgment, no limits
5. NOURISH + NURTURE (15–30 minutes)
Choose something cozy and nourishing
Take a hot bath or shower with soft music
Do a full skincare ritual like a facial massage
Sip a calming tea and day dream (chamomile, lemon balm, or peppermint)
Create a delicious bowl of your favourite nourishing food. Mine’s a beautiful buddha bowl (whole grains, greens, chickpeas, sweet potato, and turmeric tahini sauce)!
Let yourself move slowly and intentionally, as if you were at a luxury spa.
6. WIND DOWN (Final 10–15 minutes)
Lie down in bed or on your yoga mat. Place a warm soft cloth over your eyes. Listen to a guided meditation click here for inspiration, a sound bath, or simply rest in silence.
Visualise your ideal day tomorrow, unfolding with ease and joy.
Do your best to give yourself 10-20 minutes to enjoy the morning sun as a beautiful way to start your day after your Soul Reset Ritual!
Remember the hardest part is getting to your mat, and carving out some precious ‘me time’ for yourself. Continuing to show up for yourself with all the ‘things’ you have to do and accomplish today takes practice. My hope is that this self-care ritual helps you to relax and re-energise, and it is something you can return to again and again. Just hit that pause and repeat button!
Let me know in the comments below how you get on with your soul reset ritual. What other self-care practices feel intentional, healing, aesthetically soothing, and makes you go, ‘Ooh, I want to try that?’
Thank you for continuing to show up here, your presence is very much appreciated.
It’s an absolute honour to share this time with you. Thank you
❤️ Namaste Tracey Xx
Please feel free to share You Are Not Alone with loved ones and friends. I trust whoever needs to read my musings will find them as a source of inspiration and hope. They are all written from my heart and offer the opportunity to dive deeper into truth, authenticity and trust.
Moving Inward - Exercises designed to take with you onto your yoga mat or alternatively next time you go for a walk alone in nature. I hope the audio version helps with this ❤️ how we move matters - where attention goes energy flows.
My Moving Inward invitation is a sweet, sweet friendly reminder to spend some precious ‘me time’ as often as possible. To take inspiration from my essays when you’re next on your mat and devote time to turning your gaze inwards, in order to cultivate a beautiful conscious conversation with your body, mind & emotions. Through this process we get to practise listening, to be who we are, and creatively explore who we want to be.
I love this idea, Tracey! I'm going to do this for myself first, then see if I can get a certain friend to do it with me. Thanks for this!