Everything you need to know before your wedding day Looking your best SO SPA SO GOOD The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel invites guests to unwind, reconnect, and glow with two exclusive seasonal packages designed for ultimate relaxation. Whether it’s a pampering spa day with a friend or a romantic overnight escape with a partner; Glow Spa Day – designed to leave guests feeling refreshed, revitalised. This indulgent experience includes use of the spa facilities and three luxurious treatments, carefully selected to enhance the natural glow and boost all-over body confidence. The spa’s Summer Solstice Escape, comprises two blissful days of spa access and luxurious hospitality. Spend the afternoon unwinding in the state-of-the-art heat and hydrotherapy facilities, including a hydrotherapy pool with five unique experiences, steam room, sauna, rooftop hot tub, and experiential showers. In the evening, check into a luxury king bedroom at the Four Red Star hotel, enjoy a delicious dining experience in the award-winning Squires Restaurant and sip a nightcap in the stylish Roxana Bar. Wake up refreshed and start the day with a full English breakfast in Squires Restaurant; before returning to the spa for a final soak in the rooftop hot tub! To book, visit www.bedfordlodgehotelspa.co.uk HERBAL REMEDIES Tea can often be an overlooked method for de-stressing or soothing anxiety, but the benefits of such a simple solution are incredible! Teas can aid digestion, sooth upset stomachs, improve blood pressure, help with menstrual cramps, combat nausea, and help you sleep – all from some leaves and flowers! •Peppermint seems to be a cure-all tea that can aid most emotions. Simply inhaling peppermint can soothe anxiety, but if you want to drink it as well, then it’s been known to calm anxiety, wake you up and help you let go of any frustration. •Chamomile is a classic for a reason and is one of the best teas for soothing stress. Chamomile’s natural relaxing and sedative properties enable you to unwind and can also sooth stomach inflammation and pain. •Lavender has been a classic in the aromatherapy world for a long time, but did you know that lavender tea can not only calm you, but can help with skincare conditions such as acne, burns, and general pains in your body? •Lemon balm, a fruity relative to mint, helps to sooth anxiety, depression and sleeplessness. Making a great all-rounder for those sleepless nights leading up to the big day. Looking your best for your wedding day is at the forefront of anyone’s mind; it even crosses the minds of guests – who wants to cringe when the wedding album is brought out? With this in mind, we have collected some local advice and offered some of our own to get you feeling and looking your best. We cover everything from yoga retreats to skincare know-how, and haircare must-haves. These solutions will have you feeling great from the inside out. Let’s dive in! MIND OVER MATTER Mindfulness is the practice of calming your mind and keeping yourself in the moment. It enables you to reconnect your mind to your body and to truly get to know what you need or feel. It gives a great sense of power when you have mastered it and is something we should all strive towards. But how can you practice it? •Meditation: While you’re engaging in yoga, you can be calming your mind through meditation. Sense the things around you and understand how your body is feeling. •Find a new hobby: It is very easy to ’doom scroll’ on your phone at the end of a very busy day and whilst this feels good in the moment, you are losing precious moments for your brain to calm down. The hyper consumption of social media or online shopping platforms has meant that the attention span of the world has dropped. Instead, why not try some colouring or drawing? Engaging something creative but stress-free at the end of the day is the perfect way for your brain to reconnect and unwind for bed. •Breathing: I’m not going to tell you to breathe because that is a pre-requisite to life, however, starting or finishing your day with some breathing mediations is an easy entry route into mindfulness. You can find videos on YouTube of guided breath meditations, and these can be perfect for getting into the right headspace before work or to unwind after a hectic day you can self-soothe at any point. GET YOU STEPS IN! You may have noticed that recently, everyone seems to be on a walking hype. The current trend is to fit in 10,000 steps a day, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Walking has so many health benefits and the best part is that it’s free! You don’t need a gym membership, you don’t have to buy fancy gear, and you don’t have to live anywhere picturesque to do it (although, that certainly helps). Walking is low impact and is fantastic for weight loss, if that’s something that interests you. The NHS recommend a brisk 10-minute walk a day, and they classify brisk as still being able to talk while doing it but not being able to sing. That seems simple enough! Grab your comfiest shoes and get out there – you can go for the recommended 10-minute bash, or you could treat yourself to something a bit longer. Some choose to listen to music while they walk but if you’d rather disconnect from the world, then why not use this as an opportunity to bust out those mindfulness skills? When you get home, treat yourself to a herbal tea to unwind. If you’re one who likes to travel in a pack and can’t find a friend to join you, then I recommend The Ramblers (www.ramblers.org.uk), they’re a group of avid walkers who set up groups across the UK. If you follow the link, you can check out the website and, hopefully, find a group near you. FLOWERS 59 LOOKING YOUR BEST
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