The importance of a peaceful environment
The outer world reflects the inner world. If you're living in an unorganised, messy space - it directly reflects your mental state. If you work from home, it can be difficult to work from your bedroom - as your brain associates your bed with sleep - leading to procrastination and further pushing you into a stressed mental state.
It is important to have a “Zen Space” in your home to go to when you feel burnt out, anxious or you just need to find moments of peace. Having this space allows you to separate your environment into segments. It's why we associate our bed for sleeping and our desk for working. When we categorise our space - it helps our brain function accordingly.
So here are some tips/ideas on creating your own peaceful space in your home:
1) Lighting sets the mood 🕯️
If you can, having warmer lighting for your zen space can really help make it a place to wind down. Bright white LED lights can be too harsh on the eyes, especially if you suffer with headaches, bright lights can overstimulate the senses. When you want to relax the lighting needs to reflect that. Invest in a nice lamp, or if you have LED’s - switch them to a warmer setting. Warm light naturally makes us more tired, so it is ideal to use when we are winding down for bed.
2) Pillows, Pillows, Pillows! ☁️
If you have a bolster or even a fluffy cushion - having that to hold when you need comfort is incredible. Naturally - humans want to feel physical connection, that’s why we instinctively hug our pillows because it relaxes the muscles and reduces our cortisol levels. So if you are trying to make your space more peaceful - buy a few more pillows! Being comfortable is key to feeling at peace - grab whatever comforts you have to hand, whether it’s a blanket, your childhood teddy or whatever else you like to hold on to. Sometimes our bodies just need to feel safe, and pillows can help us do just that.
3) Essential oils are your bff 🌿
If you don’t have an electric diffuser already, you’re missing out. It is such a great investment for making your home your sanctuary. Plus - it is a great way to introduce essential oils into your life. Oils such as Lavender, Frankincense and Sage are proven to help ground the body and calm the nervous system. Putting your diffuser on when you need to relax can activate the sense of smell which in turn connects you to your body and promotes a sense of calm.
4) Music for the soul 🎵
Activating the senses is a great way to connect with your physical body and promote tranquility, therefore listening to music is also a great tool to help you relax. Dependent on what kind of music makes you happy, try to listen to it more! I personally love LoFi music (low fidelity music that is imperfect, does not have the studio quality finish - search LoFi music and I guarantee you will love it!). I listen to it especially when I am feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated. Incorporating more music into your day will help you feel more playful and creative. In turn this will make your space feel safe, making you more calm overall.
5) All you need is you 🫵🏻
As much as sometimes we like to distract ourselves with shiny new things - the best resource we have is our mind. Our mind is so powerful and completely controls how we perceive the outer world. If we can work on ourselves and spend time tuning into our thoughts everyday, we will experience greater feelings of peace than any material object could ever provide for us. If you can, even for five minutes, take yourself away from others and simply be alone. Away from your phone, away from distractions, just you - it can feel daunting and slightly weird. But when we spend time understanding ourselves on a deeper level we can understand our emotions better and learn how to regulate them. You are the most important part of the zen space.