Frankie Says Relax

Stress is becoming more apparent in daily lives than ever before, especially around this time of year. Longer working hours, approaching deadlines and exams and social pressures are consistently putting us under pressure. Since graduating and starting a business stress has been more noticeable in my day to day life. As a result of this I have taken it upon myself to look at the best ways to help de-stress and relax during this festive period:

I read a post by Zanna Van Dijk who is a fitness inspiration of and took on board some of here thoughts and have given them ago myself and made them a little more suited to my lifestyle.

Relaxation should be part of your routine

For people who know me, I am someone that can’t do something at 10mph its always go go go. I have recently found myself feeling more tired and having a lack of energy. I have now realised that adding in a spot of relaxation to my day could help me feel a lot better. I recently read an article that suggests taking as little as 10 minutes per day to meditate, can help you control stress, decrease anxiety and also help to improve cardiovascular health. As a result of this I feel refreshed and I can work and train more effectively. 

Something that has be recommended that I haven’t yet tried is adult colouring books. Bringing out the inner child, grabbing some pencils and pens and sitting down and doing some colouring in. It makes you concentrate the mind on something else which is easy and relaxing to complete allowing you to forget about your daily stress. I think it is definitely worth the try.

Disconnect and get outdoors

In this day and age everyone has some form of technology attached to them, whether that’s a smart phone tablet or laptop. Taking timeout from social media and endlessly scrolling down news feeds can help us “connect” with those people around and also the surrounding environments. As a surfer my favourite place is the beach and its somewhere I can go to forget about all my worries. Whether its going in the water for a surf or simply taking my new puppy for walk across the sand it, clears my head completely and the fact that you can’t get any signal let alone 3G makes it even better!

Socialise

So many people these days are working until 9 or 10 in the evening, coming home and literally going straight to bed ready to wake up at 6am the following morning. Taking some time out to catch up with friends in person over a drink, meal or walk and NOT social media gives a much more positive aspect to your day. As it is almost Christmas a lot of my school friends are now coming back from University for the holidays and its the perfect time to catch up after being away from each other since summer. So schedule in a meal sit down and have a good laugh to chill yourself out! and make sure you avoid talking about work!

Jess x

Barbados...an Island Paradise

Finally...June a month I was very happy to see! I finished my degree in Sports Rehabilitation and it mean't that it was time for my summer travels!! This excitment was made even better by picking up a new sponsor (Sili Sunglasses) and also being offered a job in a sports injury clinic ready for when I return.

This summer I was lucky enough to return to the beautiful island that is Barbados, 12 years after my last visit. I could not wait to get back there and see how much things had or hadnt changed and to create new memories adding to the amazing ones I already had. 

This was the first time I was old enough to surf in Barbados and the waves did not disappoint! With a super fun left and right beach break right in front of our hotel and a perfect left hand reef break 10 minutes up the road, it was heaven! 

After a surf in the hot sun all you need is refreshing drink. Luckily just down the road from one of the surf breaks there is a healthy and clean eating little cafe which makes the BEST post surf protein smoothies and freshly made sushi.

Barbados is not only home to great waves but also amazing snorkelling with 4 different breeds of turtles. On the last visit I was lucky enough to see baby turtles hatching on the beach as we were walking back from a surf, however on this trip it was slightly different. Just as I was getting out of the sea a massive Hawksbill turtle came up onto the beach looking for somewhere to lay her eggs! Sights like these are ones which are very rare and a memory that is never forgotten. This was not the only turtle sighting of the trip, one evening we got a catamaran which took us to ship wrecks so we could snorkel with the brightly coloured tropical fish and some more turtles! 

It's safe to say that this was not the last time I will be visiting Barbados!! Check out the video below of some of the highlights of my trip away!