Urban Oasis

Tucked away below one of the busiest streets in Chicago lies a hidden gem.   A place where you go to escape from the world above full of noise, chaos, stress, and to-do’s.    When you are down in this oasis, life seems to pause and your body immediately begins to relax.   

On President's Day,  I spent an hour away from the hustle and bustle from my everyday life and did something for me, which I rarely get to do these days.   As a gift from Mama Niehaus for planning her baby shower, she wanted to treat me to something special.    Mama Niehaus signed me up for a full body deep tissue massage at Urban Oasis Spa-  It was spectacular and I had a lovely masseuse named Rose.    She could tell my body is not only tense and tight but stressed.    She worked out the knots, warmed my muscles with heating pads so they would relax and she taught me how to breathe.    Take in real deep breaths and allow myself to really give my mind a rest, by control my breathing.  

Massages are wonderful.    They can stimulate or calm the nervous system and help reduce fatigue.    Sometimes I forget that I need to do something for myself; take time to unwind and relax after the end of each day.    Even if it is for only ten minutes- I need to do it.   Following the deep tissue massage I took a spa shower, aka a steam shower.    I am not one to go into a sauna room and spa showers aren't really my thing.  

Spa Shower

Needless to say while I was in there it reminded me of last winter when I was taking bikram yoga classes.     The heat, the big breaths, the stretching and elongating your body, spending an hour thinking of only your next pose and nothing more.   In there I made a promise to myself that I need to start going to the classes and MAKE time for myself to go.    I have been getting so caught up in the busyness of my life that I need to re-center and start doing things to help me stay balanced and energized again.    I want to try to come back to my new paradise and get my ten

What do you do to relax?    How do you "treat" yourself?    Do you have any recommendations on things I should try?     What is your favorite thing to do for yourself?   I would love to hear from you....

The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.  ~Attributed to both Jim Goodwin and Sydney J. Harris