[ PHOTO: FOUNDER, MOLLY WILLS & WAVERLY AMBASSADOR, LILAH FEAR ]

WHO IS LILAH FEAR?

Molly Wills and Lilah Fear met this past summer through mutual friends. It was an instant sisterhood-friendship-inspired-girl-power connection and thus the two immediately began to brain storm ways they could support each other, across the pond. OH WAIT, We forgot to mention, Lilah is from London, trains for skating in Canada & travels around the world for her professional skating competitions! YES. AMAZING. Lucky us? Lilah decided to write for our blog every once in an while; updating us on her cultural obsessions, struggles and just over all empowered observations on how to balance it all. Look out for Ms. Lilah on our blog, Insta. and Facebook!

HOW TO DE-STRESS IN THIS BUSY WORLD...

As we near the end of October, we are finally forced to loosen our tight grasp on the distant memories of summer that we have so desperately clung to for the last couple of months. The tank tops are replaced by turtlenecks, our sun-kissed cheeks become increasingly rosy, and pumpkin spiced lattes substitute iced teas. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore fall; the vibrant colors, the seemingly permanent scent of cinnamon that fills the air, and, of course, the highly anticipated build up to Christmas (is it too early to be excited?). When I think of fall, I marvel at all of these wonders, although I can’t help but notice how swiftly my schedule crowds and my stress levels rise. I am a busy girl, as I am sure most of you are, and I love it, although it can be incredibly overwhelming at times. I fill my time with numerous activities, ranging from singing, to working out, to learning languages and on top of that I am a competitive ice dancer so I wake up at 5am every day to train! I would never dream of removing any of these commitments from my schedule because they all make me very happy, however I have learned that it is essential for my energy levels (and sanity!) to make time in my crazy life to de-stress, regroup, and recharge before I tackle the next activity. I’m sure that all of you can relate to feeling overwhelmed when leading a busy life and you may or may not have some tips and tricks to help you relax in no time, but I thought I would provide a few of my secrets for speedy success:

Bath time. Now this seems a little trivial because of course we all need to bathe (as I hope all of you already do!), however, you can either have a bath, or you can have an awesome bath, and I’m going to tell you how to do the latter. First and foremost, you need a fabulous bath bomb or bubble bath. I would recommend getting something from LUSH although I must warn you about their glittery bath bombs: you will continue to find that glitter behind your ears, between your fingers, and behind your knees for up to a week after using it so, unless you want to glitter for 7 days, I would recommend something slightly more subtle. You want to do everything possible to make this bathing experience wonderful and something that you look forward to, as simple as it may be. Choose a delicious scent or an exciting color to bathe in! Another tip, ambiance: make this 10 minute experience the most relaxing 10 minutes of your day by choosing the right lighting and music. Dim the lights, light a few candles and fire up that ‘chill out’ Spotify playlist to complete the mood. You can even throw on a face mask if you would like!
Tea for two? I was raised in England so I may be biased on this subject but there is nothing a good cup of tea can’t solve, and it is much faster than a bath so it is perfect for a little rest stop in your busy day. Tea might sound boring, but you can really play around with the flavors, depending on your mood and whether or not you need to relax, energize, or satisfy your sweet tooth. My kitchen cupboard is fully stocked with a wide range of herbal tea, from Moroccan mint, to strawberry rhubarb parfait, to chocolate brownie (yes, this is a flavor of tea)! Try to avoid technology during your tea break; listen to music or read a book! Really use this time to unplug and give your brain and body a break!
Take a hike (literally). If you are not physically exhausted, I would highly, highly recommend getting out into nature. This has been scientifically proven to significantly increase happiness levels and reduce stress. This can even be a quick walk in the park, but getting outside and that dose of fresh air can make all the difference in fixing your mood and clearing your mind.
Sweat it out! I would say that exercise is the most important thing that you can do when you feel stressed, overwhelmed and upset. There have been days when I get home from school and I have never felt so mentally exhausted yet I have a pile of work to get through that night before the deadline the next day. My mom suggests I go for a run. How could I possibly have time to go for a run right now when I have all this work to do and feel like I could fall asleep from exhaustion? Well, it turns out that these runs that I have been sent on over the years have worked wonders by giving me an unimaginable boost in energy, clearing my mind, and making me happier (exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy!). This means that I then approach my work with a much better attitude and it turns out I am much more productive as a result. So, I can’t stress enough the importance of taking a little time out of your day, even if it is 5 minutes to run outside and do 10 jumping jacks, to get your blood pumping, as busy as you may be!