Rejuvenation Inspiration: 30 Ways to Hit Your Refresh Button

Looking for new ways to enjoy a little “Me” time? How about a 10-minute “Refresh” to unplug and unwind?

Self-time, self-care, and self-love are essential for anyone who wants to thrive and give their best self to the world around them. 

Dedicated rejuvenation time is also essential to breaking unhealthy habits, like turning to food, alcohol, or even shopping to bury our stress. You'll be less driven to turn to your vices with a well-developed self-care practice. 

Whether you're in need of inspiration to begin or just an update to your current self-care rituals, this list features 30 ways you can relax, recreate, and rejuvenate!

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30 Ways to Rejuvenate

1. Go cloud-watching: Lie on your back, relax, and watch the sky. Bonus points if you lie directly on the ground to do some Earthing.
2. Okay, what’s Earthing? Think about how good you feel at the beach, toes in the sand, connected. You can benefit your body by making direct contact with the earth in other ways, too. Snow angels, lunch on the lawn, standing in a tray of soil on a Manhattan rooftop. There are many ways to do it, but the benefit of Earthing is that it's an antidote to all the Wi-Fi, screens, and electromagnetic frequencies we are bombarded with. Sound weird? Try it. Pay attention to how you feel inside when you come in physical contact with Mother Earth. You might be surprised.
3. Get 10 minutes of sunshine: No multitasking allowed…unless it’s Earthing—LOL. Just be, and feel the warm rays of the life-giving sun.
4. Forest bathing: This isn’t just some crunchy new hashtag. It’s a highly researched cornerstone of preventive health care in Japanese medicine, known as shinrin-yoku. Visiting a favorite tree-canopied area, and either sitting or walking in a relaxed, restorative way, has been proven to boost immune function, mood, and energy, while reducing stress, depression, anxiety, and anger. It can also be a great way to get those steps in. 
5. Green time: Seeing a trend here? Our children aren’t the only ones in need of this antidote to screen time, so let's trade it for some green time! In the words of John Muir, “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that …wilderness is a necessity.” Like forest bathing, there are well-researched benefits of communing with nature. Green time is simply time spent enjoying the outdoors and doesn’t require a specific landscape. A visit to a local garden, taking a hike, or strolling through a local park can all provide us with a welcome lift.
6. Take a bath: I especially love baths that are around body temp (98.6 F) to recharge, relax, and heal the body. Baths that are too hot can be draining. Epsom salt or magnesium flakes are a great addition for pain relief and muscle relaxation. 
7. Cup of tea? How about 10 minutes to sit and gaze out a favorite window with a cup of herbal tea. Use a liver-supporting dandelion blend like Sip Herbals to support your body's detox pathways or an adaptogenic Tulsi Tea to calm the body and support your adrenal health. 
8. Sauna or steam room: How many times have you passed right by these at the pool or gym? Why not step in for once? Heat therapy and sweating are fantastic ways to relax and release toxins. 
9. Massage: You don’t have to book an hour at the spa. Why not recruit your partner, kids, or a friend to spend 10 minutes working out the kinks in your neck and shoulders, or rubbing your feed?
10. Self-Massage: Who knows those knots better than you? Self-massage can even be incorporated into your bath or shower routine by indulging in an unhurried application of nourishing body oil (I like sweet almond, coconut, or olive). For a luxurious deep moisturizing treatment, apply oil pre-soak at bathtime.
11. Morning flow: A morning movement practice that supports mobility and relieves pain is a common habit of highly healthy people. Start your day on the right foot with a few sun salutations, some cat/cow, child's pose, or whatever your body needs. 
12. Foam roller: Along the same lines, a 10-minute sesh on the foam roller can undo a week’s worth of tightness and restore mobility. I like this medium-density model which is a little less intense for those of us who struggle with extra inflammation and tenderness. 
13. Do a mini-declutter. This one might sound like work, but you won’t believe what a little strategic decluttering can do for your headspace. Spend 10 minutes on a high-impact spot like your workspace or bathroom drawer, and enjoy days or even weeks of clearer thinking and stress relief.
14. Lighten your load: Getting rid of things that no longer bring you joy and in some cases, weigh you down emotionally can totally boost your spirit. Spend 10 minutes filling a box with clothing or other items that no longer serve you. Drop it off at your local donation center and feel warm, fuzzy, and free as a bird!
15. Scratch off a lurker on your to-do list: You know the one. It’s been there for ages, staring back at you as you try to avoid it. Just do it. Rip off the Band-Aid and get it over with. Next bask in the pure relief and lightness of that task no longer hanging over your head.
16. Pay attention: And I mean complete attention to something you usually do on autopilot. Maybe it’s brushing your teeth, eating breakfast, or waking up in the morning. Try giving a task 3 to 5 minutes of your full, undivided presence. Even daily activities can feel sacred when we're fully present with them.
17. Take another route to work: Mixing up your routine in small ways creates new neural pathways in the brain to keep it healthy. Try something new today, and enjoy that little extra spring in your step.
18. Start a “Feel-Good” file: This is a collection place for those heartfelt emails, confidence-boosting compliments, and memorable cards you've received from loved ones and admirers—anything that makes you feel seen, known, and loved. You can go back to this again and again whenever you need to. Sometimes, we all need a “feel-good.”
19. Try EFT Tapping: Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT or EFT Tapping) is a powerful self-help tool that uses fingertip tapping on acupuncture points to circuit-break the electromagnetic signals connected to stressful circumstances. 
20. Dance party!  Whether you’ve got moves like Jagger or more like Elaine from Seinfeld, it makes no difference. Put on some favorite dance music, turn it up, and let your body take your soul on a 10-minute joy ride. This one's great for a re-energizing afternoon pick-me-up.
21. Singing works, too! There’s a reason churches are filled with song. Singing is not only a divine expression, it’s good for us! It lowers stress, boosts immunity, stimulates the vagus nerve, releases endorphins, and improves our mood. So go ahead, make a joyful noise!
22. Playtime: What’s up with this idea that being ‘active’ means we need to be logging our stats or chained to a Stairmaster? When was the last time you built a sandcastle? Tossed a frisbee? Or flew through the air on the swings at a playground? What about a giggle-filled game of tag with one of the littles in your life? As long as it lights you up, play can be exercise that counts as self-care. 
23. Adult Coloring Books: As long as we’re getting in touch with our inner Kindergartener, why not get out the markers or colored pencils and do some coloring? Adult coloring books are incredibly meditative and relaxing and are available everywhere these days.
24. Journaling aka writing therapy: What if there was a place where you could let it all out? Even the messy stuff. Where you could speak your truth without the worry of hurting anyone’s feelings or being judged? That’s journaling! And it turns out that it’s surprisingly beneficial to our mental health. No rules. Just be real, and keep writing. 
25. Meditation: If you’ve spent much time here on Hypothyroid Chef, you know I'm a big fan of meditation—to heal, to relax, to reconnect. Guided meditations are the perfect way to add this powerful rejuvenating practice to your lifestyle. Find a collection of meditations made just for Thyroid Thrivers in The Calm Kit. 
26. Connect with “The Expert Within”: There is so much wisdom already inside us. The trick is being still and quiet enough to receive it. To reconnect with The Expert Within, all it takes is a few minutes of time set aside for doing nothing. Whether you want to meditate, sit by a pretty window, or just lay in bed and refresh for 5 minutes, a bit of peace and quiet can set you up to receive these divine downloads of your own wisdom.
27. Breathwork: If you’ve struggled with meditation (or just don’t like it), breathwork can provide a welcome alternative, giving us something to focus on while we achieve that same transformative calm. Try it with some of the breathwork videos included in The Calm Kit. 
28. Chakra Work: The Chakras, or energy centers of the body, give us a road map to our energetic self. In the rainbow sequence of vibrantly colored chakras, the beautiful blue throat chakra sits directly over our thyroid. A guided Throat Chakra Meditation like the one found in The Calm Kit will get that energy center tuned up, charged up, and running on a higher vibration.
29. Qigong (pron. chee-gong): This gentle movement flow is so much more than just a workout but will nonetheless stretch, strengthen, center, and ground the body. Try the Qigong videos in The Thyroid-friendly Workout Kit to give this ancient healing modality a try. 
30. Restorative yoga: How do we shift from our busy monkey minds into a quiet space of peace and healing? A Restorative Evening Yoga Sequence like those found in The Calm Kit is a perfect way to do just that. The great thing about restorative work is that it’s not really work—you are able to simply rest in these sweet, gentle yoga poses, fully supported, allowing blockages a chance to finally open up and be released.
31. BONUS: Do nothing: Does the thought of that make you squirm? Might be a good indication that it’s time to hit the hammock, stare out the window, or lie down in a dark and quiet room for 10 minutes. Give your body and mind some time to process all that modern life throws at us throughout the course of a day. We need it.

Further Reading: Mindfulness Alternatives for Those Who Don't Like to Meditate

Making time to do the things that restore and refresh YOU is an essential piece of the healing puzzle, not to mention a happy life. When the challenges of diet, medication, supplements, toxin reduction, gut health, and sleep quality feel overwhelming to the point of paralysis, return to these Rejuvenation rituals as a default. You’ll get those batteries charged up in no time, so you can return to the Thyroid Thriving path and keep making strides towards optimal well-being.

Need Help Finding YOU Time? 

Wishing you the best of health,