5 Ways to put on your oxygen mask

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

5oxygen

I do love to pamper myself. I may not have kids, but I have a big kid, aka Mr. Judy, and I have the furkids. And then there’s the parents. Yes, like most women, I have a tendency to put the needs of others before my own.

The old flight attendant line is true, though: you really do need to put on your oxygen mask before you can help others.

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Today I am joining up with the  Friday Five 2.0  from Fairytales & Fitness and Rachel @ Running on Happy to talk about 5 ways I pamper myself.

Regular massage
I try to get a massage monthly, although sometimes months do go by without one. There are a lot of opinions on whether or not massage is actually helpful for runners, but in general, the consensus is yes. If I could have a daily or weekly massage, I absolutely would!

I am not a nurse or a doctor but here are some links on the benefits of massage for runners:

Heated massage seat = bliss!

My massage seat
I mentioned that I took home a massage seat from my parents. They don’t seem to miss it. Their loss is my gain.

You’d think I’d use it every day, but I have to set it up and typically I think about using it at night, when Gizmo likes to lay on me, and he doesn’t like it. I do try to use it at least once a week, often after my long run.

You can get a similar one (from the same company) here (Amazon Affiliate link). Yes, it’s pricey, but then when you think about what I pay for an actual massage — totally worth it to me. Plus I didn’t have to pay for it, if you don’t count the half a year working on my parents’ home.

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Bliss for tired feet

My foot spa
It’s bulky and awkward to fill and clean, so again, I don’t use it as often as I’d like to — which would be several times a week. But when I do . . . sheer bliss. Both my massage seat and my foot spa are heated.

You might notice a theme going on here.

You can buy my foot spa on Amazon (affiliate link) here. Yes, it’s the same company that makes the massage seat.

btowelwarmer
Also good for drying clothes

My towel warming rack
This was a gift from Mr. Judy several years ago. I use it year round. In fact, as I type, I’ve got some towels warming on it because I’m about to go shower. Nothing like wrapping yourself in a warm towel when you step out of the shower.

I know sometimes I get really chilled after a cold long run, and it’s not until I’ve showered and dried off with a nice warm towel that I begin to feel human again.

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Healthy food is good for the body!

Good nutrition
I love me some treats as much as the next gal. It doesn’t take long following me to see that. But most of the time I eat relatively healthy. Why? Because it makes me feel good. Put crappy gas in your car, and you’re not going to get very far. Food is fuel for humans.

I shared with you that I hope I can inspire you. And I really hope I can inspire you to see that healthy eating isn’t a punishment, and can be downright tasty. Sometimes it can be the difference between a good race and a bad one, or a good workout and a bad one — you get the picture.

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Yummy waffles with just a few ingredients

So yes, I absolutely consider eating well to be one of the ways I pamper myself.

So let me know in the comments:

How do you pamper yourself?

Ever heard of — or tried — halotherapy?

What was the best pampering experience you ever had?

24 thoughts on “5 Ways to put on your oxygen mask”

    1. It’s not instant — the towel warmer warms up quickly, but it takes the towels longer to warm.

      There are others on the market that may be quicker — spa type ones where you put it inside something — but we just don’t have the room for that.

      You can also put them in an oven or in the microwave, but they don’t retain the heat from that as long.

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    1. The foot spa is great. I wish I had a larger bathroom so it wasn’t so hard to lug around. I tried filling it in the tub, but I found it was easier using the hose on my kitchen sink.

      Which means filling it in the kitchen, carrying back into the bathroom. That part is kind of a pain but I totally love it!

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  4. If good nutrition is pampering, then I’m in the club. Otherwise I pretty much neglect myself. When we redid our master bath I wanted radiant heat floors, but they didn’t happen. A towel warmer is a great gift! I do enjoy bubble baths and after I swim the whirlpool and sauna feel pretty darn good too.

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  5. I’d like more massages, but I haven’t looked for a place in CO yet. My chiro’s office had a couple medical massage therapists who really knew how to massage runners. The usual massage spas never focused on what I said needed attention, so I don’t go there anymore.

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  6. I love that you have so many pampering tools that you keep at home. I definitely need to do a better job of taking time to pamper myself beyond using The Stick, lol! You’re totally right that eating well is another way of pampering yourself…my eating lately has been horrendous…I need to get on track because it really does make me feel better!

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    1. Well, it was just Easter. Doesn’t effect me, but most of people have a little problem with it. 🙂

      We all get off track sometimes — but you can always start new at the very next meal, no reason to wait til Monday (or whenever).

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  8. You are so right about eating well! I know that when I get busy and neglect to prep good food, I start feeling pretty cruddy. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that spa food is pretty darn healthy too.

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  13. I like to run more for a mental escape + the exercise. I didn’t like getting massages more because I didn’t feel comfortable having someone else serve me. With time, I’ve learned to enjoy massages. They help to regroup and relax. They are great on the joints and muscles too. I’ve never tried halotherapy.

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