Well, it's that time of year again. Sick of it already?
Does the thought of canapes make your heart sink? Are you fed up with small talk? Is your office bash tonight? Here's how to beat party fatigue - and fast
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Joanna Hall, who runs Joanna Hall Lifestyle Management (which helps people to improve their health through exercise and nutrition), recommends eyeball massage to increase energy levels.
Get your partner to caress your lids - or if you don't trust him not to dislodge your contact lenses, do it yourself. "With eyes closed, gently perform small circular movements with fingertips on the eyelid. It stimulates local circulation and is great for computer-fatigued eyes," says Hall. For more information call 0171-736 5551 or check out Joanna Hall's website: http://www.joannahall-lifestyle.com
Baching
Have you ever tried Bach Flower Remedies? Created in 1930 by a Harley Street doctor, Edward Bach, they have been fashionable ever since (so who cares if they actually work?). Bach's theory was that flowers have a great influence on the mind and can influence our physical well-being. Each of his remedies is said to affect a specific emotion. "If you are tired, take a few drops of Olive by itself or in water," recommends Stefan Ball, a consultant at the Bach Centre. Then get ready to hit the canape ...
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Search for oil
Gabriel Mojay, the principal of the Institute of Traditional Herbal Medicine and Aromatherapy and author of Aromatherapy For Healing the Spirit (Gaia pounds 11.99) says: "Take a warm bath with some rosemary and bergamot essential oils. Both are refreshing and energising. Rosemary is the more stimulating of the two and bergamot is more refreshing and tension-dissolving. Take about three drops of each and mix the oils into the water thoroughly with vigorous hand movement."
Stay in the bath for about 10-20 minutes to get maximum benefits. Another good combination is cypress and lemon, which Mojay recommends for fatigue and PMS tension. "They are also good for instant energy and for renewing mental clarity." If you are going out straight after work, see if you can con someone into giving you a soothing shoulder massage, mixing the essential oils with two to three teaspoons of vegetable oil. But perhaps it's best not to ask the boss.
Be the lady in red
Dig out your red lippy. Dust down your red shoes. Because red, according to Ann Lloyd, a colour therapist and teacher at the College of Psychic Studies in London, is the "primal energy colour". She explains: "It is your caveman energy, your survival energy, the base-line sexual energy, the colour of love, excitement and passion. It is a good colour if you have had your energy zapped by other people".
Hmm. Not convinced? Well, try orange. "It's a fizzy colour, the party- going colour, very friendly and gregarious. It will put you in the mood for sharing your energy with other people." And if you can't be persuaded to wear it, you could always eat it. "There is a lot of hidden colour in essential oils and spices," Ann Lloyd claims. Anyone for chicken masala?
Drink up
Head straight for the nearest juice bar for an instant pre-party kick. Nicki Woodward, a medical herbalist at Farmacia in London, recommends their energy boost juice with organic apple, carrot, beetroot and orange with added spirulina (a seaweed based "superfood") and wheatgrass. But if that sounds disgustingly healthy, there is another option: crack open the champagne. Oh come on, it is Christmas.
Farmacia, 169 Drury Lane, London WC2 5QA
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