BeeBaz

Mondays are hard. Wednesdays are worse. And by Friday you're just glad to be alive. But this five-step de-stressing and pampering ritual can turn your week around at any point. Here's what you do, when you get home from work.

1. Start by sipping on camomile. This caffeine-free flowering herb, when infused, is known to have a calming effect on the body. To amp up the soporific effects, find a tea blend that has other calming ingredients like lavender or ginseng too. Newby Tisanes Chamomile Infusion Tea Bags are available at Nature's Basket stores across the country.
2. Fill your room and bathroom with a comforting scent. Light fragrant candles like Diptyque's Rosa Mundi if you're a candle person, or a diffusing essential oil. Try a few drops of Forest Essentials Blended Essential Oil Lemongrass -- lemongrass is scientifically proven to relieve stress and lift the senses.
3. If you can get a massage therapist to pay a home visit, get them to work you over with Kama Ayurveda's Madhuvanti Calming Massage Oil. The geranium, ylang ylang and lavender oils have a soothing effect on your nerves. If a full-blown massage is not possible, a portable head massager, available at most gadget stores, gives the best head massages. Follow through with Dermalogica's Stress Relief Treatment Oil, infused with essential oils of sandalwood, lavender and orange combined with tea tree, lemon and ylang ylang extracts, all strong stress busters.
4. Ideally, you need a bathtub with either Bath & Body Works Stress Relief Eucalyptus Spearmint Bath Soak salts or Lush's Dreamtime Bath Melts dissolved in the warm water for a good, long soak. But when tiny city bathrooms don't allow for a tub, make do with a relaxing shower. Aromatherapy Associates De-Stress Muscle Body Oil has rosemary, black pepper, lavender and ginger, which ease cramped and tired muscles.
5. Before you hit the bed, spray your sheets and cushions with a pillow mist like the Decléor Relaxing Pillow Mist, whose natural essential oils promise you a good night's rest. If your mind starts to stray back to the troubles of the day, a few drops of Bach's Rescue Remedy will keep negative thoughts and dreams at bay. And finally, shut the world out with The Nature's Co Eucalyptus Eye Pillow which will calm tired eyes and help you wake up sans puffiness the next morning.