At Hoa Sen Spa, the wellbeing center of Zannier Bãi San Hô, ensuring our guests leave free of any worry is our leitmotiv. In this uncertain period, where one is forced to spend a lot of time at home, finding calmness is not necessarily easy. This is why our Spa Manager Mrs. Ngoc Ha Dao Thi gathered five tips to help you relax at home. Those tips echo the five elements structure of our spa menu – namely earth, water, fire air & spirit. The below (easy) exercises will help you relax and get a glimpse of the experience you would get while staying at Zannier Bãi San Hô.

Breathing exercises are well known for reducing stress and anxiety. A regular practice combined with meditation or yoga will help you free your mind and feel more balanced. During your stay at Zannier Bãi San Hô, you will have the chance to improve your breathing skills by attending our complimentary 60-minutes collective breathing class.

This belly breathing exercise can be done anytime you need to relax or relieve stress.

• — Find a quiet place and sit or lie flat in a comfortable position.
• — Place one hand on your belly, just below your ribs, and the other one on your chest.
• — Take a deep breath in through your nos. Let your belly push your hand out. Your chest should not move.
• — Breathe out through pursed lips as if you were whistling. Feel the hand on your belly and use it to push all the air out.
• — Repeat five to ten times
• — Take your time with each breath.

Anchor yourself to the earth and feed off its energy with the help of foot reflexology. This self-massage will help you find a balance and refocus on yourself through small and simple gestures.

• — Make this a moment for yourself, find a comfortable position in a quiet place.
• — To release stress, start by "smoothing" each foot for a minute, using both hands. Massage firmly on the back of the foot, working up from the base of the toes to the ankles.
• — Using your two thumbs, gently smooth the soles of your feet, applying pressure back and forth for 5 minutes on the reflex zone of the solar plexus. This zone is located in the center of the foot, on the upper part where a bulge begins.
• — Now, massage each toe by holding your heel with your free hand. Start from the base of each one, holding it under with your thumb "in a pinch", over it with your index and middle fingers, and exert slow and deep pressure, going up to its tip.
• — To complete the elimination of tensions, massage the heels. Hold your heel with one hand and with the thumb flat, massage in a reptation manner.
• — Finish with a brief smoothing of the foot.

Water having the power to create a peaceful atmosphere, your bathtub or your shower is a great place to relax and have a moment for yourself. With few yoga and meditation exercises, this moment will turn into a pure moment of quietude and relaxation.

• In your Bathtub
• — Fill your Bathtub with warm water at the ideal temperature of 37° up to the waist.
• — Sit cross-legged, hands on the knees, staring at the horizon eyes wide opened. Imagine a perfect landscape and focus on your sensations – the sun on your skin, the sand under your feet… you will soon begin to feel transported and slowly forget the bathroom.
• — Inhale while stretching your arms up, join your hands above your head, palm against palm. Keep the position during 5 inspirations-expirations, then release by lowering the arms.
• — Int he same position, keeping your back straight, stretch your arms to the back. Grab the right elbow with the left hand and vice versa. The back should remain straight while pushing the arms against the lumbar vertebrae. Keep the position during 5 inspirations-expirations, release before reversing the elbow grip and repeat the exercise. This position is not only beneficial for the cervical spine and shoulder blades but also for opening the lungs.
• — Join your legs together in front of you, stand straight and keep looking forward. Turn your bust to the right by holding the edges of the bathtub. Maintain the position during 5 inspirations-expirations then relax, before changing side. This yoga posture allows to gain in flexibility.
• — Now, stand on your knees in the bathtub, legs apart, your big toes touching each other. Pass the right hand around the waist and raise the left arm. Incline the bust and the head towards the right, while bending the left arm and stretching all the left side. Inhale-exhale 5 times, before returning to the initial position, and repeat the exercise on the other side. Your body is thus well stretched, and your respiratory capacity amplified.

Ha's tip: add few drops of Lavender essential oil and some Epson salts to your bath to reinforce the benefits. These two ingredients have calming and detoxifying properties which helps draw out toxins from your body. At Hoa Sen Spa, you can choose between three different healing bath rituals of 30 minutes each.

• In your shower

The idea is to soap yourself to purify your body of negative energies and allow new skin making.

• — Carefully soap yourself while imagining the negative energy is leaving your body and draining under the water.
• — Then, pass your hands on your whole body to get rid of all the remaining negative waves.
• — Still standing in the shower, close your eyes and visualize a golden light that surrounds your body with softness and well-being, like a protective envelope.
• — Breathe deeply 3 times before opening your eyes. You will feel purified of all stress.
• – Stand in front of the shower head and let the water run down the back of your neck, along your back. This stimulates the chakra and helps to stimulate creativity. Your mind is focused on the sensation of water sliding down your neck and freeing yourself from all constraints. It's all about concentration!
• — Breathe deeply 5 times. Your brain is ready to welcome new ideas.
• — Finish with a cold shower, excellent remedy to harmonize your nervous system, activate your blood circulation and immune system. To familiarize yourself with cold water, spray your eyes (open), rinse your mouth and throat. Start with a water jet on the hands and feet until you feel a sensation of warmth. Then go to other parts of your body little by little, up to the face. You can linger on the chin (a particularly energizing point) but best to avoid the center of the eyebrows (the third eye) and the skull.

Is there something more relaxing than the light of candles creating a play of light and shadow on the walls of a room? Turn off the lights, light several candles and enjoy the soft light and serenity that resides. Candles could also help you gain in focus by staring at the dancing flame for several minute.

Combined with a short yoga session, self-massage allows you to significantly relax and reduce your daily anxiety. Reproduce the six steps below for five times to feel all the advantages.

• — Stimulate your whole face by running your palms over the full contour to relax the skin.
• — Activate blood circulation by using circular motions with your fingertips (light pressure). Start from the neck and work your way up to the jawline, passing by the temples and forehead.
• — Firm the oval of the face by placing your thumbs on the chin. Lightly pinch the skin between your index fingers and thumbs, then move up to the ears, maintaining the pressure. Do the same gesture by making small pinches all along the jaw.
• — Relax the tension at the temples and forehead. Using your fingertips, apply gentle pressure to the middle of the forehead, then slide your fingers towards the temples in a zig-zag pattern. Only do this from the inside of the face outwards.
• — Decongest the eye area by pressing with two fingers on the inner corner of the eye. Maintain pressure by drawing a semi-circle under the eye, following the line of the dark circles. Repeat the same motion, drawing a semicircle above the eye, under the brow bone. Finish by drawing full circles around the eye, always starting from the inner corner of the eye.
• — Smooth around the mouth, using light pressure with your fingertips. While maintaining this pressure, make small circles around the entire lip contour. If the nasolabial fold is too visible for your liking, blur it by applying small pressure all along with your fingertips.

Ha’s tip: you can also use roll-on made of semi-precious stones with relaxing and soothing properties such as amethyst or lepidolite.