Create Your Own Zen Den
Take a moment to look around your home. How do you feel? Now compare the way your home looks to the way you feel. If your space is clutter free and minimal, do you feel calm and at ease? If your space is busy with clutter, laundry, and papers, do you feel anxious and stressed? Your surroundings become your state of mind. This is scientifically proven! Your emotional, physical, and environmental states are connected and constantly playing off of each other. For this reason, I recently renovated one of my extra guest rooms into my own personal Zen Den.
What is the purpose of a Zen Den? I created a special space to tend to the divine, sacred space within myself. This space is meant to calm, soothe, inspire, and uplift. My intentions for this area is to encourage, to implement my meditation practices daily, and to relax. This room helps me get my creative juices flowing while nurturing my body, mind, and soul.
What if you don’t have an extra room to create this space? Your Zen Den could be a corner of your room or a desktop in your office. Find a small area to dedicate to your self-care rituals and meditation practices. You can even create a space outdoors. For a smaller scale, you can start off with a meditation alter with items that hold special meaning to you.
What do I put in my Zen Den? Try your best to pick no more than five main things for your zen space. While creating this space for myself, I wanted to stick to all white and neutral colors. I also wanted to keep this room electronic free. Before I started renovations to this room, I had a vision of what I wanted it to look like. I sketched it out on paper and got very clear with my focus and intention of the room’s purpose.
The first main piece I wanted to put into this room was a hammock. It is so relaxing to just swing in a hammock and rest. I wanted to specifically put a hammock in a certain corner in between both windows, so when I sway I can look into the trees outside.
(Don’t mind my mismatched socks)
I wanted to include some natural elements like potted plants to create a serene area. It’s important to me to stay connected to nature so I want to maintain a peaceful vibe by adding plant life to my Zen Den. I purchased these live green plants at home depot for $3 a piece and bought this wooden bowl at Home Goods for $10. I had fun planting these myself and saved some money while doing so!
Crystals, not only because they’re pretty to look at but contain healing properties. I have Rose Quartz, Amethyst, Celestite, Clear Quartz, Topaz, and many others in this room and all over my home. I also have some rocks I collected from the Healing waters in Greece that you can read about here.
I have a meditation cushion in another corner for when I want to sit in stillness.
A handmade wooden table to hold my warm cup of tea, a few special objects, and an inspirational book.
Sage and Palo Santo to burn and cleanse the space. BYE BYE negative energies! Burning sage and palo santo also known as, Smudging, is a cleansing technique from the Native America tradition. The aroma of sage increases oxygen supply to the brain, producing relaxation. Both scents are very calming and proven to lower anxiety. To purchase handpicked Sage click here.
I try my best to keep the vibe going through the rest of the home. Here are some of my tips for you:
-Use Natural Lighting as much as possible. Not only are you saving on your electric bill, but science proves that increased daylight improves health, happiness, and human performing benefits.
-Keep your home minimal and clean. Tidy up your space as much as possible. To read my post about decluttering your home click here.
-Use Aromatherapy Diffusers around your home. My favorite scents are lavender, lemongrass, and eucalyptus.
-Only have meaningful items and photos that make you feel happy.
Do you have a Zen Den or a sacred space? What’s in it? I would love for you to share your Zen Den photos with me! Please hashtag #MuahZenDen so I can see your pimped out creative space!