Homedics Stretch + Heat massage mat, £299; homedics.co.uk

While we all have good intentions when it comes to self-care, life easily gets in the way – work pressures, family commitments and household chores often need to take precedence. And even when we do set aside time to build resilience or find a moment of inner calm, an active mind, over-tense muscles or stiff joints can often make trying to meditate more of a challenge than we’d like.

Which is why we love Homedics’ new Stretch + Heat mat. As yoga poses were developed to prepare the body for the physical demands of meditation, the yoga-based stretches this mat offers are an ideal way to ease tension, release your spine and put you in the right frame of mind for meditation.

Unlike previous incarnations of Homedics’ stretch mats, this version intensifies the experience with an optional heat setting in the central panels, providing gentle warmth for your mid back. Seven precisioncontrolled air chambers work in unison to provide six different massage programmes: Flow, Unwind, Recover, Stretch, Twist and Energise. Flow, for example, raises and releases your shoulders, upper and mid back, lower back and glutes in a deeply relaxing sequential wave, while Recover is faster, raising alternate hips and shoulders, for example, to twist and release your spine. We started with the mid setting (there are three different intensities) and found the treatment extremely effective, creating delicious chest openers leaving your body to sink into the mat as your breath slows, mind becomes still and tension melts away.

If you want to enhance the experience further, there’s a small tab on the pillow where you can place a few drops of essential oil to prepare your mind for meditation (opt for frankincense or sandalwood), energise (try eucalyptus or lemongrass) or simply aid relaxation (we love neroli and rosewood). Just make sure you don’t fall asleep and forget to meditate!