Do Yoga With Me

My Yoga Space

I have been walking up stiff in the morning. Its cold out and I have not wanted to go out walking. The Nordic walking really helps my lower back feel better and I did get some fleece tights to wear under my jeans to help keep my legs warm. But I'm a bit of a wimp when its cold.

I've known I needed to find some indoor way to stretch and exercise my body.   I decided to see what might be available for free on line. So I searched "online exercise" and found 10 Free Workout Sites You'll Love  I will try some of the others when I get a chance. The one that sounded like something I'd enjoy was called Do Yoga With Me. It turned out to be a excellent site. I've tried  the beginner workouts and they were wonderful stretches and not too difficult to accomplish or to keep up with. Afterwards I always feel great. My pain or stiffness level was about a 4 on a 1-10 scale with 10 being the worst when I started and afterwards I would say it was about a 2 which is a nice improvement the first day. I'd say it's about a 1 at this point.

They have a huge variety of classes or workouts at Do Yoga With Me, here's the link.  http://www.doyogawithme.com/  You don't have to register or pay to use the site although donations help support the sight.

Im delighted that I can now do yoga as an indoor exercise, just me and my lap top. They have videos for beginners, intermediate and advanced. I of course mostly do the beginner options. In my 20's I did a lot of yoga - thirty years have past and I am now revisiting things I enjoyed but for a variety of reason stopped doing. I was really pleased to find this site with its wealth of yoga offerings.  Thank you to the folks at http://www.doyogawithme.com/ for making self care available to anyone with a way to be on-line. I am recommending the site to you as a wonderful self care option. I really enjoyed it and have it bookmarked so I can get to it easily.  It is set up as a pay what you want and you can make a one time donation or give a monthly amount. They feel the benefits of yoga should be free to all and simply invite people who enjoy the site to help out if they can.  That is true for my blog sites as well. I have not added the annoying ads help off set the time it takes to create and maintain the site. No one pays me to write If you enjoy these posts consider giving a little if you can to help. I've added a donate button on the left side of the home page. If you enjoy this site and others that offer free content help them to keep doing what they do for free.  I am grateful and impressed with what I discovered at Do Yoga with Me. I will be doing more yoga with them and letting my friends and clients know about it as an excellent self care option.  I will also make a point to support them as I am able. A little bit goes a long way if we all help out.

Some self care benefits of yoga according to the Yoga Health Foundation here's their link if you want to dig deeper than my brief list.

• Helps decrease chronic back pain
• Improves mood and decreases depression as well as boosts GABA
• Increases lung capacity
• Lowers blood sugar
• Helps decrease and manage stress and anxiety
• Wonderful relaxation and stretching benefits
• Helps people with Asthma, Cancer, Heart Problems, Diabetes, Obesity

There are probably many more benefits that could be listed. I wanted to write about yoga today as a viable self care option that you can do in the privacy of your home or with a few friends.

Where The Mullein Grows

I wrote this a while ago and then never got it posted. Better late than never - right?

I've been meaning to go out and harvest Mullein for most of the summer. Today was finally the day. I took my Nordic Walking Sticks and my collecting bag and headed off on a short walk to a place I had noticed Mullen growing. It seems to like abandoned lots or places where the earth has been turned and then let to sit. I have driven past this location just about every day this summer, thinking I should stop and pick some. Today it seemed right to walk the couple of blocks. I was thinking I would only be able to get leafs and roots but was surprised to find about a cup's worth of flowers.

You are probably wondering why I would even be interested in this weed that you've probably seen and passed by numerous times. You might be surprised to discover that many of theses wild plants have wonderful healing benefits.
We are quick to run to the doctor or the drug store when many times there are so many things in nature are available.

I am not a full fledged expert on the subject Mullien but I wanted to pick some so I can experiment

with using it in various ways. You can go pick a whole stalk of Mullien and hang it upside down to dry for later use in the winter. It is often infused over night to make a strong tea about an once of dry Mullien to a quart of water. That tea is then used with equal amounts of milk and a touch of honey to help with respiratory problems. Some people just smoke it and get its healing benefits to the lungs that way. The flowers can be infused in oil to make a sedative that helps with ear aches and head aches.

Whats amazing about this plant is that you can use every part of it for various healing remedies. I am using mine to make infused massage oils. I wanted to try three infused oils made from the flowers, the leaves and the roots. I am also drying some of the leaves so we have them for the winter to help with coughs.

Since I wrote this article I have made and have been using my infused Mullen Oils. Can't say I love the smell of the root oil. I do like the leaf and flower oil and use them regularly.

Here are some article links I found to be interesting regarding Mullein.

http://bearmedicineherbals.com/a-golden-torch-mullein%E2%80%99s-healing-light.html

http://www.herbcraft.org/mullein.html

Discovering Bergamot Essential Oil

My essential oil collection

If I take my present essential oil collection in alphabetical order, the first oil is Bergamot. This one always surprises me because it has a wonderful citrus smell. The name does not say citrus to me like lemon, orange or grapefruit. Bergamot is from the citrus family and the essential oil comes from the fruit rind. The oil is obtained though cold compression rather than steam distillation. The Bergamot Orange is the size of our regular oranges but is the yellow color of a lemon with a slightly pear like shape. It is grown in Italy and France for making essential oil or tea and in Turkey for making marmalade. It's is named for a town in Italy called Bergamo. It is not grown for it's juice which is like overpowering super sweet lemon juice. It is used to flavor pipe tabaco.  I've never actually had my hands on this fruit and am passing along tid bits of information that I have gleaned from the internet.

You may not think you are familiar with this oil but if you take ordinary black tea and add bergamot  essential oil it becomes the well known Earl Grey tea. Actually Earl Grey tea is this oils claim to fame.  Did you know "Drinking Earl Grey tea could help guard against heart disease, it has emerged, after a study found that bergamot extract - a key ingredient in the hot drink - is just as effective as statins at controlling cholesterol. " The Telegraph Health News

In aromatherapy Bergamot is uplifting, energizing and can help with stress and depression.

Used with uv light therapy it is thought to help people with psoriasis. One article I found gave 39 uses for Bergmot Essential oil but the one that I found most interesting was that it was found helpful for people with brain injuries if they put it on the back of their neck several times a day. Really search pintrest or the internet and you will find lots of ideas for ways to use essential oils.

You can generally use essential oils in the following ways.

Aromatically: Put a few drops in a defuser, or candle burner, or inhale it directly from the bottle or on a piece of cloth or tissue held near the nose.

Topically: Applied to the skin using a carrier oil. My rule is I try not to put any oil or substance on my body that I am not also willing to eat. Your skin is the largest organ of the body and one should take care what is used on it. I generally use rice bran oil because of its high vitamin e content. Olive, coconut or grape seed oils are others I use as well.  About  2-3 drops to a couple of tablespoons of oil is a pretty good ratio.

Internally: On this one you need to be confident of the quality and purity of your oil brand. You can add a drop or two to a cup of tea or purified water or to a spoonful of honey. I suggest you research this further before trying it this way. I am not making any medical recommendations here. It is simply listed as a way essential oils can be used.

The last way is called Neat: That means to apply the essential oil directly to the skin without a carrier oil. Generally the skin on the bottom of the foot is considered a safe area for this type of application. People have differing skin sensitivities to essential oils so some caution should be used. If you do use it "neat" and have a reaction you should quickly apply a carrier oil to help dilute the essential oil and to calm the skin. Many people feel the feet are like a map of the body (think Reflexology). Applying the essential oil on the feet or massaging it into various areas that correspond with a reflexology foot chart may be helpful.  You might also put a few drops on the palms of your hands. Rub your hands together and then cup them over your nose and inhale the aroma. Then you are getting the benefits of the oil through the skin and through the lungs.

According to Mountain Rose Herbs Bergmot essential oil is "Analgesic, anthelmintic, antibacterial, antidepressant, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, deodorant, digestive, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, laxative, rubefacient, sedative, stimulant, stomachic, tonic, vulnerary"

In that list there are a few words I did not know. For example vulnerary means a plant or medicine used for healing wounds. Anthelmintic, means used to destroy parasites. Febrifuge is something that is used to reduce or dispel a fever. Rubefacient is an agent that causes the blood to flow to the skin, causing it to redden. This aids the body in absorbing the healing properties of the essential oil.

So its too late to try this tonight the idea for deodorant I found using bergamot. So I am using an easier option that I could quickly take a photo of. I try to use just my own photos for this blog which is why you don't see a photo of bergamot fruit. Just search it and you will find plenty of photos of this interesting fruit.  My candle is on my desk and is adding a lovely aroma to the room. I just added a few drops to one of the pretty shell candles I had made on another occasion.  You could use a store bought tea light or other unscented candle.

By the way I am not endorsing any particular brand. It is important that you find good quality 100% oils that have not been cut down with other products. I buy my oils from my local health food stores or I order them online. I have been happy with my purchases from Mountain Rose Herbs but I receive nothing for mentioning them in this post.

Self Care Ideas for Depression

I was going to look at an individual oils but I thought in light of Robin Williams recent death that we should look at self care ideas and tips for depression. Robin Williams was truly special I am sorry to hear he suffered so intensely from depression. 

As an artist I can empathize with the dark uninspired unsettled time between projects. It is really hard for highly creative people in that place. You've been go go go, often running on adrenaline and then the project ends. I know during those times feel like I am adrift and at a loss for what to do next.   Its hard to reach out to others because everyone is still gushing over the previous project and can't begin to fathom why one could be depressed. There is tremendous pressure to do something bigger and better and just thinking what that might be is exhausting. Plus add to it the fear that you may have already done your best work and the loneliness of feeling no one understands - it creates a perfect storm for depression. I love the beginning middle of projects. I get anxious towards the end and I hate the space in between. My faith in Jesus is my anchor in those times and while I don't intend to be preachy I also can't cut out what is central to who I am and how I navigate life. That faith relationship has gotten me through a number of difficult times. 

 “Depression is an illness that requires a good deal of self-care,” according to psychologist Deborah Serani, PsyD, in her book Living with Depression: Why Biology and Biography Matter along the Path to Hope and Healing.

If you are depressed, I am in no way advocating that you stop seeing your doctor or quit taking your meds. These are ideas that are helpful actually for all of us. It is easy when you are feeling depressed to just let everything slip. You might normally eat well, exercise and get adequate sleep but when you are depressed its easy to fall into a state of hopelessness and think why bother. Sometimes we are so stressed that the idea of taking care of our self seems impossible or at best just another thing to do.

I look at my whole life as art, projects are more than just the art that I create. There are life projects that come to an end. Friends move away, jobs change, people divorce, kids grow up, loved ones die.
Even good changes like a new job, buying a house, going off to school, meeting that special someone, all add a certain level of stress and unsettledness and can leave one feeling alone and overwhelmed because of the change from normal to the new normal. The space in between often feels very awkward.

Tip 1: Get enough sleep. Which came first the chicken or the egg is much the same with sleep and depression. Was the lack of sleep a contributor to depression or is the depression keeping you from sleeping. "Insomnia is very common among depressed patients. Evidence suggests that people with insomnia have a ten-fold risk of developing depression compared with those who sleep well. Depressed individuals may suffer from a range of insomnia symptoms, including difficulty falling asleep (sleep onset insomnia), difficulty staying asleep (sleep maintenance insomnia), unrefreshing sleep, and daytime sleepiness. However, research suggests that the risk of developing depression is highest among people with both sleep onset and sleep maintenance insomnia." ~National Sleep Foundation

Tip 2: Eat well and take your vitamins. I'm not her to give you diet advice or to tell you what vitamins to take. I am here to say your body is a complex system and a deficiency in vitamins or minerals can cause a lot of problems. As an example, here in the Pacific North West we don't get enough sunlight much of the year as a result people are often found to be deficient in D vitamins. According to the CDC, in 2006 a whopping one fourth of the population was deficient in vitamin D. Eight percent were "at risk" for vitamin D deficiency illnesses and one percent had levels that were considered imminently harmful.  Psychology Today said "Canadian researchers reviewed 14 studies, consisting of 31,424 participants and found a strong correlation between depression and a lack of Vitamin D. The lower the Vitamin D level, the greater the chance of depression. But, the big question is still causality. Does one get depressed because of a deficiency of Vitamin D, or does depression lower the vitamin level?" This is just one example vitamin to consider. Our food and the nutrition we get can be a big factor in our over all health and wellness not just when you are depressed.

Tip 3: Stay connected to people: When you are depressed it is easy to isolate yourself. Who are the positive people in your life. Can you make time to be with them particularly when you are feeling depressed. Perhaps there toxic people that suck the life out of you? Take a break from them if you need to but don't isolate yourself from the people that encourage and build you up. We need each other.

Tip 4: Try some Essential Oils: These are thought to be helpful for people suffering from depression. Many essential oils are able to cross the blood/brain barrier. Some that are thought to be helpful for depression are Bergamont, Chamomile, Cinnamon, Clary Sage, Cypress, Frankincense, Geranium, Ginger,  Grapefruit, Lavender, Lemon, Lemongrass, Peppermint, Pine.  You might apply them to the bottoms of your feet, or add drops to your foot bath or soaking tub or put them in a aroma therapy diffuser.  In my massage practice I use them in my massage oils.

Tip 5: Kefir and Cultured Foods: I can't say enough about the benefits of Kefir and other cultured foods.  "Easily digested, it cleanses the intestines, provides beneficial bacteria and yeast, vitamins and minerals, and complete proteins. Because kefir is such a balanced and nourishing food, it contributes to a healthy immune system and has been used to help patients suffering from AIDS, chronic fatigue syndrome, herpes, and cancer. Its tranquilizing effect on the nervous system has benefited many who suffer from sleep disorders, depression, and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)."~ kefir.net

We need that good bacteria in our gut.
Donna Schwenk of Cultured Food Life says "I have witnessed first hand those with ADD, anxiety, depression, and despair turn completely around when they fixed the microbes in their gut.
90% of the body’s total serotonin is produced in the digestive tract. Only 5% of serotonin is produced in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which influences many aspects of your behavior, such as mood, appetite, and pain sensation. The right amount of serotonin in the brain produces a calm and happy feeling."



I could keep going on self care tips for depression but there are plenty of articles out there if you want to research more on your own. These are all things that I have practical experience with and use for my own self care. This is just to start you thinking. It is sad for me to think that someone like Robin Williams who helped so many of us laugh could be so depressed that he killed himself. I think that depression is a much more serious problem in our society than we are willing to admit and perhaps part of Robin Williams legacy will include raising public awareness about depression.

My Essential Oil Cabinet

This is a photo of my essential oil cupboard. On the right side I have the 100% essential oils. In the middle I have the same oils diluted with a carrier oil for the massage work that I do. In the far left you see bigger general massage oils and my brushes for lymphatic massage work.

I was organizing a couple of weeks ago and I had a strong urge to go to the thrift store. I knew I needed to find something that would better hold my growing collection of oils. I was not sure exactly what it was that I was looking for but I knew I would find it and know it when I saw it. I try to follow those nudges when I get them and as a result I usually am blessed. So this time I walked through the thrift store and saw nothing of interest in the front so I walked to the back and found this cabinet laying flat up on a high shelf. When the doors are closed it has a mirror front. Its perfect.

So aside from telling you about my essential oil collection I want to encourage you to listen to those nudges. I call it the leading of the Holy Spirit, you might call it listening to your inner voice. Its a very intuitive kind of thing what ever you happen to call it.

In my collection I have Bergamont, Carrot Seed, Clove, Clary Sage, Cypress, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, Frankincense, Geranium, Grapefruit, Ginger, Jasmine, Lavender, Lemon, Lemon Grass, Orange, Pine Peppermint, Red Thyme, Rose Absolute, Rosemary, Spikenard and Tea Tree. There are quite a few others that I would like to add to my collection as funds allow.

A year ago I had Tea Tree and then discovered Peppermint and for a long time I tried using those two oils on just about everything. If you are just starting your own collection I would add lavender and lemon. Tea tree will stop bug bites from itching and take care of athletes foot. Lavender does wonders for burns and is incredibly calming. Peppermint is great for headaches, tummy trouble, sore muscles and more. Lemon is great for cleaning and great when you have a cold. Each one deserves a post of its own. This week I will try to cover a couple of them in greater detail.

I found a great chart called 40 Uses For My Top 4 Favorite Oils. Its worth printing and taping to the inside of your medicine cabinet. Here's a link where you can down load it. http://jillee_uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/2013/05/40-USES-for-four-oils.pdf 
As you can see you can do quite a lot with just four essential oils for your home and for your health.

My " Should Do" List

A previous Dragonfly project 

Its morning and I have this list of things I should do, most of them are things I want to do.
I should go nordic walking, I should study, I should write, I should journal, I should do something creative, I should cut out the sugar and carb foods that I've let slip back in. I should pray, I should read that stack of massage and aroma therapy books on my desk. I should get dressed and start the day. I should go work on that mosaic dragonfly, I should finish my skeleton for massage school, I should get the bills paid, I should get breakfast made. There are lots of other things I could add to this list.

What I'm not going to do is stress out about all of these things I should do. I'm not going to waste time worrying about how I will get them all done. I'm not going to feel guilty about the stuff I have not gotten done yet. Worry, stress and guilt cloud our thinking. They cause us to accomplish nothing because we become paralyzed. So just decide to skip that stuff. Pick something and do that. When its done pick the next thing to do.

I have chosen from the list above I should write. Its what I feel inspired to do from the list above.
Writing and sharing my journey is an accountability motivator for me. I know there are people that look forward to reading the things I research and share. Writing helps me organize my thoughts. I have always thought of myself as more of an introvert, which does not mean I don't like people. I love being with people and I am not shy or a reclusive loner.  What it does mean is that I need alone time to process and recharge. I have often considered myself a professional extrovert. I am good with people and a natural leader I just need down time too.  Come to find out there is a third option called an ambivert. Turns out I am one of those who is somewhere in between called ambivert.  For ambiverts to recharge their energy levels they need a mixture of social interaction and alone time. Too much of either wears them out. Wow, lightbulbs go on for me. I actually learn a lot while researching for these posts.  If you are wondering about yourself heres a quick test http://www.danpink.com/assessment .

It is easy to look at my should do list and get anxious about how I will get it all done. I try to remember the old saying that there is a time and a season for every purpose under heaven. I get up early in the morning before my family so I can have that quiet time that I need to be able to function. It is part of my essential self care routine. I try to think of self care in three parts. What do I do for my body. What do I do for my mind. What do I do for my soul. To be healthy we need to be working on all three. Some things work on more than one area at a time. In your own self care plan consider if you are more of an introvert, ambivert or an extrovert because how you recharge is different for each. Make sure in your self care plan you are allowing time for those things that recharge, strengthen and heal you.

I've now crossed one thing off my Should Do list and will move on to one of the other things I've listed. You might also consider that there are some barriers to self care that you might be facing. Things like lack of support, lack of time, lack of motivation, lack of money, belief that self care is selfish. I suppose thats another post brewing. They are factors that we have to overcome in our journey to wellness. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this post.

My Self Care Wellness Activity
Take the assessment and find out if you are more of an extrovert, introvert or ambivert. Adjust your self care activities to things that will help you best recharge and heal. http://www.danpink.com/assessment .

Are You Dehydrated?

Our bodies are made up of 60% water. I just saw a poster that said that 75 percent of Americans were chronically dehydrated. When our water balance gets off it can cause a lot of health problems.

Did you know that when you are dehydrated it can cause your joints and muscles to ache. When you are dehydrated you are more likely to strain your muscles. Feeling a bit achy before you go for the over the counter pain meds see if you are dehydrated. Drink a big glass of water.

A quick dehydration test is to pinch the skin on the back of your hand to form a tent. Hold it for a few seconds and then release. Does the skin snap quickly back into place or does it move gradually back to position? If you are hydrated it will snap back quickly.  Other symptoms to look for would be tiredness, achy joint or muscles, infrequent dark colored urination, lack of tears, headache or dizziness. "If you're sweating, you're losing water," says Nancy Clark, MS, RD, sports dietitian in Chestnut Hill, Mass., and author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook. She suggests an easy way to tell if you are dehydrated. "If you go from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon without peeing, then you're dehydrated."

Obviously when you are thirsty it is your body signaling that you need water. Sadly we too often reach for other drinks. “Alcohol is a diuretic, It acts on the kidneys to make you pee out much more than you take in – which is why you need to go to the toilet so often when you drink.  In fact for every 1g of alcohol drunk, urine excretion increases by 10ml', says Professor Oliver James, head of clinical medical sciences at Newcastle University.  I had been told that coffee was a diuretic that added to potential dehydration. Seems that is a myth.  "Caffeine can make you need to urinate. However, the fluid you consume in caffeinated beverages tends to offset the effects of fluid loss when you urinate. The bottom line is that although caffeine does act as a mild diuretic, studies show drinking caffeinated drinks in moderation doesn't actually cause dehydration." WebMD

I read that to mean it offsets the loss but does not add to your hydration level. So don't give up your coffee but do make sure you drink water as well throughout the day. Other drinks have to be processed and filtered by the body. The acid in soda robs calcium and other minerals from the body that it needs for other functions.  One report said you needed to drink 32 cups of water to neutralize the acid from one can of soda. High sugar drinks add calories and diet drinks mess up your kidney function, your metabolism and cell damage but I suppose we can save that for another post.
The bottom line is that your body needs water to function properly - just give it what it needs. Drink water first and save the other drinks for occasional treats.  

I liked this quote that I found about the link between stress and dehydration.
"It turns out that the link between stress and dehydration is actually very simple. All of our organs, including our brains, need water to function properly. If you are dehydrated, your body is not running as efficiently, which means that you will be more vulnerable to stress. In other words, stress causes dehydration, and dehydration causes stress." (see http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/water-stress-reduction).

After massage we always have our clients drink a glass of water and encourage them to keep drinking. I read a great explanation in one of my text books. If you think of a sponge that has soaked up a lot of gunk. It needs to be rinsed and wrung out. Our muscles are kind of like that sponge they collect a lot of the toxic gunk for your body. When you exercise or get a massage the muscle sponges get squeezed and if you don't turn on the water to wash that gunk out of your system it will cause you headaches and sometimes even flu like symptoms. Water is far more important to our health and wellbeing than most of us realize.

I found this tip on how to calculate your own daily water requirements from My Food Diary "There are many different methods for calculating daily fluid requirements. However, a simple equation to help adults figure their fluid needs is that for every pound of body weight, you need about half an ounce of fluid intake per day. For instance, if you weigh 140 lbs., simply multiply 140 by .5 to estimate your daily fluid needs in ounces, then divide by eight to estimate your fluid needs in cups per day, rounding up to the nearest full cup. [example: 140 x .5 = 70 ounces; 70 ounces divided by 8 = 9 cups of fluid per day] 0.5 ounces x Body Weight in Pounds = Daily Fluid Requirement in ounces"

The easier way is just take half of what you weigh and divide it by the size drink cup you use.
I hardly ever use an 8oz cup I like the big 16 oz drink cups. I just did the math and I need to drink a little more than I thought.

My Self Care Wellness Activity 
Step 1: Calculate how much water you need to drink based on your body weight.
Step 2: Drink your water. Your body will thank you.

Introduction to Essential Oils

My own essential oils in carrier oil for massage

A year ago I had one essential oil and I really didn't even realize what it was. Someone had told us Tea tree was good for bug bites and I had ordered a bottle on their recommendation.
It does stop the itching quite well.

Just prior to starting massage school I discovered peppermint oil and had begun trying it on what ever ailments we were facing and found it was pretty amazing for headaches and other aches.

My massage school has a collection of more than 60 essential oils and we have the opportunity to work with those oils in a variety of ways. In the past year I have built my own collection to about 25 oils. Its still growing as I am able to research and add new oils. I want to add black pepper and chamomile, Siberian Cedar wood and many others but it takes time to grow and maintain a collection on a limited budget. I've already gone through several bottles of tea tree, lavender, peppermint and lemon. If you are wanting to start your own collection those four would be my starting recommendations. They are each good for so many things.

When my son says mom I'm having trouble focusing or I need something to help with creative inspiration we go to the essential oils and create a blend for that purpose. They have replaced all the things that used to be in my medicine cabinet and we have found essential oils work better than all that over the counter stuff with out the additional side effects.

Essential oils are extracted generally through steam distillation from the the flowers, leaves, stems, roots of various plants. Some use other extraction methods. Some plants are very easy to extract oil from and others like rose oil takes 60 roses for one drop of essential oil. As you might guess rose oil is pretty expensive. An 1/8 of an ounce is about forty five dollars. Lemon oil made from the lemon rind, on the other hand is only about five dollars a half ounce.

I've discovered that each oil has a long list of healing benefits. For a general headache I would try one of the following Peppermint, Rosemary, Lavender, Frankincense or Clove from my collection.
My favorite being peppermint or Lavender or perhaps combining them.

Supplies I've purchased

I have books that I have added to my collection that I can reference but I am able to find quite a lot of information on line as well. I've found great inspiration on Pinterest. For example just type in "Pine Essential Oil" or "Lemon Essential Oil" and you come up with some great ideas and information.


When you are buying essential oils you do want to make sure they say 100% pure. I am not representing any brand and I do buy my oils from a variety of sources. I do have several friends who sell Dotera Essential Oils and they do have an exceptional product line that is great for folks who want the benefits and commitment that come with brand loyalty. When I was first approached by one of them I thought how on earth would I ever use all those oils. I've come to find out that with my family and my massage training that I use them for everything. The best way to think about it is to add up what you would spend on over the counter medicines, cleaning and beauty supplies and begin the switch to essential oils spending no more than you are already spending. Its a matter of moving your money from the drug store to essential oils and natural products. For example rather than buying a bottle of your favorite pain relieving pill buy a bottle of peppermint oil. When I get a headache I rub it on my feet in it's 100% pure form or I mix it with a carrier oil (I like almond, rice bran, coconut, olive or grape seed oil) and rub it on the back of my neck, shoulders and temples. Just don't get it in your eyes. It does make you cry for a bit but you won't go blind.

I didn't tell you where to find essential oils. I've gotten most of mine from local health food stores. I'm a bit impulsive and I want to get my hands on them now so I generally buy local.
I have liked what I've ordered on line from Mountain Rose Herbs www.mountainroseherbs.com
I generally have things from them in about a week. There are Dotera and Young Living folks that would be happy to tell you about the benefits of their programs.

My Self Care Wellness Activity
Essential oils are great for self care I will begin to add at least one post a week that talks about individual essential oils with ideas how to use them. Again I'm not selling them nor am I prescribing them. Do your homework- you will be amazed at their wonderful health benefits.

Here's a few ideas for you to try. If you don't have lemon essential oil yet, you could use real lemon in the foot soak. Lemon is revitalizing and helps your mood elevate. It is anti fungal and antiviral among other things. Look for a future post on the benefits of Lemon Essential oil this is just to get you started.

Moisturizing Lemon Foot Soak
Add the following to warm water in your foot soaking basin. Relax
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 freshly squeezed lemon or 3-6 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
• 2 tbsp sea salt or epson salt

Lemon Sugar Scrub

Use this on your feet, hands or body to refresh and invigorate your skin. I just used it on my hands and they feel so smooth.
• 1/4 Cup Virgin Coconut Coconut Oil
• 5 - 10 Drops of Lemon Essential Oil
• 3/4 to a 1 Cups of Sugar
(add more or less if you like to get your desired consistency.)

How to Make It

1. Melt Coconut Oil in a glass bowl (in the summer its already melted)
2. Mix in 10 Drops of Lemon Oil
3. Mix in the cup of Sugar
4. Store in a glass canning jar.
You can use this scrub on your hands, feet and even all over your body for silky smooth and invigorated skin!

Go On A Photo Safari

Photography is a wonderful stress relieving activity at least it is the way I do it. I love my i-phone because I always have my camera with me. When I see an interesting or beautiful photo I can take a digital photo. I later use those photos for blog posts, or as ideas for things to paint. Some don't ever get used but there was pleasure for me in capturing that moment of beauty.  "This particular stress management skill allows you to place your focus outside of yourself. Photography is a creative and fun hobby that can help distract you from the stress, anxiety, and depression you may be feeling. The more time you invest into a stress management skill, such as photography, you are being proactive in promoting and maintaining a healthy mind." http://www.sound-mind.org/

The photos in this post are all things I have taken while out walking which is another of my self care activities.  

I have awoken the last few days with a lot of anxiety. I have two important tests looming ahead of me in the not distant future, one to be certified as a home care aid, the other from my massage license.  It is easy to get stressed out about what happens once I pass those tests. I realized that the tests were more of a surface issue the greater anxiety is about moving from this season of learning and school into what the future holds.  I tried to work back from the surface issues to get to the root causes of the anxiety I was feeling. I also got out my collection of essential oils and took a bath with lavender, orange, lemongrass, bergamont, frankincense, jasmine and geranium. I promise to write more about the benefits of various essential oils. They are amazing. Those listed each bring a variety of good elements for helping with anxiety. I could have just used any one of them but I like making blends. They worked wonderfully by the way. I spent a little time praying and sorting things out and made up my mind that I was not going to continue stressing about the future or the tests. I just need to keep doing my best as I study trusting that when the time comes I will be ready and when the future arrives I will be ready for it as well. Sometimes we just need to look at our situation differently. Sometimes we need to take the time to do something positive for our selves. I let all that anxiety go down the drain with the bath water and have had a wonderful day. 

Back to photography it captures a moment in time. I can snap things from different angles. I can slow down to notice some tiny flower or patterns in nature, or the smile on someones face. I can change my focus from worrying to doing something positive and enjoyable.  Photography can be a wonderful creative distraction. Many of the de-stressing lists that I have found talk about the importance of finding a hobby as being a great way to help manage your stress.  

I don't want you to think that I have got it all together. Just like you there are days that I struggle. There are days when stress gets the better of me. I hope if I share with you my self care journey it will encourage you on yours. Todays post is a mix of my journey as well as sharing an activity that I make part of the positive self care things I like to do. 

Stop and smell the flowers and take a photo while your at it. 

My Self Care Wellness Activity:

I love this idea from http://www.pickthebrain.com "Take yourself on a photo walk with your camera. Just 10 minutes is all you will need. Go slow. Breathe. Really look. Take photos of all the details along the way. Get closer to your subject and take more photos. This is a walking photo meditation. It’s sacred time for you to be shown the wonder that awaits you right outside your door."

Taking Care of the Old Rusty Past

I typed the words "Rusty" into Pinterest and found hundreds of beautiful photos of old rusty stuff. Some of those things just make for cool photos. Some were things that people had repurposed. There were even some who wanted to have an old vehicle like to restore it to its former glory.

What about you? Is there some old rusty stuff in your emotional life? We often have to clear out the old stuff to make room for the new. Clutter busting is a good self care activity. Look around your home and look for things you no longer need. Is there someone you know who might really need that item? Doing something for others with no strings attached is a great self care practice. It feels really good when you are the answer to someone's prayer. Even if you just take those things to the thrift store someone will find it and for them it will be like finding a treasure.

A friend of mine shared a great story about how she was deployed overseas for military duty. While she was away she had placed all her household stuff in storage. In the time she was away a hurricane hit that area and her storage space and stuff were all water damaged. When she got to her next duty station her stuff was sent to her. When the truck arrived from across the country it was still dripping and stinking pretty bad. If the driver opened up the truck he would have to unload and leave all that wet nasty stuff on her drive way. She decided in that moment to have the man take it directly to the dump. As she shared that story she had a wonderful epiphany that she also had a lot of old emotional stuff that also need to simply go to the dump. Too often we are trying to salvage stuff that can't be salvaged and we need to release it, take it to the dump and move on.

There are times when we need to sort through the painful stuff from the past and in the process we find ways to forgive, heal and move on. There are other times when spending time wading through the muck and mire is really not going to help anyone. Release it and and move on. She said that following year she had a great time finding new things to replace what had been lost.

I saw this lovely truck by the side of the road and had to stop and take a photo of it. Of course I also had to think of a way to use it in a self care post. What old relics from your past are you still dragging around?

How I deal with old memories that come up from the past. If something painful comes up I make an effort to put it away clean. I forgive, I make a point to be responsible for the things I did that hurt others and hurt myself. Even a tiny scratch can become infected. If not cared for can make you very ill or even kill you. Emotional wounds are the same. Don't just say "oh its just a scratch" or "it's nothing" and sweep it under the rug, take care of it. Do your best to put memories away clean. Your brain is like the rerun channel it plays stuff over and over. If you put things away clean when they come up in the future they are not all pussy, putrified and painful they are just a memories that have already been cleaned up and they no longer hold you in the tragic grip of pain, grief, guilt and regret.  If you need help see a counselor or talk to a trusted friend.

My Self Care Spa Wellness Activity
Make a list of things that you need to deal with and begin to work on them. I like to get the easier stuff out of the way and then build on those successes to tackle the bigger stuff. Celebrate your progress along the way.

Relaxing Raspberry Tea

To end our raspberry week I thought we would take time to share a cup of tea. Tea has quite a number of benefits. I found this top 12 list by  Marcelle Pick, OB-GYN NP and with the link back to her article if you want to know more. 

Just the act of drinking tea is relaxing not to mention the healing benefits of the particular herbs you choose to drink. Green tea is particularly stress relieving.

"Top 12 health benefits of tea

1. Stress recovery and relief from psychological distress
2. Insulin regulation and weight maintenance
3. Arthritis prevention
4. Immune system support and cold/flu relief
5. Reduction in risk of certain cancers
6. Protection against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases
7. Reduced risk for cardiovascular disease
8. Bone health promotion
9. Prevention of lung damage
10. Healthier aging
11. Detoxification benefits
12. Enhances parasympathetic changes"

The other day I decided to pick and dry some of the leaves from the raspberry bush next door. It was pretty easy. I used my food dehydrator and they dried in several hours. This photo is of my very first cup of home harvested raspberry tea. It was good  and tastes like green tea to me.

"Pour one cup boiling water over a teaspoon of dried leaves and let it steep at least 15 minutes. Drink and heal." Norma Whitehead

Raspberry tea is commonly thought of for pregnant women.  It can also help with stress reduction and weight loss. 

"This tea is commonly used for digestion troubles including gas, diarrhea, and more. It also contains several anti bacterial agents that can help to fight off mild infections and speed up recovery time from the cold or flu. Beyond all of this, raspberry tea is also filled with many nutrients and minerals that our bodies need in order to function at their very best. Vitamins A, C, and E are prevalent in the tea along with calcium, pectin, iron, and potassium. Another impressive benefit to be found in raspberry teas is that they contain the highest content of anthocyanins, which are powerful antioxidants that can increase health greatly. When drank regularly it is no doubt that raspberry tea can be one of the best nutritional supplements that you can use that will help you feel better all around." http://www.raspberrytea.net/Raspberry-Tea-Benefits/

My Self Care Wellness Activity:
Take time for a cup of tea. Not on the run, but to be enjoyed as you quietly reflect about some of the good things in your life. Breath in, breath out, take a sip of tea and take a momentary mental vacation.

Raspberries and Weight Loss

Here's a brief background on how and what I eat on a regular basis.  Pretty much I try to eat fresh foods.  I shop the exterior edges of the grocery store. I choose lower carb vegetables, meats, eggs and dairy. I use flax, coconut flour and almond flour for my baking. So I am essentially gluten free as well as a result.  I try to sweeting things with Stevia but still sometime use Splenda because I've never had a problem with it. I also use "Xylitol which is a low-calorie sugar substitute extracted from raspberries. A teaspoonful of xylitol contains just 9.6 calories as compared to that of sugar, which has 15 calories. Xylitol absorbs more slowly in the intestines than sugar and does not contribute to high glycemic index, and thus, can be helpful in diabetics." www.nutrition-and-you.com I will write more on sweeteners and their pro's and cons in a future post. I generally track the carbs and fiber and keep an eye on the calories.

Kefir Berry Breakfast Pudding

I have my own probiotic version of low carb. I probably eat a bit more dairy because I believe in the incredible benefits of kefir. We make our own fresh kefir daily. We also make and eat fermented vegetables. Fermenting increases the bio available vitamins the body is able to use as well as having excellent probiotic benefits.   I still have weight I would like to loose in my effort to be stronger and healthier but my focus is less on weight loss and more on eating in such a way as to benefit and keep my body healthy as well as to keep my blood sugar stable. 

This post however is about raspberries and weight loss. A cup of raspberries has 64 calories and 8 grahams of fiber and pretty much no fat. The carbs for a cup of raspberries is 14.69 but when you subtract the fiber the Net Carbs that actually effect you are only 7.  The estimated glycemic load is 3.  I eat very little fruit because in general because the sugar content is too high for me. I do eat berries as a treat but I probably wouldn't eat a whole cup of berries because they are still mostly a carbohydrate.  I do like to add them to my kefir breakfast pudding and to coconut flax muffins. I also keep them in the freezer as a refreshing snack. 

"One of the most fascinating new areas of raspberry research involves the potential for raspberries to improve management of obesity. Although this research is in its early stages, scientists now know that metabolism in our fat cells can be increased by phytonutrients found in raspberries, especially rheosmin (also called raspberry ketone). By increasing enzyme activity, oxygen consumption, and heat production in certain types of fat cells, raspberry phytonutrients like rheosmin may be able to decrease risk of obesity as well as risk of fatty liver. In addition to these benefits, rheosmin can decrease activity of a fat-digesting enzyme released by our pancreas called pancreatic lipase. This decrease in enzyme activity may result in less digestion and absorption of fat." George Mateljan Foundation

Another benefit of raspberries is that they are high in fiber. High fiber foods take longer to digest. This helps keep you feeling full longer. Fiber also acts like a broom to sweep the intestinal lining and helps keep you regular. 

"Raspberries have been shown to contain a natural substance called ketones, which are similar to capsaicin, the compound that gives hot peppers their fire. Animal studies have found that raspberry ketones prevented an increase in overall body fat and visceral fat, the deep internal belly fat considered to be most dangerous due to its relationship to an increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers." according to shape.com

Interestingly Shape.com lists raspberries and kefir as 2 of 4 super foods for weight loss.  Here's what they say about kefir. Kefir "This fermented milk drink can be made from cow, sheep or goat’s milk or a plant-based version like coconut milk. Kefir is loaded with beneficial bacteria — about 10 different strains compared to the 2-3 found in most yogurts, and those live and active cultures are thought to favor weight control. A recent Japanese study found that subjects who drank a fermented milk product for 12 weeks shed nearly 5 percent of their belly fat."

I like to make kefir and berry smoothies. Think about the benefits of these super foods combines. The other two they list are water and lima beans. Here's the link back to that article if you would like to read more.  I promise to write more about kefir in the very near future. 

As always I try to share the information I have discovered and what I have found from experience to be helpful on my Self Care Wellness journey. I however encourage you to do your own research and to consult your doctor or nutritionist. 

My Self Care Wellness Activity: 
Do some of your own research on raspberries. The more you know the better able you are to implement meaningful and purposeful change in your life. 

Raspberry Seed Benefits

We are continuing again today with the raspberry and it's amazing healing benefits. Today we are looking at the seeds. 

The Seed - Red Raspberry Seed Oil is a fabulous addition to skin care products and contains wonderful anti-inflammatory properties. This oil soothes irritation and swelling from conditions effecting the skin.

One article I read called it natures sunscreen. Raspberry seed oil actually has one of the higher SPF's 28-50 It’s one of the few that protects against both UVA and UVB rays. It is rivaled only by carrot seed oil. Since your skin absorbs anything you put on it I try to only put things on my skin that I would be willing to eat.  I found this raspberry sunscreen recipe I would like to try eventually that I found at http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/homemade-sunscreen.html#.

Homemade Sunscreen Ingredients:
1/2 cup of 100% pure aloe
20 drops carrot seed oil OR raspberry seed oil – (raspberry seed oil has a higher SPF)
5 tbsp coconut oil
3 capsules of Vitamin E oil or hemp seed oil (2 tbsp)
5 drops of Lavender oil
1 tablespoon of avocado oil which helps increase the sun protection factor (SPF).

As you can see the Raspberry is a wellness fruit super hero. I'm going to continue picking the berries from the bush next door. I have harvested some of the leaves and dried them in our food dehydrator. I'm not going to try to make my own raspberry seed oil but I will see if I can add it to my ever growing essential oil collection. I may try and make a raspberry vinegar and a raspberry tincture.

Raspberry Leaf Benefits

Continuing on with the benefits of the Raspberry today we will discuss the benefits of the leaf. 

 The Leaf - Just about everywhere I check talked about the amazing pregnancy benefits of raspberry tea. It has a number of other great uses. I plan on harvesting some of the leaves from ours and drying them so we have them to use this winter. "Even if you don’t want to get pregnant benefits it has been shown to reduce menstrual cramps and may help to regulate the flow of menstruation due to its effects on the uterus. Helps to detoxify excess hormones which is very helpful during times of hormonal shift such as menopause or in the second half of the menstrual cycle (the two weeks before starting your period, which is when most women experience PMS)." says Jessica Stamm, MS CCN

"The tannins in raspberry leaf give it astringent properties which make it soothing both internally and externally. A strong raspberry leaf tea or tincture will sooth sunburn, eczema, and rashes when used externally. Swishing with a tincture or infusion of Raspberry Leaf is great for the gums and can help alleviate the symptoms of gingivitis or gum disease." Says welnessmamma.com

According to Mountain Rose Herbs: "Raspberry leaves are among the most pleasant-tasting of all the herbal remedies, with a taste much like black tea, without the caffeine. Raspberries were said to have been discovered by the Olympian gods themselves while searching for berries on Mount Ida. Raspberries are indigenous to Asia Minor and North America, with the first real records of domestication coming from the writings of Palladius, a Roman agriculturist. By Medieval times it had a great many uses, including the juices which were used in paintings and illuminated manuscripts. King Edward the 1st (1272-1307) was said to be the first to call for mass cultivation of raspberries, whose popularity spread quickly throughout Europe. Teas of raspberry leaves were given to women of the Cherokee, Iroquois, and Mohawk nations in North America, and have earned approval of the authoritative British Herbal Compendium"

How To Make Your Own Raspberry Leaf Tea

Pick a good amount of nice looking leaves.  Rinse and dry them. I used paper towels for this step. You can dry them by laying them to dry out in the sun for a few days or putting them in your food dehydrator. I am choosing the food dehydrator because it is faster. Keep them as flat as possible in a single layer. Make sure they are really dry without any moisture left so they won't mold in storage. The taste is similar to black tea. I have also dried some berries and will mix them with my tea to give it a bit of a berry taste. Then you will get some of the berry benefits as well. It is very high in vitamin C and also said to help with things like leg cramps.

Raspberries - Benefits of the Fruit

By Margot Cioccio

We have a wonderful treasure next door. Its a great big red raspberry bush. We've been picking delicious berries for weeks now. It occurred to me to day that I should look into the healing benefits.
So it seems there is the fruit, the seed and the leaves that each have healing benefits. Rather than make this a long post I will break it into three. Today we will look a the  healing benefits of the fruit.

The fruit - is delicious and high in vitamins and nutrients. They help to reduce inflammation and joint pain. Anthocyanin's are the chemical that give the berries their red color. It seems they also have quite a few health benefits as well. They have another chemical called ellagitannins that also adds to their remarkable benefits.

"Anthocyanins are a type of flavonoid, a class of compounds with antioxidant effects. Found naturally in a number of foods, anthocyanins are the pigments that give berries, red onions, kidney beans, pomegranates, and grapes their rich coloring. In addition to acting as antioxidants and fighting free radicals, anthocyanins may offer anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-cancer benefits.

In herbal medicine, anthocyanin-rich substances have long been used to treat a number of conditions (including high blood pressure, colds, and urinary tract infections). Recent research suggests that anthocyanins may also help fend off major health problems, including heart disease and cancer." According to Cathy Wong, ND

Dr. Christophers Herbal Legacy says "Raspberry contains ellagitannins. One cup per day of raspberries, 40 mg of ellagitannins, has been shown to prevent the growth of abnormal cells. In lower doses they slow the growth of the cells, but in high doses, they instruct the cancer cells to kill themselves." 

A study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry found that the polyphenols in blueberries and strawberries lower inflammation due to oxidative stress and may help improve communication between brain cells, thus protecting against age-related cognitive decline.

Raspberries contain B-Vitamins, Vitamins C, E and A, as well as calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. So...eat your berries.

My Self Care Wellness Activity

• Enjoy a cup of raspberry tea with a cup of fresh berries.

• Think of things you are thankful for each letter in the word raspberry. I'll help you with the first letter to get you started.

R- (readers of this blog)
A-
S-
P-
B-
E-
R-
R-
Y-

Terific Turmeric

Kefir with Turmeric and Black Pepper

By Margot Cioccio

I've been using Turmeric for aches and pains for over a year now. I don't take any over the counter pain meds or any prescribed ones either. I have worked on finding healthy natural alternatives. I use essential oils for a lot of things and I will share about some of them in future posts.

Turmeric is a pretty powerful anti inflammatory. When you have curry its the curcumin in turmeric that gives it that bright golden orange yellow color. I mix a heaping teaspoon in kefir a wonderful probiotic drink thats kind of like yogurt but a little thinner.

When my family moved in September I talked all my family into giving it a try. They liked to call the mixed kefir and turmeric mustard juice. It does turn the kefir a very mustard like color.

You can also get turmeric in capsule form. My family all agreed that when you have sore and aching muscles you grab the turmeric from the spice cabinet and add some to kefir and in a very short time you feel much better. I happen to like the slightly bitter creamy taste and texture of kefir with turmeric. As I was studying to write this post I found the following quote in an article by Kris Gunners called 10 Proven Health Benefits of Turmeric. She says "Unfortunately, curcumin is poorly absorbed into the bloodstream. It helps to consume black pepper with it, which contains piperine… a natural substance that enhances the absorption of curcumin by 2000%"

So tonight I added about a half teaspoon of black pepper to the mix. It tastes about the same as before with a little added pepper heat. I also realized that my turmeric jar is just about empty. I buy mine in bulk at a local market.

Besides being a wonderful anti inflammatory it is also a powerful anti oxidant on its own but also boost the other anti oxidants present in the body. Anti oxidants neutralize free radicals that are responsible for aging and effecting numerous diseases.

It has been given to heart bypass patients and they have seen a remarkable reduction in the risk of having a heart attack. It also seems to help with memory and brain function. It seems to increase a growth hormone called BDNF that generally decreases as we age.

It is even thought to help decrease cell growth in cancer at least in lab animals. But who knows what we may learn as more studies are done.

It is helpful with depression, arthritis, alzheimer's, and slowing the effects of aging.

Amazing! All this benefit hidden away in your spice cabinet.

I guess the more I read about various drugs even over the counter ones it seems you solve one problem only to create others. I did check to see if there were side effect. It seems some people experience stomach upset. I never have but perhaps its because I combine mine with the super probiotics of kefir. You should stop using it a few weeks prior to surgery because it slows blood clotting.

I make my own kefir to put my turmeric and pepper in, but you can find unsweetened kefir it at places like Trader Joe's. I will probably do a post on how to make kefir at some point.

My Self Care Spa Wellness Activity:

Give turmeric a try.

Here's a recipe for Longevity Tea
"Dr. Andrew Weil notes that people in Okinawa, the Japanese island nation with the world's longest average life span, drink turmeric tea daily. To make your own, boil four cups of water, add one teaspoon of ground turmeric, allow to simmer for 10 minutes, strain, and add ginger and/or honey to taste." Read more: http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/22-surprising-uses-for-turmeric#ixzz37W81PVyp

I guess you can even use it to clean cuts and wounds because it is a a natural anti-septic and anti-bacterial. Some people use it as a natural foundation to get that healthy glow. Once again I have only scratched the surface on this subject but I encourage you to do more research on your own. I'd love for you to share your findings in the comments.