Freely vs. Free

As a Massage Therapist I know this influences my practice... 

Today, after receiving acupuncture during my donation based shift, a patient asked me why I was “giving away” such amazing treatments for free. Don’t you value your skills? She asked. Don’t you want to demand that others value your skills too? Don’t you want them to show you respect by paying you what you are worth? Then she saw my perplexed expression and then added, oh, I see you are trying to fix the world. You are trying to help people in need because they are lacking. That is good of you. She waited for a response but I was speechless. There was so much off in what she said to me that I didn’t know where to start, so instead, I tipped my head slightly as to nod. She smiled, deposited $5 into our money box and left. I’ve been thinking about what she said ever since.

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Lavender Aromatherapy Eases PMS

Inhaling lavender essential oil for 10 minutes resulted in a significant improvement in parasympathetic nervous system activity among women with mild to moderate premenstrual symptoms and significantly decreased two common premenstrual symptoms, depression-dejection and confusion, according to recent research.

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Reflexology, aromatherapy, hydrotherapy: A guide to some alternative therapies

You might not think to call a balneotherapist when your face breaks out or a reflexologist when asthma flares. But alternative medical practices, no matter how weird they might seem, are gaining traction.

“Alternative therapy” refers to any health treatment not standard in Western medical practice. Beyond that, complementary and alternative therapies are difficult to define, largely because the field is so diverse: It encompasses diet and exercise changes, hypnosis, chiropractic adjustment and poking needles into your skin (a.k.a. acupuncture). Technically, “alternative” treatments are used in place of conventional medicine; when used alongside standard medical practices, alternative approaches are referred to as “complementary” medicine.

Read full story from Washington Post

Aromatherapy Can Help Reduce Anxiety

Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils to support physical health and well-being. Essential oils carry biologically active volatile compounds of flowers and plants in a highly concentrated form. They are, in many ways, the essence of the plant and can provide therapeutic benefits in very small amounts.

Read full story from The Epoch Times

Replace Your Toxic Dryer Sheets

For a while now I have been looking for a way to get that fresh out of the dryer smell without using toxic dryer sheets. I won't go into all of the reasons why commercial dryer sheets are awful for our homes and the environment, but you can read more here 

I tried out a few options and I found that I like these felted wool dryer balls from Bog Berry:

They are very easy to use, require no maintenance, and seem to last indefinitely! Dryer balls can reduce your drying time and of course they work beautifully with essential oils! My favorite is Evergreen Woodland Blend, but you can use any essential oil that you like. 

I generally use 5 drops of oil on a few of the balls for a total of 10-15. Avoid think resinous oils such as pure cedarwood so that your dryer balls dont develop stains. I also tend to avaid pure citrus oils because the scent tends to fade very quickly- even though they smell wonderfull for a little while. These are a few of my favorite combinations:

Fir 5 drops

Peppermint 5 drops

Geranium 5 drops

Cypress 5 drops

Pine 2 drops

Fir 3 drops

Eucalyptus 5 drops

Cypress 5 drops

Eucalyptus 5 drops

Fir 10 drops

Lemon 5 drops

I would love to know what your favorite blend is!

Holiday Head Start

We are already itching to put up the Christmas tree- although I think that this early in November is kind of pushing it...

Here is a quick holiday blend that you can use as a room mist or in a diffuser to get an early start for that holiday mood without having to get the tree up just yet!

Makes 5ml
Cedarwood 40 drops
Fir  30 drops
Pine 25 drops
Spruce 15 drops
Juniper 10 drops

You can use this blend in any diffuser or for a room mist use 20 drops for each ounce of distilled water.
Enjoy!

DIY Sugar Scrub Recipe

Winter is upon us- and even here in Florida the dry weather quickly begins to wreak havoc on the skin. Within a few weeks my arms and legs is dry and in serious need of moisture- and while I always take time to put extra moisturizer on my face- sadly the rest of my body often goes unattended.

I have an easy and quick remedy that you can make from ingredients that are already in your pantry. I started using salt and sugar scrubs on my son to help with the eczema on his calves. I found that exfoliating the dead skin helped his skin absorb more moisture and kept his eczema under control without anti-inflammatory creams. I compare this effect to trying to fertilize a lawn that is covered with dry leaves. The nutrients just can’t get through until all of those dead leaves are out of the way…

An added benefit is that salt and sugar scrubs are generally made with rich oils and butters that trap vital moisture and hold it close to the skin- and it isn’t necessary to follow up with a moisturizer. So you have the cleansing and exfoliating step and moisturizer step in one!

I always make my sugar scrubs with some carrier oil, but I also add just a little bit of a rich butter to give the scrub a whipped “fluffy” texture rather than a crumbly one. You can use any butter that you have on hand… as long as it is soft at room temperature. Hard butters like pure Cocoa Butter are just too hard to mix. My favorite is mango butter, but shea butter works great, as well.

Here is the basic recipe:

Fill the container you plan to use to the rim with either epsom salts or raw turbinado or demerara sugar. When you add your oils this will shrink and it will fit into the jar. I recommend glass because plastic can react with essential oils.

Pour this into a bowl that is large enough to easily mix in.

Add ½ Tablespoon of vegetable butter for every 8 oz(by volume) of salt or sugar.

Add 3 Tablespoons of carrier oil such as fractionated coconut, sweet almond, or apricot kernel. Raw virgin coconut and olive oil are also great to use. Once these two tablespoons are mixed thoroughly with the other ingredients you can add more oil a tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency

Add 25-30 drops of essential oils. You can start with a single

essential oil, such as lavender, or add you favorite blend. One of my favorites is 8 drops of peppermint and 20 drops of lavender. Use caution with citrus oils because they can increase the skin’s sensitivity to the sun, never add more than a couple of drops.

Mix this thoroughly with either a spoon or if you would like a fluffier scrub you can use a hand-held mixer.

This simple recipe makes enough scrub to last you a few weeks, and as long as there is no water in the jar the shelf life should easily be 4 months.

I use this in my bath once or twice a week. I usually scrub as I am getting in and then soak in the healing oils and butters. Scrubs also work just fine in the shower. In either case it isn’t necessary to wash with soap afterwards unless you feel like you need to!

Here’s to relaxation and healthy skin!