Supernatural Botanicals

Neurologist have found that the brain cannot decipher between actually doing something that makes you happy or just thinking about it.  And that’s good news if you aren’t particularly happy with _______ (insert any pain-in-the-tail item here).  If you are not in your sweet spot in life, then imagine yourself being there. 

When you open yourself up and think deeply, ask yourself what it is that you’d do or have if failure was not an option.  A new house, a new relationship, a new body shape, a masters degree?  What do you want, specifically?  Think about how you you’d decorate your new house.  Think about the clothes you’ll wear with your new body.  Think about how you want to be treated in your next relationship.  Imagine it.  Get into the moment of it. 

You become your thoughts.  Whatever it is that you think of all day, that’s what you’ll bring into your life.  If you are thinking about bills, about being late to work, about how bad work is once you get there, and about how much weight you’ve gained….this is the energy your are providing for your brain.  Luckily, the exact opposite works, too.  Think about routes of cash flowing into your life.  Think about your ability to land a better job where you can use your talents better.  Think about how responsible you are and how you are always on time.  Positive energy works, and it works every single time.   Think yourself into a better state of mind, and therefore, a better overall life.  There’s nothing wrong with faking it until you make it!

Are you critically hard on yourself when you feel like you haven’t done enough, produced enough, given enough of yourself to your life and career?  Is your knee-jerk reaction to criticize yourself into shame, or do you conversely build yourself up for a comeback?  If you picked the latter, researchers think you’re on to something.   Researchers found that people think they need to be self-critical to motivate themselves, but research shows the opposite is true.  Women who go easier on themselves are more likely to pick themselves back up again more quickly after disappointment and give it another go.  Self-critical people take far longer, as they are constantly fighting an internal dialogue of “you’re not enough”.

Let it go.  Be easier on yourself.  It helps you to come back quicker, and in general, makes you a happier, more content person.

As it turns out, meditation does more than relax the mind and body, it also kicks pain to the curb.  Wake Forest University School of Medicine confirms what we meditation-enthusiasts have known for years…that many of the body’s problems can be alleviated by meditation.  They concluded in a recent study that people who had a pain-inducing heating device placed on their legs were able to reduce the hurt by 40%, simply by meditating.  In comparison, morphine only decreases pain by about 25%.

Subjects in the study used the “focused attention” technique.  You can achieve this by closing your eyes, breathing through your nose, and concentrating on the air coming in and going out.  The more you practice, the better it works.  It also sharpens your focus, lowers your blood pressure, and zaps stress.

Peppermint has been found to be an incredible multitasker.  One of his many uses is a stress reliever.  Like most other essential oils, the aroma of peppermint is able to provide relief from stress, depression and mental exhaustion due to its refreshing nature. It is also effective against anxiety and restlessness.  Peppermint essential oil is available at natural food stores and most vitamin/fitness stores.

Did you know that anxiety causes an upsurge in stress hormones that can worsen acne or other skin conditions?

If you skin is prone to breakouts and rashes, it’s time to check your body/mind/soul meter.

It’s scientifically proven that stress can cause skin eruptions and even make you susceptible to deadly  diseases.

If this is happening to you, put yourself on your to-do list and get serious about about having some downtime doing something that relaxes you (yoga or Pilates is so good for this.)  After all, your beauty is at risk here, girlfriend.

Finally, Friday is here which is code for the beginning of the weekend and “mandatory downtime”.   Take some time to relax.  Take some time for a facial.  Take some time for a bubble bath.  Take some time to rearrange your shoe closet.  Take some time to do an hour of yoga.  But most of all, make sure you melt into your down time so you can decompress and energize.  That’s what weekends are for, girl! 

Your body benefits greatly just by the simple act of deep breathing.  A slow, controlled breath will not only soothe the central nervous system to make  you more relaxed, but also helps your body in these ways:

• Lowers blood pressure
• Relaxes muscles
• Helps weight loss
• Increases energy
• Calms the mind
• Aids sleep
• Fights wrinkles
• Slows heart rate
• Aids in digestion
• Boosts the lymphatic system (which carries toxins away from the cells)

A morning bath can make you feel revitalized. Use a stimulating essential oil such as rosemary or grapefruit. 

Don’t stay in the tub too long, as an ultra-long bath strains your circulation and hot water dissolves your skin’s natural lipids. There is a definite correlation between bath temperatures, duration of soak and the mood your bath leaves you in.

REFRESHING
77 degrees F to 86 degrees F – Duration 10 minutes

RELAXING
98 degrees F to 102 degrees F – Duration 15-20 minutes

THERAPEUTIC
102 degrees F to 104 degrees F – Duration 10-30 minutes. To treat a cold or induce sweating.

Did you know that simple old-school hand-stands like these are super-beneficial for you?   Hand-stands are fantastic to strengthen your arms, shoulders, and wrists.  Once you get comfortable with hand-stands, you can go further into the move by bending your elbows and attempting to lower your forehead to the floor.  It also helps stretch the abdomen and improves one’s concentration, coordination and balance.  Through focused effort, it helps calm down the brain thereby helping relieve stress and tension and mild depression through the meditative effort involved.  When you feel like you have midday “fuzzy-brain”, where you’ve been over-stimulated and cannot focus, try doing a hand-stand to alleviate stress and get blood flowing to your brain again.  Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a gymnast to attempt a hand-stand.  Use a wall to put your feet against in the beginning.  As time goes on, you can inch away from the wall.  And as you do, you’ll be building your abdominal muscles (try it now…you’ll feel it instantly.)  When I’m feeling unfocused and overloaded with stress, I simply do a hand-stand for a minute or two to regroup and get my mind flowing again.  The stretch in the shoulders, back and arms feels so good.  And talk about instant results…you feel it immediately.

If you feel overwhelmed and stressed on a regular basis, there’s no need to go running for the Prozac.  Your body has a built in mechanism that de-stresses you without pharmaceuticals.  Did you know that deep breathing (at least five seconds in, and five seconds out) can slow your central nervous system and help wash calm over your body and mind?  Simply breathing in and out slowly, with intent, for several minutes does wonders to calm the central nervous system.  Skip the drugs and utilize what your body already has…maybe you just haven’t tapped into yet?