essential oils - Manage Stress | Increase Energy |Simple Solutions | Rommy Kirby, Holistic Health Coach, Yoga Personal Trainer, Essential Oil Educator

Balancing Your Chakras with Essential Oils

Rommy Kirby — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 21:38:46 +0000

The post Balancing Your Chakras with Essential Oils first appeared on Manage Stress | Increase Energy |Simple Solutions | Rommy Kirby, Holistic Health Coach, Yoga Personal Trainer, Essential Oil Educator.

Dr. Pappas, the Oil Science Guy

Rommy Kirby — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 22:29:16 +0000

I didn’t take chemistry in high school because the element chart looked like hieroglyphics and totally scared me.

In fact, I didn’t really get excited about science until I was out of school and raising my children.

Now, I study the science of yoga, Ayurveda and essential oils. I’ve become a bit of a geek.

There aren’t a lot of public videos on the science of essential oils, so I wanted to share this with you. It’s from one of my favorite scientist, Dr. Robert Pappas, the world leader in essential oil chemistry.

Think your nose knows?

Nope.

There are actually professional sniffers that cannot tell the difference between ‘high quality’ synthetic scents and pure, unadulterated aromatic essential oils.

Also, lavender grown in Provence, France smells different than lavender grown in Tennessee.

The quality is only assured with the testing.

It’s important to be aware of the quality of the oils you are using.

That’s where Dr. Pappas comes in. He has studied the chemistry of essential virtually his entire adult life. He is the world’s foremost authority on essential oil chemistry.

Enjoy and share with your friends!!!

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Immune Boosting Strategy

Rommy Kirby — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 21:17:55 +0000

Who needs scary movies anymore?

I know I don’t, as a recovered Germaphobe, all I have to do is turn on the news and BAM…niggling little fears of real life, creepy, crawly unseen threats start gnawing on my ‘oM shanti’ state of mind.

While it can get really scary out there, there is a lot we can personally do to boost our immune system and support our body’s natural “Threat Protection” troops as our first line of defense.

We may still catch a few bugs, but our resiliency to them and our ability to recover will dramatically increase.

This is what I do when I feel that tell-tale tickle in the throat, general achey-ness or fatigue…

Become Aware ~ First I notice that I am not feeling well. I might notice that I’m getting tired faster, feel grumpy, stiff, or stuffy and congested. Because I know that my body never ever lies, it’s a great source of information.

So the next time you tune in and notice something is not just right, celebrate. Yep, listening to your body is one of the strongest things you can do for your health and happiness. You know your body better than anyone, even your doctor, so pay attention to it and treat it right.

Think Positive ~ Then I consciously choose to stay well . Do you remember that tag line, “a mind is a terrible thing to waste”? Well, it even more true when it comes to the state of health you want to enjoy. When our body speaks to us through sensations or symptoms we either a see this as a choice to stay as well as possible or we make a choice for the status quo.

Be Proactive ~ Then I take action. When my I feel something coming on, I start the day lots of H2O-bviously Better Skin (water), even more than usual, and follow that with a power breakfast of greens and protein. I get my essential oils out, the Lemon and a synergistic essential oil Protective Blend. I use the Lemon throughout the day for it’s natural detoxifying quality and I drop a few drops of Protective Blend in the back of my throat every 2 hours because it’s super high in anti-oxidants..

I eat only foods that I know would support my body and stay away from the white dietary devils, sugar, flour, and processed dairy. Bone broth is one of my favorite healing foods because it’s soothing, nourishing, warm and hydrating.

I also go into active-inaction. I rest and allow myself to be quiet and still. I take a nourishing bath with Essential Oils and Dead Sea Salts. I keep warm and don’t allow myself to get chilled feet or hands. I don’t rush to do anything, even if it takes all day, that is okay by me cause I am T-I-R-E-D. It takes a lot of energy to for the body to heal and even more to ward off microbial treats. If at all possible, I spend time cuddling with my hubby. (bonus hint here – cuddling boosts your immunity).

When you know that life is going to be more stressful…like that upcoming wedding, adult kids move back or parents in need of parenting, a sick spouse, lots of travel, moving house or a job change…be sure that you tune in to what your body is saying. Yes, it’s a balancing act and balance is dynamic.

Balance is fluid, supple, agile and it shifts in response to the circumstance…stiff, static and rigid balance, sweet one, there really is no such a thing.

Tell me…

Have you been ‘too busy’ and ignored your body only to end up sick? Do you have a Super Self Care tip to share with me? Comment below, you just might inspire someone!

Email me to learn about the resources I use and recommend.

resources

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21078173

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My Desert Island Oil

Rommy Kirby — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 19:13:15 +0000

I’ve been using essential oils since 2005

I use them to clean my home and to care for my body safely so I could improve my life and reduce my body’s toxic load. At that time, there were no online schools easily accessible and if there were, I really wasn’t healthy enough to a lot of electronic searching, much less retain much of the science heavy courses available.

I wanted practical, simple, and effective ways to use essential oils for my well-being.

So I started reading, learning from others, and experiencing the effects of the oils for my body.

I kept hearing everyone talk about Lavender Essential Oil and how they regarded it as an integral part of their essential oil kit, so much so that they would not leave the house without it.

I could not stand the smell of Lavender. But you know what, I had actually never smelled pure Lavender Essential Oil, I have been smelling synthetic fragrance oils. No wonder I didn’t like the sticky sweet smell I thought was lavender.

Now that I have become aware of the difference between a pure, safe, and unadulterated essential oi synthesized or inferior essential oil, Lavender Essential Oil has become my Desert Island Oil. It is always in my purse, I keep it on my kitchen counter, by my bed and in my bathroom. I use it for everything, soothing savage stress, as skin calmer, pest control and to ease jangled nerves. It’s the first thing I reach for when I feel occasional aches and to relieve tension, whether it’s in my head, muscles, or on my skin.

Want to see a great video about Lavender essential oil?

Send me an email and I will get that right to you.

Are you a science geek? You can learn more here…

PubMed is a great place to learn more about the many ways Lavender essential oil can be used.

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Quick easy, smell good, non-toxic sun protection

Rommy Kirby — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 19:57:46 +0000

It was Labor Day weekend, we were in Beverly Hills celebrating a milestone with friends.

I was so excited to be in one of the most beautiful and glamorous zip codes, the land of swimming pools and movie stars, but hubby was lamenting missing the first game of the University of Tennessee football season. He is HUGE college football fan!

Then one of our friends popped up with AMAZING seats to the USC game; Field Suite seats!

But I had not packed football stadium attire or, yikes, sunscreen. Luckily though, I had put my favorite, beauty and anti-aging essential oil blend in my purse for the flight out.

That’s the really spectacular thing about essential oils, they are so versatile.

This particular blend is loaded with luscious skin loving oils like Frankincense, Sandalwood, Lavender, Myrrh, Helichrysum, and Rose.

Fun on the sidelines, I added some peppermint essential oil to the complementary pink water sprayer to cool everyone!

As we sat enjoying the action on the field…

okay, I was really checking out the celebrities around us, I started thinking about what the harsh LA sun was doing to our skin. We didn’t bring sunscreen and while sunscreen was graciously provided to each suite, it was the typical toxic stuff I don’t want to put on the largest organ of our bodies.

That’s when I remembered that I had carried my favorite blend in my purse for our flight. I took it out and started applying to my skin, my shoulders, nose, ears and decollete. Then on my fair skinned, red headed hubby.

Guess what…

In spite of the sun beating straight down onto our faces, our skin looked and felt amazing!

This little bottle of oily goodness really takes care of the skin. It’s formulated to nourish and promote a healthy response in the skin. Supporting skin health at the cellular level, these essential oils sustain smoother, more radiant and youthful skin.

Reduces the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles
Helps sustain smoother, more radiant, and youthful-looking skin.
Supports skin at the cellular level

I was so happy that I was able to use my Anti-aging blend to keep my skin healthy.

If you want to know more about essential oils, drop me an email.

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Back to School With Ease

Rommy Kirby — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 18:00:53 +0000

Heading back to school is exciting!

There are new pencils, notebooks, pens and friends to make. But for some, there is anxiety because of ‘performance’ issues.

Being able to focus during the school day plays an important role in how our children experience school.

If they are having difficulty focusing, chances are they are disrupting the class room, I did. During the first grade, I was put in an isolation box to keep me from talking to my neighbors. It was a big refrigerator box turned on end with only side cut away so I could not look around and see the rest of the class.

from Freeimages.com

If they aren’t disruptive, which I learned not to be, they may be day dreaming, like I did. Their teacher will ask them a question pulling them out of their reverie, and suddenly, their classmates will snicker because of the stammering and incorrect response. That’s what happened to me and how I learned the skill of listening to two conversations at once. (this skill is really great if you want to be a spy, but generally kind of useless when you want to be fully engaged)

But focusing issues don’t stop when we grow up.

Recently, a friend of mine came home from university and shared with me how he had tried Adderall. He told me he liked the way he could think clearly and focus, but didn’t like the way he felt. He knew I was into alternative things and asked if there was something I could recommend. I gave him my focus blend of essential oils to try. He didn’t like the smell, so I told him to put it on his feet then put his shoes and socks on.

Guess what? He used it and was able to complete a research paper in one sitting with out irritability and jitters. Now, it’s his go to when he wants to have better focus and improved creativity.

There is a better way, a safer, more natural way to achieve better focus.

Follow these steps if you want to get back to learning instead of back to struggling this fall.

First, eat to feed the brain. Eat healthy fats. By mass, the brain is 60% fat. No fat and low fat diets and foods starve the brain.

Second, heal your gut. There are multiple neuro transmitters produced in our digestive tract. Have you ever tried to really focus when your belly is upset? Pretty impossible, right?

Third, set yourself (or your child) up for success. Clear your environment of clutter and noise. Turn off the TV. Instead, play music without lyrics.

Forth, use essential oils. Essential oils like lemon, lavender, lemongrass, peppermint, sandalwood and the focus blend mentioned in the video below support the brains ability to settle or calm for optimal processing and function.

Ready to think better? Send me an email, let me help you find your solution.

tell me…

Were you a day dreamer? Is your child struggling to engage in school? What have you done that works?

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Healthy Legacy – Part 2, Reduce Your Toxic Load

Rommy Kirby — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 22:07:48 +0000

Shockingly, for most Westerners, the most toxic part of our day is before we eat breakfast, during our morning shower.

Pin me!

When we shower, we use municipal water that is loaded with chemicals to make the water “safe” for drinking.

We slide into a nice hot shower and our skin pores open wide and say “ahh” to things like chlorine, herbicides, pesticides and pharmaceutical drugs. On top of that, we use synthetic, toxic chemicals in our hair care, skin care and even our dental products.

Then adding insult to injury, we climb into our car or onto a train for the morning commute and once more we are bombarded by chemicals.

It’s enough to make you want to stay under the covers because…

Many of the chemicals we breathe in and slather on can not be recognized or metabolized by our body. Unchecked, this can lead to Toxic Burden.

A key factor in reaching optimal health, longevity and weight control is prevention by not doing the unhealthy things. On a physical level, this includes reducing our toxic load in order to support optimal immunity, organ health and cellular function so that we are more resilient to stress and inflammation.

The three easiest areas to reduce daily toxins are

food, personal care and cleaning products.

When it comes to food, think CLEAN.

It’s great to eat right, begin now to upgrade your food choices. Look for…

Grass Fed, Grass Finished – the only way you can get better is if you raise your own herd.
No Hormone or Anti-biotics – there is a saying, you are what you eat eats. Some scientists think that rampant hormone use is what is causing such high numbers of reproductive disorders, like man boobs and early onset puberty.
Organic, Non-GMO and Local – check out your local farmers market, join a CSA or even grow your own.

When it comes to skin and hair care, think FREE.

Remove toxic skin and hair care products from your home.
Look for and choose products that are free of the chemicals listed in the image at the top. I use a fluoride free, essential oil based toothpaste, skin and hair care.
Subscribe to EWG, Environment Working Group, newsletter. This is a secret weapon for reducing daily toxic burden.

When it comes cleaning the house, think GREEN.

All it takes is a few simple items and spectacular essential oils and you will have the cleanest, best smelling and healthiest home on the block.

Photo Credit: Bigstock 60927968

Because I’ve used essential oils since 2005 for my health, skin, and home care, I only use and recommend pure, certified, and therapeutic essential oils. Send me an email to get my Easy DIY NON Toxic Home Care Recipe Tip Sheet

Leaving a healthy legacy is more important than having a healthy legacy.

Make an intention to leave a healthy legacy, regardless of the legacy passed to you. Because as we build a legacy for optimal health, through our actions we become healthier by modeling healthy choices for our family, children and community. We can actually undo and allow the body to restore a great deal of wellness just by changing our actions.

There are three fundamental steps for creating a healthier, more vibrant you so you will have a healthy legacy.

Remember, the foundation of optimal health and wellness begins with the food we eat.

Proper food, aka fuel, for our body allows us to let go of insane, grueling workouts so we can exercise appropriately, in order to maintain a healthy weight.

The essential key to anti-aging, longevity and vitality is appropriate sleep and rest. It is when we sleep that our cells repair, our energy restores and our organs rejuvenate.

The forth step, reducing your toxic load, is a powerful way to change the world because you are showing your family, children and friends a gentler, more effective and sustainable way to live.

Tell me…

What simple, easy action will you take this week to reduce your toxic load?

Links and resources.

Essential Oils http://rommykirby.com/essential-oils/
Free Essential Oil Handbook r ommykirby.myoilproducts.com/
Local Harvest http://localharvest.org/
Environmental Working Group http://www.ewg.org/

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Protected: Do your supplements pass the smell test?

Rommy Kirby — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 21:35:11 +0000

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Simple Strategy to Stay Healthy

Rommy Kirby — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 20:47:05 +0000

Just because everyone else in the house or at work has the crud doesn’t mean that you have to join them in their misery. To be honest, staying well when everyone around you is sick is a totally doable if you know what to do.

Over the Christmas holidays, my house seemed to be ground zero…

One daughter came home with a cough and sore throat, the other daughter complained of fatigue and sore throat, my nephew actually had strep and my hubby…my poor hubby was the sickest he has ever been in his adult life.

And I…well I managed to stay healthy using this simple strategy.

Staying well in the face of illness doesn’t take monumental effort but it does take determined focus and intention.

Start using this strategy now so that when everyone around you is dropping like flies with wicked colds and nasty flu, you can stay healthy.

This is exactly what I did to stay well…and I slept with one very sick, feverish, chill shaking, gnarly coughing machine.

Stay healthy strategy…

Make sure you get 7-8 hours of sleep. When you sleep your body is repairing itself. That’s why when you are sick, all you want to do is sleep. Sleep is THE most productive thing you can do to get well.

Stress happens. We all have stress! It’s how we process it and perceive that makes the difference. Remember, nothing lasts forever, the boss will get over it, the kids will get better, the cold and virus will go away. Give yourself at least 5 minutes a day of focusing on your breath or move your body in a meditative way to increase your stress resiliency.

If you do feel something coming on…go into rest mode. This means if it isn’t necessary to life support for yourself or your family, don’t do it. You have a sacred obligation to take care of yourself.

Stay hydrated. I know I say this all the time, but your cells need water to do their job well.

If you do feel something coming on…start right now to flush your body with hydration. This will also boost your mental power so that you can make better health decisions. It will help your body to process out virus and bacteria that may not have sunk their claws into you…yet.

I add a drop of Lemon, Lime and Grapefruit essential oil to my water when I know that my immune system is challenged.

Start eating more citrus fruits and drinking fresh juices to up your vitamin C levels. I recommend Just Cranberry from R.W. Knudsen. Here’s a recipe.

Be sure that your vitamin D levels remain optimal. A study done in 2010 shows that Vitamin D is an effective strategy against influenza. According to Dr. Mercola, optimal levels are therapeutic at 50-70 ng/ml year-round.

Get cultured. Stop eating sugar and start eating fermented foods with live cultures. These live cultures are full of beneficial bacteria that will fight harmful bacteria. Stack your team and populate your gut with them. My go to’s are, Inner Eco Original Coconut Water Kefir and Farmhouse Culture.

Studies have shown that cultured and fermented foods reduce fever, coughing, runny nose and antibiotic use in children. Just think what it will do for you.

Eating your probiotics is favorable to supplementing because bacteria in fermented and cultured foods will colonize your the lining of your digestive tract with more diverse strains of beneficial bacteria. BONUS – makes for great skin!

Basics that you know but probably over look when stressed and caring for others…

Wash your hands more often. Stop using that antibacterial soap because it’s killing the good bacteria on your skin as well. I use an Essential Oil Based Foaming Hand Wash in my home and in my yoga studio.

Take high quality animal based Omega-3 Fats. Good for the brain and for your immunity. I’ve been using a particular omega for a while now and noticed a sharp decline in illness, migraine and hot flash.

Use natural immune support. Oregano, melaleuca and thyme are just a few that will support your immunity against those tiny microscopic villains of illness. When everyone around me is sick, when they get essential oil application, I get essential oil application. Always.

Check out this video to see how awesome your body is at chasing down and eliminating those nasty villains.

Staying healthy and well is not rocket science, complex or expensive, but getting well can be time consuming, financially draining and difficult.

Tell me…

What 1 strategy from this article do you want to start doing to help you stay well? Already do these things…share your tip below.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/01/06/flu-attack.aspx#_edn6

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Leyer+G+Pediatrics

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Essential Hot Cocoa

Rommy Kirby — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 18:27:20 +0000

There is just something yummy and cheerful about a cup of hot cocoa on a cold winter day!

Here’s how I like to enjoy mine…

courtesy of doTERRA blog

Ingredients

1 cup water

5 tsp. cocoa powder

2 teaspoons Coconut Sugar (adjust to desired sweetness)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups coconut milk

Essential Oils to Flavor (I add a drop of the oil to my coconut sugar then add the sugar to my other ingredients)

Cinnamon Bark

Peppermint

Wild Orange

Put it together…

1 – Measure dry ingredients into a bowl.

2 – Heat water in saucepan on stove

3 – Add dry ingredients and stir until smooth

4 – Add Coconut Milk and heat until simmering

5 – Pour into warm mugs

6 – Enjoy!!!

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Sleep well, wake refreshed and happy

Rommy Kirby — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 20:43:14 +0000

I’ve struggled with sleep most of my life.

When I was a little girl I hated naps and bed time.

My child mind told me that if I slept I would miss something, anything. Missing anything meant I was missing fun.

My eyes would just not stay closed, I would wake up really early and watch the shadows in the corners change as the light peeked through the window.

I remember one day in particular when my sister and I were sent to nap. Earlier that day, my 5 year old brain plotted a way of getting out of nap time.

I dragged a saw horse across the back yard and put it under our bedroom window.

After a lunch of peanut butter sandwich and chicken noodle soup, we were shuffled off for a nap. I’m pretty sure I had a sly grin on my face because even today, my face reveals more than I know.

We were tucked in and the door shut. My sister began arguing with me over my plan. But we were as quiet as a 4 and 5 year old can be…ever heard a 4 and 5 year old whisper?

I insisted that we were going out the window. She in good second sister form started to not come at all, but rather she was going to tell on ME. Somehow, I got her to put both her feet out the window, onto the saw horse and a quick hop to the ground.

Out the window we went.

We sneaked around the house and skittered across the street into the English woods on a grand adventure full of magic and myth.

We didn’t get caught the first time, not even the second time, but we did eventually get caught.

While I still recall the fun of finding a stable full of dairy cows and thrill of a gypsy (okay, maybe it was a hobo) campsite. I also remember the trouncing my tiny heiny took for scaring the pants off my parents.

To this day, I still wonder what’s happening when my eyes are closed and what grand things are going on that I’m not doing. When I wake up in the pre-dawn light, it’s very hard to stay in bed.

But…I have learned that Sleeping Beauty was on to something…remember, she awoke still looking like the teenager? That sleep has a magical (not really, it’s all science) effect on the body and the mind.

Sleep is the time when the mind resets and runs something like a de-frag program on a computer. It sorts through the days happenings and thoughts processing them into hopefully usable memories or ideas.

Sleep is when the body restores. Our body needs to rest. Even though every single cell in our body is different from the cells we were born with, just like a baby cannot thrive with sleep, we cant either.

Sleep is when the body balances hormones and releases excess hormonal waste (major simplification). Ever wonder why you are working out, eating all the right things and still have belly fat? Look at your sleep habits. Want to keep the belly fat? Keep your sleep habits. Want to release the belly fat? Upgrade your sleep habits.

Sleep is also important for regulating our vitality inducing hormones as well as our moods. Have you ever gone to bed with something heavy on your mind only to wake up with the realization that it isn’t as bad as you thought?

Sleep, whether good or bad will affect your weight, your skin, and your immunity to nasty bacteria, viruses and grumpy people. Want to get sick quick? Cut back on your sleep. Want to be mean to the meanies? Cut back on your sleep and your sweet loving disposition will disappear allowing you to feel justified to be mean and get even.

So whats a wide eyed, radiant optimal health seeker to do?

It’s simple really.

I’ll give you a hint…the very same thing you do to help an infant fall and stay asleep.

Have a schedule and stick to it. Yes, it really does a body good to go to sleep at the same time every night. Set a time that you will be in bed with no electronic distractions and put it in your calender. If it isn’t scheduled, it isn’t important to you. Seriously, if sleep is important to you, schedule it.

Did you know the National Sleep Foundation suggests that school age children get 10-11 hours of sleep daily, while teens do best with 8.5-10 hours and adults need 7-9 hours?

Create a sleep routine. I call it a ritual because the intention is to promote health and vitality in my body, my soul’s house. Keep it simple.

Did you know that lack of sufficient and quality sleep has been directly related to weight gain and mental impairment in both adults and children?

Dim the lights at least 45 minutes before bedtime. This helps your hormonal system to reset itself.

Turn off electronics unless you are listening to soothing music. Do not go to bed with your smart phone, iPad or TV remote!

Use soothing essential oils like Calming Blend or Lavender. Both are highly effective in promoting deep relaxation without groggy side effects.

Rub a drop on your feet, on your belly, on your forehead and the back of your neck for really great sleep. Put a drop on your pillow. I like to place 4- 8 drops in a cup of Epsom salt then add to my bath water for those evenings when I’m really wound up or over tired.

Be sure your room is dark, dark, dark or use a sleep mask. You know that light shining from your digital clock? It interrupts the hormonal changes your body needs to experience deep restful sleep.

Use a fan or get a sleep sound machine to block out noises that will interrupt your sleep. This is the one I use Marpac Dohm-DS Dual Speed Sound Conditioner. If your bed partner snores…get ear plugs.

Exercise appropriately. There are some new studies showing that the wrong kind of exercise will inhibit deep sleep and thereby, undoes all that good you thought you were doing. Try this video to unwind from a long day and get deep restful sleep.

Supplement your diet with high value supplements. Even if, like me, you juice, eat clean, local, whole foods 80% of the time, our food supply is deficient in nutrients. Our bodies are under tremendous stress and need the support. Our brains need optimal nourishment to regulate our hormones so we can sleep. Want to know which supplements I use and suggest to my clients? Send me an email and I’ll let you know.

Get out of bed at the same time every morning. You can always go back to bed if you want. Getting up at the same time every morning will help to reset your circadian (internal sleep) rhythms.

Tell me…

How do you feel when you wake up in the morning? Are you happy, ready to go and excited for the day? Do you have a good sleep tip to share, what is it?

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Simple, Immune Boosting & Skin Nourishing Detox Tip

Rommy Kirby — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 15:05:58 +0000

You know how when the weather changes, and your skin gets drab, ashy and flaky?

Do you know why that happens?

General wisdom says it’s because that air forced through the vents is dry. Dry air moving across the skin dries it in the same way that air moving across a lake causes evaporation.

Makes sense, right? It did to me until I started studying alternative health care like Ayurveda and nutrition. The explanation is true, at least partially.

There is a more colorful story than that…

According to Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, our bodies move in concert with nature. Like it or not, our bodies experience weather changes, changes with the moon and sun cycles and changes of the seasons.

Take a moment, think about how stiff you felt last time there was a dramatic change in temperature or the restless energy you had on that sleepless full moon night.

That was your body responding to the cycles and shifts of nature. Your body is it’s own ecosystem within the greater ecosystem of nature.

To get a better idea of what is happening, let’s take a basic look at what nature does as she swings, shifts and slides from season to season. (science geek warning – this is a major over simplification!)

As summer becomes autumn, nature begins to let go of her green. The leaves dry and fall away.

Autumn’s wind blows the leaves until they blanket the ground spreading future nourishment.

Winter’s cold, damp days break down the leaves creating new soil.

Spring pulls the nutrients up to create buds, flowers, and seeds.

Spring blossoms float away to reveal summer’s supple bounty of fruits and vegetables.

Start to think of your body as an ecosystem with rhythms that flow in harmony with nature.

Think of it this way, if the atmosphere is the biggest organ of nature, then your skin is the largest organ of your personal ecosystem.

The big difference is that we tend to protect ourselves, our skin, from the elements of blowing wind, bitter cold and intense heat. The trick, then, is for us to stay in harmony with the cycles of nature so we can enjoy optimal health or even regain lost health.

The flaky, dry, and ashy skin needs to be sloughed off. The longer we experience life, the less we our skin naturally releases the dried dead skin cells.

This one, simple, and ancient tip will help your skin look more radiant, luscious. It will boost your immunity and cellular turnover, perhaps even help get rid of cellulite.

Dry (Skin) Brushing

Skin brush for supple healthy skin.

Your lymph system lives under the surface of your skin. It is responsible for cleaning the body of toxins and transporting white blood cells. You have more lymph fluid in your body than blood, but it doesn’t have a pump.

Because your lymph channels are thinner than a hair, to manipulate your lymph system, use a gentle touch and a soft brush.

Though it may sound weird, skin brushing is an ancient technique, used in many cultures for hygiene and optimal health.

Here’s how…

First, get a skin brush. I use the brushes in the picture. I took the handles off the softest back brushes I could find. You don’t need two brushes, I just like having one in each hand, one brush is all you need.

Remember that your lymph channels are very thin, use a light, soft touch.
Using a dry brush on dry skin, start at the top of your body, the neck.
Brush the palms of your hands, the inside and outside of your arms.
Be sure to brush your arm pits as well, (lots of luscious lymph nodes there).
You can gently brush your breasts in circular direction, but be sure to avoid the nipples.
Always brush towards your heart. Brush every bit of skin you can reach, remembering to move towards the heart.
When you get below the heart, move the brush in an upwards direction.
On your belly, move in a clockwise direction.
Spend a little extra time on those areas that look stagnate or have a bit more cellulite.
Then take a wonderful shower or detox bath.
Drink lots of water!

How often and when to Dry Brush?

At the minimum, with every change of season.

At the beginning, middle, and end of every cleanse or detox.

If you want to boost your immunity, at least once a month. Choose to do it around the moon cycles, like every full or new moon.

If you want more radiant, supple skin, once a week.

Benefits my clients see…

Increased immunity. (oo-la-la! healthy is the new sexy!)
Decreased appearance of cellulite. (who doesn’t want that)
Increase appreciation for your body beautiful, your soul house. (what you appreciate, appreciates)
Decreased stress. (you can be radically radiant)
Supple younger looking skin. (without toxic chemical creams)

My personal tip…

I learned from Nadine Artemis, holistic natural skin guru, to put a drop of essential oil in the palm of my hand and run the brush through it before starting.

This takes the dry skin brushing in the realms of an artful self care ritual.

I like to use, Lavender and Frankincense primarily, but will sometimes use Sandalwood, Bergomot or Ylang Ylang depending on my mood.

Tell me…

What is your favorite skin care ritual?

The post Simple, Immune Boosting & Skin Nourishing Detox Tip first appeared on Manage Stress | Increase Energy |Simple Solutions | Rommy Kirby, Holistic Health Coach, Yoga Personal Trainer, Essential Oil Educator.

Turn Off Meltdowns and Turn On Peace at Home

Rommy — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 19:58:25 +0000

A few weekends ago I was thrilled for a surprise opportunity to receive AromaTouch Technique training. I’ll let you know more about the training in a follow up post, this post is a ‘new and good’ share about using that training to create a more peaceful home for my family.

Hubby and I have 4 children, 2 girls and 2 boys…perfect right? Well yes, it is. But one of our children lives with a challenge that can seem overwhelming and unmanageable even on a good day. You see, our youngest son lives with Autism.

He is basically happy, good natured and can go with the flow as long as the flow is tailored to his ability. The crazy thing about it is that we just never know if something will begin to over stimulate and irritate him. He has difficulty communicating and isn’t always able to let us know what is wrong.

When that happens, in a flash, he will have a melt down and life for the entire house gets tense. It can be really hard to find a way to settle him and when we finally calm him, our nerves are frayed and we are on pins and needles because once a melt down happens, he can get stuck there and it will happen all over again.

On his last visit home I decided to see if my recent training would help him, and the rest of us, have a more pleasurable time. So his first morning here, I got out my oils. I put not one, but eight essential oils and blends along his spine. Now, at this time, he doesn’t have the ability for a full technique, but I applied the oils in the same order from the bottom of his spine to the top of his neck.

He can be stubborn sometimes, all kids can be. Because of sensory issues I wasn’t sure how he would receive the oils. But guess what, he really enjoyed it! There was no fussing. He would even give me spontaneous hugs afterwards. I applied the oils along his spine twice daily following his baths. He loves baths!

During past visits, he would get irritated and be a total pill when told no or asked to wait. He would have at least 1 major melt down, sometimes more, and he would obsessively stem or hum. We could forget about sleeping through the night.

This time, there was not one melt down. No stemming. He was more easily redirected. He even learned to make up his bed. He had a greater capacity to delay gratification. He had better focus and more engagement with us. He slept through the night all but one night. He was generally more fun to be around.

…and isn’t that what we want as parents, kids we not only love, but enjoy?

As I type this, tears of gratitude are flowing down my cheeks. I am so thankful that I can easily and simply use these oils make my entire family’s life more pleasurable without harmful and toxic substances. Even for our youngest member whose challenges are very real and may always be present.

The oils I used are pure, 3rd party tested, and therapeutic grade. The eight particular oils I use come in a convenient kit. I did not apply them in the way I was taught, but I did apply them in the way our son was able to accept them. You can get the very same oils for your home, your loved ones and provide a more tranquil, supportive environment for your family, simply send me an email. You deserve to have a happy peaceful home.

Will you have the same experience? Maybe. But there is also the possibility that yours will be even better! Today, rather than saying, this sucks, what if you said let’s see what is working well and how good we can make it.

PS – His last evening just as he sat to dinner was the most remarkable. He started humming and fidgeting. Because of the pitch change I realized he was beginning to stem, I went for the grounding blend. I placed it on his neck bones, along the base of his skull, under his ears and on the soles of his feet.

In less than 5 minutes, actually, my hubby pointed out less than 2 minutes, the humming stopped. There was no meltdown.

But he was still having difficulty sitting still enough to eat his dinner, so I reached for the calming blend. I applied it to the same places and onto his tummy. Within minutes, right in front of our eyes, he calmed down, sat still and was able to finish his dinner. We even got to play a singing game with him.

Do you live with or love someone with challenges? How do you find peace through the melt downs? Do you want to learn how to essential oils to bring peace to your home, send comment here, or send me an email. I would love to hear from you!!!

The post Turn Off Meltdowns and Turn On Peace at Home first appeared on Manage Stress | Increase Energy |Simple Solutions | Rommy Kirby, Holistic Health Coach, Yoga Personal Trainer, Essential Oil Educator.