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

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.