Month: June 2018

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Excerpt from Renegate Beauty by Nadine Artemis on aromatherapy

Currently, there is a philosophical resurgence of the mind-body connection arising in part from scientific studies that have connected the gut microbiome via the super-sensory-highway of our vagus nerve as they key healer of anxiety and depression disorders. Further studies show that inhaling aromatic molecules of essential oils elevates emotions in the mental spheres by whispering to the hypothalamus to choreograph a cascade of positive neurotransmitters in the hormonal, nervous, and immune systems. For example, the psychological effect of essential oils on the nervous system in relationship to anxiety and depression was studied by Professor Paolo Rovesti of Milan University. He tested a variety of essential oils  and their restorative effect on people with hysteria, anxiety, and nervous depression. He used both oral administration and inhalation. The most effective oils to alleviate anxiety were bergamot, lime, neroli, petitgrain, lavender, marjoram, rose, cypress.  The oils he used for depression were lemon, orange, jasmin, ylang ylang and sandalwood.

Dr. Daniel Penoel, a french physician proficient in medical aromatherapy, stated that “Aromatic medicine could eventually become the ecological medicine of the 21st century by balancing earth, water and atmospheric ecosystems.”

Essential oils protect out body, skin, and mouth much in the same way that they protect the plant against pathogens with their bacteriostatic nature. Antiquity appreciated medicinal plant virtues, and now we have gas chromoatographs to map out how each essence is composed of hundreds of special substances that defy the development of bacterial resistance, encourage immunity, act as first-aid responders, and boost beauty by delivering nutrients and stimulating cells.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Whipped Body Cream

This body cream is really well absorbed into the skin and not as greasy as plain oil. Here is the recipe:

75 g Shea butter (I have also used Coconut Butter when I didn’t have Shea – works as well)

75 g Extra virgin, organic Coconut oil

50 g Carrier Oil (Almond, Jojoba, Macadamia – anything you fancy really)

Add essential oils of your choice – between 25 – 35 drops

I use 10 drops Frankincense, 5 drops Mhyrr, 5 drops Manuka, 5 Geranium, 5 Lavender, 1 Blue Tansy. You don’t need to be super fancy with your essential oil selection. I have a big selection, so make the most of it, using a variety. But you could just use a mix of Lavender and Frankincense or just one oil. I try to avoid using Citrus oils in my body and face creams, due to their sun / photo sensitivity.

Add the Shea Butter, Cococonut Oil, Carrier Oil to a metal bowl and place over pot with steaming water to melt gently.

Once melted let cool down on bench and once coolish drop your essential oils in. Essential oils are heat sensitive, so you don’t want to loose their healing properties by dropping them into the hot base.

Put in fridge and cool down until almost solidified. It needs to feel thick and firm when touched

Use electric hand mixer to whip until it looks like whipped cream (most ingredients are edible, but don’t be tempted 😉

Fill into sealable glass jars (not plastic) and let set. Mine got really hard over night. In summer it can transition back to liquid consistency. You can still use it, it just doesn’t look as pretty.

This recipe was adapted from the book “The inspired little book” by Krissy Ballinger.

 

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Silent Retreat – sharing my experience

I have had a lot of people asking me how my silent retreat was, so thought I would write a recap here.

Firstly I would like to thank Radha Iveta for holding the space so beautifully for us all. Radha is a local yoga teacher and her wisdom, insights and gentleness speak for themselves. I highly recommend to check into one of her sessions or retreat. I found this feather when I came home and took the dog for a walk – it reminded me of you Radha 

I loved removing all the external noise, I loved not having to engage in communication, I loved not have a mobile phone or device, I loved having meals cooked for me – thank you Tara Spice, I loved sitting for several hours every day in meditation to process and just be, I loved the retreat centre and the gardens and to just be in my own bubble for a few days without any external stimulation. Once we broke silence after 3 days it felt way too soon and I was overwhelmed by the noise and information.

One thing that strongly emerged for me is how deeply I love my family and that is doesn’t feel right to often prioritize work over time I could be spending with them. So one of my take away’s is to be really mindful of what I am going to do with my time and which things I can let go of.

Another thing that emerged is to weed out my social media feeds. I want to focus more on what I have to offer on my pages, rather than taking in unhealthy amounts of information that I can’t really process and realistically don’t need in my life.

I would also like to establish at least 2 silent get away’s for myself every year, to be able to reflect properly on what I do, what can stay, what needs to go, what I want to invite, what I can let go of.

I realised how much energy we put every day into listening to others and into communicating ourselves and processing all that information. I personally need space for myself alot to accommodate for my introvert tendencies. I get overwhelmed by too much external stimulation and that shows itself as myself becoming stressed and grumpy. As much as I would like to spend more time with friends or make new ones at this stage in my life, there are just not enough hours in the day to get time for myself, cope with my workload, the household, the kids etc. I really need more meditation and quiet spells – they are so nourishing and good for me.

I also felt I really connected more intimately with my heartspace. I felt a real softness & gentleness and I really want to bring that into my daily life. Often when I get stressed and feel overwhelmed the safest place to let the steam out is at home and that doesn’t feel right. So I want to bring that soft and gentleness into all areas of my life – my communication, my interactions, my work, my self compassion when I stuff things up.

What also emerged very strongly is that I want to be vegetarian again. I was vegetarian for 15 years and tried to eat fish and meat, but it doesn’t feel right. So that will take some re-organising in our household and in my mind.

At the end of the retreat I drew 3 cards from inspiration deck and they were all so relevant to my reflections during the retreat:

⚛️ Attack, Pain, Fear, Judgement, and any form of separation are merely calls for help. (note to self: ask for help, offer help when noticing myself or others in that situation)
⚛️ There is a stream of love supporting my dreams. (note to self: meditate more to be clear on what my dreams are and TRUST)
⚛️ When I lean on the faith of the Universe, Peace becomes real. (note to self: TRUST more, act from the heart, practice softness & gentleness)

Radha is offering another retreat from 30th October until 4th November at Strathean Retreat in Otaki. You can see more info on heartawakening.org or e-mail her: [email protected].