Wellness rituals I love, Part 2: Dry brushing

Care of the self starts with care of the physical body as a top priority, and the mental,emotional, and spiritual bodies follow closely. Last week I posted about a ritual I love, drinking golden milk each night. The second wellness ritual I want to share in this little mini-series on the blog is about a practice I began last autumn: Dry brushing.

Again: I’m not a medical doctor. Always seek the advice of your medical doctor before starting new regimens

Dry brushing is easy, takes just a minute, and has so many benefits (besides just brushing off dry skin cells,) including:

• Stimulating the lymphatic system: eliminating cellular waste & toxins
• Exfoliation: removing dry, dead skin cells, thus unclogging pores and helping you glow
• Increasing circulation: encourages metabolic waste elimination
• Reducing stress: The act itself is meditative and can relieve muscle tension and calm your mind, like a body massage might
• Improving digestion & kidney function: Supports organ function by shedding excess water & toxins
• It's invigorating: It simply feels good!

One very important thing to note is that there is a correct way to dry brush in order to reap the benefits, especially those involving toxin release and lymphatic drainage. The best how-to I found for this is this video. It's just over 11 minutes long, but its so thorough and informative that it's well worth the watch.

I like to dry brush just before turning on the shower. I purchased a soft bristle brush with a long handle, like this one from Amazon. I also bought a smaller version that's good for travel.

Enjoy! A third installment in this mini-series on physical well-being will be posted next week...

Wellness rituals I love, Part 1: Golden milk

I'm big on self-care rituals. (But you probably already knew that.) Today I'm sharing the first in a little series of blog posts about my favorite daily rituals that directly benefit my physical health, therefore my overall well-being: Golden milk!

Note: I'm not a medical doctor. Always seek the advice of your medical doctor before starting new regimens.

Oh you guys, this is magic in a mug. I've been drinking it nightly for nearly a year, and it is just so soothing to me and is working wonders for my health. There are so many wonderful benefits to drinking golden milk. The most potent part of golden milk is turmeric, which contains curcumin. Curcumin has amazing health benefits, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cancer-preventative properties. Additional benefits of turmeric are:

• Anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, antiseptic,analgesic,.
• Boosts immunity.
• Anti-carcinogenic.
• Helps maintain cholesterol levels.
• Promotes digestive health.
• Liver detoxifier.
• Regulates metabolism and weight management.
• High blood pressure.
• Memory and brain function.
• Various skin conditions.
• Neurological disorders.
• Lowers Triglycerides

The recipe I use for my golden milk is from the wonderful instructional video below. I've written out the ingredients and recipe below (with some of my personal preferences) but I find it very helpful to watch the video tutorial, too.

First, make the turmeric paste:

• 1/2c spring water
• 1/4c turmeric powder (I like to get a large bag of quality organic turmeric here. If this becomes a daily ritual for you, you'll save money getting this big bag instead of small portions in your grocery store.)
• Heat on med/low for 7-9 min stirring constantly
• Store in glass container in fridge up to 14 days

To make the golden milk from the turmeric paste:

• 1c milk (It can be cow, almond, coconut, etc. as long as it's unsweetened. Each lends a different flavor to the golden milk, and I've found that unsweetened coconut is my personal preference.)
• 1tsp turmeric paste you made (above)
• Honey or maple syrup or stevia to sweeten (Sweetening is optional. I like to add a dollop of manuka honey to mine.)
• Heat on medium for 5 min
• Add 1/4-1/2 tsp oil to mug - Udo's oil or coconut oil are my favs
• Adding a dash of black pepper to recipes containing turmeric enhances curcumin’s bioavailability by 1,000 times, due to black pepper’s hot property called pipeline, so by mixing turmeric and black pepper together, you increase your body’s absorption of the turmeric by 2000% - and it adds a fun kick.

Other golden perks:

• If you drink it at night before bed, it helps you to fall right to sleep.
• It dyes the bristles of your toothbrush golden if you brush right after drinking it. (Um, yay..?)
• If you google 'golden milk' you can get tons more info and variations on the recipe. There are turmeric juices and smoothies out there you can make, if warm drinks aren't your thing.
• My 8 year old daughter even enjoys golden milk. She prefers hers made in the traditional way, with cow's milk.

Working with dreams

Dream images are a lot like art images in that both come to us from our unconscious mind to teach, reveal, heal, or process something. Today I'm sharing three easy ways to engage with your nighttime dream world in your waking life. First, if you are a person who has a hard time recalling your dreams once you are awake, it may help to add a peaceful ritual to your bedtime routine, whereby you turn off the lights, light a candle, and set an intention to bring your dreams into waking consciousness the next morning. You might even invoke a dream at night by asking for clarity around an issue in your life. In the morning, set aside about five minutes of quiet (even if this means waking before the rest of your household) to scribble down any notes or doodles about what you remember from the night before.

Ultimately dreams symbols are unique to the dreamer. For example, one person may think fire is destructive while another might find fire to be cleansing. Dream decoder books totally run with the idea that one thing equals another, which drives me bonkers because it doesn't empower the dreamer to interpret her or his own dream. In my view, the meaning the dreamer assigns to each symbol in a dream is the most important place to begin the exploration. After the dreamer's associations have been explored, it may then be enlightening to tap into what the collective unconscious views these symbols to mean, to see if it lends any wisdom. For that second phase, I like to look at archetypes, symbols, and cultural associations.

Recurring dreams often happen when we still have not addressed the issue being presented, so they come back to us, calling louder and louder for us to pay attention. With recurring dreams, sometimes the story or symbols in the dream can shift, but the emotional intensity, quality, and often the overarching meaning stay the same.

Three simple ideas of working with your nighttime dreams:

1) Tell  the dream to your therapist or a trusted person from start to finish without interruption. Re-experiencing the story in the present moment while it telling can allow you to gain mastery over it and give you a new perspective on it. This can happen with a therapist guiding you to be alert to your body's responses and wisdom during your retelling, and by having a compassionate witness for the process.

2) Express the dream non-verbally through art. You might choose to make a book or cartoon panels about the story or perhaps set up the scene in a sand tray, with the supportive presence of an art therapist. You don't always need to unpack the meaning of each literal dream symbol and bring it into consciousness necessarily; working with the emotional quality of the dream may be quite helpful in itself. You can bring out "loose" art materials -- meaning ones that are really formless and open -- like watercolors, fingerpaints, or clay -- and trust that what needs to be expressed will be expressed through the art. Loose art media allow the spirit the opportunity to process unconsciously. This involves a degree of just trusting the process since it won't always look like it's directly accessing the dream content or characters. You will likely experience shifts in the dream or your response to the dream as you engage in this process.

3) Take the dream further in your waking life by asking yourself what happens next. You might imagine what you would have needed in the dream in order to solve the obstacle in the dream, if it did not play out in your sleep in a satisfying way -- maybe a tool, a shield, a magic power, a special uniform, or a vehicle, etc. Enjoy creating this item as an art project, as it directly accesses your inner resources and allows you to spend time creating your own solution. You can get creative with ways to further the dream and access all of the things your waking mind has at its disposal. After accessing resources in some way, you can tell the new story with its new ending, either by journaling or retelling it to a trusted person.

Wishing you rich, juicy dreams tonight!

Live by the moon

Humans are tidal. We're made of mostly water and pulled by the moon in ways we may not even consciously realize. We undoubtedly feel its pull on our emotional and creative rhythms, so why not tune more into this natural cycle so it can empower and inform our lives? Reproduction is affected by the moon by way of menstruation, fertility, and birth rates. Lunar cycles have been proven to impact the hormones of animals (do your cats go bananas on full moon nights like mine do?), along with influencing crime rates, traffic accidents, and hospital admittance. Acknowledging that this rhythm impresses upon our lives, bringing our awareness to it more fully, and using its power to guide our intentions can help us roll with the tide.

Simple rituals for the lunar cycle

A full lunar cycle, from new moon to new moon, lasts about 29.5 days. The new moon (or when the moon is in total darkness, resting in the shadow of the earth) is aligned with the idea of a fresh start and a new beginning. This is a time to start new projects and plant new seeds. It is a time to call forth energy to manifest something new over the following 14 days when the moon will be waxing, meaning the light part of the moon is growing. I enjoy setting intentions on a new moon for what I'd like to create for myself. I often smudge with the sacred wood, palo santo, to bring about fresh energy during this time. It is a wonderful time to create vision boards, soul collage cards, or to visualize what you would like to call into your life.

My recent full moon cleansing altar

The full moon (or when the moon is in total, circular brightness, with the sun shining upon its surface) is powerful when it comes to honoring manifestations, decision-making, and setting intentions for what to release as we move through the following 14 days when the moon will be waning. Waning means the light part will be decreasing in size, as we move toward the next new moon. This is a wonderful time for smudging with sage or cedar, herbs which assist us in cleansing ourselves or our space, as well as letting go of that which is no longer serving our greatest good. I also like to write on pieces of paper the things I hope to release, and to burn those pieces of paper during the time the moon is waning. On a practical note, the energy of the waning moon period supports cleaning out your home and space. The light of the full moon is also said to cleanse the energy held in crystals and stones, so you can set them outside or in a windowsill on the night of the full moon.

The graphic below, by Ezzie Spencer, gives guidance on the types of intentions we are invited to set during each specific phase of the moon, along its path of waxing and waning. So, look upward tonight. Remember that you are a part of nature -- connecting more deeply to your place in the universe -- and perhaps try a small ritual of your own, letting your awareness of the phase of the moon empower you more consciously.

Spencer lunar cycle

Natural healing: Oils, herbs, flower essences

Ever since I was a child, I intuitively understood the restorative powers of the earth's gifts -- I feel like we're all born that way. I remember concocting "magic healing potions" in my backyard that were made from flower petals and herbs growing in our garden --  usually with some mud or pebbles thrown in for good, messy measure. As I got older, I studied the healing properties of the earth's gifts: herbs, oils, and flower essences. For a few years during my 20s, I ran a small, side business selling natural care products such as soaps, salves, teas, and lip balms. This passion has now become integrated into my family's everyday care, and is one of the ways I tend to my own self-care. Here I'll share a brief overview of my favorite remedies, along with links (Amazon affiliate and otherwise) for where to find some of them. Important Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor, and this is not medical advice. I am solely sharing which remedies and rituals I personally use for self-care and healing. Always consult with your doctor before beginning any natural remedy.

Essential Oils

I delight in the delicious aromatherapy essential oils provide. In the morning or when I'm needing to be more alert, I like citrus, minty, and green scents, such as grapefruit, ginger, peppermint, and rosemary. When I need to wind down and relax, I love lavender, rose, and ylang ylang. The quality oils from DoTerra are my absolute fav. You can purchase any of them here. Lately, my favorite oil is DoTerra's Balance blend, which feels very earthy and grounding to me. I enjoy sprinkling it into the bottom of my shower to create a makeshift steam room. I use oils in a warm mist humidifier in the wintertime, like DoTerra's On Guard oil for immune support and Breathe oil for respiratory health. I also use various oils throughout the year in a diffuser in my therapy office, and my clients comment on how much they enjoy the subtle scents in the room.

Herbs

I love to use dried herbs, though it's important to consult a doctor or naturopath before doing so, as they are quite powerful. I enjoy drinking herbal teas (peppermint, chamomile, fennel...) I also like to make herbal bath soaks, sometimes with eucalyptus or peppermint or lavender, mixed with ground oatmeal or epsom salts, tied up in a cheesecloth and placed into warm bath water. I also love to create with herbs by making things such as lavender wands, sachets, and dream pillows. (<-- Links to "how to" posts from my former art blog for families.) Bundling and then burning dried herbs (aka: smudging) is another favorite way I use herbs for self-care -- favorite smudging herbs of mine are sage and cedar. More on this piece in next week's post -- stay tuned! One of my favorite blogs for creative uses for herbs is 5 Orange Potatoes.

Flower Essences

I discovered Bach flower remedies during graduate school, and I have used them ever since. The Bach company puts out a list of how their remedies can help support different emotional states. They also list them by remedy, detailing the healing properties of each. Generally, flower remedies are administered by putting a few drops in your water bottle and drinking the essence, and some types, like their famous Rescue Remedy, come in a spray bottle so the essence can be spritzed into the mouth. An artful way I like to use my flower essences is to add them to my watercolor water or to my paints when making art, to energetically infuse my image with... well, healing flower power. While flower essences are very subtle, they are also powerful -- again, always consult your physician before use.