Category Archives: Health

The sweet awakening of post menopause: symptoms and aromatic solutions

05 Friday Mar 2010

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We love the refreshing perspective of  “The Menopause can spark New Passions” by Jill Ruddock published by the Time online.  After the unpleasant symptoms of menopause cease, a time which is actually know as “perimenopause”, post menopause ushers in a whole new chapter to refresh, revitalise and renew that the pervious life stages did not dedicate the time, energy or confidence for:

Nobody had ever mentioned that the menopause not only hormonally changes our bodies but also changes our minds and how we look at the world. The flip side of losing the hormones that have been the essence of our female identity is that our brains are changing, too. We get the clarity, balanced perspective, peace of mind and heightened energy that has been missing for a while now. Believe me, it is worth the wait. A woman’s ability to hyper focus, think through issues and explore her own creativity outside the home all come together. Dr Louann Brizendine explained it best in her book The Female Brain. “Hormones determine what the female brain is interested in doing … A postmenopausal woman, not having the fuel of oestrogen, is less concerned with the nuances of emotion and keeping the peace. The mommy brain circuits are finally free to be applied to new ambitions, new thoughts, new ideas. The mommy brain has started to unplug. – Jill Ruddock, Taken from the article published by TimesOnline

This’ll be an uncharacteristically long post, so grab a drink and a snack and get cosy…it’s a BIG topic and there’s lots to say!

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy Know anyone with menopausal symptoms and Relieve the symptoms of perimenopause with essential oils  

Menopause is defined as “ the period of permanent cessation of menstruation, usually occurring between the ages of 45 and 55.” (Source: dictionary.com).  However this is a grossly simplified definition for a process of a woman’s life that actually begins 10 or even 15 years before what people commonly refer to as menopause at age 50-51.

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Mistletoe as a treatment for cancer

09 Tuesday Feb 2010

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Mistletoe prescribed as a treatment for cancer. Photo by the Biomimicry Institute.

According to a recent article by The Ecologist, Mistletoe is widely used and respected throughout Europe as a treatment for cancer.

In the United States, mistletoe, Phoradendron flavescens, is commercially harvested for Christmas decorations under which people can seek a cheeky kiss.

Basic facts about mistletoe

Mistletoe is the common name for a group of hemi-parasitic plants (which means they get water and mineral nutrients from a host plant) in the order Santalales (flowering plants in tropical and subtropical regions).

As a parasitic plant, it grows on the branches or trunk of a tree and actually sends out roots that penetrate into the tree and take up nutrients.  Apple and Oak are favourites.

The origin of kissing under the mistletoe

Kissing under the mistletoe is first found associated with the Greek festival of Saturnalia (held in honour of the God Saturn) and later with primitive marriage rites. Mistletoe was believed to have the power of bestowing fertility, and the dung from which the mistletoe was thought to arise was also said to have “life-giving” power.

Mistletoe used to treat cancer

Revered in European folklore and mythology for centuries for it’s protective, peace inducing and aphrodisiac properties, it is now being used for its healing properties in the fight against cancer.

In the 1920′s, Rudolph Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, social thinker, architect and esotericist was busy connecting the dots between the cognitive path of Western philosophy and the inner and spiritual needs of the human being.

Part of this involved the realisation that plants can heal the body with regard for the mind – he was one of the earliest mind-body medicine pioneers of the modern era.  A connection between Mistletoe and cancer was established and the rest is history.

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7 Essential Oils for Relaxing Before Bed

08 Monday Feb 2010

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Two of America’s leading feminist super-achievers have joined forces to to identify women’s sleep deprivation as “the next feminist issue”.  Arianna Huffington, the powerhouse publisher of The Huffington Post, and Cindi Leive, the equally indomitable publisher of Glamour have cited studies that show women are more sleep deprived than men. Essential oils are a great way to relax and unwind before bed, two essential ingredients for a good night’s sleep.

Women are more sleep deprived than men

While any mother or woman in a relationship will already know this, it is interesting to note that this is a generally trend with wider societal issues.  According to the research, exhaustion is undermining women’s creativity, judgment, and relationships.  You can find the full article at Times Online.

Relax before bed for a good night’s sleep

Whatever the reason behind your lack of sleep, be it:

  • the demands of motherhood
  • stress (or other nervous disorders)
  • environmental toxins
  • headaches or migraines
  • watching TV before bed
  • or working late,

one thing that can really help is to relax for a few mins before you hit the hay.  The more relaxed you are when your head hits the pillow, the better the quality of your sleep will be, no matter how much you get.

Practicing a relaxation technique for 10 mins before bed could also help to alleviate some of the other symptoms you currently experience, if done over the longer term.

Aromatherapy helps you to relax before bed

Aromatherapy can help to relax and deepen your breathing which in turn prepares your body and mind to rest.  Given that most of our growth and healing takes place while we’re asleep, it’s essential to make sure our sleep is of the highest quality possible.  We’ve put together a list of our favourite essential oils that can help to promote a beautiful nights sleep.

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Ease your tonsillitis with some strategic aromatherapy

19 Tuesday Jan 2010

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For those of your in the northern hemisphere, it’s the silly season for bacteria and viruses which seem  to thrive on our  weakened immune system and exposure to more bugs than usual.  Persistent sufferers of tonsillitis will be all too familiar with that “barbed wire in your throat feeling when you swallow” and the hopelessness of antibiotics which don’t seem to speed up your recovery.  For the first three days you can feel helpless while all you can do is wait for the  pain to subside, but don’t despair!  you can take the bull by the horns and proactively assist your own recovery!  Aromatherapy can hugely ease your discomfort and lift your mood, the joint result of which will have you smiling and your usual self again as part of a speedier recovery.

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An aromatherapy compress for all your aches and pains

15 Friday Jan 2010

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A compress is generally recommended when the affected area or condition is too painful to massage.  It is helpful in reducing swelling & pain, increasing blood flow and circulation and it’s a very easy & practical way of benefitting from the therapeutic effects of essential oils.  It is a valuable way of treating muscular aches and pains, bruises, swelling, headaches, fever, inflammation, menstrual cramps and many kinds of skin conditions such as eczema.

To make a compress, all you needs is a bowl, water, some essential oils and a cloth (flannel or washcloth).

Add the essential oils to the water, mix, place the cloth in the water to soak up some of the water, wring out the cloth and then apply to affected area, covering with some cling film (glad wrap) to seal in the temperature & the oils.

The normal dilution of essential oils in a compress solution would be 4-5 drops in 200ml of water

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Say goodbye to cystitis with some strategic Aromatherapy

13 Wednesday Jan 2010

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Good news for cystitis sufferers – Aromatherapy can ease your symptoms and aid the speed of your recovery.

Those who’ve had cystitis may well have experienced it on a regular basis.  It’s one of those afflictions that some people get all the time and others never get.  That burning pain on urination and that general feeling of malaise can really suck, so being able to do something proactive about your path to wellness that smells amazing and lifts your spirits is a helping hand out of the frustration & agony that accompanies a day or two attached to the loo!

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Sacred Space: An Aromatic Bath

19 Saturday Dec 2009

Posted by in Aroma & Aromatherapy, Beauty & skincare, Health, Mind, Recipes

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There is no pleasure more divine than lying in a warm bath filled with oils surrounded by glorious aromas and peaceful calm.  An aromatic bath is a perfect way to cleanse body and mind simultaneously, either alone or with your adored significant other.  Relaxing at bedtime or stimulating to start the day.  We’ve already explored how drinking water is the first essential to maintaining health but this post is about how immersing your body from neck to feet simultaneously is both a therapeutic and indulgent treat combined.  When we immerse ourselves in seawater, the water from a mineral spring or any water enhanced with salts, hydrosols, carrier oils or essential oils, we create synergies with added positive effects.

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How does Aromatherapy relieve stress?

11 Friday Dec 2009

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The stress response is activated when you are unable to adjust your behaviour or deal creatively with demanding circumstances.  Effects of stress can be psychological, emotional and physical and can range from anxiety, panic attacks and depression to digestive disorders, high blood pressure and breathing problems (among others).

How does Aromatherapy relieve stress? In several ways:

  1. By creating a “balanced terrain”
  2. By boosting the immune system
  3. By enhancing positivity
  4. By relieving the physical symptoms associated with and caused by stress

Before we get into the details of how Aromatherapy relieves stress, it’s probably useful to define the different types of stress.

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Flax seed oil – brings the sunshine to you

02 Wednesday Dec 2009

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Nobel Luareate Szent-Gyorgyi described the essential life process as a little electrical current, sent to us by the sunshine.  What he was referring to was highly charged single electrons which are involved in transferring their energy to our own sub-molecular patterns without changing our molecular structure.

Dr Joanna Budwig (with degrees in medicine, physics, pharmacy & biochemistry) concluded that not only do electron rich foods, like flax, act as high power electron donors, but also as a solar resonant field in the body to attract, store and conduct the sun’s energy into our bodies.  “Sun electrons” are attracted to the sun-like electrons in our bodies and are activated by them.  The energy we absorb from the sun electrons act as an anti-aging factor.  Therefore live-foods, especially flax seeds, help to bring higher amounts of sun energy into our system because the EFA’s (essential fatty acids) they contain ABSORB sunlight – thereby keeping us younger, more active, more healthy and all around more happy.

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Holy water: our body’s inextricable link to the planet

30 Monday Nov 2009

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We are born of water, a cocoon of comfort in a mother’s womb.  As infants our bodies are almost exclusively liquid.  Even as adults only a third of our physical being has solidity.  Compress our bones, ligaments, muscles, sinew, extract platelets and cells from our blood, and the rest of us, nearly two-thirds of our weight, stripped clean and rinsed, would flow as easily as river to the sea.

- Grand Canyon – River at Risk by Wade Davis, anthropologist, ethnobotanist, author and photographer

Water is life.  Our bodies comprise around  2/3 of water, with content in various parts of our bodies broken down as follows:

Saliva 95.5% Lymph 94% Blood 90.7% Plasma 90% Brain 80% Muscle Tissue 75% Bones 15%

Given the importance to our health, we need to drink more, and waste less!

Two of the greatest issues we have on the planet today are two sides of the same coin:

  1. We don’t drink enough of it
  2. The availability and supply of fresh, good quality, drinking water is dwindling Continue reading »

I remember better when I paint

13 Friday Nov 2009

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Using art as a form of healing is not a new concept, however in combination with aroma, it might just be not only new, but extremely powerful.

Someone one of my networks’ posted info about a new documentary film “I Remember Better When I Paint”.

It’s an international documentary featuring Rita Hayworth’s daughter, Yasmin Aga Khan, president of Alzheimer Disease International. The film reviews the latest technology in treating Alzheimer’s disease and focuses on the positive results received from patients that paint. The film is directed by Eric Ellena and Berna Huebner and is narrated by Academy Award winning actress Olivia de Havilland.

During the course of the disease

Aromatherapy Immune Booster

06 Friday Nov 2009

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In the Northern Hemisphere we are well and truly in the grip of the cold and flu season, still engaged in warfare with H1N1 virus and all the while trying to maintain the status quo as we approach Christmas and preparation for festive exhaustion!

We have a great many oils to keep our immune systems pumped; scientific researchers have demonstrated antiviral, antibacterial and immune-system stimulating actions of a great many essential oils in laboratory settings, but how best to benefit from them?

Inhalation through diffusion provides the most collective benefits for the home or the work place, with 3 great advantages to boot:

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The Alchemy of “Electrical” Synergy

03 Tuesday Nov 2009

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The power of essential oils cannot be fully comprehended without some understanding of their bio-electric properties – commonly known as “Frequency”

There is oodles of research that shows how viruses, fungi, bacteria and other nasties find it extremely difficult to survive in the presence of essential oils, especially those high in phenols, carcarol, thymol and terpenes. Thyme kills E.Coli. Tea Tree kills fungus, bacteria and virus.  Many more have powerful and brilliant effects on these nasties and we love them for keeping us healthy and germ free!

Did you ever think this might be to do with the frequency of essential oils?

Everything has frequency.  It’s the measurable rate of electrical energy flow that is constant between two points.

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Plants are profoundly wise – should we be listening?

02 Monday Nov 2009

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Plants aren’t merely a source of food, clothing, beverage, tobacco, medicine and perfume, but they are also profound teachers…..we just temporarily stopped listening to their wisdom on how to positively affect our mood and health.

Despite centuries of ancient peoples living in harmony with the living earth & celebrating the world as an intelligent being, the concept of “earth spirit” was ushered out with the spread of Christianity.  Having celebrated the interconnectedness & cyclical nature of birth, life, death and regeneration, the idea of a linear progression towards salvation and an “afterlife”  contributed to an emerging “geomantic amnesia”:

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