Category Archives: Self Care

Homeopathy has been used for more than 200 years to treat everything from colds and viruses to significant conditions like cancer and post traumatic stress disorder. It’s based on the theory that the body is the best source of healing for itself. Let’s take a look at the theory behind Homeopathic healing and how it’s used.

The Tree Principles of Homeopathic Healing
Homeopathy is based on thee main principles. They include:

* Like Cures Like
This principle is often seen in the treatment of allergies. For example if a person is allergic to grass pollen then they will regularly receive injections with a small amount of grass pollen in the solution. The theory being that they will slowly build up a tolerance for the allergen until they have little or no reaction. The same holds true for many of our vaccines. If you’re getting a flu vaccine, you’re receiving a small amount of the flu virus. Your body recognizes it and defeats it thus, when that particular strain of the flu comes around you won’t get it because your body knows how to combat it.

* Minimal Dose
Homeopathic healing takes the approach of extreme dilution. Theorizing that your body doesn’t need to be inundated with an element to adapt and respond. How diluted are the dosages? We’re talking about 1 part homeopathic element or remedy and 1,000,000,000,000 parts water.

* The Single Remedy
Have you ever had a cold but didn’t have the cold medication to cover all your symptoms so you took a decongestant, a fever reducer and cough medicine combined to try to make it through the day? This is the opposite of how homeopathy approaches healing. Because you’re dealing with having the body heal itself, homeopathy believes that only one remedy is taken, usually it’s the presumed cause of the illness that is the remedy.

Who Can Use Homeopathy?

Homeopathic healing is deemed safe for everyone. This includes pregnant women, children and even babies and the elderly. Treatment is easy and typically involves, once a diagnosis has been made, taking a powder or small tablet orally. The tablets are designed to dissolve in your mouth and may need to be held under the tongue for a few seconds until it’s completely dissolved. While some treatments may require only one tablet taken daily, others may require several tablets each day. The treatment depends on the diagnosis and the practitioner.

Why use Homeopathic healing?

Believe it or not, homeopathy is the second most widely used form of healing in the world. And its popularity in western civilization continues to grow. By and large, this success is due to the fact that Homeopathy is extremely effective, when properly diagnosed. It’s also extremely safe and results in virtually no side effects and it can be taken with other medication without the fear of interaction.

Homeopathic remedies are also natural. You’re not putting potentially harmful chemicals into your body. In addition, as more and more people adopt a more holistic approach to healing, it’s much more natural and effective to treat the cause of a problem rather than the symptoms. Homeopathy treats the cause.
When it comes to healing, homeopathic healing has a long and successful history and a bright future. To find a skilled homeopathic doctor you can visit one of the online directories or associations or you can speak to your medical practitioner for a recommendation.

Store bought hair products tend to have lots of nasty chemicals and added ingredients that your body just does not need. And the best hair products are often the simplest ones – which can be found in your own pantry.

Here are a few homemade shampoo recipes to get you started:

Avocado, honey and milk shampoo (for dry hair)

#1 – peel the avocado and place in blender

# 2 – Add a tablespoon of honey to avocado. This will not only help to smooth and nourish the hair but will give it a lovely sweet smell

#3 – add ½ cup of milk to avocado and honey.

#4 – Blend on high until smooth and use within three days. If you have some left over you can simply cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge.

Honey, seaweed and lemon shampoo (for oily hair)

#1 – place ¼ cup of dry seaweed pieces (available at health food stores) in a large bowl.

#2 – Add 1 tablespoon of honey to seaweed.

#3 – Add the juice of one lemon to seaweed and honey.

#4- Mix well and set aside for 30 minutes so that ingredients can infuse together. Use on hair and cover any leftovers with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

The lemon will make hair less oily while giving it a lustrous shine. The seaweed will nourish the hair while the honey will make it smell gorgeous and remain frizz free.

If you’re looking for natural, environmentally friendly and clean beauty treatments, you can’t go wrong with Ayurveda. Ayurveda is the traditional medicinal system of India and incorporates herbs and natural elements into their routine – including their beauty regimens.

Three Body and Beauty Types
Ayurveda defines three body types:

* Vata
* Pitta
* Kapha

Each body type has their own unique characteristics including a tendency toward oily or dry skin, curly or straight hair and so on. You can find much information about these three body typs online.
Regardless of your body type, there are great ayurvedic natural beauty recipes. Here are 5 to get you started on your natural beauty regimen.
Rose Facial Mask
2 tablespoons oatmeal ground in a blender to a fine powder
2 teaspoons goat milk powder
½ teaspoon clay—yellow clay from India, or plain white kaolin clay
1 teaspoon rose petal powder
1 teaspoon sandalwood powder
2 drops rose attar
Mix all ingredients except rose attar in a jar with a lid. When ready to use, pour half of the jar of powder into a small container and stir in one ounce of warm water and one drop of rose attar. Apply the mask and wait 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water. The clay in this mask is great for oily skin.
Fruit Acid Peel
* 1 tablespoon orange juice
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1 cup plain yogurt

Blend all ingredients in a small bowl. Apply it to your face and wait 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water. This mask works well to exfoliate.
Acne Clarifier
* 1 teaspoon of turmeric
* 1 teaspoon honey
* 1 teaspoon goat’s milk

Blend all ingredients in a small bowl. Apply to acne and leave on for 20 minutes.
Almond Milk Cleanser
20 whole almonds soaked and peeled
1 cup water
2 ounces rose lavender hydrosol
4 drops geranium essential oil
1 ounce vegetable glycerin
Blend 1 cup of water and soaked and peeled almonds (soak almonds in water overnight and peel). Strain and combine remaining ingredients. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Use to clean and exfoliate skin.
Facial Scrub
1 cup rice bran powder
1 cup chickpea powder
¼ cup hibiscus powder
¼ cup rose powder
¼ cup sandalwood powder
¼ cup coriander powder
Blend all ingredients and store in a sealed container. To use, add water to a few tablespoons of scrub and apply to damp skin.
Ayurveda Natural Beauty treatments combine the best ingredients to provide you with simple and healthy solutions, no matter what your body and beauty type.

Essential oils have been used for centuries to remedy a variety of ailments both physical and emotional. Some, like peppermint oil are great for digestion while others like grapefruit are known for their fat burning properties. However, the most common use for essential oils is to help induce a state of relaxation or calming.

Here are 4 essential calming oils and how to use them.

Rose oil

Rose oil has several uses including being used as an antidepressant, anti-wrinkle, to treat chronic bronchitis and asthma and to help improve sexual potency. It’s also used to induce calming and relaxation. And is said to be able to heal emotions and trauma by bringing warmth to the heart and soul.

It’s often blended with other calming oils to produce an all encompassing calming effect and blends well with Patchouli, Cedarwood Oil, Bergamot, Sandalwood, Chamomile, and Ylang-Ylang. You can place it in a lotion and apply directly to your skin. You can place rose oil in massage oils or bath products. You can also place in a diffuser and enjoy the scent in a room that you find calming. Say your bathroom, bedroom or study.

Lavender Oil

Lavender oil may be the most common essential oil using for relaxation. You can find it in the grocery store isles in lotions, bath gels, shampoo and even candles. Lavender is everywhere. In addition to being wonderful for relaxing and calming, lavender oil can be uses as an analgesic, diuretic, styptic, rheumatism, muscle pain, depression, headaches, hypertension, insomnia, stress and skin diseases.

Like Rose Oil, you can combine it in a number of personal care products, drip it into your bathtub, or you can place it in a diffuser and enjoy it throughout your home.

Jasmine Oil

Jasmine has a most recognizable fragrance and is commonly used as an aphrodisiac, to treat headaches, for fatigue, to soothe coughs, to improve and tone skin and to calm menstrual issues. Jasmine is also tremendous oil for calming.

While jasmine oil is more expensive than just about any other essential oil, it is very powerful oil. To use you can blend into personal care products like bath gels, massage oils and lotions or you can place a few drops of jasmine oil in a vaporizer and let it permeate your yoke. * Burners and vaporizers

Jasmine oil blends well with Bergamot, Rose, Sandalwood and Citrus oils.

Chamomile Oil

Chamomile oil, both Roman and German, are wonderful for their calming and relaxing properties. They also help with treating PMS and other menstrual and menopausal problems and to heal and regenerate tissue.

Many practitioners recommend using Chamomile to treat irritable children and colicky infants. To use, blend in massage oil, place a few drops in the bath, blend into lotions and creams and place a few drops in a vaporizer or diffuser.

To create a powerful relaxing effect you can blend Chamomile with jasmine, lavender or rose oil.

Essential oils have many wonderful properties. To fill your home with a sense of peace and calming, consider diffusing one or a blend of the above essential calming oils. And for those extra stressful days, add some to a bath or a vaporizer and enjoy the relaxing benefits.

Homemade soap really isn’t as difficult to make as you may imagine. The hardest part is judging when the soap is done but like everything else with a little practice this becomes easier. Also it’s important to take great care not to breath in the fumes as lye can be toxic – also do not get it on the skin and be careful when handling as it will get extremely hot.
Once safety precautions are in place you can get started. Here’s how to make homemade soap:
#1 – Get ingredients ready. For this easy recipe you will need:
9 oz of lye – set this aside in a large measuring cup
Then together in one large bowl:
4 ½ cups olive oil (use the very cheap kind and not extra virgin – the cheapest makes the best soap)
2 cups coconut oil
2 cups grapeseed oil
#2 – Warm the oil to medium temperature while letting the lye cool slightly. Both the soap and lye should be the same warm temperature. You can use a thermometer and wait for both to be at around 110F or simply feel by hand (touch the side of the bowls and judge when both are at similar temperatures). Pour lye into the large bowl containing all oils
#3 – Using a hand-held blender slowly mix the oils and lye together. This will take about 2 minutes.
#4 – Add two teaspoons of your choice of natural oils – lavender, cinnamon, rose – the choices are endless.
#5 – Pour the soap mixture into the mould. A baking tin will do.
#6 – Wrap the tin with several heavy towels to keep the heat in. Set aside for 24 hours approximately – perhaps a 28.
#7 – Cut the soap into usable sized chunks.