This week I decided to look at something that has been a part of my life for about 25 years now.

Yoga.

And although I may not have practiced faithfully for 25 years, I have always been able to go back to it and draw on my experiences with it.

I have had times when I was forced to step away from practice ... I suffered from lingering hyper-mobility and joint instability after giving birth to my daughter, and although yoga felt good after she was born, it was actually making my back issues worse.

Over time I learned to listen more closely to what my body needs and the value of an amazing teacher (not just a video online). The power of having someone help me make accommodations for my back, knee, and ankle so that I am still able to embrace yoga and have it a part of my life despite all of my bodies challenges.

A note on the topic of Live Instruction vs Pre-recorded ... pre-recorded videos provide an amazing opportunity to access a wide range of classes not available in your area or timezone; however if you are a beginner or have challenges due to injuries or physical limitations, I highly recommend finding an instructor who does either in person classes or live online classes so that they can assist you and help to ensure that you do not hurt yourself getting into a posture that your body shouldn't go into. There are tons of accommodations that can be made, you just have to know what they are.

Before we explore the different types of yoga out there, I think we need to start by looking at what exactly Yoga is.

I have spent a lot of time recently chatting with clients about their stress level & wellbeing.
 
Pretty consistently we talk about how out of control stress is right now, and how they just don’t know what to do about it.
 
Since the stressors aren’t going away anytime soon, it’s time to create a healing ritual of mindfulness, meditation and gratitude to allow you to feel calm and to interrupt the chronic stress cycle.
 
Often, I hear that people don’t find breathing exercises helpful in moments of stress crisis (whenever the fight or flight part of your nervous system is triggered for whatever reason).
 
But I think that all it takes is creating a ritual around your breathing exercise and consistent practice to condition your mind and body to relax and breathing to calm.
 
Eventually your ritual will be successful at breaking the stress cycle in those critical moments of stress & crisis.
 
Rituals allow you to quickly and more easily shift and engage in a specific mindset. 
 
Basically you are giving your brain the cues that tell it what is coming so it can say “oh, we like the serenity we feel after this, let’s get right to that”.

Think about when you get on the massage table for your appointment, once you are settled you probably have a big sigh exhale and immediately start to let go and relax. Same exact thing.
 
So if your goal is to calm and sooth your nervous system, having a ritual around your breathing exercise can help you more quickly achieve that serenity and calm.
 
Creating Your Own Ritual
 
Your ritual should have a couple of key components when your goal is reducing your stress response. Basically the more cues you can give your brain the better, but keep it simple enough that you don’t get bogged down in the process and end up more stressed or frustrated than when you started.

1. Smell – an essential oil like lavender or frankincense or a stress relief rollerball and rub some on the palm of your hands, along your collar bones, and under your jaw; light your favourite candle or burn your favourite incense.
2. Sound – total quiet (absence of distracting sounds, even a fan); soothing nature sounds; calm classical music (check out Ludovico Einaudi, his seven days walking collection is amazing!); Tibetan singing bowl; whatever calms you. I tend to gravitate to total quiet because my house is generally full of noise, so quiet is peaceful and calming for me.
3. Breathing – any breathing exercise that works towards slow, deep breaths will interrupt the cycle of stress hormones (breathing exercises to try); choose whatever works for you, I love moon piercing breath, especially when I preform my ritual right before bed, but in the morning you might want an energizing breath like sun piercing breath.
4. Gratitude – think of 3 things you are grateful for or 3 good, joyful, wonderful things that happened that day (even if all you can think of is you drank a full cup of tea hot, you showered, and everyone is now asleep in bed); some days this is the hardest part, we tend to get bogged down by the negative or what didn't go well, but adding gratitude to your ritual helps to flip your mindset and put you in a more positive, hopeful place helping to reduce your feelings of stressed and overwhelmed.

 
Some other things that can add power to your ritual ... crystals like amethyst (has a calming vibration that is wonderful in times of anxiety and stress) or rose quartz (has a strong vibration of unconditional love, joy, warmth and connection to the heart); a mala to mark of your breaths; a mantra, my favourite one recently is Shima (pronounced she-ma) which means Love; a dedicated space to practice; aura spray (I love these from Alypsis); a mediation cushion (comfort is key).
 
What is the best time of day to practice?
 
Well this depends entirely on you.
 
If your quiet moment is when the kids are down for a nap, do it then.
 
When your stress is waking you up during the night, try preforming your ritual just prior to bed.
 
Alternately, you could try first thing in the morning for a positive and calm start to your day.

The key is to pick a time that you can consistently commit to practicing your ritual.

Rituals don’t have to take an incredible amount of time, but they do need to be practiced regularly in order for you to experience the quick and easy slip into your desired mindset.
 
Real Life Inspiration
 
One of my clients was struggling to calm her mind and get good restful sleep at night, so the ritual below is what we pulled together for her to try.

​She practiced this ritual every night, just before turning off the lights, and by her next massage appointment 4 weeks later was already experiencing improved sleep which in turn made the days easier to handle. It was still a work in progress for her, but she was beginning to feel less overwhelmed and stressed; and the plan was to continue with regularly incorporating her ritual into her bedtime routine.

Last post we looked at how I use essential oils and what my most used oils are … so now let’s take a look at why I use so much of the oils I do.

What are my most used essential oils & what are they great for?

1. Lavender – is generally regarded as the most versatile essential oil, it can be used Neat (directly on the skin without a carrier oil); regulates the central nervous system, sedative, calming, analgesic, antiseptic, antiviral, antibacterial, insect repellant, good on burns/sunburns, headaches, and skin conditions (plus so much more)
2. Frankincense – can be used Neat; grounding, calming, slows and deepens breath, good for asthma and panic attacks, pulmonary antiseptic, stimulates cell growth in skin ***Contraindicated in the first trimester of pregnancy***
3. Vetiver – deeply relaxing oil; good in times of stress and anxiety, affinity for ADHD, post-partum depression, encourages restful sleep, good general immune fortifier, muscle aches and pains, sprains and stiffness
4. Rose – nerve tonic, skin care, depression, sensitive skin, broken capillaries, eczema, PMS, menopause, is extremely antiseptic, has an affinity for uterine problems *Buy a dilution as straight essential oil is extremely expensive
5. Jasmine – sooths breathing, antidepressant, PMS-cramps, sedative effect on nervous system in stress related conditions, tonic for reproductive organs, skin elasticity *Buy a dilution as straight essential oil is expensive
6. Geranium – can be used Neat, great for fatigue, stops bleeding, scar formation, nervous tension, skin regeneration, hormone balance, bruises, stimulates lymph flow and drainage, improves skin condition, stimulates adrenal cortex
7. Tea Tree – can be used Neat, antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, disinfectant, skin care
8. Lemon – very antiseptic, antiinfection oil, tightens and brightens skin, helps with fluid retention, antimicrobial, stops bleeding, detoxifier *Phototoxic – do not use on skin exposed to direct sunlight
9. Grapefruit – great for jetlag, air deodorizer, muscle fatigue, water retention, lymph drainage, diuretic, liver tonic, promotes hair growth *Phototoxic – do not use on skin exposed to direct sunlight
10. Mandarin – calming on digestive tract, calming, sedative, insomnia, nervous tension, fluid retention, skin toner *Possibly Phototoxic

So now that you know my most used oils, what is my favorite blend to use?

Well it happens to be a blend that my son and I created a number of years ago when I first started working with essential oils called Overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed is perfect in times of stress or when you are literally feeling overwhelmed and in need of a little grounding.

It is soothing and grounding; slows and deepens breath; great for stress, anxiety and nervous tension; wonderful for use in meditation as well.

How do I use this blend?

Roll blend on the palm of your hands, rub you hand together then cup them over your nose and mouth, take 5 deep breaths slowly inhaling and exhaling. This covers all the ways you can benefit from the oils and can quickly bring a sense of calm.

Or ... rolled this blend underneath jaw line and on pulse points behind ears and in the hollow at the base of the neck. The oil will warm on your skin and you will be able to enjoy the smell and experience the benefits for a longer time.

Do you have any essential Essential Oils in your collection?

Essential oils have been used throughout history for their aromas as well as their effect on the body.

And they have been essential in my home for years now.

My passion started when I took the intro to essential oils course offered by Alypsis here in Peterborough. After 2 full days I left with a book full of notes, a brain exploding with ideas, and a rapidly expanding list of oils that I had to have!

So how do I use essential oils?

Diffused, rollerballs, skin care, massage oils, inhaler tubes, and baths are the main ways we use essential oils; but we do use them in disinfectant spray, deodorizing spray, and hand sanitizer from time to time.

When applied topically, essential oils are absorbed through the skin and into the blood stream where they migrate to the organ they need to go to (or the organ system the oil has an affinity for); they can also have an effect directly on the skin. Inhaled essential oils are absorbed through the respiratory tract and into the blood stream; however inhaled oils will not only work physically in or on the body, but also as an emotional connection through the limbic system … think the smell of warm cookies baking makes you remember baking with your mom as a kid and all the warm gooey emotions that come with that.

Often when you apply oils to your skin you get a combination of the inhaled and absorbed benefits ... as long as you can smell it you are inhaling it.

One of my favorite ways to use essential oils every day is through my rollerball blends.

Try this … roll a blend on the palm of your hands (absorbed), rub you hand together then cup them over your nose and mouth, take 5 deep breaths slowly inhaling and exhaling (inhaled). This covers all the ways you can benefit from the oils and can quickly bring a sense of calm when used with a relaxing or stress relief oil blend.

An alternate is to roll your blend under your jaw line, on your neck, behind your ears … as the oil warms with you body, you will be able to smell it (inhaled) in addition to the oil being absorbed through your skin.

Diffusing essential oils in your space is a wonderful way to enjoy the smell and the benefits all day. I usually run something in our diffusers every day (yes, we have multiple in the house). One thing to note when you diffuse essential oils … only diffuse straight essential oils, not ones that are blended with a carrier oil, or it will just gunk up your diffuser.

What are my most used Essential Oils?

This was a little tricky for me to narrow down as I currently have 46 individual essential oils and 14 blends (purchased blends not including the ones that I have made), but even out of all of that there are a main set of oils that I am always running out of.

So here you go, these are my most used individual oils …

1. Lavender
2. Frankincense
3. Vetiver
4. Rose
5. Jasmine
6. Geranium
7. Tea Tree
8. Lemon
9. Grapefruit
10. Mandarin

Want to know why these are my most used oils?

Next post I will delve into all of the reasons why I use each of these oils along with my most use rollerball blend!

​Be well.

Karooch oils are from Alypsis in Peterborough Ontario. Check out their website for their full range of Essential Oils, Carrier oils, containers and more.

So much of our world now is fast, fast, fast … even the physical speed we move at can be fast. How much can you accomplish in a small amount of time? How much can you cram into a weekend or a day off? How productive can you be?

But is that really what is best for us?

What would happen if you tried to slow down and be a little less busy? A little less productive? Move a little slower? Accomplished a little less?

One of my favorite ways to slow down is to head to a forest for a wander. Not a speed walk, but a dawdle through the trees with my camera. Taking in all that I can and capturing all the amazing things that I see along the way.

This way of basking in nature is actually referred to as Forest Therapy or Forest Bathing.

Forest Therapy in the simplest of forms can be described as mindfulness in nature. It revolves around spending time in nature, particularly among the trees.

​Taking your time to move slowly through the environment, or even just sit. Close your eyes and just breath … then open your eyes and open your senses.

What can you see … what do you smell … what can you hear … is it warm or cool … what does the light look like as it filters through the trees?

Taking the time to notice big & little things like tiny mushrooms on the forest floor or how the branches of the trees catch the falling snow.

Spending time in nature can actually be an antidote for stress!

It can actually lower you blood pressure and cortisol levels, decrease nervous system arousal, enhance immune system function, decrease anxiety, and improve mood.