2022 went by in a flash! Anyone else feel that way? We are a mere few days away from 2023, and what has 2022 been like? Personally, it’s been a …
Inspiration Lifestyle YogaInspiration Lifestyle Yoga
Body Inspiration YogaYoga Props for your Home Practice
Essentials & Props you may want to consider for your home practice. Looking or searching for yoga equipment or props can get overwhelming especially if you’re brand new to yoga. …
Books Home & Garden Mindand Breathe… meditations and mantras… a Book Review
and Breathe… Meditations and Mantras for Greater Calm, Balance, and Joy
This is a book you need to add to your collection, especially if you’re new to meditation practicing mindfulness! This book is filled with meditations and mantras to help guide you along on your mindfulness journey.
and breathe… Meditations and Mantras for Greater Calm, Balance, and Joy
I picked this little book up at Indigo a while back and just opened the pages (honestly, I have so many books and keep buying more lol) so it takes a while to get to my new ones!
Why practice mindfulness?
If for nothing else, to become more aware of your surroundings, your actions, your feelings and how they impact your day.
According to the Oxford Languages mindfulness by definition can be;
- the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. “their mindfulness of the wider cinematic tradition”
- a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
When you start practicing mindfulness (or as I like to refer it to as awareness), you really do start to open up, wake up and live with purpose.
It’s a tough word to explain and a tough subject to grasp with the how’s and the why’s of it all. That’s where books come in handy, to help guide us. And this little book, I highly recommend.
How do Meditations and Mantras Work?
We all need guidance every now and then. Meditation teaches us to listen, to calm the mind & body. Mantras offer us reminders of what to tell ourselves. Often, we just need to stop and take a breath.
Breathe…
About the Book
“I Accept”
Chapter; Support
The colorful pages are packed with mantras, meditation tips & tricks surrounded in soft colors and I absolutely love the easy to read layout.
It’s not your standard self-help book. This is a tiny book packed with legit mindfulness tips and the most simple & beautiful mantras that inspire!
This book will guide you with tip for your meditation practices and how exactly to practice mindfulness. You learn about self acceptance, forgiveness, awareness, self-care, how to listen to your body and so much more.
Most importantly, with each lesson you learn the WHY behind them and the HOW it all works!
“I can make any moment a mindful moment”
Chapter; Sustain
About the Author
According to the book, Sarah Rudell Beach is a mindfulness practitioner and educator with over 10 years experience, and 17 years of experience as a high school teacher. Her accolades are plenty and she is now on my personal favorite authors list 😉
This little pocket book is a must have and one that is super easy to keep in your book bag for when you’re on the go!
Thank you.
I am grateful to you. With hope you’ve enjoyed this post, please be sure to check my other posts as well. And remember to check out my PARTNERS SHOP as without them, this blog wouldn’t exist. Every time you support them through the links in this blog, you support me as well, for this I truly thank you. Lastly, be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get a weekly mantra and more!
Have a wonderful day!!
Fitness beyond the Mat InspirationCold weather got you down? Warm up with this mini workout!
It is COLD people!! And we knew it was coming. Now is not the time to turn on Netflix, let’s get you up and moving with this no equipment or fancy workout clothes needed mini workout!!
Let’s get through this cold snap with some movement, and then we can get back to the, movies, blankies and comfort food.
Get moving and warm up your body with this min workout.
Save this mini workout for whenever you need it!
- 20 squats
- 20 lunges (alternating legs)
- 20 Front kicks Alternating legs
- Jog in place for 1 min
- 10 Jumping Jacks
- 5 Burpees
- 20 Crunches
Do that TWICE! Or do this once every commercial break. Not everyone has Netflix people, some of us still have commercial breaks lol!!
FEEL the BURN. Now you’re not cold anymore 😉
You’re welcome.
That’s it for today. No lengthy blog post, just a mini workout for ya! Have a great rest of your week!!
Be sure to see my other blog posts AND, SHOP our partners page!!
Home & Garden Life & StyleHimalayan Salt Lamps; let’s look at the benefits
Recently, I purchased a Himalayan Salt Lamp, for 2 reasons.
- It would be a relaxing light in the home
- Everyone kept raving about the benefits
Honestly, I did not know much about the benefits beyond knowing that Himalayan Salt Lamp can help clean the air and they look beautiful creating a sense of calm (like a candle). So I thought it was time to dig a little deeper. Let’s have a look at the benefits of adding a Himalayan Salt Lamp to your home.
The Himalayan Salt Lamp
Let’s get to the research.
What exactly is a Himalayan Salt Lamp and how are they made?
Himalayan Salt comes from mines close to the Himalayas. Pretty understandable given the name of the lamp & the salt you can buy for the bath and for cooking.
The salts’ pink or orange color, is formed from trace minerals in the actual salt. These trace minerals, including magnesium, potassium and calcium, are the superpower of all the claimed benefits.
To form a lamp, large chunks are carved from these salt mines and a bulb is added, simple and lovely.
The Benefits
When doing the research for this post, I actually found contradicting research into the benefits of the Himalayan Salt Lamps. Some articles absolutely believe in the health benefits and some articles deny the benefits saying there isn’t enough research into the science of it all.
All articles, I found, agree on one thing, they look beautiful in the home. And that, is evidence enough for me. Why? If the salt lamp makes you feel relaxed, and makes you feel happy, then it’s already reducing your stress levels and that means, it is helping you.
There are said to be many benefits from these beautiful pink or orange chunks of salt. I’m not going to dig into all of them because there isn’t enough scientific evidence for some of the claims, let’s just look at a few that make sense.
1. They Clean the Air
Ions. It’s all about the Ions.
Himalayan Salt Lamps release negative Ions into the air. The thought process behind this is that the more negative ions in the home, the better we feel. Positive ions apparently, make us feel bad. It’s the one of the rare times where negative is good and positive is bad.
The bulb in the lamp warms up the salt and that is said to help release these negative ions and neutralizing the positive ions in turn, making us feel good.
One article I read when doing research says that waterfalls & oceans also produce mass amounts of negative ions and this is why we feel so darn good when we are in these environments.
As I have always said, Nature Heals.
2. They are Mood Boosters
This one, I agree with! As soon as I plugged in our lamp, I immediately felt better. The ambiance of the light is mesmerizing. At night, we turn off all the lights in the home and enjoy our TV time with just the Himalayan Salt Lamp on.
Besides loving it during TV time, I truly enjoy it during my early morning time on the mat. I turn off all the lights and turn on my lamp & essential oils diffuser. It’s the perfect setting for a yoga practice.
How exactly does it boost the mood? The research on this one, goes back to the Negative Ions as explained above. The negative ions literally make us feel good boosting our moods.
3. Increase your energy levels
See point number one. It’s all in those negative ions.
4. They Improve your sleep
And this is because the lamp makes you feel relaxed. When you feel relaxed, especially going into your evening, you will then have a great sleep.
Yes, put one in the bedroom!
5. They make you Happy
This one can go under the mood booster point also. Being happy is what we all strive for, and if a salt lamp can help, count me in!
One area of research points out that when you are exposed to the lamp, it creates serotonin in your body. Serotonin is directly linked to your mood. Click HERE to get the insights into what serotonin does in your body from Healthline. There is lots of research out there in the land of Google, Healthline has always been one of my go-to’s.
In short, serotonin is a good thing. If the lamp makes you happy, then it’s totally worth having.
Buy the lamp if it makes you feel good.
I mean, why not?!?! If it helps, enjoy it! We are certainly going to be adding to our salt lamp collection as there are some gorgeous ones out there AND, we really enjoy it.
Where to buy a Himalayan Salt Lamp
Where can you get one? Head down to your local gift shop or hardware store. If you prefer to shop online, here are a few links for you to check out.
(affiliate links)
These 2 are nice & Simple, a great starting point, I have something similar to the first image. It is small, but fits nicely in our small, humble home.
AND then there’s this one… WOW!!
This is a cute one from Chapters, a USB charged version. Perfect for a small space.
Lastly…. I found this one and love it!
If you prefer candle holders, then these for you…
That’s it for today. Doing the research for this post was educational and super fun! I hope you’ve enjoyed it and that it helped your knowledge on these special chunks of salt.
Thank you.
I am grateful to you. With hope you’ve enjoyed this post, please be sure to check my other posts as well. And remember to check out my PARTNERS SHOP as without them, this blog wouldn’t exist. Every time you support them through the links in this blog, you support me as well, for this I truly thank you. Lastly, be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get a weekly mantra and more!
Have a wonderful day!!
Beauty Home Lifestyle Mind7 Simple Ideas for your Self-Care Routine
The term Self-Care has taken off this past year. Self-Care while always been essential, it is now even more essential than ever before! Taking care of yourself is important, and doing so will certainly help your mental and physical well being.
What exactly is self-care and what can you do to amp up your self-care routine? An act of self care or a self-care routine can include something as simple as enjoying a cup of tea, a long shower, getting dressed into something other than sweatpants (#athomelife), or sitting down with a People magazine (you know you want to!).
Self-Care
Self-care is the action of taking care for oneself. Pretty straight forward right? So why then, is it hard to do? For one, we tend to feel guilty if we aren’t doing something else or looking after someone else.
Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that if you don’t take care of you, how on earth are you supposed to take care of others? Self-care isn’t selfish, it’s necessary. And it doesn’t need to be an hour long bath, it can be many other things in small or larger amounts of time. Read on for 6 simple ideas you can include into your self-care routine.
1. Meditation
10 minutes. That’s all you need for an effective meditation. Start with one minute and work your way from there. Click here to read a past blog post on how to start! The key is to release your thoughts and let go. Take a full breath in taking in the good and breathe out releasing what no longer serves you. Surround your body with positive energy and simply take a time-out!
2. Journaling
Journaling is also effective! Getting our thoughts, feelings, rants, gratitude, poems, affirmations, lists (or whatever it is you need to get out) onto paper is absolutely freeing and cleansing! Give it a try, grab a scribbler, notepad or buy yourself a fun journal for motivation to get you started. There’s no right or wrong to journaling AND no one has to read it.
3. Get in a workout
Roll out the mat! Spend 10 or even 20 minutes on the yoga mat.
Don’t have a Yoga Mat? Do some squats, lunges, burpees, jumping jacks, get that heart pumping! Exercise releases endorphins making you feel oh so good.
The best workout is to simply get outside! Bundle up if it’s cold and go for a walk around the block. BONUS, spending time outdoors in nature can double as meditation (a 2 for 1 self-care deal).
4. Spa Time at Home
The most popular form of self-care is some Spa time.
Try a solo bubble bath full of Epsom salts & a few drops of lavender essential oil, or trade that for 10 minutes under a warm shower.
Spa day! At-home Spa Days have become popular. Try a facial mask, doing your nails (with a new nail color is always fun) or even a full pedicure. Give yourself some love, all the pampering is good for the soul.
My personal go-to is enjoying a marine mud mask and doing my nails at the same time, have some fun with it!
*** CLICK THE IMAGE AND GET THE MARINE MUD AT A SPECIAL PRICE *** (offer only valid until January 31, 2021)
5. Cook a healthy meal
Good food makes you feel good. Yes, it takes a bit of time and maybe a trip to the grocery store, but your body will thank you for it! Don’t know what to make? Head over to the land of Google, it is full of wonderful recipes. OR invest in a Cook book (yes, people still use cook books).
6. Read a book
Drop the screen time and grab a good book with your morning coffee or read a few pages before turning in for the night. Getting lost in a good book is like going on vacation without leaving your home. You can turn to a book to learn something new, for some personal development or simply get lost in a good novel.
7. Light a Candle
Lastly, simply lighting a candle is a very soothing form of self-care. Light a candle and have a sit down to enjoy it for a minute or 2. The candle’s aroma & ambient lighting create a sense of calm. A lit candle during your meditation or bubble bath is a wonderful addition and deepens the sense of relaxation.
Taking care of you is essential.
Self-care is necessary, and it doesn’t have to take a big chink out of your day. I hope you’ve enjoyed these ideas to add to or get started with your self-care routine! Be sure to check out our other blog posts and sign up for our newsletter in the form below. Thank you so much for the support.
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Home Home & Garden Life & StyleEssential Oils that you need to start with
From household and beauty DIY to diffusing and aromatherapy, essential oils have taken over the last few years. Thank goodness. Aromatherapy is real y’all! But where do you start? There are so many brands of essential oils and oil blends. Let’s go over the staples of essential oils you need to start with.
*** this post contains affiliate links ***
1. Lavender
It’s the most popular oil, and for good reasons! Lavender helps calm the nerves which makes it a great essential oil to diffuse in the home and especially in the bedroom for a peaceful sleep.
Use a few drops in the bath with some Epsom salts or Himalayan sea salt for a relaxing, soothing bath encouraging stress release.
Lavender essential oil can also be used on cuts, scrapes and even as a spot treatment for acne. Using this or any essential oil topically has to come with a warning label. ANY essential oil is potent, so they are best to dilute when using it on your skin and try a test area first as you may even react to them.
2. Peppermint
The one essential oil you should never go without. Be aware that this is an extremely potent oil and will sting the eyes if near them! Clear your mind by rubbing a drop of two of this heavenly oil on your temples and third eye. Doing this is also a great practice for aiding in the relief of headaches.
Add a few drops along with your lavender essential oil to the bath or use it on its own to help relieve stress.
Diffuse it in the home for a refreshing smell.
3. Frankincense
Historically, Frankincense has literally been used forever!! And rightly so, there are a number of Frankincense essential oil benefits including promoting relaxation and tranquility. Topical uses also are said to benefit skin tone, and overall promote healthy looking skin.
Diffuse a few drops in your favorite diffuser especially nearing bed time to chill out and enjoy this lovely aroma (another one of my favorites) and one I will not go without. If using topically, be sure to add to to a carrier oil like all essential oils should be, they are potent and to be used carefully.
4. Eucalyptus
The BEST oil if you are feeling a bit congested and one I add to the shower! Add a few drops to warm water in a glass dish and let is steam in the shower with you. Honestly, It’s the best!
Other benefits of eucalyptus essential oil include applying it to your chest (with a carrier oil) when you are congested. It is known to keep the bugs away (bonus!!) and helps you breathe easier.
Diffuse a few drops in your favorite diffuser, steam it in your shower or apply it to your chest (with a carrier oil).
5. Lemon
Lemon essential oil is THE household staple! Many household cleansers can be made with this oil, here is a simple recipe that I use:
- 2 cups distilled water,
- 2 Tbsp. white vinegar,
- 10 drops lemon essential oil.
Add all the ingredients to a GLASS spray bottle. Yes it has to be glass as essential oils will eat away at plastic.
Along with a great ingredient as a household cleaner, enjoy this invigorating aroma in the home by adding a few drops to your favorite diffuser.
Those are the essentials for essential oils that should be in your home. They are a great starting point especially if you are new to essential oils. Always remember, these tiny bottles contain powerful oils. Please use them carefully and with respect. Never ingest an essential oil unless advised by a pro and love the world of essential oils.
Thank you for reading and please leave a comment or share this post with your friends. Be sure to check out the other blog posts as well! Have an amazing day.
Interested in starting a business with essential oils? Reach out or sign up as a Young Living Distributor HERE!
Beauty DIY's Home & GardenA DIY Facial Scrub You Need to Try
A DIY Face Scrub with just 2 ingredients; honey & cinnamon! I stumbled across this DIY facial scrub just last week & of course I had to try it! It was so wonderful and deserving of a blog post to share with you all.
Why a DIY Facial Scrub?
Well, it saves on packaging and money! PLUS, most items are in your pantry meaning it’s safe enough to eat and usually tastes good too. This recipe in particular tastes like apple pie!! I couldn’t stop licking it from my lips lol! And, it’s fun trying weird & wonderful DIY things.
This recipe I snatched up from the land of Google is super simple and is a must try.
The Recipe
- 3 tablespoons of raw (organic) honey
- 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
Yup, that’s it!A 3:1 ratio of honey and cinnamon.
Mix the ingredients in a glass bowl together with a wooden spoon until the honey & cinnamon paste is mixed up nice & smooth. Then, after cleansing your face, gently work the scrub onto your skin. This mixture is sticky and therefore you should apply a lot to avoid pulling at the skin. I found it easier to add a bit of warm water onto the finger tips to apply & massage in the scrub.
Gently massage the mixture into the skin for a few minutes, be careful not to pull at the skin as that does damage. Wet the finger tips with warm water if needed. After a few minutes of massage, I let it sit there for a couple more minutes like a mask soaking in all the goodness before washing it off with cool water.
Benefits of Cinnamon & Honey on the skin
Let’s dig a little deeper into the benefits of using honey and cinnamon on the skin.
Honey on the skin
Honey is well known as the Nectar of the Gods, and for good reason! Google the history of honey, it’s super cool information!
Acne prone skin (like mine) can benefit from using honey as it is a natural anti-septic removing dirt & bacteria and can help nourish damaged skin. Honey is naturally soothing, has healing properties and is hydrating as well.
Honey is a very gentle exfoliator on its own getting rid of dead skin cells and opening up pores allowing the skin to breathe and rejuvenate. PLUS, honey being full of anti-oxidants has anti-aging properties and is said to boost collagen, talk about a perfect ingredient!
Cinnamon on the skin
It’s the one ingredient I never even thought of using in a DIY recipe to be honest and it is the perfect fine granular ingredient to use for sensitive skin!
Cinnamon is powerful and underrated as it’s benefits are not well known. This common kitchen ingredient has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties which, like it’s partner honey, helps relieve that acne prone skin! Also like honey, cinnamon is packed with antioxidants making it the best defense against aging skin. PLUS, it helps with tone and can even “plump” the skin.
2 Powerful Kitchen Ingredients
When these 2 powerful kitchen ingredients are combined, cinnamon paired with the honey it is a blessing for acne prone skin, and the antibacterial properties helps in the fight against free radicals which causes aging of the skin. Best of all the worlds! So go ahead, get cooking & give it a try!
Thank you for reading this post, be sure to check out the other posts on the blog for more living well lifestyle inspiration. Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts and ideas for future posts!
Fitness beyond the Mat Inspiration Lifestyle5 Simple Ideas to Get You Moving Today
There are some scary statistics out there showing we aren’t moving so much these days and our bodies are paying the price! Did you know that 76 percent of North Americans have gained up to 16 pounds since the pandemic began? AND that television views have increased to 41 hours per week increasing this statistic by 30 percent? AND that Video Game usage has increased by 50 percent?
Those are some super scary statistics! And of course they make perfect sense. We’ve all been thrown for a loop through this whole mess and it’s no wonder why these types of statistics aren’t surprising. BUT that doesn’t mean we can’t do something about them.
*** this site contains affiliate links ***
Get Moving
Lets get you moving by taking baby steps to help watch a little less TV (or at least get some activity while doing so) or to get rid of some of those added pounds.
1. Go for a walk
I know, you’ve hear this one before. So why aren’t you doing it? It is by far the easiest thing to fit into a day. There are many ways to get this done! How you ask?
- Try parking further away at the grocery store to get in a good walk, the steps add up (including the steps you take at the store!)
- When you get home from work, don’t take your coat off! Put on your sneakers instead and sneak in a quick walk around the block.
- Take the stairs at work
2. Try an at-home workout program
Give Beachbody On Demand a try. It’s like Netflix for working out! Try it free for 14 days!! Or order their T25 Program (my personal fav).
3. Mini Workouts
- Keep a set of weights by the couch and do some bicep curls & squats while watching TV.
- Skootch to the edge of the couch and get in some triceps dips
- Do some squats while folding the laundry or texting.
- Lunge your way down the hall to the bathroom.
Get creative! You can totally get away with mini workouts throughout the day.
4. Hit the Mat
You knew I had to put that one in here somewhere! If you don’t have a yoga mat, get one! It’s easy to roll out anywhere and do a few good stretches.
5. Drink Water
You may be asking, how will drinking water get you moving? Simple. Set your phone to get UP and get a sip of water every 30 minutes. This may mean no longer having your water bottle by your side but far away enough that you have to get up. PLUS drinking lots of water = bathroom breaks! Therefore drinking water equals getting up, moving and also staying hydrated!
There, 5 simple ways you can get started to get more movement in today. Thank you for reading, if you wish, please like, share or comment & see other blog posts for more inspiration.
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