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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!!
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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