Thieves Essential Oil

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Thieves Products

  • Household cleaner for countertops, tables, and stains
  • Dish soap, dishwasher soap, and fruit & vegetable spray
  • Laundry soap for washing clothes and taking out stains
  • Toothpaste, dental floss, mouthwash, and thieves spray
  • Bar soap and foaming hand soap
  • Cough drops, throat lozenges, and mints
  • Hand sterilizer and wipes

Hello, again!  So, let’s talk about Thieves today. Thieves is an oil that helps to boost your immune system and kills germs. Thieves can be used for cleaning, for an air freshener, for sore throats, and for helping your body fight off sickness like the common cold.

Young Living has many products made from the Thieves essential oil – all-natural of course. No chemicals or toxins. You can breathe while you are doing your cleaning. No need for masks!

Keep in mind that these products are very potent and can usually be split into 3rds. You only need to use just a little bit of toothpaste to get clean fresh teeth. The household cleaner is potent enough you only need to use one cap full for a 12 oz. spray bottle. I only use 1 tablespoon of the laundry soap per load.

I love that I can make a spray bottle with thieves household cleaner or the thieves oil and use it to clean my counters and windows, spray on stains, and as an air freshener.

Well, that is it for now. We will chat again later.

– Melissa

Benefits of Different Essential Oils for Relaxation and Yoga

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Essential OilsHey there! So, there are many different oils you can use for relaxation and/or yoga. It really depends on the person. For some people smelling something that brings back happy memories is all it takes to relax. Such as Pine essential oil may be relaxing for you if it reminds you of the fun times you had when camping.

Some common essential oils for calming or relaxing are Lavender, Stress Away, Cedarwood, Peace & Calming, or Frankincense. You can simply put a drop or two in the palm of your hands and cup your hands over your nose and inhale slowly to enjoy the calming effect. You could also put some in a diffuser or on your wrists. My favorite relaxing oils are a combination of Joy and Stress Away. I have blended them together with some witch hazel to make a perfume out of them and have received many compliments on my perfume.

For yoga, you could use any of the calming oils or if you are interested in something to help you focus you could try some Peppermint. It is great for focus as well as many other things like upset stomach and clogged sinuses. If you wanted something uplifting you could try Orange, Joy, or Lemon. One way to use the oils while doing yoga would be to put some of the oil in a spray bottle with distilled or filtered water and spray lightly spray your yoga mat before starting. This way you can smell the oil every time you get close to the mat.

Well, that’s it for now. We’ll chat again later on.

– Melissa

10 More Benefits of Yoga

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  1. Ups your heartrate! While not all yoga is aerobic, you can take a flow vinyasa class or ashtanga class. This can boost your heart rate. Studies have found that yoga practice lowers the resting heart rate, increases endurance, and can improve your maximum uptake of oxygen. One study found that subjects who were taught only pranayama could do more exercise with less oxygen.
  2. Do More YogaDrops your blood pressure. Savasana (corpse pose) of lying down and breathing was associated with a 26-point drop in systolic blood pressure (top number), and a 15-point drop in diastolic blood pressure (bottom number).
  3. Regulates your adrenal glands. Yoga helps to lower cortisol levels. Normally, the adrenal glands secrete cortisol in response to an acute crisis, If cortisol levels stay high even after the crisis they can compromise the immune system.
  4. Makes you happier! Studies have shown that consistent yoga practice improved depression, and led to a significant increase in serotonin levels and a decrease in levels of monoamine oxidase and cortisol that has been correlated with greater levels of happiness and better immune function.
  5. Healthy Lifestyles. Move more, eat less. Regular yoga practice promotes movement, enhances the spiritual and emotional aspects and may encourage you to address any eating and weight problems on a deeper level.
  6. Lowers blood sugar.  Yoga lowers blood surge and LDL (bad cholesterol) and boosts HDL (good cholesterol).  By getting your blood sugar level down, you can decrease your risk of diabetic complications such as heart attack, kidney failure, and blindness.
  7. Helps you focus.  An important component of yoga is staying in the present. Studies show yoga improves coordination, memory, reaction times, recall information better, and are less distracted.
  8. Relaxing your system.  Yoga encourages you to relax, focus on the present, and creating a balance within your parasympathetic (rest and digest) and sympathetic (fight or flight) systems.
  9. Improves your balance.  Practicing yoga regularly will increase your ability to feel what your body is doing and where it is in space.  This helps to improve your balance and coordination.  Better balance less falls, and more stability.
  10. Maintains your nervous system.  Practicing yoga helps to create a more efficient nervous system that can enhance brain wave patterns, regulate the temperature in the body and much more.

Fun Times During Yoga on Halloween Night

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Kim Briemayer Halloween Fun during our evening yoga class. We all had a howling great time. I can’t wait until the Christmas holiday classes!

Come and join the fun and get great benefits from yoga. Classes are ongoing…check out the class schedules.

Congratulations to Kim Briemayer for best dressed Halloween night! She is sporting her vintage “prom dress” with all her beautiful accessories. She is amazing as she fully participated in the yoga class dressed in style.

(Click images to enlarge…)

God’s Pharmacy in real food!

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It has been said that God first separated the saltwater from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, He made animals, and fish all before making a human. He made and provided what we would need before we were born. The foods listed below are best and more powerful when eaten raw. God left us great clues as to what foods help with what parts of our bodies.

CarrotA sliced Carrot looks like a human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like a human eye. Science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow and function of the eyes.
Sliced TomatoA Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopene and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
GrapesGrapes hang in clusters that have the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
WalnutA Walnut looks like a little brain, the left and right hemispheres, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three dozen neuro-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney BeanKidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like human kidneys.
CeleryCelery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specially target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don’t hand enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Yoga Essence

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Breathing

Breathing is typically done through the nose. Deep belly breathing is the key success in health and wellness. The breath is our most powerful tool to calm and relax the body and clean the mind.  It helps to get deeper into poses. It is important to focus on maintaining long and smooth breaths throughout our yoga practice.

Feeling

Yoga EssenceWe want to feel something in every pose. Remember to check in with your body and modify or change poses to feel more or less sensation. When we take the time to feel something within each pose, we are more grounded in the moment and aware of subtle changes and our potential.

Listening to the Body

As we practice poses and breathing, check in to see what feels tight, comfortable, loose, how is the breathing, how is our body alignment, how is the mind?

Letting Go of Competition

When practicing yoga, no one has the same body as you. You are special in your own way. No one can have the exact same pose. It is not a competition…it is about what you need.

Letting Go of Judgment

Judgment and fear have a tendency to hold you back from living a rich and meaningful life. Your yoga practice is about you. No one is perfect and we are all unique in our way. Embrace who you are and what you are capable of.

Letting Go of Expectations

In yoga we turn our attention inward, encourage yourself to let go of external comparisons, and judgments that are impacting you from have a deeper experience in your practice. Being here and in the present – today – and not letting the past experience limit you. Yoga is a process and a journey, not a destination.

Staying “In the Present Moment”

It means stopping to notice the beauty and love around us and within us. It means being fully present in each moment because it is only the present moment that exists. So many of us worry about the future, hold regrets about the past, and completely ignore the present.

October Spotlight – Lisa White

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Lisa and BryanI have never been much of an athlete, but I have always tried to stay active.  Over the years, I’ve done aerobics, weightlifting, step aerobics, Pilates, and attended my first yoga class about 10 years ago.  I really hate running and jumping and cardio in general, so yoga really appealed to me.  I knew this was something I could benefit from and enjoy doing as I age.  I consider The Hammock to be my yoga home and I appreciate the different styles of each of the instructors here and the friends I’ve made.  I also enjoy trying new venues and especially love doing yoga in the great outdoors!

I have worked at Spectrum Health for 13 years as Administrative Assistant to the directors in Safety & Experience.  We support Patient Relations, Ethics, Pastoral Care, Language Services, Advance Care Planning, Patient Experience, Employee Safety, Patient Safety, and Medication Safety and our Patient and Family Advisory Councils.  Every day is interesting!  I often find myself using the skills I’ve learned in yoga during my day – remembering to breathe when I’m stressed, being aware of my posture (and my shoulders creeping up to my ears) and taking time to do some stretching poses throughout the day.

My favorite people are my husband Bryan, our kids, Bryan (Holly), Jenna (Michael), and Brandon (Mikayla) and our sweet little grandson, Jax.  I love the National Parks and really wanted to see them with my family, so last year we took our first Family National Park Trip to Acadia in Maine.  We had so much fun that now we’re planning to go to Yellowstone next year.  What a great way to make memories and see our beautiful country!

Free Family Yoga Classes in Lowell this Fall!

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Thank you to Maryalene LaPonsie of Lowell’s First Look for the wonderful write-up about our FREE YOGA CLASSES this fall!  

An excerpt from the article:

Family Yoga at Libaray 1…From September 7 to November 30, the library will be hosting family yoga classes from 11-11:30 am each Saturday. The classes are free and will be led by Sarah Ryder, an occupational therapist, registered yoga teacher and owner of The Hammock.

Classes Part of Energize Lowell Initiative

Stephanie Weaver, a branch librarian, explains the family yoga classes are part of a larger initiative that seeks to promote community wellness. Known as Energize Lowell, the initiative will eventually encompass nutrition classes offered by the YMCA, activities on trails at the Wittenbach Wege Center and perhaps other events.

There has been some evidence linking movement to improved literacy which is one reason the library was keen to offer family yoga classes. It is also an activity that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities.

Family yoga was offered over the summer, and each session contained a unique mix of activities depending on who was in attendance. One week a 3-year old was in the crowd and another week, it was all adults. “It’s very easy for me to modify and change things,” Ryder says. Chairs are also available for those who want to participate but are unable to stand throughout the class.

The library has invested in mats and blocks so families don’t need to bring any equipment to the sessions.

“Americanized Yoga” Comes With Multiple Benefits

Ryder knows some people are wary of yoga because of its spiritual roots. However, these classes are what she terms Americanized yoga. “It’s movement. It’s breathing,” she says. “We’re not sitting and chanting.”…

The article concludes…

Family Yoga at Libaray 2In addition to family yoga, Weaver says the library is interested in offering a yoga program specifically for seniors. Stay tuned for more information on that.

In the meantime, Lowell residents are invited to a free yoga class on Saturday, September 14, that will take place at the Grand River Riverfront Park bridge. Ryder says she will meet participants at the bridge at 9 am and conduct an hour-long yoga session that will take advantage of the beautiful views along the Grand River. If the weather is inclement, the session will be moved to an indoor location.

For more information on yoga at the bridge, visit The Hammock on Facebook. And to learn more about happenings at the library, follow the Kent District Library – Englehardt/Lowell branch.

[READ COMPLETE ARTICLE]

 

13 Reasons Why We Crave Sugar, Which Can Take Us Out of Balance

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  1. Why We Crave SugarDehydration
  2. Addiction-especially sugar
  3. Not enough food or calories
  4. Not enough protein
  5. Not enough fats
  6. Not enough carbs
  7. Too much protein
  8. Too much stress
  9. Not enough acid from foods
  10. Not enough alkalizing foods
  11. Not enough sweet flavors
  12. Not enough nutrient-dense food
  13. Emotional

The reason why we crave salt: processed foods adding salt to all foods which can affect the kidneys and adrenals.

When in doubt, drink water first and then ask yourself what and when did I eat last, and what do I need to create balance.

Interesting quote: “People are fed by the FOOD industry which pays no attention to HEALTH and are treated by the HEALTH industry which pays no attention to FOOD. – Wendall Berry

September Spotlight – Morgan Jarema

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Morgan JaremaI’ve been practicing at the Hammock for about four (five?) years now, though I remember being introduced to yoga at about age 5 in Ann Arbor through my hippie mother. We took classes together for a while in my late 20s from Carolyn Hines in Grand Rapids when I was diagnosed with MS and developed balance challenges.

My husband and I moved to the area in 2004, and I joined the Hammock as a way to reduce/counteract/cope with stress at my job, and a way to celebrate quitting smoking (yay… finally!) and to resume treating my body with honor attention and kindness.

For me, the breathing techniques have been helpful in everything from staff meetings to kidney stones to accidentally reading comments anywhere online, and the physical benefits of strength, balance and flexibility are more and more important as I age.

I convinced my husband to come with me to class about two years ago, and he too has seen the value of paying attention to breath and to being bendy-er. He’s the guy with the airplane on the studio walls.

I’m very grateful to Sarah and Liz for their expertise and their ability to roll with my dorky sense of humor, and it’s a pleasure every week to practice with all of you. Also, I would absolutely not freak out if anyone else took the corner spot. Absolute Zen here.

John and I have no children — that we know of … ha! — and spend most of our not-working time traveling, on tubes or a pontoon on our stretch of the Flat River, and plotting places to fly for those hundred-dollar hamburgers. We have two indoor cats, Wookie and Sansa, and one outdoor adoptee, Parker.