Want to make your own muscle relaxing lotion? Such a simple recipe and easy to make! If you do not wish to take the short time to make it, you can see my dear friend, Colleen Sinclair, owner of the Siphon Draw Apothecary. She makes wonderfully combined skin care products from all natural organic food sources. Also as a Holistic Nutritionist, she understands the biochemistry of the body and that’s it’s not just what we put in our body, it’s what’s absorbed on and in our bodies and skin. Www.siphondraw.com for more information.
This recipe contains avocado oil, which has naturally occurring magnesium and potassium that help hydrate the skin. Avocados are one of the most mineral-rich superfoods in the world. In addition, magnesium oil is added — it’s transdermal so can pass through the skin into the body.
Also, to naturally calm the body, this recipe contains lavender essential oil, which can relax muscles and reduce the effects of stress.
Apply this CALM magnesium body butter recipe today to naturally increase minerals and healing compounds in your body!
Dr. Axe explains it very simply:
Check out this video on YouTube:
Homemade CALM Body Butter Lotion
Total Time: 45 mins to an hour
Serves: 30-90
ALL ORGANIC INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup Avocado oil
1/4 cup Magnesium oil
1/2 cup Cocoa Butter
30 drops Lavender Essential Oil
Large Glass Jar or Small glass Jar
DIRECTIONS:
In saucepan with water over low heat, place a jar containing the cocoa butter.
Once melted, pour into bowl and let cool in fridge for 30 minutes.
Using a standard mixer blend and whip it.
Once whipped add in magnesium oil, avocado oil and essential oils and mix.
Transfer to glass jar or plastic container and keep in refrigerator for 90 days.
1. You’ll become more mindful.
Which one takes longer and really makes you slow down? Eating clean also means eating with purpose and savoring food. That means a better relationship with everything from radishes and radicchio to red velvet cupcakes (which you’ll no longer crave).
2. You’ll save money.
Kiss sick days and medical bills goodbye when you get nutrients from eating clean, real food. Plus, shopping locally and in season makes sense– and cents. Planning clean meals for the week is cost-effective if you make a list and stick to it, as there’s no chance of overspending at the store.
3. You’ll live longer.
Study after study has shown that consuming these foods can lengthen your life-span. And in a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, European researchers have found that increasing your produce intake to more than 569 grams per day reduces your risk of mortality by 10 %.
4. You’ll have better relationships.
Preparing clean meals takes time, just the kind of time that allows for easy, relaxed conversations with your kids, spouse and other family members and friends. If they’re too busy with screen time to share stove-top time, point them to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 2014 study, published in Public Health Nutrition, showing good health comes from home cooking.
5. You’ll be smarter.
Eating a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish and nuts keep our minds sharper and our memories stronger by a whopping 24 %, proved a study published in spring 2015 in Neurology. Our brains also function better with nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, as shown in Nature Reviews Neuroscience, while they slow and sputter down when we fill them with sugar (including alcohol), fast food and the wrong kinds of fats. If that’s all too much too think about, remember one point from the Nature Reviews Neuroscience report: A balanced diet means better brain health.
See also 9 Amazing Brain Boosters to Add to Your Diet.
6. You’ll have more energy.
Adam and Eve were onto something when they bit into that apple: Fruit is just one of many clean foods that provide an instant dose of energy. High-fiber fruits like apples take longer to digest and can instantly stave off that afternoon slump while providing critical vitamins for the evening ahead. Other pick-me-ups include quinoa, almonds, eggs, kale, citrus fruit and a good-old-fashioned glass of water.
7. You’ll be better in bed.
Mamma mia! Women with metabolic function in Italy and other regions of the Mediterranean enjoy a healthier sex life than those in the US, thanks to the components of their diet– yep, vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and olive oil. That’s what researchers found in a comprehensive study published in the International Journal of Impotence Research.
8. You’ll help the planet survive.
There’s an oft-quoted statistic that food travels approximately 1,500 miles from farmer to consumer in the United States. By eating seasonal and local foods, as recommended by Clean Eating, you can help reduce your carbon footprint. As the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported in 2003, “The major threat to future survival and to US natural resources is rapid population growth”and “the lacto-ovo vegetarian diet is more sustainable than the average American meat-based diet.
9. You’ll be stronger.
The lean protein that comprises part of the clean-eating philosophy builds lean muscle mass and boosts metabolism, found a study presented at The Obesity Society’s annual meeting in 2014. Some mighty choices for your muscles (in addition to animal-based products like chicken, fish and lean beef) include quinoa, chickpeas, nuts, spinach and seeds.
10. You’ll be happier.
Food and mood go hand in hand. And the better the food, the better your mood. If you need to brighten your day, go for berries, bananas, coffee, lean proteins, chocolate, omega-3 and turmeric fatty acids, all proven to boost your mental state.
Not looking to use Conventional Drugs to help ease Anxiety? Try some of these herbs.
Licorice Root contains a natural hormone alternative to cortisone, which can help the body handle stressful situations, and can help to normalize blood sugar levels as well as your adrenal glands, providing you with the energy necessary to deal with the stressful situation at hand. Some claim licorice stimulates cranial and cerebrospinal fluid, thereby calming the mind.As a soothing tonic, drink it warm as in a tea.
Some herbal supplements reduce anxiety without making you sleepy (such as L-theanine), while others are sedatives. Valerian(Valeriana officinalis) is squarely in the second category. It is a sleep aid, for insomnia. It contains sedative compounds; the German government has approved it as a treatment for sleep problems.
Valerian smells kind of nasty, so most people take it as a capsule or tincture, rather than a tea. If you want to try it, take it in the evening—not before you go to work! Valerian is often combined with other sedative herbs such as hops, chamomile, and lemon balm.
Hops
Yes, it’s in beer, but you won’t get the tranquilizing benefits of the bitter herb hops (Humulus lupulus)from a brew. The sedative compound in hops is a volatile oil, so you get it in extracts and tinctures—and as aromatherapy in hops pillows.
“It’s very bitter, so you don’t see it in tea much, unless combined with chamomile or mint,” says Blumenthal. Hops is often used as a sedative, to promote sleep, often with another herb, valerian. Note: Don’t take sedative herbs if you are taking a prescription tranquilizer or sedative, and let your doctor know any supplements you are taking.
Chamomile
If you have a jittery moment, a cuppa chamomile tea might help calm you down. Some compounds in chamomile (Matricaria recutita) bind to the same brain receptors as drugs like Valium.
You can also take it as a supplement, typically standardized to contain 1.2% apigenin (an active ingredient), along with dried chamomile flowers. In one study at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, in Philadelphia, patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) who took chamomile supplements for eight weeks had a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms compared to patients taking placebo.
The University of Maryland Medical Center states that passionflower has shown in a few studies to work as well as some of the benzodiazepine medications that are usually prescribed for treating anxiety.
A four-week double-blind study, for example, compared passionflower with oxazepam. Results showed oxazepam worked more quickly, but by the end of the study period, both treatments were shown to be equally effective. Bonus—side effects like daytime drowsiness were fewer with passionflower.
A second study also showed that passionflower helped ease symptoms like anxiety, irritability, agitation, and depression in participants going through withdrawal from an opiate drug addiction.
Dosage: Try one cup of passionflower tea three times daily, 45 drops of liquid extract daily, or about 90 mg/day.
Lavendar
A 2010 multi-center, a double-blind randomized study of lavender oil compared to anti-anxiety medication lorazepam found that both were effective against generalized and persistent anxiety. Bonus — lavender had no sedative side effects.
“Since lavender oil showed no sedative effects,” researchers stated, it could be an effective and “well-tolerated alternative to benzodiazepines” to treat generalized anxiety. An earlier 2000 study found similar results.
Dosage: Try about 80 mg/day of the supplement, or use the oil as an aromatherapy solution.
Lemon Balm
Though usually found in combination with other herbs, lemon balm also has anti-anxiety powers on its own.
Research published in 2004, for instance, gave participants a single dose of lemon balm extract (300 mg or 600 mg) or a placebo, then measured their mood after one hour. The higher dose resulted in reduced stress and improved calmness and alertness. Even the lower dose helped participants do math problems more quickly.
Dosage: Use in aromatherapy, try 300-500 mg of dried lemon balm three times daily, 60 drops daily, or 1/4 to 1 teaspoon of dried lemon balm herb in hot water for a tea four times daily.
Ashwagandha
A 2012 double-blind, placebo-controlled study gave participants either placebo or a capsule containing 300 mg of high-concentration full-spectrum ashwagandha extract, twice a day. The study lasted for 60 days. Those taking the ashwagandha showed significant improvements. Even the levels of the stress hormone cortisol were substantially reduced in those taking the extract. And there were no serious side effects.
In an earlier 2000 study, ashwagandha had anxiety-relieving effects similar to those of lorazepam.
Dosage: Typical dosage is 300 mg standardized to at least one to five percent withanolides, once or twice a day.
L-Theanine
This one isn’t really a herb — it’s a water-soluble amino acid, but it’s gotten such good research behind it, we had to include it here. It’s found mainly in green tea and black tea and is also available as a supplement.
Studies have found that it acts directly on the brain, helping to reduce stress and anxiety—without causing drowsiness.
Research from 2008, for example, found that those participants taking 50 mg of L-theanine a day had a greater increase in alpha (relaxed brain waves) activity than those who took a placebo.
An earlier 1998 study found that 200 mg a day leads to increased alpha brain waves and a relaxed, yet alert, a state of mind.
A later 2011 study found that it was also associated with reduced anxiety, and was well tolerated and safe for participants.
Dosage: A typical cup of black tea contains only about 25 mg of l-theanine and green tea only about 8 mg. While a cup of tea may be calming, if you want more potent effects, try a supplement, about 200 mg a day.
The digital detox is nothing more than taking a break from your devices. While on vacation, we are constantly connected over social media, email, and by using our devices to find the best restaurant on Yelp or the best route on maps. “Some of the changes I’ve noticed in clients after they’ve taken a digital detox are that they are more balanced and calmer in their lives due to periodically stopping the continual digital exposure throughout their day.”Try to have at least one hour before bedtime where there is no digital stimulation so you can unwind. Don’t let digital devices stay on at night next to you unless it’s mandatory.
And although others take a more hardcore approach with week-long ‘summer camps’ or designated holidays, pledging to take just one day offline while you travel means you can reap the benefits of a detox, without sacrificing the joy of staying connected to your family and friends or taking the perfect Instagram or Snapchat shot.
Some suggest that the discipline in these smaller detoxes can be hugely beneficial to your mental state, and you can implement them on a smaller scale in your everyday routine.
This video points out the daily grind, and why we could all use a break.
This concept can be difficult at first, the benefits are real. Many detoxers find a real world connectedness that enriches and enhances our lives in a way no Wi-Fi connection can.
These short-term benefits are just part of the story. Mentally, even a short break from electronics can have long-term benefits that can make you happier and more successful in every aspect of your life.
Today, in a world where the average user logs almost 2 hours per day on social media alone, this idea is somewhat terrifying. Dr. Yvonne Thomas, a psychologist and therapist based in Los Angeles, puts it simply: “You can be so preoccupied with your digital devices that it’s all too easy to inadvertently sacrifice time, relationships, sleep, focus, productivity and balance in your life. Many people are not even aware of the toll their extensive usage of digital devices costs them until they have suffered a loss or upset because of this.”.
Could this cure-all of the tech world provide more benefits to the humans using the tech than the devices themselves? Digital detox devotees think so, and they’ve started a movement that seems to grow louder and larger with every tech announcement or app update.
Not convinced? Try it for one week.
How to detox without losing your job or social life.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to detoxing. Randi Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media, believes in a ‘digital sabbath’, while Google chairman Eric Schmidt believes in scheduled ‘on’ and ‘off’ times, and commits to gadget-free meals.
When traveling and taking a vacation, every notification you receive– emails, instant messages, text messages, social media notifications– takes a moment to acknowledge, another to process and another (or a few depending on how soon that deadline really is) to forget. Suddenly the notification, even if you neglected to react or respond to it, is a significant distraction from what should be a chance to explore another culture and enjoy some time away from the screen. Multiply this by the 50+ notifications many of us will receive in a day, and you can start to get a sense of what you’re losing to your device.
Dr. Thomas has seen first-hand how deep the benefits can be. “Some of the changes I’ve noticed in clients after they’ve taken a digital detox are that they are more balanced and calmer in their lives due to periodically stopping the continual digital exposure throughout their day.
“Try to have at least one hour before bedtime where there is no digital stimulation so you can unwind. During this digital-free time period, try to connect with yourself through meditation, reflection or awareness. Don’t let digital devices stay on at night next to you unless it’s mandatory.
