Who doesn't love finally being able to get outside and go for a run or take a yoga class? Some of my fondest memories of early morning work outs were when I first started CrossFitting back in 2009 as a member of the ONLY CrossFit box around in DC at the time, Potomac CrossFit. During that time they held outdoor AM classes in the park. Membership was at an ultimate high and in order to accommodate the number of people they took it as a true form doing Foundational movements outside. I loved it! However; what I never liked were all of the bugs and bug bites that came along with an outdoor work out of the day! Sweat, heat, and summer = bugs in DC.
Over the years living in D.C. I thought I would have to just deal with the numerous bites that I would get and swelling from the mosquitos that ate me alive. I've been using products from the drug store for years with some success for swelling and itching, but never dreamed that a natural remedy could help me more than something I'd used since a kid. Guess what?? Lavender essential oil is here to help swelling and itching for your summer bites!! Already have a bug bite? Apply Young Living Lavender directly to the bite (to soothe) dilute for small children) and re-apply as needed. Here are a few more bite tips: Purification: any bug bites and really bad stings Basil: snake bites Peppermint: stinging and itching Lavender: apply to any area that has swelling and itching Want to make your own bug spray? You'll need the following: Add 10 Drops Peppermint Essential Oil Add 10 Drops Thieves Essential Oil Add 10 Drops Purification Essential Oil (All three of these come in a Premium Starter Kit) 8oz Spray Bottle 4oz Distilled Water 4oz Witch Hazel Mix together, spray, and keep bugs away!!! Super busy and think this is CRAZY to make your own bug spray? I hear you!!! Try this quick tip instead!! Grab your diffuser (you can also purchase one that is cordless) and simply add water to keep bugs away: Add 4-6 drops of Purification and 4-6 drops of Peppermint essential oil OR Add 4-6 drops of Citronella essential oil to the diffuser Curious about starting with essential oils? Check out how to order here. Send me a note at [email protected]. Want to learn more tips about summer essentials using oils for things like bugs and bug bites? Drop me a note to learn more about an upcoming Online Free FaceBook Class hosted by some of my oily friends coming soon!
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![]() On Saturday, June 6th from 5:15-6:45pm at Tranquil Space, Arlington I'll be hosting a yoga workshop around the theme of summer and pitta dosha. Okay...I get it you have NO idea what a "pitta" or a "dosha" is so let's explore what we'll be learning and how this might possibly benefit you to spend time restoring, calming your senses, and finding balance in the heat of the summer!! Ayurveda is the ancient holistic health care system of India. It explains that there are three dynamic forces in nature, called Doshas, which are constantly changing and impacting our personal balance. Doshas control your body's physical, mental and emotional systems. This is why we are impacted by the fluctuations of the Doshas on a daily basis: the cooler, dryer morning is Vata; the hot, humid mid-day is Pitta; the wet, rainy late afternoon is Kapha. One of the ways we can bring balance to this is through Aromatherapy. Aromatherapy helps to bring balance to your body, mind and spirit naturally through the aromatic properties of plants, and this is why Ayurveda embraces the use of aromatherapy as a valuable way to balance the three Doshas of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Thousands of years ago, beneath the full moon on hot summer nights in India, Ayurvedic vaidyas, or healers, collected dewdrops from blue and white lotuses and stored them for medicinal purposes. According to the scriptures, if you place a drop of this precious substance on your tongue, it will cool your entire body. This “moon sweat” pacifies the pitta dosha, the subtle energy that controls metabolism and can cause you to overheat when it’s hot outside. The summer months cause us to have excess pitta with symptoms of dehydration, sweat, and feeling irritable. During the workshop on June 6th we will learn how to balance the summer months with an hour and ½ yoga practice dedicated to cooling poses, while applying calming and centering Citrus and Floral essential oils during a meditation practice. The practice will draw our awareness in the abdomen, where pitta dosha is concentrated in the small intestine to bring balance to the body. After the practice, we will spend time enjoying tasty refreshments with sweet, bitter, and astringent flavors to aid in pacifying Agni, the fire element-- pitta dosha in our belly. Sign-up under workshops at www.tranquilspace.com! I'm so excited that my new order of oils arrived this week!!! I am part of a program with Young Living calls Essential Rewards where I get points for every purchase and then qualify for free oils and can cash in points for items that I'd like to purchase! Last month, the Kidscents collection started to be sold individually. These oils are specially formulated for kids and have been out of stock for a while, so I knew I needed to use my Essential Rewards for these oils! I love the blends since it takes any guesswork out of using essential oils on children because each of these is designed just for them.
I'm co-hosting a free Online FaceBook class on Using Essential Oils with Kiddos this coming Sunday, May 17th at 8:30PM eastern. Drop me a note at [email protected] more details. Sleepylze I love that it is so gentle I didn’t have to dilute it at all. Sleepylze has lavender, geranium, roman chamomile, tangerine, bergamot, sacred frankincense, valerian and rue oil in it! I think it smells wonderful! Apply on the back of the neck and on the bottom of feet. We'd hit a rough patch where we've had lots of bad dreams and up many times during the night with my 2 1/2 yr old. I'm a HUGE fan of Tranquil roll on along the spine, but like to try other oils as well and this worked so great the little man slept all night long! Owie Owie oil is one we have used so much that I finally put one of the roller ball fitments on top (Young living sells these or if you have a kit you can use the one that came in your kit)! This oils also needs no dilution (none of the oils in this kit do! That is what is so amazing!)! This oils is used for just what the name implies, owies! I usually use lavender alone on cuts, bruises, and scrapes, but had to try this oil because of the helichrysun in the blend. Helichysun helps bleeding stop and heal faster and I've run into too many times not having this on hand when I wished I could go to my oil "medicine cabinet" to grab it. Owie oil is a blend of idaho balsam fir, melaleuca alternifolia, helichrysun, elemi, cistus, hinoki and clove oils. TummyGize TummyGize is another oil I love! How many of us have little ones that complain about tummy aches?? Charlie is pretty used to applying oil at night before bed and asks momma for his oils on his feet to tickle, so he knows how to use a roller under supervision. This one he thinks is fun to tickle on his belly when it hurts. I love that essential oils are so easy to use that a 2 (almost 3) year old can do it! TummyGize is a blend of spearmint, peppermint, tangerine, fennel, anise, ginger and cardamom essential oils. I have to admit I like the smell so much better than DiGize. It will definitely be our new “go to” oil for tummy issues with my kids. DiGize works wonders ( I used it way too often for a stomach bug this winter), but the smell is not my favorite. SniffleEase SniffleEase is a blend of eucalyptus blue, palo santo, lavender, dorado azul, ravintsara, myrtle, eucalyptus globulus, marjoram, pine, eucalyptus radiata, black spruce, eucalyptus citriodora and peppermint. It is perfectly formulated for your little ones! This oil is fantastic for runny noses, allergies, and itchy eyes. My son had a drippy nose for what seemed like a full week, so I was eagerly awaiting this oil to come so we could try it out. I applied this oil directly to his chest and noticed a huge difference by the end of the day!! Yeah for no more drippy noses. These are just a handful or oils that I ordered, but the blends on my "wish list" for next month are GeneYus and Bite Buster for summer months!!!! If you want to order any of these special individual blends and are a Young Living Member the information is below. If you are interested in purchasing a Premium Starter Kit or individual oils, please drop me a note at [email protected]. Trust me it won't be long before these go out of stock! ![]() The sun is finally out in D.C. which means I have to look at the mess winter left me in my garden, start thinking about opening windows, and spring cleaning! Since I've loved using essential oils from Young Living in every other aspect of my life from health, to sleep, to fitness, I was excited to learn more about their all-natural cleaning products like Thieves Household Cleaner! I am always buying "Green Cleaner" products at large stores like Target and usually paying around $3-4 for them, so when I learned Thieves Household Cleaner is a concentrate I was curious to figure out more! For most all-purpose cleaning, you use the concentrate by diluting 30 parts of water to 1 part of Thieves Household Cleaner. That breaks down to one 64 oz bottle of Thieves Household Cleaner concentrate = about 128 all-purpose spray bottles (30 oz. each) for about 88 cents a bottle. If you are a wholesale member it's 67 cents a bottle!! That’s cheaper than most all-natural cleaners on the market!! Hello savings! Here's what I did to "make my own" green cleaner: Purchased: Thieves Household Cleaner (since I'm a wholesale member) the price was (67 cents a bottle). Purchased: Basic Spray Bottle from Target ($2.99) Added I cap of Thieves and 1 cup of water *I chose to add a few drops of Lemon Essential Oil as well that came with my Premium Starter Kit since I was cleaning windows and kids art projects this weekend, which tend to be sticky. One of the biggest questions I always get from my friends, clients, and family is I don't get how you "appear" to have so much time and do so much. Honestly, I really don't have more time than you. I really just try to keep things simple. Trust me I grew up watching "Out of This World" and if given a genie's bottle I would probably pick Evie's power to have the ability to freeze time on Earth by joining two fingers....but, that's probably not going to happen! The genie's bottle for household cleaning is really Thieves. Keep it simple. There's no guessing behind what you can and can't use Thieves for to clean. It does everything under the kitchen sink and more saving you time and money! Check out how to use Thieves for cleaning: Hand Cleaner: Mix 1/2 cup of Thieves Household Cleaner with 1/2 cups of water and add to a foaming soap bottle. Use as needed to naturally clean hands. Exercise Equipment: Mix 1 capful of Thieves Household Cleaner with 2-3 cups of water in a spray bottle. Spray toys, play equipment, train tables, doll houses, toy organizers or shelves, etc. to remove dirt and naturally clean. Baby and Kids toys: Mix 1 capful of Thieves Household Cleaner with 3 cups of water in a spray bottle. Spray toys, play equipment, train tables, doll houses, toy organizers or shelves, etc. to remove dirt and naturally clean. Dishes: Mix 1/2 capful of Thieves Household Cleaner with 3cups of water to clean pots and pans. Windows and Mirrors: Mix 1 capful of Thieves Household Cleaner with 4-5 cups of water (add 2-3 drops of Lemon essential oil for a fresh lemon scent and/or 1 tsp of white vinegar for streak-free clean). Clean windows, sills and mirrors to remove dirt, sticky residue and grime. Garbage Pans:For interior garbage cans, mix 1 capful of Thieves Household Cleaner with 3 1/2 cups of water in a spray bottle. Spray trash cans and wipe clean to remove dirt and grime. Consider placing a cotton ball with 2-3 drops of Purification essential oil to keep trash can smelling clean. For exterior and heavy duty garbage cans, mix 1 capful of Thieves Household Cleaner with 2-3 cups of water (use less water for heavier degreasing) in a bucket. Take garbage cans outside and use cleaning cloth to thoroughly clean. Use spray hose to rinse and let dry outside. Wood Cabinets and Floors: Mix 1 capful of Thieves Household Cleaner with 1 cup of olive oil (add 2-3 drops of Lemon essential oil for a fresh lemon scent). Wipe down wooden cabinets, tables and other wooden furniture to remove dirt and clean surfaces. Stains on clothing: Use Thieves Household Cleaner without dilution on the stain. Scrub gently with a small brush until the stain is gone. What is Thieves Household Cleaner? It’s hard to believe, but Thieves Household Cleaner is truly an all-in-one natural cleaner that’s non-toxic, yet super effective. It’s made with 100% plant- and mineral-based ingredients, including:
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