I love the Signs of Spring. They always remind me that change is necessary and allows for new things to beginning. What I don't love, daylight savings!
When we 'gain' that hour in Winter it feels great. I 100% love the idea of gaining an extra hour but I don't like losing that hour once Spring comes. More than that, I really dislike the disruption to my sleep schedule. I've learned, very painfully, that playing with your sleep can have major consequences. It literally affects everything; Mentally, Physically, & even emotionally. The longer you go without adequate sleep you can face things like depression. Our body needs good sleep.
This Sunday, 12th of March, if you're in a location that observes daylight savings, the clocks go forward. I use to really get into a state about it because I knew my schedule would be altered and getting back on track would take at least a week. I dreaded it. The last year, I've found a way to prepare myself before the time change and support me during the time transition. It has been so helpful. Get ready to save, screenshot and save so you have these tips for the next time change.
The week of the time change
- Consider moving your bedtime back by 15-30 minutes a day for the few days prior (especially for your children if you feel that the change will strongly affect their routines).
- Add 5 drops Lavender or Peace & Calming to a large handful of epsom salts for a calming bath.
- Rub the feet of little ones with Lavender or SleepyIze essential oil and coconut oil or V-6 Vegetable Oil Complex to help them wind down.
- Roll Tranquil or Rutavala on the bottom of your feet. For even more support, use the CBD Calm Roller.
- Fill diffusers with sleepy blends (listed in the night of)
- Make sure to keep up with your daily health routines like taking supplements, self-care techniques and using oils consistently.
The night before the time change
- Follow the same bedtime routine outlined above. All these little steps add up to lots of great support
- Support healthy sleep with a KidScents Unwind packet for the little ones and an ImmuPro or Sleep Essence tablet for the adults.
- Fill your diffuser with one of these calming blends:
- Peace & Calming + Lavender
- Lavender, Cedarwood + Northern Lights Black Spruce
- Dream Catcher + Tangerine
- Patchouli, Tangerine, Lavender + Frankincense
- Vetiver, Cedarwood, Lavender + Tangerine
- KidPower + Lavender
The morning of the time change (and for the rest of the week)
- Roll EndoFlex over your thyroid (front of the throat) and over your adrenals (lower back) to support healthy hormone levels that can get a little off during times of stress.
- Make sure to get in Vitamin B. I love YL's Super B. Two tablets with breakfast for natural energy.
- NingXia Red. Give your morning (afternoon or anytime) a pick me up with 2-4 ounces of NingXia Red. If you're feeling jazzy mix up a fun mocktail (be sure to make one for the kids, my boys steal mine)
- 2-4 oz NingXia Red
- 1 can sparkling water or 1 can NingXia Zyng
- Healthy splash organic kombucha
- 1 tsp Golden Turmeric powder
- 1 packet NingXia Nitro
- Lots of crushed ice
- Apply Peppermint to the back of the neck and on the temples (make sure to avoid the eyes) to help focus and sharpen the mind. If you need some support focusing, KidScent GeneYus is a great option too.
- Grab a NingXia Nitro packet for mental clarity
- Fire up your diffuser with some energizing & uplifting blends:
- Peppermint, Raven/RC + Lemon
- Rosemary, Grapefruit, Bergamot + Lime
- PanAway, Spearmint + Lemon
- Joy + Peppermint
- Rosemary, Peppermint + Lemon
- Tangerine, Grapefruit, Lime, Bergamot
- Eucalyptus Radiata, Lemon, + Rosemary
The night of the time change
- Follow the same healthy sleep routines outlined above. ImmuPro is a great choice, especially if you're feeling extra tired and run down.
The last thing I want you to do is remember to give yourself (and your loved ones) grace when time goes forward and the next few days after as you adjust to the shift in your schedules. This can be a hard time for everyone, especially when those moods and hormones get all mixed up. Take some deep breathes and remember you have the tools to support you and your families wellness during this transition.
If you aren't already a part of my oil fam, EssentOily Family, create your free account here and then you can add any of the above mentioned products to support & elevate you and your families wellness as you enjoy this incoming season.
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Anyone else feel like it's been so hard coming back from the holiday's and getting into real world mode?
Every year this is a struggle for me, but usually it's just because I'm not ready for those early morning school runs. I'd much rather have the extra sleep. This year has been an entirely different beast and it's been kicking my butt.
- tired
- can't sleep
- irritability
- brain fog
- slow digestion
- crazy bloating
- joints acting up
- and last but not least the breakouts
Any of that got you saying, "yes girl what is going on"?
I've been in denial because I know it all to well or at least I know what it means. You enjoyed the holiday season so much, took complete advantage of all the yummy goodness and wasn't on top of your wellness game - the gut portion specifically. You've got the Holiday-Itis!
Yup, you've had all the sugar mixed with a little stress and the bread oh the bread. Throw that all together with the fact that you were off on your gut health game and what you've got is a puffy mess of wtf. Because of your gut (digestive) not working at its best you're also not flushing out toxins like you should be or normally would be and now you've got a system that is overloaded and tired. We know, we hear it all the time, sugar = inflammation and an overloaded sluggish system means all of the things I mentioned above and then some.
So what do you do? A Digestive Reset!
I've been struggling so badly, this year, that I switched up my entire month to have two challenges because this was needed badly for me and I knew that if I was there was at least one more person out there who needed it too. It kicked off on the 23rd of January over in EssentOily You, if you're not already a part of my free group make sure you click and get yourself in there. This week I've been talking about the importance of your gut running at it's best and YL products that I love to help heal and maintain my gut health.
The Digestive Reset challenge is something you can do anytime of the year, so if you're seeing this months even years from when it was first posted you can still jump on it!
February 6 I will kick off the 2-week challenge, where we will use any combination of the products that I mentioned, your choice whatever feels best for you (I'm happy to help you choose). I will say that ICP Daily is a must have and it'll become part of your daily routine, it's that good!
This challenge is all about healing our gut health and creating sustainable, easy habits that you can take with you long after the 2 weeks to help you maintain your gut health. It's easy to forget that our overall health & wellness really starts in our gut, it's not until we end up feeling like crap do we remember and if we don't have the tools to heal, manage, and elevate then we just end up living in that unhappy state accepting it as our new normal. We're not doing that any more!
Get into EssentOily You and start building those habits to elevate your wellness.
**If you have any questions or would like more information please reach out, I'm more than happy to help**
Do you remember the first time you heard or learned about Seasonal Affective Disorder?
I learned about SAD when I went through it. I'd heard of the winter blues but I thought it was just something people said because of the snow and darker days. To be honest I love both of those things, well only during the holidays and then the sun can come back once they're over lol. But seriously, I had no clue that it was a real thing or how much of an affect the weather changing could have on your mental and emotional health. That was until my first year in Germany, back in 2016.
If you've ever been to Germany then you know it gets a different kind of dark there. Mix that with the cold, I was just not prepared. That first year it was just me not wanting to leave the couch or bed, I could've taken a nap at anytime. My entire being just felt run down. I couldn't figure it out. I thought it was just because of the recent move. So I just let it run its course. Winter 2017 came around and it was like a freight train. I wasn't myself, it was horrendous. The things that use to make me happy were problems, it was just awful.
I happened to be doing some research for a challenge in my oil community and I ran across a page talking about SAD. All of the symptoms that were mentioned was everything I was feeling. So I did more research and more research until I was convinced and then made an appointment. I was given some great info and advice but I wanted to make sure that I honored a natural way without disrupting my body more than it already was. Thankfully I was able to find tools that helped me dang near instantly.
The first day of winter is on the 21st and while it can mean a beautiful back drop for your selfies or family outings it can also mean a shift in internal balance and having the right tools, for you, can be a life saver and mean the difference between being able to enjoy the winter season or living in misery.
Yes, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that is triggered by the changes in sunlight or daylight and the weather. Some of the symptoms of SAD can be things like; a decrease in energy and increase in moodiness. There are lots of resources out there to help you find the right tools so you can manage anything the winter blues brings your way. I want to share with you the tools that helped me.
Remember that we are all different, so use what works or sounds good to you and leave what doesn't. Be sure to check in with your health care provider, as well.
❄️ Get in sunlight whenever it's available or grab a Happy Light if you're some where the sun just refuses
to cooperate. Light therapy is a great way to trick your brain into releasing those amazing mood-boosting chemicals that can help so much with the lows that comes with SAD.
❄️ Up your vitamin D with supplements. To all my military friends, I know that the clinic (at some locations) will give them to you so make a stop there if it's more convenient for you. My go-to's for added vitamin D are OmegaGize and Super D. OmegaGize is like a super fish oil supplement. It has the power of omega-3 fatty acids and CoQ10. But what I got it for was the D3. All of these together are great supports of your brain and so much more. It was like night and day when I started using this. Eventually YL came out with Super D, which contains 250% of your vitamin d. This is a great supplement to support mood and hormone regulation, along with so much more, exactly what I was looking for.
❄️ Don't oversleep. For me this was so hard to not do. When you're feeling low all you want to do is sleep, but the more you just sleep you keep your body in the lower state -- you keep your serotonin levels low.
❄️ Schedule in fun things. I made sure to have fun activities lined up with the fam, even just a board game
at home was so helpful. I found that when I still did the things that made me happy when the sun was out during the colder months it boosted my mood. It was like carrying the longer days with. It also helped with not completely going into hibernation. When I would isolate myself it only made it worse. Getting out was big for me.
❄️ Eat as healthy as you can. This is another one that can be hard because we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of the holiday season, when the days get shorter and colder, the sweet treats and comfort food are every where. Don't restrict yourself, definitely enjoy those things that make you happy, just be mindful of the amount of sugars and things like that because they can make it worse.
❄️ Check-in with yourself. Make time for yourself so you can be aware of any other changes. Schedules are changing, lots of things are going on and it can bring stress. Hold space for you to just breathe and answer the question "how am I?"
❄️ Lastly, bust out all the happy oils. Make your roller recipes and get them in your diffusers as often as you can. Citrus oils are my go-to oils when I need a boost. Molecules in oils are able to cross the blood-brain barrier and impact areas of our brain that control feelings of anxiety and depression. Each citrus oils has its own mood related benefits a couple of my faves are Orange and Bergamot.
Here are a few recipes to try, they are perfect for roller recipes or your diffuser:
Orange + Peppermint
Bergamot + Frankincense + Lime
Lemon + Rosemary + Peppermint
Winter doesn't have to bring you down, it can be just as fun as the warmers we just have to be a little more intentional about taking care of our internal balance.
Stay healthy sis
𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬. 𝘚𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. -- 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘵
I pushed so hard against planning because I felt like it put me in a box and I can't stand being restricted. It took a lot of knocks upside the head to realize that I actually thrive when I take the time to plan my week ahead and it actually gives me a lot more space to be creative and spontaneous -- live outside that box.
Two years ago my word was intentional and one of the goals I set for my personal growth was to be more intentional about planning my weeks on Sunday. The little steps I took throughout that year helped me build a habit. These things stopped me from just surviving day to day they helped me thrive, the entire week.
These are the things I ended up finding the most success with, helping me get ready for the week ahead;
𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒌 𝑰𝒏
I talk a lot about stopping and asking yourself how you're doing and I know it may seem silly but it does wonders for your mental health and for making you more self-aware about how you're feeling, which in turn allows you to create a plan that is going to be beneficial not harmful to you.
𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓
Take a look at what you've already got in the books for the week. If you're feeling anxious at all during the week or about the week you can avoid looking at your calendar which can cause more anxiety or cause you to end up in last minute mode when a notification goes off about something you had planned/scheduled and forgot about it.
𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑾𝒆𝒆𝒌
How do you want your week to go? Go beyond the obvious answers like, "a good week" "a successful week". Dig deep and ask yourself how you want to show up this week and what do you need to do in order to show up that way. What do you need to do to feel how want to feel come Friday. See yourself doing those things.
𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒇-𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒆
You knew I was going to say it at some point. Schedule time for yourself. Your name had better show up at the top of your priority list every day this week. Schedule in breaks, time to move your body, time to just breathe. Whatever you need to do to stay aligned.
𝑨𝒔𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑
Here's where you are letting go of the idea that you have to do everything yourself. As you're reflecting on your week ahead you might see where there's conflicts in schedules. Reschedule where you can and those things that can't be rescheduled turn to your support team and ask for what you need so that the week goes off with out a hitch. One of the biggest things to remember, it was hard for me, don't expect your support system to know what it is that you need -- ASK FOR WHAT YOU NEED!
𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑭𝒖𝒏
Make sure that you have some time for fun or just something you can look forward to that changes up the vibe of the week. You know the saying, "all work and no play...". Give yourself something to look forward to. A dinner out with friends, a date night with your partner, a date with your couch and binge worthy shows or a good movie. Whatever gets you excited beyond the work stuff.
𝑬𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒚
Now you've gotten everything taken care of, enjoy your Sunday. It can be very easy to get caught up in all that is coming but don't worry you've done everything you need to do to get the week in order, there's nothing left for you to do. Enjoy now!
𝑮𝒆𝒕 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑺𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑
It's time to do your sleep routine. Dump everything that's running through your mind into a journal, through meditation, or even stretching. You want to start this routine the same time every night so your body gets use to it and the wind down becomes a habit. Good sleep is crucial to your body and your mind so you can show up, for the week, how you want to.
You've got this and you will slay the week ahead. The last thing I want you to remember, you don't have to be perfect. This isn't the gospel and maybe you'd tweak something to fit you, do that. It's important that you don't be anybody but yourself and do what works for you, feels good to you because that is what will bring you the most success.
One of the reasons, I hear most, that people are hesitant to start using oils is because they think they won't get used.
First off that's a choice that you have to make, to use them. There is a reason you want them as a tool for your wellness and you have to choose everyday that you want to use the tools you have at your disposal to elevate your wellness.
It's just like the choice to brush your teeth or put on deodorant. You don't question whether buying either of those will be a waste because you make the choice to use them every day to keep things fresh. Same goes for oils.
But I know some of you are still like show me, so here goes a quick way you can use oils in your already put together daily routines.
When you are getting in a workout or saying your morning affirmations use Frankincense. This is my fave for bringing peace to my body and perfect for spirituality. You can apply Frankincense to your neck and wrists while you are getting in your affirmations, practicing yoga, meditating, or even when you are heading out for a walk. During ancient times Frankincense was more valuable than gold and let me tell you it's one you'll put at high value once you get it into your daily routine.
When you are in a creative space get Joy in your diffuser. I find that when I'm feeling good, happy the creative juices flow. Joy is perfect for when you are working, journaling, or for when you just fill blocked. It is an oil that has a magnetic energy that brings joy to your mind, heart, and soul. The properties of this oil can be a tool to help you overcome even the deepest-seated emotions that are blocking you.
And lastly, when you are winding down from your day grab Lavender -- it's relaxations best friend. There are so many ways to use Lavender but in this sense grab your diffuser and fill it with Lavender for when you are taking a bath, taking a nap, reading or even when you are doing breathing techniques to come down from your day. If you want to really ramp up the relaxation effect, create your own bath salts using Lavender. It's super easy to do, you can even make it ahead of time and have it sitting on your bath waiting for you whenever you need it.
There you have it, boom. I just gave you ways to use 3 oils and it didn't require you to do anything extra or add anytime to your routine. I highly recommend that you leave these (or any oils you're using) out in the places you'll be using them. When they are sitting out, staring you in the face, you will use them. If you leave them hidden you won't. Simple as that
No matter you reason for getting started, you can do it in a way that feels right to you and honors your healing and growth. When you join the EssentOily Family community you'll have all the support you need, when you need it.
Grab what you need here and if you have any questions you can comment below or connect with me and we'll chat.
