Blossoming And Creating

What's your smell today?

Working with essential oils to create an environment I can work in, creatively and productively is vital to how I work.  To do this, I create a blend that supports the outcomes I desire for the day. 

You can learn how to utilise essential oils in this way too. Once you know how, it can be easy to create a blend that matches where you want to go in any one day.

Today, it's a day for building creatively and ensuring I'm productive in my output too.

My blend for today was designed to support this outcome - and you're even reading my blog, so it must be working well, hey?

Recipe:

Frankincense (Boswellia carteri)

Orange - sweet (Citrus aurantium var. sinensis per)

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ct cineole)

This particular blend has been created to give the sense of Blossoming And Creating

Let me tell you a little more about how I developed this blend and arrived at the overall balance of this energy...........................

Often, when I am creating a blend for an emotional reason, such as this, I look to the subtle side of the essential oils, and choose them on the basis of what the emotions are that will be supported by the oils themselves. 

These concepts have been developed by many well respected therapists over the years (people such as Patricia Davis, Jennifer Jefferies and Shirley Price, there are many others also), as opposed to looking at the physical attributes and chemical constituents of the essential oil itself. 

Though, these elements do play a role in how the emotions respond!

Each essential oil chosen fits together to create an overall blend, which will elicit an emotional response.  Read on to learn more about the emotional side of each of these oils.

Frankincense

Frankincense will allow you to cut the ties to your past, particularly when you are growing and there are personal blocks that are making this growth more difficult. 

It will ensure that you are protected so that your energy is not drained while you are working.

When you are looking to work creatively and productively, often you wish to slow down your thoughts, to take a deep breath an allow the body and mind to combine to produce something new. Frankincense will ensure you slow your breathing.

Orange

Just looking at an orange, or anything orange in colour, makes me smile - the joy that orange brings to my soul is exactly what the essential oil brings to this blend.  The sense of pure joy!

When you are creating and expressing something new, being able to do it with an innate feeling of wonderment, of pleasure and joyfulness will ensure the vibe of this new project also projects joy and a sense of wonder.

Orange essential oil is about the simple pleasure of joyfulness, it allows you to release the sense of seriousness or sadness that prevails and uplift and nourish your soul to aid you in blossoming into your creativity.

Rosemary

Rosemary is a stimulant, just what you need to begin your work day! It will allow your brain to be active, though with clarity and the ability to cut through and truly 'see' what is required in your work.

With this clarity that Rosemary brings, you will ensure your productivity levels are peaking throughout your working day, avoiding being bogged down by distractions.

Harnessing your creativity and pushing it into action, will support your ability to be productive with clear results!

Blossoming & Creating

Frankincense

Orange - sweet

Rosemary

To learn more about how you can also blend oils for your work or home, consider our upcoming Aromatherapy for Pleasure course (you can read more about it here).  Use the coupon code SVBLOG to receive a discount. TOnly the first 5 students will receive the discount!

Want A Coffee With That Workout?

Obviously, when you are undertaking an exercise workout, the best way to enhance your performance is to ensure good hydration (plenty of fluids) and nutrition (protein builds muscles).

But, you would be wise to add the world's best known pick me up to your pre-exercise  routine!

Did you know that caffeine is one of the most effective, low-risk and easy to consume performance boosters available to you?

Even athletic boards discuss caffeine as a controlled or restricted substance.  A 'normal' dose is allowable for all athletes, and you don't need to have excessive amounts to enhance your performance.

There are studies that show that 100mg of caffeine will enhance your performance for your exercise workout.

Consider that 'health' studies are also looking at the benefits of caffeine. The European Food Safety Authority risk assessment states that up to 400mg of caffeine a day is considered safe!  This is approximately 4 cups of coffee a day.  Now, if you are pregnant, this is to be reduced by half at least.

So, to boost your exercise workout performance, how much to take and when to take it?

The International Society of Sports Nutrition states that taking 100mg (one cup of coffee) up to an hour before your exercise workout has been shown to give the greatest benefits.  Obviously this is dependent on you, the individual too.  Some people can't take much caffeine, and others chug it back like it's lolly water and seeminly have no effects.

I'd leave it up to yourself to do a trial to see how you benefit from a cup of coffee up to an hour before your exercise workout.

If you don't drink coffee, I use a product called e+, which has naturally sourced caffeine from green tea, and yerba mate, as well as herbal adaptogens that allow for a steady release of energy without the energy spike crash!

For more info, contact me directly

What Grains Do You Eat?

In today's society we are often told of the 'new, yet old' grains that we 'need' to be eating for the benefit our our health. To remove our dependence on wheat and subsequently gluten.

Have you considered that it may be better to discover the new/old grains that are produced in your own country rather than those that have fed other societies for many generations?

Check out this interesting article on five different grains to consider, including barley, oats, spelt, buckwheat and rapeseed.  It's a great read.

Easy Steps to Breaking Habits

I know that it is difficult to get into good habits, but how easy is it to break those habits?  I remember reading somewhere, once, long ago, that it takes 3 weeks to create a 'good' habit, and 2 days to break it!

Well, for the last month, my routines have gone out the window.  However, in my mind I have been

• blogging daily,
• writing out my gratitudes daily,
• writing up my daily intentions,
• exercising daily,
• maintaining my healthy eating routines,
• working on my business
• and generally doing all my routines!

Does this work for you? Did it work for me?  Well, the answer to this is yes, and no.

I did keep up with running every second or third day.
I did mentally, and electronically, 'write out' my gratitudes, intentions and blogging ideas.
All this occurred while I was on holiday in New Zealand.

The 'trouble' was when I came home!!  How crazy is that? I immediately stopped my writing, I did keep up some exercise and generally healthy living options.
Though, to put it into perspective, when I came home, it was a short work week, I took the Thursday off as it was my birthday (perks of 'knowing' the boss!!), then it was Easter and now we're coming up to Anzac Day weekend.  All up, many more days off my routine than my mindset had prepared for.

So, at home, the routines had gone out of the window, as I had prepared for the change of scenery while I was away (even when my plans changed dramatically), but not for the change of daily routine when I was back.

This made me start to think this week about how important my organised routines were in my daily maintainence of my healthy living journey and my mindset around them also.

I've now implemented my routines again, so I'm back on track!  The daily writing is occurring again, the healthy living routines are all occurring again and being more organised is definitely returning.  Life journey back on track!

How important are your routines to you? What happens when they are disrupted?

Sexy body

A Sexy Body

What is a Sexy Body?  In terms of the media, it's usually the body of a model, a swimsuit model generally, such as this

This is ultimately what a lot of us are told we desire, what we work so hard to maintain and why we stress over the size of our body.

However, if you do really want to start losing weight, then the mindset has to be right before you even begin.

I was listening to a podcast recently on setting goals and these are the steps that will get you on track for the beginning of your journey.  I know that these principles are what I've been following, though without knowing the structure or reasons behind it - but, hey, it works!!

Step 1: only ever set one willpower goal

By setting yourself only one willpower goal, you're not overwhelming your whole mind.  Imagine if you set too many (as many people do at New Year), such as I will stop eating junk food, I will lose weight, I will exercise more, I will be a nicer person, I will..........   As you can see, you're starting to ask a lot of your will power.  

Willpower is extraordinary in so many ways, but if you overwhelm it with too many things to do, it will begin to crumble as it is scattered in what it's trying to achieve for you.

OVERWHELM!!!!

By choosing only one willpower goal, that's the only one you need to focus on, it's the only one that has to be successful.  For example, focus on "I will exercise more".

Now, if you exercise more (without worrying about any other willpower goals or thoughts), there will be a change in the other goals you were originally thinking about, as a consequence of your one willpower thought.

So, if the one willpower goal is to exercise more, make this the focus.  Make this your mindset.

How do you make it your one mindset willpower goal?

2. What Got You Here

Take a step back from your life as it is now.  How did you get to this point of no exercise? Did you ever exercise in the past?  If so, what did you do, how often did you do it and what made you stop doing it?  These are important questions to ask, as you're now looking at why you are now at a place of no exercise and wanting to do more exercise.  You're looking back at your history and seeing what obstacles you have put into your way to stop you exercising.  List them out on a piece of paper

3. Where Do You Want To Be?

Now you make a list of where you want to be.  For example, how often do you want to be exercising, what will you be doing, for how long will you exercise, when will you exercise?  All questions that will begin to make you focus on what you want to achieve with your willpower goal.

4. Why Do You Want To Do This?

This step will keep you focused on your willpower goal. It's important to work this one out.  A good way to do it is to list 20 reasons that you want to do it, and 20 consequences of you not doing it.  Sometimes it helps to stand in front of a mirror when you're doing this step.

Write out your reasons you want to do it in this format:

I must...............So That.....................

Look at different areas in your life, what will be the impact on those if you exercise more.  The areas of your life to look at include what can be called the "7 Al's"

Spiritual

Mental

Physical

Vocational

Social

Familial

Financial

What will be the consequences of you exercising more in all of these areas - very soon you will find that 20 is easy to obtain!  List these down on a piece of paper or in a journal.

Next, write out the 20 statements that look at the consequences of you not doing the exercise.  Write these out in the format of:

I must................Or Else....................................

Again, if you're struggling to find 20, go to the 7 Al's and work out some more.  List these in your journal too.

By doing this exercise, you begin to get to the core of why you really want to do this willpower goal, your true deep WHY 

This step is not an easy step to do, but it will certainly focus you on your reasons WHY you are taking this step of setting a willpower goal.

It's the WHY that will keep you on track when you feel yourself waivering, it's the WHY that will motivate you to do the exercise when you'd rather hit the snooze button!

5. Repeat Step 4 FOUR More Times

Repeat step 4, writing out 20 positive and 20 negative outcomes FOUR more times.  This will result in a list of 100 positive and 100 negative outcomes.  Reinforcement of your WHY is the motivating factor to ensure you stay with your one willpower goal. Once you have a WHY that outshines the excuses, you will easily obtain your goal of exercising more.  This goal will change other areas of your life also.  When you begin to exercise more, you see the value of having food that supports your increased energy requirements, you take on board more water, you start to see a change in your body (muscle develops and fat is replaced) and your 'feel happy hormones' are released (endorphins).  What an amazing outcome from just one willpower goal being achieved!!

My willpower goal was set 6 months ago, to lose 18kg (40lb) of excess weight, I achieved that, and more within 6 months, my only goal was to lose weight, I make exercise or my eating patterns another willpower goal.  In the past I've overwhelmed my mind with too many of these, and it was just the one I needed to focus on, the rest fell into place once my focus was on the one thing - diet, exercise and health all changed as my progress continued!

I want to thank a couple of mentors of mine that helped me develop what I've done into a system, these include Paul O'Mahoney and David TS Wood

Let me know how you go with your willpower goal, what it is, and how you feel when you've achieved it! 

Going to lose that darned last few kgs!!!!

Ever find the last few kgs/lbs are the hardest to shift?  I'm at that stage now, only have 3.5kg (or around 7lb) to go - and it's being a little stubborn!!

What I find is that I need a goal - so today I signed up for a challenge, the Isabody Challenge, it lasts for 12 weeks, before photos and measurements, during photos and measurements, final photos and measurements, plus an essay - too easy!!!

Here are my before shots - it'll keep me on track, as I don't think they look that fab at all!

I'm such a short little thing - I'm sure if I was 5' 8" it wouldn't look quite so bad!!!!

Have a fun day

Which antioxidant??

Love the animation in this video, as well as the message - enjoy your antioxidants!!