Simple Steps to Helping Yourself have a Healthy Holiday
The holiday season is quickly approaching. To keep yourself healthy and vital it is essential to consider self-care, especially during these busy times.
Empowered Self-Care
Self-care is crucial to our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. It encompasses a wide variety of ways that we can empower ourselves to enhance our daily well-being and cope effectively with stress.
To know yourself is the first step to gaining healing wisdom.
Knowing yourself is not a destination but a path to self-discovery and awareness.
Creating balance in our daily lives is a step-by-step journey. There are many ways to explore and integrate self-care and learn to be your own health and wellness coach.
Immune Strengthening
Living a healthy, natural life today can be an overwhelming challenge. We pack our schedules to the maximum; we often eat on the run; environmental toxins are everywhere; and stress levels are at an all-time high. All of these factors can impair our immune system. When the immune system is weak, the body becomes vulnerable, creating an opening for viruses and bacteria to invade. Maintaining a strong, healthy immune system is vital to achieving and retaining good health.
Strengthen your immune system naturally:
- Get adequate rest and sleep.
- Use essential oils regularly.
- Eat warm, nutritious foods.
- Eliminate processed and sugary foods.
- Reduce stress levels.
- Add herbs and vitamin supplements: Omega 3 fatty acids, Vitamins B, C, and D.
- Exercise regularly.
- Create restorative and relaxation time for yourself.
Over time I have identified different aspects of self-care. The very basics that I include in my daily life are: drinking plenty of water, healthy nutrition, exercise, taking time for myself in nature and relaxing, deepening close relationships, and getting enough sleep.
During the holidays eating different types of food, more substantial meals, and sugar can challenge our health. Include these key points below to keep your digestive and immune systems healthy.
Tips for enhancing digestion:
- Sit down to eat, not on the go.
- Choose highly nutritious foods that are organic and unprocessed.
- Eat slowly and mindfully with each bite.
- Only drink a small amount of warm beverages during your meal.
Cold drinks dramatically reduce digestive activity! - Do not eat when you are emotionally charged.
- Use Young Living’s digestive enzyme supplements and probiotics.
Digestive Herbs
Spices have been used throughout history to increase the digestive process. Historically, culinary spices and herbs were used as food preservatives and also for their digestive and health-enhancing properties. Some of these spices as well as Young Living’s Vitality oils are used best in tea, capsules, and cooking.
A few of these spices, herbs and essential oils include:
- black pepper (Piper nigrum)
- caraway (Carum carvi)
- cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum)
- cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
- clove (Syzygium aromaticum)
- coriander (Coriandrum sativum)
- cumin (Cuminum cyminum)
- fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
- garlic (Allium sativum)
- ginger (Zingiber officinale)
- thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
- turmeric (Curcuma longa).
They not only add delicious flavor to food, but are also known to promote good digestion, support the body’s natural response to inflammation, and support immunity.
Try this aromatherapy digestive blend below when you need digestive support. Or you can substitute Digize blend for the three essential oils below.
Aromatherapy Digestive Blend:
Makes 1 oz.
Combine the following ingredients:
- 1 oz. Sesame Oil (Sesamum indicum) – Widely used in Ayurvedic medicine to assist the digestion. It has anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
- 5 drops Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) – Reduces digestive complaints, reduces nervous exhaustion, and overall internal congestion.
- 4 drops Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) – Warming, increases energy and digestion supports immunity, clears phlegm.
- 3 drops Ginger (Zingiber officinale) – Warming and stimulating for the digestion.
Apply as needed to the abdomen and on the back from the kidneys to the sacrum (assists nerve flow to the internal organs).
Precautions: DO NOT apply on wounds or cuts. Not for use in the bath. This 2% dilution is not for use with children under 6.
If you’d like help with ensuring you have a healthy holiday, please don’t hesitate to CONTACT US HERE or call Karen at 314-604-8355.
(A portion of the material for this post came from Shanti Dechen’s book, Harmonized Aromatherapy for Seasonal Wellness. Shanti is not affiliated with the Young Living brand.)
