Forest bathing, also known as Shinrin-Yoku, is a practice that involves immersing oneself in nature to improve physical and mental health. The term “forest bathing” was first coined in Japan in the 1980s and has since gained popularity around the world. This practice...
Latin name: Cupressus sempervirens Common names: Mediterranean cypress, Italian cypress Close your eyes for a moment and imagine walking through a forest of conifers with the sun peaking through the branches. You take a deep breath and inhale the sweet, earthy scent...
“Each human being is unique, unprecedented, unrepeatable.” - René Dubo Every person is unique, one of a kind, it is proven by science. Our physical and emotional health depends on genetics, diet, microbiome, lifestyle and environment we live in. All those aspects are...
My grandmother had dementia. In the decade before she passed away she didn’t know what day it was, where she was in the world, and, after I cut my hair, who I was. She’d circle her way through the same handful of conversational loops, and I’d play a game where I tried...
Nurses are no strangers to stress, anxiety, and burnout. Even at the best of times these afflictions can wreak havoc on quality of life and work performance (Jennings, 2008). And the Covid Era is, well, hardly the best of times. Anxiety, defined as “an excessive and...
Life blood, it’s no joke. Blood delivers nutrients to all the tissues and organs of the body, eliminates carbon dioxide and metabolic wastes, transmits hormonal signals throughout tissues, and mediates peripheral immune activity. The vascular tree is made up of many...
Hormones just want to be friends. If our bodies and their different parts and pieces were all different characters in a fictional story, I propose that hormones would be the antagonists. Which would then make our brains the protagonist. But as in any good story, a...
In what feels like our longest dormancy, the stimulation of “spring fever” is being activated by the shift and increase of sunlight, early sightings of flower buds and touches of warm weather in the atmosphere. March 20th marks the official launch of Spring along with...
If I had to choose only one essential oil to work with for skin care purposes, hands down Helichrysum italicum would be the one. In a way it’s interesting to hear myself say this because it took me many years as a formulator to feel ready to incorporate this essential...
“A Good Laugh and a Long Sleep Are the Two Best Cures for Anything”. -Irish Proverb Have you ever had a hard time starting a conversation with someone? Ask them about last night’s sleep and you should get an earful! Just ask me. So, last night’s sleep was good for me,...
Love is one of the greatest gifts one can give. It is the expression of care, compassion, empathy and kindness. It can be expressed in a multitude of ways: through a hug or embrace, a gesture -- random acts of kindness for a neighbor, volunteering at a charity,...
Essential oils have been in my life as long as I can remember. When I was little, my mom would help to soothe our stomach aches with a drop of peppermint oil on a teaspoon of honey and she would rub our backs, chests and feet with camphor when we had colds. At that...
