Living Well — live well

15 Quotes About Healthy Living to Help You Through the Day 0

5 Yoga Poses to Start Your Day 0

10 Daily Affirmations to Live By 0

Many find that filling their mind with positive, self-assuring thoughts can start their day in the right direction. Here are some positive daily affirmations that we can all use in our lives to make taking on the world a little bit easier.

1. I am in charge of how I feel and today I am choosing happiness.

2. Amazing opportunities exist for me in every aspect of my life.

3. I freely give up what is no longer serving me, and release it to create space for what inspires me.

4. I either have control or I don’t; worry is wasted energy.

5. I choose to fully participate in my day.

6. I am at peace with all that has happened, is happening, and will happen.

7. I am a powerhouse, I am indestructible. I am conquering my problem and defeating it steadily each day.

8. I am a better person for the hardship I have gone through.

9. I feel safe in the rhythm and flow of ever-changing life.

The Fear of Success 0

We’ve heard this phrase many times before - so how does this apply to your health and wellness goals? Whether it’s your goal to do one thing - like drink more water, or a more complex one, like lost 30 pounds, we need to realize what it is that might be holding us back in any of these scenarios. Most of the time, we know what we need to do, or we can find out what we need to do, i.e. get the help of a nutritionist. We may think that we simply don’t want it enough, otherwise we would have already done something about it and achieved this goal. However, that’s not the case. Even if you consider yourself a risky person, it can be the fear of taking the risk to achieve your goal and failing. An irrational fear, even, that is holding you back.

What do we mean by this? Well, we know now that simply having a 51% chance or more at succeeding at something is not nearly enough to get us to do it. The odds must be much greater, and when we don’t see the chances as being good, then we’re much less likely to follow that workout plan. Because we have a lot of doubts that it’s not going to work. These may not even be rational - in fact, they are probably irrational fears and reasons as to why we might fail. Nevertheless, they are real to us and keep us from trying to achieve our goals.

The best way to work through this? Help ourselves to realize that the outcomes that can be achieved are worth it to take that risk. This is done by breaking down what we deem to be the risks and what we would like to gain from this experience. Basically, what things are you willing to give up by not achieving your goal and what things you are willing to risk to get there - this can be anything from money, psychological or physical well-being, career, time with family and friends, etc. The point here is to realize your priorities and what matters to you. Plus, taking the time to actually write out or verbalize your fears and possible outcomes may bring you to the realization that this is worth the risk, and sooner than you thought.

Our Favorite Home Remedies 0

Sometimes throughout the day we get bugged by annoying little problemsthat stop us in our tracks – like a pimple that seems to pop up out of nowhere, or a wave of nausea hits us that makes us take a seat. Although it’s important to realize when you need medical attention or should make an appointment with your doctor, check out these quick and easy home remedies when you’re looking for a quick fix at home to scare away some of the symptoms:

Acne – After washing your face with warm water and your favorite salicylic acid face wash, soak a cotton ball in a solution of 1:3 apple cider vinegar and water, respectively. Use this topical mixture right on your problem area and leave on for at least 10 minutes. Afterwards, wash your face again, pat dry, and finish with your daily moisturizer. Feel free to repeat several times in a day until you begin to see improvement.

Bloating – try adding a carminative herb to your food, tea, or just eat on its own! (We love peppermint, ginger, cinnamon, and chamomile). Carminative properties help to sooth your stomach lining and reduce the production of gas, therefore helping to ease any boating you may have.

Burns – for those minor burns when you accidentally touch something hot in your kitchen, quickly scoot on over to your pantry and pull out the vanilla extract and dab it on the burn – believe it or not, the evaporation of the alcohol will help ease the pain by cooling the burn down. If you have more time, get a couple of black tea bags (2 or 3 depending on the surface area of the burn), soak them in cool water, and place directly on the burn. Better yet, use gauze to help hold the tea bags in place.

Congestion – we all know a steaming hot shower can really help to clear us up, but if you’re not looking to get your whole body wet, drape a towel over a large bowl (or sink) of hot water to clear those nasal passages. Make it even better by adding peppermint, eucalyptus, rosemary, or a few drops of your favorite essential oil and inhale!

Cough – If you’ve already seen your doctor and at this point just have to wait it out, make a tea out of some ingredients right in your kitchen! Boil a teacup of water and add 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp black pepper, and 1 tbsp of honey. Drink this homemade tea daily until your see improvement in your cough.

Cracked, dry lips – Vaseline! We love that it is such a versatile product, and it works great on lips. (Okay, this isn’t exactly a home remedy, but it’s probably the easiest and quickest way, and chances are you have some in your house!) And don’t forget to scrub away all of that dry skin with warm water and a toothbrush or use an exfoliating face wash!

Headaches – this is where all of your herbs and essential oils have the opportunity to shine! Make tea with ginger or chamomile, draw a bath with lavender or peppermint, or use thyme or rosemary oil for a head rub.

7 Things You Can Do Today to Feel Healthier Tomorrow 0

Sometimes you’re just in need of a quick way to help get you back on track with your health and wellness goals. Well here are 7 of them that you can do right now to start improving your wellness routine and get back into the habit of being health conscious.

Oil Pulling—oil what?! Let us explain by thinking of it this way—rather than using mouthwash we’re using oil, like coconut oil, and instead of 30 seconds, try 15-20 minutes. But the benefits look so promising, you’ll want to get started right away! First off, we love coconut oil because by itself it has vitamins A, B, D and K. View our other blog post here to see vitamin benefits for your body. At the very least, coconut oil is a great organic substitute for mouthwash and can help improve skin and teeth. So what else is going on while you’re swishing around coconut oil for 20 minutes? The idea is that the toxins are being ‘pulled’ out into your mouth, so you’ll definitely want to spit it out afterwards (be sure to spit in the trash so you don’t risk the oil clogging up your sink). Try taking 1 tablespoon per day—people have claimed seeing results after just one use, but we recommend trying it for a whole week to see what it can do for you!

Breathing Exercises—who knew something so simple could have so many benefits? When you take several deep breaths—breathing slowly all the way in and all the way out—it activates your vagus nerve (in laymen’s terms, your body switches from storing fat to burning it). In addition, the process of breathing in so deeply rids your lungs of carbon dioxide and as a result increase your oxygen intake. So what are you waiting for—get breathing!

Drink Water—you know the saying, drink water now, because you’ll need it later! Whether you’ve heard it or not, it’s very true. If you’re someone who rarely drinks a glass of water, we guarantee you’ll notice a huge difference in the way you feel when you drink 2 to 3 liters a day. Although studies show differing recommendations on how much water you should drink, we’ve found the easiest way to drink water is to always carry it on your person, and when in doubt, take a sip! Not only does it keep you hydrated, but it regulates your body temperature, cushions your joints, and helps rid your body of harmful toxins. Another easy way to tell you’re getting enough water—your urine is light yellow or colorless!

Daily Oil Dosage—yep, we’re talking about CBD Hemp Oil! It comes in several different forms you can check out here, but a daily dose of it can help take you from distress to de-stress. Ahhh.

Tongue Scraping—another great way to extract toxins and bacteria from your body is by purchasing these scrapers inexpensively at health food stores and pharmacies. Throughout the day, bacteria and plaque covers up our tongue, so it makes sense that it can be more difficult to taste our food. But the effect doesn’t stop there—it can make us overcompensate with salt and sugar, ending in a series of overeating. To get the best effect, buy an actual tongue scraper instead of just using your toothbrush to really get those toxins off so you can start tasting again!

Sweat and Stretch—and in this order! Yet another way to get to release toxins from your body is through sweat, so get out and get moving! Exercise should be a daily occurrence anyways, and you want to make sure that you stretch after your warm up and before you start your full-fledged routine—that way your muscles have time to warm up and will stretch better and reduce the risk of injury.

Go to Bed!—although all of these options are great for feeling better as soon as the next day, they’ll all be for nothing if you stay up until the wee hours of the morning. Even though it might be difficult at times, your body will truly thank you the next day if you can squeeze in 7-8 hours of sleep the night before. On top of feeling more energized, it will help keep you on track with healthier eating and your skin will look a lot healthier—how could you pass up on these benefits just from getting a little more shuteye?!