Spring Is In The Air - Healthy Tips For All The Family

Getting Ready For Spring!

It is very important to prepare our respiratory system for the changing weather that spring will bring. Winter allowed us to store reserves rich in toxins and to decrease our physical stamina, thus respiratory activity slows explaining the pre-spring fatigue many of us feel.
To get things going again we need to begin by regulating the energy of our lungs and our skin; we have to learn again to inhale.  While waiting for the arrival of good fruits and vegetables, let's begin by reducing our consumption of sugars and animal fats. Let's drink more herb teas and less coffee.
It is our respiratory system which will give back the shine to our skin.

In Facial reflexology we focus on reflexes for all the organs and all parts of the body. We stimulate the whole of you through specific touch on the face.  You can also work these areas on your own face.

Try This Daily

 Begin by stimulating your cheeks with gentle finger tip sweeps. the cheeks are the reflex areas for your lungs. Two minutes on each cheek will help to restore clarity and hydration to your lungs. Next you can slowly stimulate the liver reflex, the liver reflex zone is on the right side of the nose. After this lets do the stomach reflex, this zone is opposite the liver reflex on the left side of the nose. one minute each side is good. 

You can also do this wonderful Dien Chan multiflex massage 

Along with stimulating your organs on your face you can also make some lovely facial scrubs and creams.

Exfoliating your face will help to slough away dry skin, leaving your face much softer and smoother. These recipes take about five minutes to make, and the scrub can be used once a week.

Honey Facial Scrub

½ tablespoon raw honey

1 drop lavender essential oil 

1 drop of frankincense essential oil

1 drop  geranium essential oil 

Directions:

Combine the baking soda and honey together until it looks like a paste.  Add one drop each of lavender, geranium and frankincense essential oils.

Place a warm washcloth over your face and hold on skin for a minute or so to open up your pores.

Gently rub face with facial scrub using small circular motions (be gentle with your skin!).  Keep massaging skin with scrub for 3-5 minutes to fully remove dead skin from face and to let the essential oils work their magic.

Rinse off with warm water.

Please note that when buying essential oils you want to be sure to buy pure oils. The word therapeutic means very little, as any company can tag this word onto their essential oil product. The price is often a good indicator on pureness but not always.  

Oatmeal Honey face Scrub

 

2 tablespoons ground oatmeal

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon water

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon honey

Combine all of these ingredients and stir thoroughly until they form a paste. If you find that it’s too thick, add a bit more water until it’s a consistency that you like. Slather it on your face and use your fingertips to rub it around gently in circular motions. Rinse with warm (not hot) water, and pat dry.

It is also nice to add a moisturizer to your skin after an exfoliating treatment. One of my favorite sites to visit for recipes is The Nerdy Farm Wife - she is amazingly talented. 

 Here is a really simple recipe that is wonderful to get you started.

Beginners Lotion Recipe

1 1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup emulsifying wax
1/4 cup olive oil ( organic)

10 drops lavender essential oil ( make sure it is good stuff)

Using a double boiler melt the emulsifier wax slowly and when almost melted  add the olive oil. 

Take off the heat and add the hot water to the oil mixture and mix well. let it cool slightly, stirring now and then and then add the lavender essential oil.

Pour the hot lotion into wide mouth pint size jars and let cool overnight. The next morning you’ll have a fresh jar of homemade natural hand lotion! 

You can use a wide variety of different liquid oils in place of the olive oil and you can use any essential oils you like. This is a thin no greasy moisturizer lotion that your whole family will enjoy. 

DISCLOSURE: Please note these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. I am not a doctor. I am simply sharing my experiences.

 There is nothing quite as wonderful as treating yourself to one of my facial treatments , not only incredibly relaxing but also deeply healing.

 

• Facial Reflexology
• Japanese FaceLift
• Indian Head massage
• Facial Lymph Drainage  
• CranioSacral

 Camai Healing 907 317 1331

How Is Your Thyroid Gland?

The thyroid gland is one of the largest endocrine glands in the body. It is situated in the neck below the skin and muscle layers. The sole function of the thyroid is to make thyroid hormone. This hormone has an effect on nearly all tissues of the body and thus regulates your metabolism,which is your body’s ability to break down food and convert it to energy.

The two main hormones the thyroid produces and releases are T3 (tri-iodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine). A thyroid that is functioning normally produces approximately 80% T4 and about 20% T3, though T3 is the stronger of the pair. To a lesser extent, the thyroid also produces calcitonin, which helps control blood calcium levels.

According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists an estimated 27 million Americans have thyroid disease, and about 13 million of them are undiagnosed. The risk of thyroid disease increases with age, and women are seven times more likely than men to develop thyroid problems. It has been noted that ovary issues effect the thyroid and visa versa. 

An underactive thyroid makes it impossible to break down food properly and assimilate nutrients from the foods you eat. The efficiency of the other glands in the body is also impaired by thyroid imbalance, often severely. Ultimately, every organ, tissue and cell is affected by the output of the thyroid.

Beware of Bromines 

Bromines are common endocrine disruptors, what makes it so dangerous is that it competes for the same receptors that are used to capture iodine. If you are exposed to a lot of bromine, your body will not hold on to the iodine that it needs. And iodine affects every tissue in your body -- not just your thyroid.  Bromine can be found in a number of places in your everyday world, including: 

• Pesticides (specifically methyl bromide, used mainly on strawberries, predominantly in California)

• Plastics, like those used to make computers

• Bakery goods and some flours often contain a “dough conditioner” called potassium bromate

• Soft drinks (including Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Sun Drop, Squirt, Fresca, and other citrus-flavored sodas), in the form of brominated vegetable oils (BVOs)  

•  Medications, such as Atrovent Inhaler, Atrovent Nasal Spray, Pro-Banthine (for ulcers), and anesthesia agents 

•  Fire retardants used in fabrics, carpets, upholstery, and mattresses

• Bromine-based hot tub and swimming pool treatments 

One clinical consequence of overexposure to bromine is suppression of your thyroid, leading to hypothyroidism

Trying to avoid bromine is like trying to avoid air pollution -- all you can do is minimize your exposure.  

•  Avoid eating or drinking from (or storing food and water in) plastic containers. Use glass and safe ceramic vessels.Eat organic as often as possible. Wash all produce thoroughly. This will minimize your pesticide exposure.

•  Look for organic whole-grain breads and flour. Grind you own grain, if possible. Look for the “no bromine” or “bromine-free” label on commercial baked goods.

•  Avoid soda (Mountain Dew is the worse for Bromine)Drink natural, filtered water instead.

•  If you own a hot tub, look into an ozone purification system. Such systems make it possible to keep the water clean with minimal chemical treatments.

•  When in a car or a building, open windows as often as possible, preferably on opposing sides of the space for cross ventilation. Utilize fans to circulate the air. Chemical pollutants are much higher inside buildings (and cars) than outside.

• Avoid Unfermented Soy

  Learn About Iodine

The Japanese consume 89 times more iodine than Americans due to their daily consumption of sea vegetables, and they have reduced rates of many chronic diseases, including the lowest rates of cancer in the world. The RDA for iodine in the U.S. is a meager 150 mcg/day, which pales in comparison with the average daily intake of 13800 mcg/day for the Japanese. 

Without iodine, your thyroid gland would be completely unable to produce thyroid hormone.

 Seaweed, kelp, shrimp, lobster, and other shellfish are all good sources of iodine. Cod, sole, haddock, and ocean perch are also decent choices, and they are relatively low in mercury. Yogurt, cow’s milk, eggs, and many cheeses may also contain reasonable amounts of iodine — depending on whether or not the feed the cows lived on was grown in soil that contained iodine. And it is debatable how much iodine is actually in our farm soil these days. Many of us are using a supplement that contains a daily requirement for iodine (about 150 mcg a day).

How To Test Your Thyroid Health At Home?

Dr. Broda Barnes  found that a healthy before-rising morning basal temp should be between 97.8 – 98.2 (he used a mercury thermometer under the arm for ten minutes). If it’s higher, you may be hyperthyroid (over active) and if it’s lower, you are most likely hypothyroid (under active). 

When you awaken in the morning, before moving around (yes, even before you make a trip to the bathroom), tuck the thermometer snugly in your armpit and keep it in place for 10 minutes. Keep as still as possible. Then, remove the thermometer, take a reading, and write down the results.

Follow this procedure for three days, then determine an average reading by adding all three readings together and dividing by three. If you're average temperature is below 97.5 degrees F., in all probability you are suffering from subclinical hypothyroidism and should discuss your findings with your doctor.

If you are of childbearing age, time your three day temperature test to avoid the first week of your menstrual cycle and the few days when you are ovulating, which occur in the middle of the cycle.

Of course, this test is not to be used to replace any needed medical tests or attention to problems you may have.

Reflexology for Healthy Thyroid Function

 

It is quite common to feel congestion in the thyroid reflexes, and many people will comment on how sensitive that area is. As a reflexologist I like to work all reflexes at a session and then focus on some problem areas. When clients come to see me for other modalities or even a blend of services I will often do a short amount of work on their feet focusing on specific reflexes relating to their issue.

You too could work these same reflexes on yourself or a loved one to help stimulate the thyroid and help it stay healthy. These are the reflexes I will focus on.

To work the reflexes, just use a firm but not overly hard pressure on the reflex area. Using the thumb, gently massage in little circles for about 3-5 minutes.

I hope that this information has been helpful to you. Please remember that you need to go see your Health provider in order to be diagnosed. This information is for your education.