August | 2016 | Tejomaya Wellness

Month: August 2016

Gratitude Review: August

It’s August in the Southwest. You know how I know? Because my skin hurts when I go outside. Yikes! It’s not all bad, though. I’ve crossed a few books off of my summer reading list and that makes me pretty dang happy. There were a few more highlights that kept me joyful this month, and I wanted to share them with you.

My favorite guy is celebrating a birthday this month. He is a modest fella, so I won’t embarrass him too much, but I’m daily thankful for the presence of this wonderful man in my life. We never stop laughing. He has the best heart, the greatest work ethic I’ve ever seen in another human and he is smarter and more talented than he will take credit for. I’m a lucky lady.

I’ve been slowly Konmari-ing my apartment and in my straightening, I found a list a mile long of songs I’d intended to add to a playlist, so if you’re still following my High Vibe Playlist, I added several for your listening pleasure. Rediscovering some of these gems has been a real trip. I’m thankful for each memory they brought back.

I have been working on my adrenal health for the past couple of months and I think I am really starting to turn a corner with my energy and mood. I’d been so exhausted and down that I was going to bed at 7:30 each night and just didn’t feel like myself anymore, so I knew I needed to do more than I was currently doing with my routine. I had a fantastic Craniosacral treatment earlier this month, and I’m using an endocrine balancing essential oil blend and a wild yam serum that have helped me tremendously. I’m feeling a lot more functional and have had some great bursts of creativity! I’m thankful for my health every day, but especially these days. Sometimes you don’t know just how bad you felt until you don’t feel that way anymore.

So, what’s been happening in your neck of the the woods? Are you celebrating any milestones? Did you just come back from a blissful vacation? Share your latest successes in the comments below so we can join in your joy!

Wishing You Total Well-Being,

Jennifer

Tutorial: Mountain Man Beard Balm

August 21, 2016 / tejomayawellness / 0 Comments

The greatest guy I have ever met has a birthday this month so I wanted to make him something special to keep his wild, manly beard under control. Enter my Mountain Man Bead Balm! I whipped up this easy, 5 ingredient balm yesterday, and had it in his hands just in time to wrap it up with his other gifts. Here’s how you can make it yourself:

Ingredients –

1 ½ tsp.Shea Butter
1 Tbs. Beeswax
1 tsp. Argan Oil
1 tsp. Jojoba Oil
Essential Oils of Your Choice

I recommend that you designate an old spoon that you don’t really care about for your DIY recipes, because it’s going to get waxy and you will have to scrub a bit to get it clean. Don’t use your nice flatware! I used a pair of takeout chopsticks to stir mine and it worked great.

****Optional: A double boiler. If you don’t have one, I’m going to teach you how to make this recipe without one.

Using a large glass bowl, I added my solid ingredients. I had to use a cheese grater to get my beeswax off of the large chunk I bought. You might be tempted to just chop it into small chunks, but resist the urge and use the grater until you get the amount you need. It will melt much faster and your other solids won’t burn in the process.

Fill a pot about half full with water and let it boil on the stove. The right size pot is one that you can sit your bowl on top of where it will rest, but not fall in.

Add your liquid oils to your mixture and set your bowl on top of your pot until they are melted. Once they are all liquidy and melted into each other, add your essential oils. I used Black Pepper, Cedarwood and Bergamot. I used 10 drops total, 2 black pepper, 3 bergamot and 5 cedarwood. Stir with a spoon and CAREFULLY remove your bowl from the top of your pot. Use potholders and stand back a little because very hot steam is going to escape from the pot. Then it’s as simple as pouring from your bowl into your cute little metal tin and letting the bad boy cool and solidify.

Mine set pretty quickly, but I did give it a full 12 hours before I handed it over to my guy, just to be sure it was nice and solid. It was a big hit! He had one note for me that I’m going to take under consideration for next time, apparently it does get pretty dang solid and it takes some friction to melt it, so I think I can counter it with just a dab of coconut oil next time, as that tends to soften things up a little.

I want to hear from you! If you make this recipe, let me know what you think of it and what essential oils you use, too! Leave your comments below and photos below!

P.S. If you’re looking for an inexpensive and fantastic place to get organic and wildcrafted ingredients for your recipe, I get mine here. This is an affiliate link, but I’d be shouting their name from the rooftops even if it wasn’t!

Mosquitoes Bite: Repel Pests and Calm Skin Naturally

August 14, 2016 / tejomayawellness / 0 Comments

Hey There, Well-Beings!

I wrote another article for this month’s issue of Inner Child Magazine and wanted to share it with you. This one’s all about what to do when bugs are bugging you! I hope you find it helpful and that you have a wonderful week ahead!

Wishing You Total Well-Being,

Jennifer

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There’s so much to enjoy about summer: The longer days, dinners out on the patio, and drinks with those little umbrellas. There’s also at least one thing that really bites: Mosquitoes! Whether you’re outside tending to your garden, taking a dip in the pool, or headed for the hills for a day of hiking, you’re going to encounter these pesky pests. The good news is there are natural solutions for soothing bites and for stopping them before they start.

An Ounce of Prevention: One of the first things you can do to prevent mosquitoes from ruining your summer fun is to plant herbs, flowers and other plants around your home that repel them. Things like lavender, lemon balm, marigolds and peppermint will keep bugs away and make beautiful additions to summer dishes, as they are all edible. You can also plant catnip, though you’ll likely make friends with all the neighborhood cats, if you do. If your thumbs aren’t green, you can use essential oils to create a simple bug spray that will keep you from feeling the sting. You’re not stuck with smelly old citronella, either! Lemon and eucalyptus make great additions to a homemade pest spray due to the naturally found ingredient called cineol. Try mixing 4 drops each of lemon, eucalyptus, lavender and peppermint essential oils, a ¼ teaspoon of vegetable glycerine, and clean, filtered water to the top of a 4 oz spray top bottle. Shake and spray directly on the skin for a great smelling way to keep bugs at bay. Another option for saving your skin is neem oil. This Aryuvedic herb can be added to coconut oil to create a skin salve that can keep mosquitoes away for up to 12 hours. Just be careful not to apply neem to skin that is cut or broken.

After the Fact: It’s great to prevent pests from feasting on exposed summer skin, but what happens when it’s already too late? The itchy, relentless red welts can be unsightly and very irritating. Calendula and aloe vera are very helpful items to have in your summer medicine cabinet because they’re dual-purpose performers. Not only are they great at soothing stinging insect bites, but they’ll cool sunburns as well. Don’t toss your used chamomile teabag in the trash! Once they cool, they make great compresses for itchy skin that needs calming. Tea tree and lavender essential oils are wonderful for bites that are bugging you. In most cases, they can be applied neat to the skin, but when you have kiddos and elders in your care, it’s best to dilute in a carrier oil or lotion. Consult a certified aromatherapist in your area for dilution ratios that will keep everyone safe. When you’re really in a pinch, search your kitchen for raw, organic honey. It’s antiseptic and antibacterial. Just stay inside when you use it, or you’ll also have ants and flies to worry about!

There’s no reason to shut yourself inside this summer to keep the bugs from biting. With these skin saving and soothing tips, mosquitoes don’t have to make you miserable. Goodbye, bugs. Hello, Summer!

Essential Oil Spotlight: Patchouli

August 7, 2016 / tejomayawellness / 0 Comments

Oh, Patchouli! Nothing divides folks quite like it’s rich, pungent aroma. Whether you’re firmly on Team Hate It, or you would roll around in the stuff like I would, there’s still plenty that’s worth noting about this resinous, controversial oil. Before you write it off as stinky, I’ve written some words about this exotic beauty and it’s many benefits.

If you were alive in the 60s and 70s, you probably got more than a nostril full of patchouli in the form of incense or perfume oil. It was around for centuries prior to the hippie movement, though. My favorite historical note about this plant dates back to Ancient Egypt whee King Tut was said to have arranged to be buried with almost 10 gallons of oil infused with patchouli. In the 19th century, Asian countries began using the oil to protect fabrics from moth damage when being exported to other countries. I inherited a beautiful silk robe from my grandmother who purchased it on a business trip to Hong Kong and to this day, I can still catch a faint whiff of of it if I press it to my nose. That’s pretty impressive, considering she would have brought it home well over 30 years ago!

Patchouli essential oil is made by collecting the flowering tops of the plant and steam distilling it. It’s also a bit like a fine wine, in that the scent tends to deepen with time. This is why it may be time to give that bottle you cast aside another go, if you’ve written it off in the past. It may have reached a point in it’s mellowing where you find it agrees with you. I’ve found that the longer I have a bottle, the more resinous and darker the color becomes. This can make it a little hard to get out of the reducer, but oh so worth it it you adore the scent of an aged patchouli.

So, what is it good for? Patchouli can be quite soothing for the emotions and for relaxing frayed nerves. I get that some of you may be reluctant to put it on as perfume, but it can be quite beautiful in a blend that balances some of it’s noted potency. I love placing it in the diffuser or fragrance blend with citrus and florals (bergamot and ylang ylang are favorites) to soften it’s presence. I also love it for acne flare-ups. I’m starting to see wrinkles, but I still have hormonal breakouts from time to time, and I love adding a drop to my skin creams and serums to keep inflammation and bacteria at bay. I also love to use patchouli as a deodorizer. I use it as an underarm spray and in my running shoes to keep things fresh.

Patchouli is one of those oils that is generally regarded as safe for humans. If you’re pregnant or nursing, talk to a doctor just to be on the safe side. If you’re interested in using essential oils on your kids and pets, it’s a good practice to run that past a certified professional, especially since they may not be able to tell you that something doesn’t feel right.

Ready to give patchouli a try, or even a second chance? I get mine at Mountain Rose Herbs, and I’m thrilled with the quality and price. I love it so much I became an affiliate!

I want to hear from you. Do you love patchouli as much as I do? Do you have a blend you use that you just love? Leave me a comment below and tell me all about it!

Wishing You Total Well-Being,

Jennifer