Stress Management...Embracing the Alchemy of My Body

Today marks 2 1/2 months on my journey "Embracing the Alchemy of my Body".  As I mentioned in my last post "Nutrition..." I'm back to share more of what I'm learning along the way.  I started my journey on April 12th and incorporated 4 components which I believe lead to a healthier lifestyle.  They are Nutrition, Exercise, Stress Management and Essential oils.

My commitment for stress management...

was to engage my tools of...Meditate, Yoga, Breath Work, and Barefoot Breathing.  Also to get adequate sleep, do self body Massages, using Essential Oils both topical and diffused and the Hot Tub, as well as to communicate my needs more.  I felt all these would help me with reducing stress.

How has that showed up in my life so far?

Well...I'm still striving for small steps leading to bigger ones.  Since I know when I follow my tendency of all or nothing...I'm not as successful.  So far, I found working up to it, has helped me integrate changes so that they become permanent healthier life choices. At least that how it's been with my nutrition.  Though it's been 2 1/2 months now...it still doesn't feel like I've totally embraced the healthy habits of reducing stress.  I mean I have my moments, mostly the stress level is low, but there are some days, mostly it's around finances when I struggle.  As most of you know, I no longer have my "day job", I've stepped fulling into my business, as well as our small family owned business.  While that is a great thing...the steady income isn't there and as a whole the family is feeling it.  Thus, I put pressure on myself and that translates into stress affecting my sleep, cravings etc.

The good thing is...when I use the tools...they work...

that should be a no brainer right?...but still I'm not as consistent as I would like.  Well, I take that back...I have actually been consistent with meditating daily...which is a huge accomplishment for me!  Though I did miss a few days this past weekend when we were out on the road.  I like to meditate in the morning but the show had us wiped out and I couldn't muster my morning meditation before heading back out to the show.  On that note, I just reminded myself of the very clear commitment I made at the start of my journey...to give myself permission to mess up, to not come down hard on myself when I stumbled or screwed up...be it nutrition, practices or what have you.  Everyday is a new day and everyday I get to choose again.  The reality of it is I'm striving for a healthier lifestyle, that takes practice.  We got back last Sunday and I've returned to my daily morning mediation practice.

Now, in regards to meditating...here's what I've learned...

I tend to have what they call Monkey Brain...so I found that doing guided meditations is the ticket for me.  I finished reading Deepak's book "What are you Hungry For"...which I loved and still refer to...it launched my daily mediation practice.  After a few weeks of working up from 5 mins to 15 then 20 mins of meditation...I went to Youtube and found a wonderful collection of meditations both by him and by his teachers in the Chopra Center.

During my Meditation search I also came across a few Apps I now use.  Conscious Health by Deepak, though it's FREE there are some in App purchases.  I like how in Deepak's meditations he has a lesson to teach, a centering thought and a chant.

The Insight Timer App is great for when I want to try silent meditation or breath work...when I'm barefoot breathing or just outside sitting in nature.

I absolutely love Relaxed Melodies Sleep Zen Sounds...because its a collection of various sounds from waves, rivers, rains, to birds, crickets, frogs to winds, chimes and thunder storms...to sooo much more.  And you get to choose, combine and mix the sounds you want as well as set the timer for how long you want the background music to play while meditating.

The other practice I've incorporated is Self Massages...

I created a blend that will help tone and tighten my skin as I loose weight.  I know it's inevitable that I will be left with loose skin, given the amount of weight I'll be losing and my age.  So every evening I give myself a self massage from head to toe...hubby helps me with my back, a perk I say.  I found that this practice also helps me get in tune with my body...helping me accept it for what it is, instead of wishing it was something else.  On a side note...using the oils every night...has strengthen my nails and is making them grow much faster!

The other tools I'm incorporating are...

spending more time in the Hot Tub...especially before bed, as I found it helps me relax and fall asleep faster and deeper.  Communicating my needs...still one I'm working on but I'm blessed to have a super supportive and understanding husband.  Lastly, my Yoga practice...which also falls into my exercise, but it as well as my exercise is a work in progress, but I'll share more of that on my next update.

Another fun thing I've been doing is taking screenshots of the times that I see number sequences, I call them Sacred Numbers, on my phone...which is often...then I go to my Angel Numbers App by Doreen Virtue and find their meanings...the majority of the time they are reminders that thoughts become things, that we are manifesting with each thought, positive or negative.  And that I AM supported...even when I'm struggling.

Oh, I almost forgot!  You're probably wondering how the weight loss is going...we'll at 2 1/2 months I've lost 18 lbs so far.  It's shedding slowly but I'm good with that, mostly cos' the slower you loose the more chance you give your skin to tighten and I feel the slower I loose the more permanent it will be.  My ultimate goal is to lower my BMI...body mass index which measures body fat.  None the less it feels great to fit comfortably into my cloths even after a meal.  And as far as my nutrition goes, as I mentioned before all in moderation...I'm not depriving myself cause I refuse to do any more diets.  I'm still being creative and eating as close to Earth as possible and being aware of what I'm truly hunger for!

Creating on a Different Kind of Canvas...

I spent the week preparing fiber

and doing a lot of dyeing!  For those who don't know we own Alpacas and have a Fiber Arts and Tool business.  We sell our products mostly on Etsy, but there are a few Fairs and Shows we do throughout the year.  One of which is coming up in a few weeks, the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, OR.

The boys have been busy making 

the various tools we offer to take to the show.  Tools that are used to process fiber, like Blending
Boards, Combs and Hackles, Dizs, and other spinning accessories.

Magickal Adornments...Circlets

With Weddings and Renaissance fairs around the corner I thought I share a little about Circlets  and Headpieces. If you google it you will find sooo many styles available from wire formed ones to simple chains and chain with gemstones ones and everything in between.  In my research of head jewelry history, I found that they date back to 30BC to the Ancient Egyptians but not only that it's throughout many other cultures such as well, the Chinese, Greeks and Romans; Medieval jewelry of the Middle Ages included headpieces in their culture too.  Though wearing bridal tiaras has been a well practice tradition, simple headpieces inspired by the gorgeous and elaborate Matha-Patti (Indian word for headpiece, also known as Shinghar-Patti) have also become popular in the past few years.

I was inspired to create...

my first headpiece 12 years ago just before I birthed Creations by Moonlight into existence.  Making jewelry with healing crystals was my first inspiration to share with the world one of my very first tools in my Medicine Bag.  This particular headpiece I made was for myself, for my own wedding in May of 2003. The wedding had a Celtic flavor to it, we created our own ceremony from start to finish, chose the things that inspired us and that had meaning to us to share in our wedding.  Like one of my inspiring mentors says...take what speaks to you and bless the rest.  We didn't want a traditional wedding so we took what had meaning to us and created a magickal experience for ourselves as well as friends and family.  We even had our officiant perform a sword blessing upon us.  It was suppose to be a gorgeous outside wedding in the wonderful Colorado Mountains, but the weather chose to turn on us and we had a late snow fall, so thanks to my awesome friends we pulled it all together to make it happen inside the lodge!  Both of my children were part of the wedding and ceremony as well.

My headpiece was a simple creation...

with drappy sterling silver chain, accented with gold and exquisite stones that not only picked up the Lavender color of our wedding theme but also had special meaning to me.

Since then I've created various styles by way of special orders and that's when I decided to offer them in my shop.

When I opened Creations By Moonlight's shop, I was inspired to create many different styles of headpieces from simple wire and chain such as these. To more elaborate ones such as the one above and these below.

They have been popular to wear not only in weddings...

but also as accessories for Renaissance fairs and other festive celebrations; or just to adorn the Goddess in You.  Like photographer Trish McNiell, from Queensland, Australia.  She looks stunning as she honors her inner Goddess and allows her to shine in a gorgeous self portrait, wearing the Mother of Pearl headpiece I created!  She's one of my wonderful Goddess Sisters from the original Goddess Circle with Leonie Dawson. You can see Trish's work on her site or follow her on FB.

The fact that they stimulate the third eye...

inspired me to make these fun and simple headpieces, which are in between a Maang Tika and a bindi, both are Indian jewelry that fall on the forehead and settle just between the eyes. They are said to stimulate the third eye, our sixth Chakra.  Which is our innate psychic abilities, the most common traits associated with this Chakra are the insight, intuition and imagination. This Chakra essentially forms a bridge between the Mind, Body and Spirit.

There have been celebrities as well that have chosen to wear headpieces for their own weddings. From the elaborate and stunning headpiece worn by Elizabeth Hurley when she married Arun Nayarthe in 2007.

To the more simple yet classy one worn by Kim Kardashian at her wedding in August 2011 to Kris Humphries.

As well as the drappy one that I not only loved, but found the dress to be just as stunning as well, worn by Alicia Keys in her wedding on August 2010.  She looked so magickal and Goddessie. She even had Deepak Chopra as officiant for her gorgeous wedding.

So there you have it...

a little history on Circlets and my experience with them.  What are your thoughts about headpieces used as adornments, either in weddings or other occasions?  Would you ever wear one?  Feel free to share and even post photos of you wearing your headpieces in the FB group.

Nutrition...Embracing the Alchemy of My Body

Honey Mustard Zoodles

Today marks 1 month on my journey of "Embracing the Alchemy of my Body".  In my original post I shared my life journey in finding balance within my body and asked you to be my witness.  I also said I would share more in depth what I learn on my journey pertaining to preventing Type II Diabetes. In that post I shared I was diagnosed as a Pre-Diabetic on April 3rd.  Though I've tried every diet out there, I've been struggling with my weight for over 10 years and so on April 12th, I started my journey of incorporating 4 components which I believe lead to a healthier lifestyle.

The 4 components we visited included...

Nutrition, Exercise, Stress and Essential oils.  I always read that as with everything new, whether it's incorporating a new Spiritual Practice, breaking a old habit or in this case incorporating new healthy habits...persistence, consistence and making gradual small changes leading up to the bigger ones is the way to go for a successful outcome.  My nature is to go full steam ahead...I'm an all or nothing kind of girl.  I mean I go big, which unfortunately, at times that is too my detriment.  So, taking smaller steps is new and different for me...and so far it's worked.

The 4 M's to Shifting Your Energy...

Though I've been busy the last few weeks with getting new production complete for the shop and getting the new book I'm collaborating in, published; I have felt flat, stressed, and living from a scarcity mindset.  It's times like this when the tools in my Medicine Bag come in handy.

First and foremost, I have to share that to me it's important...

Empowering Essential Oils for the New Moon

Photo was taken on January 20, 2012 in Horsham, England, GB.
Copy Credit : John Skouros

I love harnessing the Moon's energy in it's various phases to empower me on my life journey. As I prepare for the upcoming New Moon tomorrow, I thought I'd share one of my Moon rituals. The New Moon is all about Beginnings. It's a time to harness the motion and flow of the Moon's Energy and start a new project, make investments or purchases, start new jobs, incorporate a new habit or change in your life.  It's a perfect time to revisit your vision and explore new ways that will help you move closer to it.

Dreaming Big is something I encourage everyone to do... 

but to do so takes courage. New beginnings though exciting...the outcome is uncertain and we may feel anxiety, unsureness, even fear of what it will bring. Not to mention Change isn't always easy. I suppose the excitement of a new beginning and the fear of the unknown, go hand in hand during times of Manifesting.

I turned to my Principles for guidance...

these are the 11 Principles I've shared with you before that I use in my coaching practice and everyday life. These Principles are building blocks to self-awareness. I chose the ones I felt needed to be juiced up for the purpose of manifesting during the New Moon. The ones that called to me were Change, Action, Vision, Attraction, and Gratitude.

Then I look at the Essential oils related to these Principles...

Embracing the Alchemy of My Body

On my journey in living a Vibrant Juicy Life, I have had many challenges...Emotional, Spiritual and most recent Body.  I feel as I age, balancing my health gets harder and harder...it's almost like everything starts going south...and I'm not just talking about the affect gravity alone has on us women, LOL  In the past few years,  I've struggled with my teeth, my vision, chronic shoulder, back, knee and ankle pain...all caused from various injuries, pain that sorta just snuck back in, in the form of residual pain, (from the infamous inflammation I'm sure), among other unexpected ailments.  After all we are spiritual beings having a human experience and with that comes living in these shells we call bodies.

This is a perfect example of why I embraced the path of a Holistic Alchemical Healing Channel...

I seek to find balance of the Mind, Body and Spirit...and assist others in doing the same...transforming energy, emotions, consciousness and vibrations from one form to another.  I'm what's known as the "Wounded Healer" I suppose.  My offerings come from life experiences not so much my trainings.

Now, I have been given a new challenge...I went in for my routine health check to include the normal blood tests...only this time I got a call saying I'm Pre-Diabetic.  I new sooner or later my unshakable excess weight would catch up to me.  It's not been easy for me to choose to live a Vibrant Juicy Life and promote others to do the same, yet feel ashamed of my excess weight, my fail attempts to loose it and being subconscious about own body.  

~If you don't want to read my story...skip down to "Embracing the Alchemy of my body..."and be my witness

Only a few know that I've been a size 3 or smaller most of my life...

USMC...19yrs old

hard to believe when you look at me now.  I graduated High School at 98 lbs, spent the rest of my adult life at around 105 lbs. I was even put on double rations while in the service to gain weight because I'd drop under 100 lbs.

Now what you see in my recent selfies, and the first picture, is 12 years of struggling with excess weight, years of trying every diet out there to loose a little only to gain it back and then some...years of struggling with my shame and self conscious about being obese.  I want to interject here and say, I've been down the self acceptance and self love road...it's something I find important and practice more now then ever; but in my heart I have known and still know I don't feel comfortable in my skin at this weight.  Still to this day I don't know how to dress properly for my full figure and when I look in the mirror...I don't know who that person is anymore.

I spent my young adult life living pretty healthy...  

I didn't have many body image issues, other than wishing my nose or eyes were smaller, my hair was straighter etc, you know the things we think about when we are young and compare.  But I've grown to love those parts of me.  When I look back I have to be honest and say though I made some not so good food choices...I lived a much more active life.  Despite my busy life working at the hospital and being a single mom, I managed to make time for exercise and I always made wholesome meals too, processed foods were not common in our home. 

I know that as we age and our bodies change...

they seem to slow down and can't keep up...I get that some weight gain is expected.  I also know stress and cortisol and hormonal changes.  I lived with way more stress then, than I do now, drank coffee by the liter and even smoked, all of which I left behind.  Yet I was healthier then, then now.  I also traded in my stressful hospital job that called for me to be on my feet a lot and away from my kids, for a sedentary job at a jewelry bench so I could be more available to my kids. But didn't take the initiative to continue increasing my workout to balance it out. We all make life choices some good, some not so good.  Mine have brought me here facing the potential health threat of developing Type II Diabetes.