Breathe In, Breathe Out ~ Aromatherapy and the Blood / Brain Barrier

Essential Oils have been, and continue to be a major part of my health and beauty routine. You can't look radiant on the outside if your insides aren't clean. 

Healthy mind, body, spirit. Feeling good should be the first step in your beauty regimen. Pure essential oils can be applied directly to the skin, mixed with almond or jojoba oil for pure body oil, a diffuser to refresh the air, the combinations are endless. A few drops mixed with distilled water in a travel spritzer, immediate lavender relaxation. I was on a plane, in an airport sometimes two, three times a week. I found lavender soothing, instead of stinky, stale, recycled air. Fellow travelers even thanked me when they got a whiff. A few drops on a hotel pillow in a foreign, unfamiliar city instant grounding for a calm, restful sleep.

"It’s quite true that aromatherapy can penetrate deeper into the tissues than many other healing modalities. Because they are inhaled through the nose, essential oils will efficiently pass through the blood brain barrier in the area surrounding the olfactory nerve. This makes them very serious contenders as natural healers for brain injuries and more." NaturalSociety.com

"Frankincense Essential Oil and Your Brain

The human brain is the most complex organ within the body.  Injuries to the brain range from mild concussions to more serious head trauma. Usually,  various brain injuries are slow to heal, but frankincense oil can aid greatly in this process. Frankincense works by aiding oxygenation of blood going to the brain.  This, in turn, will aid in oxygen absorption.  When oxygen is absorbed effectively, it allows the brain to process and retain information, heal, and function correctly.

Frankincense is the Essential Oil of choice for any kind of brain disorder. Frankincense has a molecular makeup that includes sesquiterpenes, that is able to cross the blood/brain barrier. These sesquiterpenes stimulate the limbic system of the brain and other glands within the brain, promoting memory and releasing emotions. Frankincense slows down and deepens the breath. The therapeutic properties of Frankincense oil are antiseptic, astringent, carminative, cicatrisant, cytophylactic, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, sedative, tonic, uterine, vulnerary and expectorant."  -LivingTraditionally.com

Before a makeup application, I like to spritz a client's face with lavender and filtered water (always ask if the client has any allergies), and watch their faces transform, skin revitalized. On location in one hundred degree heat, a few squirts on the model's neck, arms cooled overheated skin. I've been experimenting with lemon and peppermint, a cool, clean pick me up works wonders for nausea. Eucalyptus, amazing for sinus pressure and headaches. Tea Tree oil is an anti-fungal, antibacterial properties and great for bumps, rashes and blemishes.

We've become a pill popping nation. When you don't feel your best, how can you look your best? Why not try something different? Get back to basics, the purest form of healing, plants, herbs and essential oils. 

Beauty means becoming mindful, eating clean, taking the very best care of this one life. It's not only about luxe creams, glam brands in your makeup bag. Those are fabu, multi-color sprinkles and treats on top. Why not dig deeper, build a beautiful foundation before living in your dream house.

Chopra Abhy Oil

Touch is fundamental to health and well being. When stimulated through therapeutic touch or massage, the skin releases a pharmacy of healing chemicals that have health-promoting effects on the physiology. In addition to feeling good, regular massage and loving touch detoxifies the body’s tissues, increase circulation, calms the mind, and enhances immune function.

Soothing Abhy oil is made with traditional Ayurvedic oils of Coconut, Almond, Jojoba, and Safflower and infused with the rejuvenating herb, Brahmi, and Pitta balancing essential oils of Ylang-Ylang, Lavender, Lemon, and other natural botanicals.

A daily self-massage (self-Abhy) with aromatherapy massage oils, known as an Abhyanga, is one of the most important tools in Ayurveda to activate your inner pharmacy and slow the aging process. We recommend one daily.

Rupa Relaxing Roll on

My BFF took me to The Chopra Center for a week of Perfect Health. It was a mystical, enlightening, funny, optimum health, full immersion week. The priceless gift of a lifetime. I may not be there in the physical, Chopra's teaching stay with me. I try to practice what I learned (I said, try) to indulge in their Aromatherapy line. Bringing a little piece of Carlsbad magic at home.

Chopra Center

Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses volatile plant materials, known as essential oils, and other aromatic compounds for the purpose of altering a person's mind, mood, cognitive function or health. WIKI

Quick Reference Guide for Essential Oils
http://www.auracacia.com

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/the-essential-oils-that-can-naturally-help-heal-brain-injuries/#ixzz3ofQEPyzs 

A Simple Christmas Wish

I have never considered myself pretty, even though I 'modeled' for twenty years. Please don't think me shallow, I have been told countless times otherwise. Looks never mattered. I knew I was tall, photogenic and blessed way more than most in the physical. As far back I can remember, I have been on a spiritual quest, searching, delving, searching, and praying for answers. Why must greed, ego and wealth be divided so? I lived the life of duality, both privileged and poor. There comes a time when one must face the demons, stand up to the ugly, politicos, the machine. I don't buy it, the rhetoric, the lies. I won't buy it, not when children die from starvation, lacking safe haven. There are six homes for sale on my block. It's a small block, in a minuscule, nowhere town. Two more abandoned homes rot, left in shame in the night. The rich grow deep pockets, as the people's leak holes. Forced to take a long, hard look at this face, mind, soul, and body, I struggle to make sense of what is happening. Out there, the world spirals out of control. Technology has made it too easy to stay connected, isolated at home. Reality news travels in nano seconds, reaching I Phones, Blackberry's, Androids, and millions of devices at the blink of an eye. 

When I left home for Milan, a simple, naive girl with huge dreams and big cajones, there were pay phones and gettones. Life was easy then. People left their homes open, welcoming company and the doors were unlocked.

My wish for all this Holiday season, is less worry, less fret about who you think you should be, or how you need to look. Remember, you are the glorious, unique, precious child, the forever innocent soul seeking love and redemption. Along with running around buying gifts, that will be the forgotten fad six months from now, do something else. 

Offer one small kindness in silence to someone who really needs it. Maybe an ear, a shoulder, a dollar or even a hand at the grocery store. It matters. Don't tell anyone, keep it to yourself and do it with an open heart. It will be your best kept secret, and you will be in tune with your prettiest, purest self.

Do not misunderstand, I love empowering women, helping them look and feel their best. I love makeup, beauty and all the frivolous, fun stuff. But, the child in me, the fearless warrior, the wanderer, the endless seeker, needs more. Knowing that I have helped someone, is better than any popcorn filling. Even the smallest, quietest, kindest thought counts.

I thank every single person who has stopped to read my work. The followers, Brands, friends, and co-workers who have encouraged, and supported along the journey. 

I wish you silly, joyous, Holiday moments filled with family, love, wealth in abundance, and not the monetary kind. To be surrounded by the ones you hold dear, and to feel the ones lost close. My secret Christmas wish for you is to remember the power and magic that is Christmas Eve through the eyes of a five year old. The tingling anticipation and wonder of being that child once again. Let yourself live the gorgeous, free- spirited memory. It's there you will rediscover your one, true self.

The missing piece of the puzzle, effortlessly becomes the innocent, grown up, happy version of you.

“The most creative act you will ever undertake is the act of creating yourself.” 
― Deepak Chopra, The Way of the Wizard: Twenty Spiritual Lessons for Creating the Life You Want

















http://www.chopra.com/

Sesame Bliss Balls

The Chopra Center

Out in Cali', we called The Bliss Balls our "Basti Balls" (as in Basti Enemas). They helped keep things moving right along if you know what I'm sayin'. For anyone who has a sluggish digestive system, these little balls of bliss will keep things regular and right on track. I actually missed them terribly when we left, I'm so glad to see the Recipe in The Chopra Newsletter. Prepping the ingredients now, and getting ready to rock and roll a little bit of heaven. Try them, you'll love 'em.

Sesame Bliss Balls

Sesame bliss balls are not only delicious and require no baking – they also contain ingredients that help cleanse and detoxify the body. Bliss balls are part of the daily menu at the Chopra Center’s Perfect Health program. 

Ingredients

1 cup toasted sesame seeds
½ cup golden raisins or regular raisins
2 teaspoons ground ginger powder
2 inches fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1½ teaspoons ground cardamom
2½ tablespoons ghee*

Directions

Place all ingredients in a food processor and mix together until well incorporated. Roll into 1-inch balls.

*Ghee is clarified butter but contains many healing and culinary properties that plain butter does not:

• Ghee is salt free and lactose free.
• Since ghee won’t burn at high temperatures, it’s great for sautéing. It also doesn’t have to be refrigerated.
• Ghee is an excellent from of fat for the body, and is especially beneficial for the liver, kidneys, and brain.

http://www.chopra.com/files/newsletter/Oct11/Newsletter-Oct11-healingwisdom.html

A Place of my Own

I think that doing something that truly scares the crap out of you, makes you uncomfortable in your skin, is what beauty is all about. I left home in spite of my fear with two cents in my pocket, a backpack and a dream to discover new lands. Worlds that were completely foreign to me. I was fortunate to have the height and face for the world of beauty, if not  the iron stomach for the superficiality. I had twenty years of strutting around in high fashion clothes, and immediate access to the prestige world of beauty. I got old, it happens. I like to say I outgrew fashion, before it outgrew it's taste for me. I was bored, unfulfilled and desperate for change. I reinvented myself, Celebrity Makeup Artist. I loved that life for a time, the travel, the amazing talent, the creativity. I still find myself in love with beauty. I get excited when I discover new products, or an out of the box approach to makeup. I can't say I miss painting Mariah, or Anne Hathaway's porcelain skin, no matter how lovely the person or the experience. The superficial world of fashion and Reality TV, is exhausting. It's the pretend, play dress up life, we are bombarded with daily. It's the life I no longer see in my future.
Wanderlust always gets the best of me. With two cents in my pocket yet again, I have come full circle. It's time to push the limits, find something real, that nourishes and enriches the soul. I'm not afraid of change, however uncomfortable. I'm more afraid of regret, the nagging what ifs? The skeptic, searcher, gambler and dreamer welcomes the challenge and opportunity.
When I visited the Chopra Center in the fall, they worked lovingly towards giving me back good health, confidence and the tools to believe. To rediscover and follow my own unique dharma. 
I am most happy when writing, communicating through the beauty of the blank slate, the most simple, natural and effortless thing. Writing is not new to me. I've been taking pen to paper since my earliest memories. It's home. Maybe I went around the globe, to find the way back to the purest parts of me. The gypsy and her backpack filled with beauty. 
My father always told me I was perfect and beautiful in his eyes. I could do anything. I believed him, I was seven. I didn't know any different.


My wish for you all, is that you have the courage to let go of what is not working. That you find your own perfect, balanced life filled with purpose and childlike wonder. Don't let anyone ever put doubts in your minds and bodies. Do the work, find your dharma, and live the dream. 


Don't worry, I'll still be blogging about beauty, and doing makeup gigs. Life is more fun with sequins and shadows, makeovers and dress up days.




The Chopra Center is doing a 21 day meditation challenge. It's not too late to sign up. It helps quiet the noise in your mind, and peel back the layers. Giving you a clear, quiet glimpse of all the amazing possibilities that you possess inside.

Join us for the Winter 21-Day Meditation Challenge!

Do you believe it is possible to transform your life in 21 days? What would your life look like if you could?
If you joined us in our previous Chopra Center 21-Day Meditation Challenge™, you already understand the incredible power of this journey and you’re ready for more.  If this will be your first time in the challenge, get ready to discover the untapped potential that rests within you, opening your gateway to true freedom, extraordinary bliss, and the life of your dreams!
Studies have shown that it takes 21 days of consistent behavior to change a habit or create a new one, such as establishing a regular exercise routine, eating a healthier diet, or taking time each day for self-care. In just 21 days, you can also establish a fulfilling meditation practice that will give you a lifetime of rewards. You may have dipped your toe in the water with limited success, but this time, you will have daily support and guidance that will enable you to move beyond any past obstacles and experience the many gifts and benefits of meditation.
Join us over the coming days for a powerful journey that will change your life. Guided by master meditation teacher and dean of Chopra Center University – davidji and other master teachers – you will learn practical techniques for becoming more calm, centered, and happy – even in the midst of life's inevitable pressures and stress.
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced practitioner, if you want to harness the transformative energy of meditation to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, improve focus or connect to your inner wisdom, this is an exceptional opportunity to learn with masters in the comfort of your surroundings.  We welcome our past and new meditators to be part of this amazing journey in setting the foundation for an amazing 2011.
Your devoted participation during this all new Chopra Center 21-Day Meditation Challenge™ will result in a healing ritual you can carry forward to not only expand your own consciousness, but also contribute to the world community at this pivotal time in human history.

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The Chopra Center 21-Day Meditation Challenge™ Details:

• All new meditations, featuring the Chopra Center’s lead educator – davidji – and other master teachers
• Enroll here by completing the information in the form above.
• The Chopra Center 21-Day Meditation Challenge™ will begin on January 24, 2011. Further details about the program will be emailed to you prior to the start date. You will then begin receiving daily email notifications from us with links to the guided meditations.
• Your participation makes you eligible to win A Weekend Within workshop.  One lucky winner will be chosen from a random drawing to win free entry to A Weekend Within workshop.  Click here for official contest rules.  Click here for official contest rules.

We at the Chopra Center are so excited to be your guide
on this life-changing journey and look forward to hearing from you
with your inspiring results!

Deepak and I on the same page. I am in excellent company! My Chopra Center "Hangin' With Deepak" blog post was featured in the December Agni Newsletter. For the full Agni Newsletter page visit: http://www.chopra.com/agni/dec10

The Gift of Perfect Health

Perfect health is a gift we all seek. Yet deadlines, meetings, kids' schedules, cell phones, conference calls, Blackberries, commuting, carpooling, running a household, and other demands seem to knock us off balance. How often do you eat your lunch at your desk? How often do you find yourself overwhelmed? How often do you find yourself racing around?

After a few years of running at such a hectic pace, the stress builds up, anxieties overtake us, and – in some cases – this imbalance manifests itself as imperfect health. Our digestion, nightly sleep patterns, close relationships, career paths, weight, and emotional wellbeing all seem to suffer as we get further from our natural state of perfect health.

This holiday season, one of the best gifts you can give to yourself or a loved one is making it a priority to care for the body that allows you to experience all the richness of life . . . the ability to touch and be touched, to laugh and feel sorrow, to walk on the earth or float down a river, to look into your children’s eyes, to play with a puppy, inhale the scent of magnolias, cook a special meal, or create music.

Whatever its limitations, your body is the vehicle through which you experience the gifts of a human incarnation, so taking good care of your health is clearly a valuable use of your time and attention. If you want to make your health a priority in the New Year, we invite you to join us for the Perfect Health Panchakarma program – a 6- or 10-day wellness program where you will experience daily healing treatments and empower yourself with knowledge and practical tools that you can use every day to continue on your path to wellness when you return home.

One of our recent Perfect Health guests, Jackie Cioffa, described her experience on her blog:

"When I was given the awesome gift and mind blowing opportunity by my best friend to do Perfect Health Panchakarma at the Chopra Center, I jumped on a plane. Panchakarma is a week of total immersion, a detox of body, mind and spirit . . . The days are packed with yoga, meditation, classes, Ayurvedic meals, doctor consults, and herbs . . . Everyone, from the staff to the teachers and massage therapists could not have been more accommodating . . .  as the days went on, I noticed the smallest changes. I awoke in the morning happy on the inside, for the first time in ages. The muscles on my face softened, and I gave up the internal fight . . . What a lucky life experience, what a lovely, unforgettable week. I'm home again, dreaming of the beach. I'm eating Ayurvedic meals, with the occasional Saturday cheat, drinking ginger tea, doing yoga, writing and working on my meditation." Read the full blog post here >>

We invite you to join us at Perfect Health Panchakarma and take the time to balance, heal, and transform your life!

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