Welcome and thank you for signing up for our monthly Wellness Journal. I hope to share with you information that will improve the quality of your life! Just by being here you are already surrounded by Healing Energy and Angels that will lead and guide you. With your permission I have placed your name on my Reiki Grid so that Healing Energy can surround you.

December represents both endings and beginnings. It's a month for gathering and cocooning. Celebrating holidays & crawling under layers of blankets & resting. This is a time of listening to your body. A time for warm, hearty foods like stews and curries. A time for sweet and salty foods like chocolates & salted nuts. The days are shorter so allow time for rest. Spend time alone and allow your mind and body to enjoy this luxury. Cocooning in the winter means you can be freshly reborn in spring. When you are ready, you can emerge revitalized and ready for great things.

Need that SPECIAL gift this year. Well, my advice is to write a love letter. Everyone should do this for their loved ones. I ask for them every year. I have love letters from my husband, my mother and friends. I place them in random areas in my home and in books and rediscover them all year. Truly a gift those who receive will treasure for a lifetime.

 My first suggestion for living your best life may at first seem simple, but will prove to be very powerful. Start each day with a

Mantra for Daily Living. Maybe.......

"I Am Alive in Stillness I let Things Come and Go."

Below you will find information on 5 Pillars of Health to assist with Physical, Mental, Emotional, Social and Spiritual Wellness. Balance in these areas can be considered preventive medicine. These areas involve Nutrition, Activity-Fitness, Relaxation-Sleep, Hormone Optimization-Aging Well, and Stress Management. Paying attention to these areas of your life will make this journey much more meaningful.

Nutrition

Cold weather and the busyness of the Holidays can put our bodies through more stress than usual. The good news is we can find everything we need to support and defend ourselves in Mother Nature's Pantry! So, be sure and add these to your shopping list.

Orange Veggies
Carrots, sweet potatoes and squash contain beta-carotene which the body converts into vitamin A, which mops up damaging free radicals. This helps boost the immune system and improve the aging process. Vitamin A also plays a key role in maintaining the health of your mucosal surfaces, including your skin, the inside of your nose and your gastrointestinal tract, and this helps prevent infections from entering your body.

Green Tea
It delivers disease-fighting polyphenols and flavonoids. These antioxidants seek out cell-damaging free radicals and destroy them before they make you ill.

Lemon
Lemons are a staple of many detox diets, and there is good reason for this. Firstly, lemons are packed with antioxidant vitamin C, which is great for the skin and for fighting disease-forming free-radicals. Also, the citrus fruit has an alkaline effect on the body, helping to restore the body’s pH balance and strengthen the immune system. Try starting your day with hot water and a slice of lemon to help flush out toxins and cleanse your system.

Ginger
Ginger is a powerful antiviral root that seems to halt cold symptoms if taken early enough. Add sliced fresh ginger when making stir fries or curries, or add to teas, juices and smoothies.

Pro-biotics
75% of your immune system is in your gut, so it must be in tip top order to keep those winter bugs at bay. Try fermented foods such as sauerkraut, miso soup, apple cider vinegar and kefir water.

Garlic
Garlic helps promote healthy gut bacteria, which rids the body of toxins, bacteria and viruses. It is known as nature’s anti-biotic.

Super Greens
Green juices, chlorella, spirulina, and green leafy vegetables are bursting with vital vitamins and minerals required by your body to stay healthy and stave off infection. People always think of citrus fruits when you mention vitamin C, but in fact green leafy vegetables have huge amounts of vitamin C, and the darker the leaf the higher the nutrient content (think spinach, kale, collards, spring greens).

Turmeric
Turmeric is a yellow, rather tasteless powder, often used in curry dishes for its color. It’s high in antioxidants and is considered nature’s anti-inflammatory. I heat a mug of coconut milk with a teaspoon of turmeric powder, a teaspoon of coconut oil and honey to sweeten as a warming pre-bed tonic.

Good Fats
Medium chain triglycerides, which are found in coconut oil and fish oils, are a unique form of dietary fat that impart a wide range of positive health benefits, including helping fight against bacterial and viral infections.

Water
Our consumption of alcohol and dehydrating foods such as meat, dairy and fried snacks create a lot of stress on the body. We hear it all the time, but it really is important to make sure that you stay well hydrated and drink at least 2 liters of quality (not tap) water a day.

If this busy season catches you feeling a bit under the weather, then try this lovely tonic!

Homemade Cough Syrup
Combine ¼ cup honey and ¼ apple cider vinegar; mix well and take 1 tbsp every 4 hours. If you can get hold of elderberry, then add this to the mix too for an added boost of cold fighting nutrients!

Hormone Health & Aging

We tend to think of certain times in life, such as puberty, pregnancy, and the transition to menopause as hormone-fueled, but the truth is that our hormones influence the health of our bodies and minds every single day. So, what exactly are hormones? Hormones are special chemicals that travel through the bloodstream. Think of them as the body’s internal WiFi. They carry messages from the glands where they are produced to cells in different parts of the body. These chemical messages help to manage cellular processes that control appetite, growth, stress, blood sugar, sleep cycles, sex drive and function. While hormones do affect mood, they do much more in the body than that. Hormones are involved in some way in most bodily functions from the basic (hunger, heart rate) to the complex (reproduction and emotion).

Some hormones, such as serotonin and dopamine, also function as neurotransmitters- chemicals that relay messages between nerve cells in the brain and from neurons to muscles. Neurotransmitters help to coordinate movement and control mood and cognition.

Hormones are produced by glands that make up the endocrine system.

Serotonin is a hormone that doubles as a neurotransmitter. It’s sometimes known as the happy chemical, as it appears to play a role in regulating mood, and low levels of serotonin in the brain have been associated with mental health.

As a neurotransmitter, serotonin is produced in the brain. But scientists are now discovering that the intestines — specifically the gut bacteria that line them — also make serotonin, suggesting an important role for serotonin in gut health.

  Serotonin and Brain Function

In addition to depression, serotonin may play a role in other brain and mental health disorders, including anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), PTSD, phobias, and even epilepsy.

Serotonin plays an important role in many other body functions. It’s involved in appetite and digestion (bowel function and bowel movements), bone health, sexual function and sleep.

Serotonin is a precursor to melatonin, a chemical that helps regulate the body’s sleep-wake cycle

Too high or too low levels of serotonin have been linked to diseases like IBS, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

Foods & Supplements- Serotonin isn’t found in foods, but its precursor, tryptophan, is. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that is important in the production of serotonin. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.

Scientists have shown that the tryptophan in the diet is linked to levels of serotonin in the brain, with lower amounts of dietary tryptophan causing brain levels of serotonin to drop.

Tryptophan is present in most protein-rich foods. Foods high in tryptophan include:

• Eggs

• Nuts and seeds

• Turkey and other poultry

• Soy foods

• Cheese

• Seaweed

Studies have proposed that eating tryptophan-rich foods may increase levels of serotonin in the brain and help treat depression symptoms. So, add these foods to your holiday meals and if you're having problems talk to your physician so they can lead you in the right direction. Learn all you can about natural ways to support your hormone health, and this will assist you in aging gracefully.

Holidays can also be a time of sadness and stress for many. If you find yourself feeling this way talk to someone now. DIAL 988 and talk with someone NOW. The crisis lifeline has someone waiting......You're not alone.

Activity- Fitness

It’s colder, the days are shorter and it’s more important than ever to get moving. December can be a busy time of indulgence and it can get exhausting. Exercise keeps your energy levels up, promotes slow-wave sleep which is deep sleep. Being active boosts your immune system and helps flush bacteria out of the lungs and encourage antibodies and white blood cells to circulate more rapidly which helps combat sickness. Exercise stimulates metabolism so get outside and walk for 45 minutes and call it done! These are just a few reasons to stay active in December.

What happens if you don’t exercise? Your brain and body become deconditioned. Your muscles weaken and you lose muscle mass. One of the most important roles exercise plays is to keep cells in shape. A sedentary lifestyle leads to obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, circulatory problems, joint and bone fragility resulting in injury, re-injury, depression, and pre-mature death.

 So, keep moving this month. Walking, cycling, gym activities, free exercise programs on YOUTUBE, weight training (standing or sitting), yoga, swimming, water-walking.

The options are ENDLESS.  

A few of my favorite options from home are:

Aging Backwards by Miranda Esmonde-White. Miranda is fitness trainer, former ballerina and NYT bestselling author on matters of aging well. Her workouts range from 20 minutes to 40 minutes. She’s brilliant, explains why you make every single move. She says if you get up from a chair and feel still and don’t move well you need movement that helps lubricate connective tissue. You can also find her listed as Classic stretch by Miranda.

Another favorite when I’m pressed for time-

The Five Tibetan Rites, with Andrea Robertson. Also known as The Fountain of Youth exercises. START SLOWLY maybe sets of 3. You will find many videos of the 5 rites so spend a few minutes selecting which one is right for you.

Fitness apps: Fitness apps are very popular because they keep you motivated. They offer community, accountability, personalization, accessibility and some are free.

9 Free Fitness Apps to get you Moving. 1) Strong 2) Jefit

3) Nike Training Club 4) Nike Run Club 5) Strava (MY FAVORITE) 6)Myfitnesspal (MY NEXT FAVORITE) 7) Daily Yoga 8) Endomondo 9) Calm (3rd favorite)

Stress Reduction

Although stress is an unavoidable part of life, being chronically stressed takes a toll on your physical and mental health. Fortunately, several evidence-based strategies can help you reduce stress and improve your overall psychological well-being. Below are some suggestions to help reduce stress.

• Get more physical activity. Walking is a gentle but effective activity to get you moving. Physical activity helps reduce stress levels and improve mood and can decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression.

• Set boundaries and learn to say no.

• Minimize phone use and screen time.

• Consider supplements, the following have proven results in reducing stress and anxiety. Magnesium and all of the B vitamins. Ashwagandha and L-theanine and CBD oil.

• Practice self-care- spend some time alone, light a nice candle,

Diffuse calming scents. A few of my favorites are sandalwood, frankincense, orange blossom.

• Practice mindfulness- don't worry about tomorrow or dwell on yesterday focus on the present moment.

• Spend time in nature.

• Practice deep breathing. Mental stress activates your sympathetic nervous system, sending your body into fight or flight mode. During this reaction, stress hormones trigger physical symptoms such as a faster heartbeat, quicker breathing, and constricted blood vessels. Deep breathing exercises help activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which controls the relaxation response. Deep breathing exercises include diaphragm breathing abdominal breathing, belly breathing, and paced respiration. The goal of deep breathing is to focus your awareness on your breath, making it slower and deeper. When you breathe in deeply through your nose, your lungs fully expand, and your belly rises. This helps slow your heart rate, allowing you to feel at peace.

• Spend time with your pet.

 Exercise, mindfulness, spending time with a pet, minimizing screen time, and getting outside more often are all effective methods of stress reduction. A personal favorite is breath- work. Especially if waking in the night.

Restorative Rest

Restorative rest is about taking ourselves away from the need to do, fix and complete.  It’s what happens after we let ourselves deeply feel and experience the truth of our emotions and bodies. If you woke up this morning feeling rested and refreshed, you probably got what’s called restorative sleep. In basic terms, restorative sleep happens when brain activity during sleep helps restore your body and mind, essentially resetting you for another day of activity. Your body and brain accomplish a lot during sleep, including muscle repair, protein synthesis, and tissue growth. Not getting enough restorative sleep can affect your health, not to mention your ability to function during the day. Holidays are busy times, our eating patterns change, and this can all lead to poor sleep. So try some of these suggestions below to get better sleep at night. Many of these are evidenced based tips resulting in immediate results.

• Getting more sunlight or morning light. Daily sunlight or artificial bright light can improve sleep quality and duration, especially if you have severe sleep issues or insomnia.

• Decrease exposure to blue light. Blue light tricks your body into thinking it’s daytime and blocks melatonin that makes you sleepy.

• A melatonin supplement is an easy way to improve sleep quality and fall asleep faster. Take 1–5 mg around 30–60 minutes before heading to bed. Other supplements, including lavender and magnesium, can help with relaxation and sleep quality.

• Avoid alcohol before bed, as it can reduce nighttime melatonin production and lead to disrupted sleep patterns.

• Optimize your bedroom environment by eliminating external light and noise to get better sleep.

• Relaxation techniques before bed, including hot baths and meditation, may help you fall asleep.
  If you’re interested in optimal health and well-being, it’s recommended that you make sleep a top priority and incorporate some of the tips above.

Self-Discovery & Play Area

My goal in this process is to connect with you and provide useful information. Love, Peace and best wishes for wellness sent your way! Remember you have angelic protection, support and guidance available to you at any time. We often pray and ask for help when in need but try saying Thank you, Angels when things are great!