Using essential oils to relax, reduce stress, and alleviate snoring can help increase the likelihood of a good night’s sleep. Did you know Green Valley essential oil blends are made right here in the Comox Valley? Try our Tranquility or Insomnia blends. Chamomile has a soothing effect on the nervous system, helping to reduce stress, depression, and aggravation. Lavender relaxes, soothes, and restores peace to mind and body. At nighttime, diffuse essential oils in the bedroom, add to your bath, shake onto a cotton ball tucked into your pillow, or rub onto the soles of your feet with a carrier oil. Cover with some fuzzy bed socks for a cozy feel.
Community News
Quit Smoking Using Acupuncture
Smoking cigarettes is the single most preventable cause of premature death in Canada. Acupuncture is an evidence-based approach shown to reduce cravings and withdrawal
symptoms associated with smoking. By regulating the nervous system and disengaging the physiological stress response, it provides the person with a feeling of calm and
increased ability to cope. Studies show that people who use acupuncture in addition to education and counselling are more likely to succeed in becoming a non-smoker. Patients who used acupuncture also reported significant improvement in pain management, concentration, sleep, and energy compared to those who did not receive needles. Acupuncture is recognized as a best practice in the treatment of smoking cessation.
Boost Mental Health & Performance at Work
During this global pandemic, the need for mental health support has increased fourfold. As an employee, the best thing you can do for your mental health is to be vocal. If you are struggling, speak up or use the Wellness Together Canada free resources. Waiting causes longer term damage impacting productivity and quality of life. If you are an employer, ask how you can support your team every day. Then, make or get a Mental Health First Aid kit and put it somewhere visible to demonstrate mental health is just as important as physical health. Include things like motivational cards, mindfulness colouring sheets, stress balls, breathing exercises and general resilience tips.
Stay Young at Heart
CardioFlex Q10™ is a proprietary collagen precursor formula designed to promote the body’s natural ability to produce collagen and repair connective tissues to support cardiovascular health. Each serving contains 2000 mg Vitamin C, amino acids and other nutrients that help build structural elastin and structural collagen, maintain cardiovascular health, reduce the recurrence of herpes simplex virus/shingles, maintain proper muscle function and generally maintain good health. Excellent for supplementing vegan diets and made in Canada by Innotech Nutrition, a family company.
Clean Eating Recipe
Healthy Breakfast Egg Muffins: INGREDIENTS: 12 large eggs, 1/4 cup milk, 1 cup chopped spinach, 3/4 cup quartered cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup diced onions. INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir in the spinach, tomatoes, and onions. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Add sliced avocado, salsa and crumbled feta or a shredded cheese before serving. This recipe freezes well for future easy healthy breakfasts.
Words to Live By
A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book. Irish proverb
Book Club: Beyond the Label
Beyond the Label offers a unique perspective on mental health: it shares the author’s own recovery from four major mental health conditions: anxiety, depression (attempted suicide), bulimia, and bipolar disorder type 1. The book outlines a detailed, step-by-step plan for how others can achieve optimal mental health. A combination of practical clinical experience and years of lived experience, the book shares insight into how diet, exercise, and sleep can be optimized for improved mental wellbeing, as well as strategies for coping with negative thoughts and emotions, and building self-love and compassion, among other skills.
Words to Live By
Good health is not something we can buy. However, it can be an extremely valuable savings account.” Anne Wilson Schaef
Resolutions for 2021
It’s that time again, the beginning of the New Year; yet things look very different than last year. 2020 is officially over, and we are embarking into 2021, hoping for a very different year. Let’s work on making resolutions that will help us through. Focus on that all-important Self-care (and Community-care)! Find the things in life that are enjoyable (and able to do within the constrictions of the pandemic), and make a resolution to commit to them on a regular basis. Be specific yet flexible, and most importantly, make them enjoyable (not just healthy)!
Welcome 2021
What a relief to have 2020 behind us. Although we still need to adhere to health restrictions for a while longer, 2021 should bring brighter days. We look forward to seeing people in the coffee shops again enjoying the social connection and reading our newsletters. Until that time, you can connect on line with health and wellness resources in our WellnessHUB. We have missed the excitement of our Expos, promoting our vendors, booking interesting seminars and seeing all the attendees. While we are sad that the Women’s Expo will not be happening this year, we are hopeful that the Health Expo is a go for September.
Enjoy the Outdoors!
If there is one thing that we learned from 2020, it is the importance of our health. Make 2021 the year for living a healthy lifestyle. We may still need to wear masks and practice social distancing, but outside our door is the beautiful nature of our Vancouver Island. Whether it is just a walk around the block, or a hike up Mount Benson, the fresh air and exercise boosts our wellbeing. So lace up your shoes and wear VoxxLife socks with HPT for enhanced balance and stability. Additional benefits include; enhanced pain relief and management, especially PDN pain and improved mobility.
