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
The Multi-Generational Sandwich
If you’re currently caring for children still living at home while also caring for aging parents, then you are a member of the Sandwich Generation. According to Statistics Canada, more than two million Canadians are part of the Sandwich Generation. Our aging Baby Boomer population, and children staying in the family home until they are in their 20s, means that the Sandwich Generation is here to stay. As parents age and are no longer able to independently care for themselves, they will require extra assistance to enable them to stay at home. And that home may be your home, not theirs.
Health is the Real Wealth
Now, is the time to take control of your health! These past few months have shown us that the real wealth in this time is health. And the same principles that apply in creating wealth in finances are the same ones that apply in creating strong health. A strong immune system is created by a compound effect of making many good small choices. Good food for your brain and body, exercise, or movement on a daily basis, getting out and experiencing beauty and taking in a good deep breath daily. And there is still lots of time. Now, I would the time to take control of your health.
Effects of Social Isolation
Several studies have shown social isolation can negatively affect your health. This National Institute on Aging primer notes that loneliness can lead to high blood pressure, depression, and put you at greater risk of illness. That could mean more doctor’s visits and higher health care costs. And what if you or your loved one takes a fall with no one around? Beyond the physical pain, the financial implications could be high. And then there’s the emotional toll of social isolation, which can be even more devastating. These are all things to consider when deciding whether you or your loved one spend the next chapter of life at home or in a senior living community.
Treatment For Chronic Pain
Patients ask “How Does Prolozone Work?” because they want to explain to others why their chronic pain has improved significantly. Prolozone is a connective tissue injection therapy of collagen producing natural substances and ozone gas which can reconstruct damaged or weakened connective tissue in and around joints. The technique causes repair & tightening of the lax structures, partially torn connective tissue, ligaments and halts the pain/inflammation cycle. This allows for better circulation, increase blood flow carrying nutrition, hydration to the damaged tissues. Prolozone therapy offers a non-surgical, ligament reconstruction option and is a permanent treatment for chronic pain.
Self-Resiliency & Massage Therapy
Now more than ever, self-management tools are crucial for anyone experiencing persistent or reoccurring body pain. When returning to massage therapy, consider booking a Discovery appointment which has a heavy focus on movement and self-care, but still includes some hands on. If you are concerned about direct contact, we can do a movement therapy session where social distancing can be maintained the entire time. Movement therapy sessions are not billable as massage therapy but will be offered at a heavily discounted rate. Virtual options are available if you feel safer at home or in case we need to temporarily close again.
Words to Live By
“If not now, when?” – Hillel
Words to Live By
“Every ceiling, when reached, becomes a floor, upon which one walks as a matter of course and prescriptive right.” Aldous Huxley
Acceptance & Adaptability
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo
“So do I” said Gandalf “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ~ J.R.R Tolkein
While our global community is being challenged in a way we have not seen in our lifetimes, we are dawning to the realization that life, as we have known it, is changing and that no one knows what the future will bring. While the future has never been predictable, the current global situation is demanding we realize this. As such many of us are experiencing intensified and wide ranging, ping-ponging emotions such as fear, anxiety, depression, grief, rage, sorrow, overwhelm along with moments of stillness, calmness, tenderness, compassion, and perhaps even, at times, boredom. Somewhere amongst these perfectly normal thoughts and emotions you may also have an inkling that this time is also presenting an opportunity to transform your life in a deep and meaningful way…and that it’s finally time to tune into that longing, which has until now, been pushed away with a million distractions.
The Yoga tradition supports our transformation by teaching us how to live in the moment, how to stop fighting with circumstance and how to become adaptable and present. The many and varied practices of Yoga not only support us through difficult times, but also offer a practical way to infuse our lives with greater ease, clarity, purpose and presence. Numerous practices of Yoga teach us to hone our inner life as well as our relationships with others and with the world at large. Such practices teach us how to cling less, resist less, sit with (&/or) question our fears in order to be less reactive and to not buy into our ego-driven thoughts. Practices also develop in us the ability to live with greater joy, gratitude, compassion and acceptance. While it’s easy to respond to this and say to yourself, “well, of course,” for many of us the reality is that it’s easier said than done, so the question arises, How? The answer; With Practice and support of a teacher/mentor &/or group of like-minds/hearts.
While you may be familiar with Yoga asanas (movements and postures that help you to ground in the body, deepen the breath and begin to focus the mind,) you may be less familiar with practices that specifically address inner struggle and teach us how to create centered presence.
These may include interrelational practices that help to address our motivations and patterns in everyday situations, as well as contemplations and conscious attention practices. The focus of practice may include creating healthy habits/ routines, addressing one’s relationships with oneself and with others, and ultimately, understanding one’s True Nature, Awareness itself.
In one-on-one (1:1) mentorship we (you and I) work together for a period of time to focus on various aspects of your life that you wish to transform. Your particular objective(s,) needs and circumstances inform the course of each session.
For those simply in need of finding some ease and grounding in these times, I have some free videos on my website and an online version of my Deep Self Care program in the works.
At this period of time I am offering Pay What You Can options for my 1:1 services and group programs, for those in need.
If this is your moment to embrace transformation contact me at harriet@YogaAndHealing.ca
For more information on 1:1 Mentorship (online,) the upcoming Deep Self Care online group program, as well as some FREE practices visit www.YogaAndHealing.ca
We are Here for You
The BC Responsible and Problem Gambling Program continues to provide free services to citizens of British Columbia through this period. We are working to provide virtual options (telephone and videoconferencing) for the delivery of our services, including counselling and outreach support. For more information, please contact the Gambling Support Line at 1.888.795.6111 or email Problem.Gambling@gov.bc.ca. If you need to renew your VSE agreement, please contact BCLC’s Customer Support Centre at 1-866-815-0222. A BCLC Investigator will set new ‘temporary’ agreement renewal and contact you when venues are set to open to obtain your documentation.
Make Your Home Safer
Things you can do to make your home safer and reduce the risk of falling:
Remove tripping hazards like clutter, small throw rugs • Keep items you use the most easily accessible • Improve lighting to ensure you can see your path when walking, especially at night • Install grab bars in the bathroom and ensure your home has handrails on all staircases • Wear non-slip shoes both inside and outside of the house • Get a Home Safety Assessment if you are at risk of falling; an Occupational Therapist can help to advise you on making your home safer.
