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Its Just Life Vol. 4 – Let us Uncomplicate!

Swathy · January 21, 2015 · 2 Comments

quote on life

So, if you have read my blogging goals for the current year, you would already know that professional blogging has made my life pretty complicated!! I have lost the focus on blogging by becoming a full time blogger. The focus had shifted to making the blog self-sustainable. And, reading a whole lot about it became just too much for me!

It was like being bombarded by do this and do that and this would not work and that would not work. You know internet is a pretty negative place if you really do not know what you want!
This entire exercise made me lose interest in writing! And, that was BAD. You should really be selective about what information you consume. Let’s start!

1. Clear Your Mind

You really need to be selective about what you let sit in your mind. There is so much of everything happening around and you really can not help thinking about everything. So, chuck everything from your mind. 
If you have ever worked in any company, you would know that quite a lot of people prefer freshers. No, not because of lesser salary but because of lesser experience. A mind with a clean slate can be moulded in anyway you want. Where as a mind with certain principles of its own will never react the way you want it to. 

The same principle works here as well. The assumptions you make, the impressions on your mind, the thoughts you have, everything leaves your mind in a turmoil. And, when this gets too much, generally in the cases of a lot of emotional drama in your life, you tend to feel insane! 
A good step to avoid such situations is to clear your mind. Stay away from the things which disturb you. And, if that is not possible, create situations which help you stay away. 
For example, when staying at home became too much for me to bear, I started staying back longer in the office. I have always been a girl who loves to go home as early as possible but this step made my life simpler! 
This is just an example but you get the idea so work on it!

2. Work on your Body!

As important as it is to keep your mind calm, it is equally important to keep your body fit. More exercise means more endorphins which are happiness hormones. So, you stay happy, irrespective of the situations! And, it builds your confidence and self-esteem. So, yes, work out or take it gradually – go for a walk daily! 

3. Focus on what is important and discard everything else!

This is more or less a variant of #1. But, what I want to say here is that always prioritize what you want. Think of the larger picture, not of today but one year down the line then five years down the line and then about how you want your whole life to be. And, work towards that goal. 
Remove the negative thoughts which hamper your ability and productivity. Remove all the drama which involves you. Avoid situations or simply walk out. Do what you think is best!! But, make sure you are not travelling in two boats at the same time. That will make your life worse. So, have one goal and travel only in one boat towards that goal. 
For example, I want to build this blog. I did not want to work so I left my job. You bet everyday I listen so much from everyone and yes it is quite depressing sometimes. But, then, when I think about the blog, nothing else matters! Yes, there are other goals but my primary goal is blogging and I shall achieve other goals through this.
Watch out for every depressing thought. 
Few days back, I received an email from one of the reader’s who asked me to write about emotional health. So, this is a trial from my side on the topic. I am trying to align the series to my moods so that it is easy for me to pen them down. Hope you like it!!

Now, I am feeling overwhelmed so let me just practice these three tips for the week and I shall get back to you with new ones sometime next week. And, do not forget to share what do you think of these new series? Looking forward to hearing from you!

Other posts you might have missed:
Blogging Series Vol. 19 – Blogging Goals for #2015!!
Just Gossip Vol. 25 – The Year 2013!
Its Just Life Vol. 3 – Not all things happen for the good!!

Blogging Series Vol. 19 – Blogging Goals for #2015!!

Swathy · January 19, 2015 · 2 Comments

blogging goals for perfectskincareforyou in 2015

Well, I have to say that since I have taken full time blogging, it has been feeling overwhelming! Being a professional blogger increases the commercial interests and that has made me lose focus on what made me start blogging in the first place! It was like reading all about blogging except writing – you know do this, do that and do what not and avoid this and this would not work out and the list is endless. Whew!

So, I thought it would be good to realign myself with what and why of the blog before proceeding to do anything! This past week has been a silent one – first with the festival frenzy and then with all of this thinking. And, finally, I have decided to start with a clean slate. So, let us check what all we have in store for #2015.

#1. Realigning the purpose and goals of the Blog

I remember why I had started this blog. It was to share my knowledge on how to take care of skin and hair using simple home remedies which were easy on the pocket and equally effective. So, budget was one of the mantras at that time. I was studying and I really did not intend to spend much.
While writing about skin and hair, delving into healthy lifestyle was inevitable. So, there were and are a lot of articles about simpler lifestyle and healthy habits which if integrated with daily habits would be one step closer to leading a healthy life. 
Then, we delved into product reviews and I discovered and worked with a lot of brands – good and bad – and recommended some of them to you. And, then, we stopped evolving!
Worse still, I had almost abandoned the blog for one year during my wedding and I am sure it must have upset you to not find any new content on the blog for weeks and months together!
And, let me tell you getting back to blogging is really not easy! In these past few months, I had so much trouble churning out new articles. It was almost like I was forcing myself to write and that is what I want to avoid!! So, writing better content without forcing myself is a goal this time. And, as you might have known, I have reduced the frequency of posting as well to help me in this goal. So, you would find articles every alternate day!

#2. Weekly Chats!

I have already had two weekly chat sessions this year and now I am planning the third this weekend sometime. But, the problem is that this weekend and the next one are the birthday times for us. So, it might be a leetle-bit difficult to accommodate it these two weeks.
Actually, the problem with these sort of chats is that I am putting them on facebook and not everyone wants to be publicly involved in it. And, then, both the chats were in the noon time on a working day so that also made impossible for some people to attend it. So, I have to think of a way around it!! Let us see what I come up with.

#3. #OneMonthtoHealthyHair Event

Now, this is a real experiment I am doing. Well, this is a one month event starting on 1st March, 2015 to 31st March, 2015. March is the starting of summer and as you already know hair grows better in the warmer months. So, I am holding this event for all the beauties with dry, rough and damaged hair who want a better hair.
In this one month, we all will follow a defined hair care regime which I shall obviously post about and at the end of each week, we shall compare the progress. Also, included are discussions on various hair issues and problems everyday of the month. So, yes, it is a packed month!! And, there would be giveaways and other fun contests included as well. So, do join in! Check out the event facebook page.
I am also planning to release and ebook after the event. So, fingers crossed!!
did you know series by perfectskincareforyou

#4. #DidYouKnow Series on facebook

I have started a new branded graphics #DidYouKnow. Including one of them here.

#5.Change in the flow of posts – More Topics

If you have ever noticed, my blog has always been aligned to my life’s flow so more of new topics specially on baby planning and pregnancy and all those things will be coming up. Yes, parenting would be a part of the blog once we become one! No, there is no good news on the cards right now. Hope you would like the new topics as well!

So, these are the top things on my mind right now! And, yup, I want to share a secret – I am working on a project right now and I am extremely excited about it. Okay, I am building up the suspense here so keep it going till I announce about it! Hopefully, it should be soon enough.

Related Posts:
Blogging Series Vol. 18 – Why is it so wrong to make money from a blog?
Blogging Series Vol. 17 – Where do you compose your posts from?
Blogging Series Vol. 16 – Are you setting up goals for 2014?

Essential Oils 101 Vol. 2 – How do the Essential Oils work?

Swathy · January 11, 2015 · 13 Comments

essential oils and how do they work

I had started a series on Essential Oils last month and continuing in that, we shall discuss today about how do they really work for us?
Now, essential oils are recommended for literally everything, even by ayurveda. For example, it is amazing in skin care or hair care or treating wounds or changing our moods. In fact, there is a separate range of edible essential oils.
There is no scientific backing about how effective essential oils are (as I mentioned in the previous part of my series) but most people have seen positive outcomes after using them. But, how do these essential oils work? What are the essential oils made of? We shall be talking chemistry today so relax and let me try to make it as simple for you as possible, not that I understand whole lot of it!!

The Chemistry

Like all things in nature, essential oils are also made up of molecules. Essential Oils are organic compounds and made of hydrocarbons. A generic structure of any essential oil is made up of the organic components like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, phenols, alcohols, aldehydes and many more (Source). And, depending on the specific essential oil, the structure of these components vary which defines the exact nature and healing properties of the essential oils.
For example, oils with high monoterpene hydrocarbons react readily to air and heat which is why citrus oils oxidize more easily. Sesquiterpenes are anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory like chamomile and rose. Cinnamon and Clove oils have high concentration of phenols which is why they must be used in lower concentrations. Phenols are toxic in high quantities and require more work to excrete from the body.
To give an example, grapefruit has 86-92% d-limonene which is a monoterpene. Grapefruit contains 90-95% monoterpenes, 3-8% Tetraterpenes, 1-3% Aldehydes, and less than 3% Furanocoumarins, Sesquiterpenones, Alcohols and Thiols. So as we can see from the chemistry of essential oil that Grapefruit is a detoxifier, has cleansing properties because it is a mostly made of monoterpenes! Monotropenes also restore the correct information in the DNA of the cell once the sesquiterpenes and pheonlics have done their job. (Source)
Source : http://www.biospiritual-energy-healing.com/essential-oil-chemistry.html

How Essential Oils affect ‘Emotional Brain’?

Do you love the sweet smell of Earth after the first shower of rain? It smells of happiness to me. So, this is what is called Aromatherapy. Our sense of smell has the power to alter our moods.

A smell can be overwhelmingly nostalgic because it triggers powerful images and emotions before we have time to edit them… When we give perfume to someone, we give them liquid memory. Kipling was right: “Smells are surer than sights and sounds to make your heart-strings crack.”

We need only eight molecules of a substance to trigger an impulse in a nerve ending, but forty nerve endings must be aroused before we smell something. (Source)

Human body has an emotional brain called the limbic system which not only controls emotions but also the physical functions like heart rate, blood pressure, hormone production and release and many other such functions. It also has a olfactory cortex which is where any smell you inhale comes to and triggers response in your body.

So, basically, when you inhale an odor, it passes through the nasal passages in form of a protein. This protein is converted to electrical impulses when it reaches the cortex. So, whatever impulses the cortex receives, it sends the same messages to other organs. If you inhale a calming odor, the electric impulse tells the limbic system to relax and the system sends calming nerve impulses throughout the body.

Honestly, it is not as simple as this sounds but I have just given you a gist. For a detailed explanation, I would suggest you to check out this source.

Now we need to see how aromatherapy plays into all of this. Each of the essential oils has therapeutic properties, in that they are stimulating, calming, sedative, balancing, etc. When we inhale an essential oil molecule, it travels through the nasal passage to a receptor neuron that transports it up to the limbic brain, especially the hypothalamus. Remember that some of the functions of the hypothalamus are to regulate blood pressure, control heart rate and adjust hunger and thirst? Well, if you smell an essential oil that has a vibrationally calming effect on the body, and the hypothalamus receives the input to relax, then it creates neurochemicals that are sent through the body to relax and calm. Likewise if an essential oil has a frequency known to stimulate the body, then the limbic system will conform by sending the message to energize and become more active. Through this manner of transport, one can understand how aromatherapy oils can increase immunity, balance hormonal secretions, dampen or enliven hunger and thirst, and create sexual desire. (Source)

References

http://www.essentialoils.co.za/components.htm
http://www.experience-essential-oils.com/chemistry-of-essential-oil.html
http://www.biospiritual-energy-healing.com/essential-oil-chemistry.html
http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/04/10/how-smell-works-diane-ackerman-senses/
http://wisechoiceliving.com/our-brains-and-aromatherapy/
http://www.suzannebovenizer.com/aromatherapy-essential-oils/the-limbic-system
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