home remedies

Essential Oils: Good or Bad

Swathy · July 11, 2010 · 9 Comments

Have you ever bought essential oils in the market? Do you know that there is an FDA regulation which allows the companies to say an essential oil is 100% pure if it has 10% pure oil in it. So, unfortunately, the essential oils available in the market are not at all pure. If you are absolutely sure of the brand you are using, then it is fine for you to use it. But, in case, you are a new user, it is better you do the brand research properly. Today, I would discuss how to create your own essential oil at home but it definitely would not be as strong as the original essential oils.

Take a transparent glass bottle with a screw top. Fill it with your favorite choice of herbs like rose petals, jasmine flowers, lavender flowers, orange peels or any other herbs you like. Fill them up to 3/4th of the glass bottle. Now, pour a base oil like almond oil, coconut oil or any other oil of your choice into the bottle up to half of the bottle. Now, close the bottle using the screw top tightly pressing the herbs in the bottle as much as you can. Put it in direct sun light for three days. Make sure the screw top is closed as tightly as possible. Keep on closing it even more tightly every day. After three days, you can strain the oil and use it anyway you want. Make sure you finish it before a week. So, make small batches every week.

You can also infuse your oils with herbs instead of going for essential oils. This way you will have pleasant smelling oils in the house and reap the benefits of the herbs along with the oils.

Daily Body Massage to cleanse your body

Swathy · July 9, 2010 · 9 Comments

Body Massage is one of the oldest ways to detoxify your body. It has been recommended in Ayurveda as one of the best ways to keep your body and skin soft and radiant. It is touted that one should make body massage a daily habit. It helps relieve stress, muscle pains, improves blood circulation, nourishes skin, lose weight and detoxifies your body. A daily massage also helps your body become immune to muscle spasms and sprains and all other kinds of injuries. A warm oil body massage is even better. It helps prevent wrinkles and fine lines and blemishes, not only on your face but also on your body, and helps you take years off your body. It helps make your skin more elastic, firm and flexible preventing any aging signs for a longer time. Oh, the best benefit of daily body massage is that it helps you sleep and also helps get rid of insomnia.

We might want to indulge in spa massage luxuries as frequently as possible but the main hitch comes as lack of time and money. So, the simplest way is to include a 5 minute daily massage into your daily routine. Of course, the relaxation and soothing effect of a masseuse would be missing but at least you can gain a little benefit than nothing at all. And, you can always ask your spouse or friends to help with it. Making kids walk all over your back is another great way of providing acupressure relief.. Just make sure your kid is below 5 and you can handle the weight otherwise you might end up breaking your back. I have been trying to make the body massage a daily routine for a week and would say that I have found many differences in my body in a week only. My skin has become more radiant, luxuriant and soft. And, it does not get dry skin bouts which I used to get from time to time. The fine lines under my eyes and on my neck have started diminishing. And, I have also done a little experiment by leaving the massage after a week. And, I have also noticed the effects of leaving the daily body massage. The skin is not so soft and smooth and luxuriant and of course, the fine lines and other aging signs are not any more vanishing. So, I have decided to stick on to the daily body massage regime.In case pampering yourself with massage daily seems too much difficult due to reservations on your time, you might consider going for a professional body massage once in a month. Find out a spa which has professional and trained masseurs. Kerela massage therapists are one of the best available in India so in case you re going for vacation there, reserve a day for their massages. I have heard that it costs anywhere between 15,000 – 30,000 for one sitting. And, a sitting is for around 3-5 hours.

Now, how to massage your body?

First dilemma I faced with massaging my body was the time of massage. I, first, thought that body massage after a long day would be the best as it would help me relax. But, soon, I realized that the skin is not clean after all the exposure to sun and dust and pollution in the day. So, I figured a shower at night and massage in the morning would be a better routine.
Warm a bowl full of your favorite oil in the morning. Close all the windows and the doors to prevent exposure to cold wind.
Divide your body into 6 parts: chest and stomach, back, arms, legs, feet and face and neck. Now, start massaging your body starting from legs and arms. Use long single upward strokes on your arms and legs. Work towards the middle of your body or towards your heart. Use circular motions on your chest and back. You could ask anyone else to massage your back for you because it is not easy to reach your back.
Do not forget to massage your feet. This would relax your feet and prevent the skin to turn hard and crack in the heels.
While massaging your face and neck, use the facial massage techniques.
Keep massaging your body with your palms with even pressure applied from whole of your palm. I know that finger pads provide better results but you might get tired easily while doing self-massages so your might want to stick to using palms. You can spend two to five minutes on each of your body parts and you would get finished in fifteen minutes at max.
Wait for half an hour or so before you go for a shower. You can take a sauna or lie in a bath tub full of warm water to help your body absorb oil.
After the waiting period, you can take a shower. Just make sure you do not slip on the bathroom floor. You might want to wash your feet before entering the shower.
Use a mild soap to wash off the oil. You need not moisturize your body afterward. Or, you can, if you wish.

A tip: Sesame Oil is the best for an oil massage. Sesame oil is the only oil which can get absorbed in the blood stream and removes the toxins from inside. You can also infuse your massage oil with herbs like lavender, jasmine, rose, sage or other herbs. Read this post to know how to infuse oils with herbs.Update: After a hot shower at night, you can devote 10-15 minutes to massage your body. Do not be generous with your oil. Instead use 5 drops of oil for each part of the body.

Fennel Seeds: For digestion and detoxification

Swathy · June 28, 2010 · 1 Comment

Fennel Seeds (saunf in hindi) have become increasingly popular these days to aid in digestion. Well, they do deserve their popularity because of the immense health benefits they provide. You would be surprised to hear that something so insignificant can help us stay healthy for a long time. Everyone knows that it is used as an after-meal breath freshener. But, there is more to this natural breath freshener.

This herb or spice is very much rich in minerals like magnesium, calcium and vitamins like B1, B2 and B3. It helps with proper digestion of your food and also controls your appetite. It cures the acidity or bloating problems of the stomach. Not only that, it also relieves the respiratory problems so people having problems in the respiratory tract or lungs or even sinus problems should take fennel seeds. It also relieves of heartburn and intestinal cramps and spasms. Fennel seeds are great for women especially as they promote growth of the breast tissue and relaxes the uterus helping in menses period. They are also used to treat the hormonal imbalances in the body and stimulates milk production in the nursing mothers.

Since the seeds are high in fiber, they are also great for detoxification of the body and also in losing weight. Regular intake of the seeds help in dealing with the problem of water retention in the body helping in losing weight and also, as said earlier, reduces the appetite. And, foods with high fiber content always helps the body to get cleanse well. So, start chewing a tea spoon of fennel seeds from today and clean your body naturally. Caution: Make sure you are not allergic to the fennel seeds. It is rare but possible.