Happy 2016!
I hope the new year is bringing you much joy and relaxation. In years past, I have started January off with a thorough to do list of all hopes and dreams I wished to accomplish in the coming year. It was very efficient, but also very daunting and stressful.
And to be honest, it did not always help me to accomplish my goals. As much as I enjoy checking items off my “to do” list, sometimes just reading through the remaining tasks led me to focus not on what I accomplished but what I had failed to accomplish. It also pulled me out of the moment and into a state of future anxiety. Essential Oils to boost health can help you and I accomplish our new goals.
Essential Oils to Boost Health
That said, I am trying a new strategy for 2016.
I’m keeping it short.
I’m keeping it simple.
I’m focusing on the top 3 actionable daily changes that will yield the greatest impact.
They feel manageable. And more importantly, these small daily changes will have a big impact on my vibrant health. They include investing in:
- Restful Sleep
- Parasympathetic Digestion
- Allowing Space to Receive more Joy
Restful Sleep
As you may know, restful sleep, defined as the ability to both fall asleep and stay asleep for 7-8 hours per night, is critical for health and healing. It is during restful sleep that the body rests, regenerates, repairs, detoxifies, balances blood sugar levels, burns calories, supports immune activity and resets our energy reserves.
Sleep is critical for basic maintenance and repair of the neurological, endocrine, immune, musculoskeletal and digestive systems. Restful sleep can:
- Improve mental clarity and memory
- Enhance athletic performance
- Boosts mood and energy
- Improve immune function
- Increase our tolerance to stress
Without restful sleep, we feel fatigued and our body compensates with cortisol spikes, sugar cravings and other tricks to keep us awake and functioning. Often just by improving sleep, other functions will improve as well. For example, if you are less fatigued, you are less likely to crave sugar for energy and it is easier to drop weight, improve concentration, detoxify, reduce pain and improve overall vitality.
I am committing to trying to get to bed by 9 p.m. each night, using Vibrant Blue Oils Circadian Rhythm® blend and Sleep™ blend to help fall asleep and the Pancreas™ and Liver™ blends to support night waking.
For more information on essential oils to support restful sleep, check out this
Parasympathetic Eating
It is not just what we eat, but how we eat (ideally in a relaxed parasympathetic state) that allows the body to digest, absorb and assimilate our nutrients. These nutrients form the raw materials for creating, maintaining and repairing every cell in the body. If they are not properly digested, they cannot be properly assimilated, leaving our body to try to make do with limited resources. I know that improving my family’s digestive function is one of the most important steps I can take in improving our overall health.
As you may know, digestion is supposed to be a parasympathetic event. Our bodies need to be in the “rest and digest” parasympathetic state for the digestive cascade to properly flow. In 2016, I intend to eat all meals in a parasympathetic state, by planting both feet firmly on the ground, taking a few deep breathes to smell and appreciate the food, saying a little prayer of gratitude and applying Vibrant Blue Oils Parasympathetic® to my vagal nerve (behind ear lobe on mastoid bone). When applied before meals, Parasympathetic® helps trigger the parasympathetic state for optimal digestion.
To read more about parasympathetic digestion, check out this article.
Receiving Joy
What brings you the greatest joy? For me, it is time spent with my children, hugs, laughter, doing yoga, reading or any time spent in nature.
But so often, I find myself rushing through my day trying to complete everything on my list and missing those small moments when I could allow more joy in. The hurried drop off or pick up where I forgo the hug in favor of efficiency. The late night spent working instead of playing board games with my family. The days so packed full of commitments that I can’t even squeeze a yoga class into the schedule. Not this year. 2016 is all about those small moments, those opportunities to take the scenic route and squeeze every ounce of joy and beauty out of the experience.
Our level of joy has been proven to a great influence on our health. That said, everyone has off days. But on those days when the clouds feel like they will never lift, we have some wonderful blends to let the sun shine through, including our Heart™ blend (my personal favorite for innumerable reasons. You can read more about the benefits of that blend here), Calm™ blend and Rose™ blend are wonderful for increasing joy in your heart. Finally, our Emotion Balance Small Intestine™ blend is wonderful for opening up our channels to receive joy.
Thank you for letting me share my 3 resolutions for Vibrant Health. Just sharing these helps to make me accountable and I do believe we are all in this together.
Do you have any new year’s resolutions that you would like to share for 2016? Please leave a comment below or head over to our Facebook Discussion group and tell us about them along with any essential oils that you believe might support your goals!
Also, feel free to share this post with anyone in your life who might benefit from some simple, actionable resolutions for the new year!
Resources
Ready to get started? Click the links below to order today:
- Calm™ available here
- Circadian Rhythm® available here
- Heart™ available here
- Liver™ available here
- Pancreas™ available here
- Parasympathetic® available here
- Rose™ available here
- Small Intestine™ available here
- Sleep™ available here
