New Things I've Been Trying

Health and wellness is a lifestyle. You don't just, boom, become healthy, or fit, or muscular, or clear headed, have clear skin, poof, brain fog is gone day, it takes time. Just think about how long it took you to get acne, or that extra 15lbs, or regular bowel irritability; none of it happens over night, it takes time to break down, just as it takes time to build it back up.

With that said, little bits daily, over time make a huge impact. Like eating a salad for lunch every day. Or moving every day, simply just going for a walk or taking the stairs, it adds up! And we all know that there isn't enough time in any of our days for 30-1 hour chunks of time to workout, or take a walk, or make your lunch instead of grabbing a fast food lunch, but think about it, if you took little steps each day, slowly, but surely, one day you'll have health and wellness, almost without even noticing it. The more you do little each day perpetuates healthier choices for the rest of your life.

It comes down to self-care. Which so many of us are horrible at. Don't feel bad, we all do it. We put everyone's needs before our own. We worry about our kids, our spouses, our family, our friends, our coworkers, even our boss, before we worry about ourselves. It is only when someone points out that you should be taking better care of yourself, or something bad happens (knock on wood), like a perpetual cold, or a injury, or creepy chronic illness; that we take note, slow down and say to ourselves, "Hey, maybe I should take better care of myself."

So let's not get it to that I-must-take-care-of-myself-know-place-or-I-might-fill in the blank (get diabetes, gain another 15lbs, have high blood pressure, die!) because little things each day add up and make a difference! AND the more you start taking care of yourself the better you will feel, the more you will want to continue to take care of yourself (ie make healthier food choices) and it will make taking care of all the those people around you easier. Trust.

So here are a few things I have been adding to my daily routine, that I am really liking:

Daily Dry Brushing

Dry brushing is exactly as it sounds, you brush your dry body with a dry brush. It sounds kinda weird and like it may hurt a little, but it feels great. You do it right before you get in the shower. I like to let the hot water run a bit to get the bathroom all warm, then get neked and start brushing in long smooth, gentle strokes from your toes to your neck. 

I know it seems weird, but seriously give it a try. Buy a soft bristled, natural brush and give it a whirl. You know that typical winter skin tightness and itchiness that won't go away no matter how much lotion you put on - gone! Seriously, my skin is not dry or itchy and I am not going through every lotion known to man this winter. 

Dry brushing has a slew of benefits from increased circulation and blood flow, getting rid of dead skin cells (hence the no itchiness), reducing cellulite (who doesn't want that!?), exfoliation, and all around general self love (you can't hate on yourself, while you are brushing, it's not possible, it feels too good). Learn more at from Wellness Mama, a great blogger I follow.

Coconut Oil in Coffee

If you haven't seen my IG posts about this deliciousness or haven't tried it yourself - you gotta! It's like Starbucks at home, but better. I swear, who doesn't want a frothy latte each morning in your pjs from your own kitchen! It's amaze-balls.

I stopped drinking coffee for a little over a year when I realized I was lactose intolerant. I stopped putting cream in my coffee and almond milk, try as I might, was just not good (all those who say otherwise - you lie!) and soy, yeah, no, I try not to eat too much soy. So I got rid of coffee in my life. It was sad, because I have always loved coffee. And really it has never given me much strife. And they say either you can drink it or you can't and your body will tell you. It never kept me up at night, I didn't get coffee poops (Google it), I didn't get jittery or anxious; and I love everything about coffee! The smell, the taste, the subtle nuances, the different roasts, I kinda became a coffee aficionado, so to give it up was a sad, sad day. To me there is nothing better than waking up, curling up in your pjs with a hot cup-o-joe, such an awesome way to start the day, am I right!?

So when I saw something recently about coconut oil coffee I had to try it. I'm in heaven. I still only drink 1-2 cups max a day but coconut oil makes it SO much better. Everyone knows coconut oil is the new wonder oil - slather it on everything right - we've all seen the memes. But seriously I love, love coconut oil, and no don't worry about the fat, it is the "good for you fat". 

Take a spoonful of coconut oil (figure out your preference, start with a teaspoon) throw it in a blender, add hot coffee and blend for a few secs, pour into a mug and enjoy your frothy, latte, only slightly coconut-y, coffee and go to heaven. One tip, I like my coffee super hot, and I found that if you put all your coffee in the blender it cools it down too much, so I pour half my black coffee in my mug, then blend the other half with coconut oil, it stays nice and hot that way.

Coconut oil coffee!! OMGEEE so delish! First time I tried it this am. Awesome!! I stopped drinking cream in my coffee (and coffee for almost a year) bc of being #lactoseintolerant 😢 but this makes up for it!! Take 1-2Tbsp of #coconutoil, preferably #organic, put in blender, add hot coffee. Blended deliciousness frothiness!! ☕☕😲😍🙌 love it!! #coffee #coconut #latte #coffeenevertastedsogood #neverneedstarbucksagain

A photo posted by Al St. Cosine (@alstco) on Feb 1, 2016 at 3:24pm PST

Apparently there are health benefits (an added bonus, read more here) but I am just so excited to be able to have my morning coffee everyday and it is better than ever.

Ginger Tea with Meals
It is recommend in Ayurvedic medicine to drink ginger tea with meals. It aides in digestion. For someone who has off and on digestive problems adding ginger tea to each of my meals for the last few weeks had made a noticeable difference. I don't get gassy or bloated. Even if I start to get gassy after a meal, if a drink a cup of ginger tea the gas goes away. It is recommended to drink a hot cup of ginger tea with each meal or after each meal, if the ginger flavor doesn't go with the meal, I will enjoy it after (an added bonus for those with a sweet tooth, it kinda is like dessert, if you need it sweeter add a spoonful of honey.) I would highly recommend everyone add ginger tea to your daily meals.

Lastly, I've learned about:

EFT

Also known as Emotional Freedom Technique or Tapping. I could write a whole blog post on EFT and I probably will do a follow up. It is amazing! EFT is recognized by the CDC for treating PTSD better than talk therapy for veterans. But it does so much more than treat PTSD. You can use it for everything - from daily stress, to menstrual cramps, to physical pain (do you know that 85% of physical pain has an emotional connection??), to emotional pain, for weight loss, and fears, you name it, I bet you EFT will help.

EFT has pressure points that you tap while focusing on the stress, pain, fear, anxiety, what have you, and it actually changes the energy pathways in your body and brain. Almost like acupuncture without the needles. The rhythmic tapping helps you process the stress or emotion and actually rewires your brain to not register "it" as intensely. Your brain does not know the difference between being chased by a bear or nightmare or movie of a bear chasing you. EFT allows you to help your brain and fight or flight reponse to calm down. With as much stress as we all live with each day, our brains and body's are constantly triggering the fight or flight response, so it burns out and we can't tell the difference between a real or stress or a perceived stress. 

I know it might sound crazy and even looks a little silly, but seriously it works!

I can't say enough about EFT and if you are interested to learn more read this article. 

If you would like to know more about any of these tools that I am loving right now, or are interested in any others, send me an email.

While these daily things might not be for you, I urge you to find yours, find little healthy things you can add to your day to day, and trust me they will add up and make a difference in your overall health and well-being long term.