Dry body brushing with essential oils

Dry body brushing has been along for a very long time.  It is a well-known natural health practice and is practiced in many traditional cultures around the world.

Think of the Finnish sauna traditions that go back to 7000 BC.  The sauna customs of the forefathers of the Finns was written by the Nestor the Chronicler in 1112.  

He told of “hot wooden saunas in which naked bathers beat themselves with branches and finally pour cold water over themselves.”

Bathing culture has been around similarly in the European countries for thousand years.  You will find magnificent bathing houses in Turkey, Hungary, GRB and many-many countries around the world.  Sophisticated beauty routines using natural ingredients has been documented for centuries.

Flagellation (Latin flagellum, "whip"), flogging, whipping or lashing is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, lashes, rods, switches, etc.  Typically, flogging is imposed on an unwilling subject as a punishment; however, it can also be submitted to willingly, or performed on oneself, in religious or sadomasochistic contexts as Wikipedia explains.

The strokes are usually aimed at the unclothed back of a person, in certain settings it can be extended to other corporeal areas.  For a moderated subform of flagellation, described as bastinado, the soles of a person's bare feet are used as a target for beating (see foot whipping). 

The purpose of these ceremonies might be different but they all share something in common.  Purifying the body and the soul.  For health reasons or for punishment, the need to initiate changes in the body and soul is the need for such actions.  To purify, detox, eliminate, remove, to get rid of things in the body and the soul that don't serve us well. 

How deep we want to go and how big change we want to induce it all depend on what result we want. 

Dry body brushing is a simple health practice that anyone can practice at home before taking a shower.  No flagellation needed to get great results!  Dry body brushing offers amazing benefits, especially when combined with essential oils! 

Benefits include:

• exfoliating, removing old, dead skin from the back and the rest of the body
• increases circulation
• reduces cellulite
• smoother younger looking skin
• improves fascia and reduces inflammation in the system that can be the cause of chronic pain, MS, fibromyalgia and different mysterious aches and pains (personal experience)
• detoxifies the lymphatic system
• energizes you and makes you feel alive
• reduces depression
• improves sleep

Using natural plants bristle brush is a must.  You don't want to scratch your skin with synthetic brush.  A brush with a long handle so you can reach your back is crucial.  Our spine is the most important as it carries the nervous system.  The Central Nervous System (CNS) controls most functions of the body and mind.  It consists of two parts: the brain and the spinal cord.  To keep your spine healthy and flexible so your CNS can operate to its best capacity is vital for good health. Stimulating it daily will assist your whole nervous system.  Especially, when we spend so much time inactive and sitting. 

Starting the day with a good refreshing dry body brushing then jumping in the shower to have a warm shower to wash off all the dead cells you brushed away gets the circulation and your Central Nervous System going.  Make sure that you finish your shower with cold water!  This is absolutely crucial for a great health routine!  Just gradually turn the hot water lower, then wait, get used to it, then turn it off more, then wait, get used to it etc.  Then you will see, standing under the cold shower is really not that big deal. 

Training your body to get used to this routine of dry brushing with a few drops of essential oil on the brush followed by warm shower followed by cold shower will become your best friend.  Especially in summer, it is sensational!  If you live with Multiple Sclerosis or chronic pain this will bring your back to life and will tremendously help you reduce your heat sensitivity. 

What oils to use on the brush?

I have tried and love many. I used doTerra oils for quality like Lemon, Wild Orange, Tangerine, Grapefruit, Litsea, Siberian Fir, Thyme, Cypress, Coriander, Cilantro, Ginger, Peppermint, Lavender, etc, you name it I tried and all work!

My most favourites and the ones I would highly recommend, other than the one I will detail here next are these:

On Guard blend to build your immune system in seasons of cold and flue when everyone is sick around you. 

Slim & Sassy blend (Smart & Sassy in Aus) to shape up, loose weight and get more energy for the day.

Breathe (Easy Air in Aus) for allergies, sinus issues and respiratory problems or when you go to work out! It will increase your breathing capacity and help performance. 

However, when someone suggested to try Zendocrine that is a doTerra blend for detoxification and it is The Oil of Vitality and Detoxification according to the book called Emotions & Essential Oils, everything has changed.  Zendocrine has Tangerine Peel, Rosemary Leaf, Geranium Flower/Leaf, Juniper Berry, Cilantro Herb essential oils in it. 

Common Primary Uses according to Modern Essentials is for endocrine support and hormonal balance.  This blend also assists healthy tissue function.  You can diffuse this oil blend, inhale the aroma directly from the bottle or by putting a drop or two on your palm, rub your palms then cup your palms around your nose and inhale the aroma, rub, inhale, rub, inhale.  You also can massage on the bottoms of your feet neat or with a little carrier oil.

Emotionally, this blend assists during times of transition and change.  It can assist an individual in "detoxing" old habits and limiting beliefs.  When you feel trapped by self-sabotaging behaviours, Zendocrine paves the way for new life experiences.  It aids in letting go of behaviours, thought patterns and feelings that don't serve you well any more.  Zendocrine is especially helpful during major life changes which require adjustments in habit and lifestyle, such as alternating diet, quitting smoking, moving house, changing city or country or leaving a job or a bad relationship. 

Zendocrine reawakens vital life energy and helps finding new enthusiasm for life.  Makes you see life from a fresh perspective and embrace new experiences. 

Try dry body brushing with Zendocrine and watch your life change!

Essential oils are here to teach us a lesson

My doTerra essential collection is my greatest treasures.  Until I started on oils I thought that my piano was my greatest treasure and nothing ever will change that.  How wrong was I!

I have been using oils for close to two years and they have truly changed my life physically, mentally,  energetically, emotionally and spiritually.  They changed for the better.

I like to learn about them, watch the best people talk about oils and I educate people about how they can live a life closer to nature and use these lifelines of plants to bring us back to life, be more vibrant, energetic, loving and more be part of this wonderful life on Earth.

When people touch the oil bottles little they know what the expect.  They have little understanding and little respect for these oils.  They are impatient.  They shake, touch, violate these oils instead of approaching with curiosity and patience.

These oils have personalities, they have their own characters, they have their own nature and speed. They are like a child. They grow and change.  Like a little puppy, they will love you unconditionally if you let them.  They are like a beautiful flower, they will blossom when they come in contact with you.  They are like the best lover you had.

When you touch the bottle, take it in your hand and look at it's label, check the colour on the label, it has a significance what colour group the label is.  Feel the energy of the bottle in your hand and let it synchronise with your energy and frequency.  Let it warm to you. Let it entrain to your rhythm or your body to the oil's rhythm.  Feel it, smell it, touch it, look at it before you open it.

Then, let the magic happen and open the lid but still, just feel it, smell it. Do not put your finger to the spout. Do not shake and turn the bottle up side down. Get to know each other.  Like a beautiful creature that you don't want to frighten away. You just want to observe and admire in its own environment. No guns, no thumping, no shouting. Become one with its environment so you can observe long.

If you want to get to know your oil closer, tilt it to an angle with your other palm or finger being under it.  Don't be impatient, don't shake the oil so it would drop faster and don't put your finger to the spout.  Just observe how thin or thick the oil is, is it running fast or slow, is it oozing with aroma right away or it takes time to reveal itself?  Knowing your oils will help you choose the right one for the occasion.

Sometimes you need to be energised so you will select something that is fast and highly energising like Peppermint. Other times you need something that is slow, rich, thick and has immense depth and the scent will reveal itself in layers, gradually with time like Myrrh.

Using essential oils teaches so much about them, about where they come from, about the life those plans/herbs, flowers, seeds lived. They have a lesson to teach us with every drop we use, with every inhale we take.

Sometimes the oil you hate the most at first has the biggest lesson to teach you.  Sometimes the oil that we resist the most is the oil that will help us the most.  Don't be judgemental about a scent.  Be open minded like we should be with people.  Don't judge too fast.  When you get to know someone, when you hear their story, when you learn what made them who they are and get to walk in their shoes you can't hate or dislike them anymore.  There is a story behind every single person.  There is a story behind every single oil.  That's why most oil lovers have quite a great collection. It is great to have a few basic oils but just as you don't want to eat the same food every day, not even your favourite ones or you don't want to be surrounded with the same people every day, the same applies to oils.  There will be oils that you want to use every day because they work and your love them.  And there will be oils that you will rarely touch.  But when you feel the need to use them, they will take you a special journey. They will take you to a far away country, show you landscapes, animals, birds, plants, climate you have never seen. They will introduce you to people you would have never met any otherwise.  They will make you dream dreams you would have never ever had any other way. These oils will transform you as a person you would have never ever would have become.

ASMR is the way to calm your nerves, to sleep well and to heal?

Just a few days ago somewhere I can across the name ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) and a video that stopped me on my track and totally puzzled me.
On this video a woman, you only see her hands, is stroking a black fabric and whispers for close to half an hour. What the....?

Then, that night I played the video before sleeping and I kept playing other ASMR videos all night while in and out of sleep. I felt extremely relaxed. Right away in the first minutes I had tingling all over my body, twitching and other nerve releases very intensively. I have been living with Multiple Sclerosis so I know about nerves and nerve damage, interrupted signals to muscles. I know about body parts not working and not doing what you want them to do and what they supposed to do. I have been on the healing path for a very long time so I know every little signs that my body sends when things are getting worse and when things are improving.
Right away I know that my body likes, not, even loves this video, the whispering and the fabric stroking noises. Started to find the reasons why I respond to this weird video like that. What does my body like about whispering, stroking and noises while falling asleep?

Like most of the time when no big money is involved for drug companies in researching simple, natural things that help people, of course not much or almost nothing was available on ASMR.

Then I looked on Facebook and found a few ASMR pages. I was truly surprised how supportive and positive the feedback were to these youtubers by women. Yes, you read it well. Women. Because, and I need to be totally honest here, at first, when I saw the first and second videos, I thought, it will be weird men who gets some kind of sexual arousal watching red, polished nails stroking something while whispering. No, I was wrong. This has not much to do with sex or arousal.

It has a lot to do with comfort, safety, security, childhood memories, relaxing, letting go and with your fight and flight response.

Watching ASMR videos people talk about experiencing a "weird feeling". This can be "weird head feelings", head tingling, some go as far as calling it head orgasm or attention induced observant euphoria. 

Now, I would like to quote from a site called ASMR, the Good feeling no one can explain: 

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response was a phrase coined by Jenn Allen, who founded the site asmr-research.org. "Autonomous" refers to the "individualistic nature of the triggers, and the capacity in many to facilitate or completely create the sensation at will," Jenn told me in an email. "Sensory" and "response" are fairly obvious, and "meridian," Jenn said, is a more polite term for "orgasm." In any case, it certainly sounds official—as Jenn said, "Try explaining why you want money to study 'goose looping' or 'brain orgasms.'"

Stop right there! Anyone who uses the word Meridian for orgasm has no clue what Meridians are, full stop. To mix it up and call it a polite way to say orgasm is an insult to the many thousand years of Chinese Medicine which is, in my opinion still way ahead in many ways of our Western Medicine. I just had to get this off my chest. 

The experience of ASMR is more widely common than you would think. It is present across all globes, nations, sexes and ages. When people encounter ASMR, they can search back for their childhood experience of feeling these sensations. So, with most people, this is triggered way back in childhood. For some, it is a late discovery. 

But what is ASMR really? Opinions divide. According to some, brain tingles are a sign of Enlightenment. Yoga, chanting and ASMR are tapping into the Vagus Nerve functions that contribute to the autonomic nervous system, which consists of the parasympathetic and the sympathetic parts. The Vagus Nerve is responsible for sensory activities and motor information for movement of the body. This explains how ASMR videos can initiate sensory responses that might result in improvement of movement in people with neurological problems. 

If the theory that our cells and muscles store electric charges of old emotions is true, a big nerve, like the Vagus Nerve probably holds similar informations. ASMR whispers and noises send a soothing message to the nervous system that starts to release old memories, fears and emotions from the cells and from the nervous system. One of the many functions of the Vagus Nerve is to balance the nervous system. It helps with stress management. This wondering nerve can lower anxiety and reduce inflammation. It has the power to combat the cortisol producing stress response of flight or flight. 

When you sooth your body with familiar soft noises and listen to whisper that brings back pleasant memories of childhood and intimate times with your loved ones, your cortisol level drops and your flight or fight response gets disarmed. You feel safe and secure. Your nervous system can relax and instead of protecting itself 24/7, it can switch into repair mode. It can start to heal itself. 

Quoting from ASMR, the Good feeling no one can explain:

Others have theorised that there's a link between ASMR and Synesthesia (another little-understood mental phenomenon), while Karissa Ann Burgess, who is in charge of experimental research and data for asmr-research.org, told me she thought that ASMR was caused by "secretions from the pineal gland" in the brain, which is regarded as a "third eye" or even the soul by some people who believe in things like third eyes and souls. I even heard from Shaun Robertson, who doesn't experience ASMR but was involved in the community for a time, that a few people believed that the condition was "the next stage of human consciousness."

I am not sure about ASMR being the next stage of human consciousness. However, I know, from personal experience, that ASMR videos can bring very positive changes in one's neurological conditions and physical well-being on many levels.

Let's just examine why is ASMR videos are so pleasant to watch and listen while falling asleep. 

My association was right away:

• My mum and dad tucking me in bed and reading softly to me while I fall asleep
• Being in bed at night or in the morning whispering with my mum or dad while someone was still sleeping in the house
• Me still sleeping on weekends while my parents already up getting on with their things and talking softly, feeling safe and secure, everything is well in the world
• Being in bed with my little brother whispering and having fun not wanting our parents to know that we are not sleeping
• Staying up late in camps, choir festivals and trips and spending the whole night chatting, whispering and laughing with my friends
• Whispering in general indicates intimacy and secrets with someone. Being in the trusted circle. 
• Intimate times with your lover when you share things about your day and yourself
• Intimacy with your loved one in bed before falling asleep frequently involves stroking and whispering
• For someone to stroke and spoil you with touch must love you and care about you a lot
• Certain fabrics and materials like velvet, silk, feather, beads, pearls, nice papers, chocolate wrappings, etc remind us of good, special times. Some materials are connected to something rare and special that sits in a special chamber of your heart

This means that ASMR reminds you of good times, happy times, special people in your life. We know that positive thoughts attract positive changes in our lives and positive thoughts bring healing to our bodies. 

In contrast, author Louise L. Hay, who just recently passed away, dedicated her whole life to educate people that four things cause major problems in our bodies and in our lives. Resentment, criticism, guilt and fear cause more problems than anything else, as she writes in her book called You Can Heal Your Life. 

"Following are some results of patterns that manifest on the physical level: 

Resentment that is long held can eat away the body and become the dis-ease we call cancer.

Criticism as a permanent habit can often lead to arthritis in the body. 

Guilt always looks for punishment, and punishment creates pain. (When a client comes to me with a lot of pain, I know they are holding a lot of guilt.)

Fear, and the tension it produces, can create things like baldness, ulcers, and even sore feet.

I have found that forgiving and releasing resentment will dissolve even cancer. While this may sound simplistic, I have seen and experienced it working."

In our fast-paced world that is full of electronic gadgets, constant stimulation, loud noises and noise pollution and, less and less intimate human interactions, a half an hour soft whispering and gentle sounds might stimulate the nervous system very differently from the the noises of the loud and busy city life, where your body constantly thinks that it is being threatened and is in the state of fight and flight all the time. Listening to a half an hour ASMR might give chance to your central nervous system to feel safe in the dark, to calm down and get a different type of calming, healing stimulation that is totally missing from our lives. Even if you are in a loving, caring relationship, not sure you get enough of it. 

So what can be bad about feeding your brain with good old happy times, nice memories and evoking pleasant feelings in your body that cause it to tingle, for energy to circulate, for access electric charges to leave your cells and for the body to enter a relaxed state of rest when healing can take place? If ASMR videos can assist you to reach this positive state, let be it. You have nothing to loose, just sleepless nights, aches and pains, heart-aches, painful memories and feeling bad about yourself. 

Welcome to a better life with more positive thoughts and feelings! Welcome to AMRS!