Spa At Home!

Face masks tend to be considered indulgent (which is why I love them!), but they are actually a necessary part of a good skin care regimen. While cleansing, toning, and moisturizing are a must for clean, glowing skin, it is important to take some time to "rest" and nurture your skin through various and appropriate masks. Aim to apply a face mask at least once a week. After cleansing and exfoliating, the skin on your face has warmed, the pores opened, and it will respond better to a mask. The type of mask you choose is up to you. Oily skins tend to prefer masks that tighten; dry skins are more suitable to thick, goopy concoctions; normal skin is lucky enough to choose between the two.

To get even more out of your weekly mask, make a pampering experience out of it! Run a hot bath, light some candles, and play your favorite music. After applying the mask, soak in the bathtub for at least 10-15 minutes. The heat and steam will not only work wonders on your stress levels, but they will also encourage your skin to respond positively to the treatment by opening the pores and relaxing away any stress and frown lines. Always apply a good moisturizer after cleansing off your mask with lukewarm water.

Tightening Mask (best for normal skin)

This egg and lemon combined make an excellent purifying and skin-tightening mask. The lemon in particular will help with any problem spots or dry areas.

1 tbs whiskey (reserve a shot for yourself to enjoy while your mask sets if you like!)
1 egg
1/4 cup dry milk powder
juice of 1 lemon

Combine all the ingredients. Spread the mask over entire face and neck, avoiding the eye area. Allow to dry before removing with a wet wash cloth.

Refreshing Watermelon Mask (best for oily skin)

Watermelon is extremely refreshing and hydrating for the skin. This mask is great for oily skin. If you have dry skin, add a banana instead of yogurt.

1 cup watermelon, chopped
3 tbs yogurt

Mash the watermelon in a small bowl until smooth. Add the yogurt and blend. Apply to the face and neck, then cover your face with a moist cloth. Leave on for 10 minutes, then rinse with lukewarm water.

Firming Vitality Mask (suitable for all skin types)

Strawberries help to restore elasticity and vitality to your skin. This recipe is ideal for tired-looking skin.

1 1/4 cups strawberries, very ripe
3/4 cup cornstarch

Mix strawberries and corn starch together to make a paste and apply to the face and neck, avoiding the eye area. Leave on for 30 minutes and rinse off with lukewarm water.

Brighten Up Mask (suitable for all skin types)

This face mask will help restore tone and vitality to your skin. Strawberries add color to your skin, as their antioxidants help to fight free radicals, which can rob your skin of it's luster. Cucumber is extremely cooling, while honey is an excellent healer. You can apply honey directly to spots or scars to help speed up the healing process.

1 tbs ground almonds
3 strawberries
1/2 cucumber
1 tsp organic honey
1 tbs yogurt

Blend the ingredients together until smooth. Apply the mixture to cleansed, damp skin. Leave for 15 minutes or until dry, then gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Antiaging Banana Mask (suitable for all skin types, terrific for dry skin)

Bananas contain large quantities of magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, iodine, and vitamins A, B, E and F. This is an ideal antiaging treatment for skin of all ages, and my personal favorite!

1 small banana
2 tbs fresh heavy cream
1 tbs organic honey
1 tbs oat flour
Filtered water

Mash the banana, and then add cream, honey, and flower. Mix well. You may need to add more cream or flour to obtain the right consistency. Apply mask to clean face, making sure to include the area around your eyes and neck. Leave on for 30 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water.

The Intention Box

Sometimes we get so focused on what we don't want in our lives that we forget to set aside time to visualize what we do want in our  lives. If you continue to focus on what you have been, to think as  you have been, and to believe as you have been, then nothing in your experience will change. 

We are vibrational beings living in a vibrational universe.  Our thoughts hold incredible power. When you give your attention to something - an idea, a memory, a dream or visualization - you are activating a vibration and manifestation always follows the vibration. Similar to the way that the law of gravity responds to physical matter, every projection of thought, whether we are focused in the past, present or future, is vibration and has attraction power. I'm sure we have all had the experience of thinking negative thoughts and feeling "stuck" there - one negative thought creates another, and another, and yet another - that is an example of "where intentions go, energy flows". Creating intent gives you access to new realities,  allowing the greatest expression of yourself to be unveiled. So, what is it you would like to attract?

A simple and fun way to begin manifesting your intentions is creating an Intention Box. To begin the Intention Box process, find a nice-looking box, one that is pleasing to you when you see it. On the lid, in a conspicuous place that you will easily notice, write the words: Whatever is contained in this box - IS! Next, gather magazines, catalogs, and brochures and look through them for whatever you would like to include in your life experience. Clip out anything that exemplifies desires that you hold: images of physical characteristics, photos of people interacting with one another, travel destinations,  your ideal home, etc. The more things you find for your box, the more the Universe will deliver to you other ideas that match them. The only thing that limits this experience of creation is your imagination, so let loose and dream big - really go for it!

Your relationship with this Intention Box will help you recognize the power your thoughts hold. As you deliberately put things into your Intention Box, you will become more aware of when you are thinking about something that you would not want to experience. Take time to reflect in the morning or at night. If you found ways to nurture your intentions, celebrate! If you see missed opportunities, rejoice that you can identify them and are becoming more aware. Your awareness alone will create positive energy toward your intentions. Happy manifesting!

Healing Power of Reiki

Healing Power of Reiki

The name Reiki (pronounced ray-kee) comes from the Japanese "rei", meaning universal, and "ki", meaning energy. Reiki is a spiritual healing practice that can help return us to balanced functioning on every level - physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, even social - regardless of our age or state of health. Reiki is a therapeutic technique in which healing energy is channeled from the practitioner into the person receiving the treatment.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) classifies Reiki as a form of energy medicine, and specifically a biofield therapy. Biofields are also referred to as putative energy fields because, at this time, there is no technology subtle enough to measure biofields in the way scientists can measure magnetic or energy fields. Biofields are extremely subtle fields that are said to surround and permeate the human body.

How it Works

Reiki treatment, which is usually facilitated by light touch, typically brings rapid stress reduction and relief from pain and anxiety. Recipients commonly report improved sleep and digestion, and a greater sense of well-being. Other benefits, such as feeling more motivated, less depressed, or experiencing relief from side effects of medications, radiation, or chemotherapy, vary from person to person. Unlike conventional medicine, Reiki does not attack disease. Rather, Reiki supports our well-being and strengthens our natural ability to heal by encouraging balance.

The experience of Reiki treatment is very subjective and varies from person to person and treatment to treatment. Some recipients feel a warm tingling where Reiki hands are placed, others feel warm soft waves of subtle pulsations flowing throughout their bodies. Others feel nothing in particular, except that they are very relaxed afterward, with an enhanced sense of well-being.

Your actual experience of Reiki may center on physical, mental or emotional changes - a sense of relaxation, relief from pain, greater clarity, a gradual lessening of anxiety or other worrisome thoughts. Very gently, very quietly, Reiki opens an inner spiritual connection that can significantly change the way a person experiences life, a sense of connectedness that can help transform negative attitudes and create a sense of meaning and purpose.

Believing in Reiki

You need not believe in anything to benefit from Reiki. You only need to be open minded enough to experience treatment. Reiki is not religious or dogmatic in any way. It developed, instead, out of a spiritual tradition, and sits at the intersection of science and spirit.

How Can Reiki Help You?

Traditional, holistic medicine sees health as balance, as a multi-leveled state of harmony and integrity both within the person (body/mind/spirit) and between the the person and his environment (physical, social and spiritual). Natural medicine seeks to strengthen the individuals innate ability to balance and heal.

Reiki encourages a persons system toward its own unique balance and because of this, it can potentially benefit anyone, whether he or she is healthy and wants to stay that way, or is addressing any kind of health concern. Reiki combines well with interventions such as medications, surgery, acupuncture, chemotherapy, even psychotherapy. By enhancing your sense of well-being and helping your system regain balance, Reiki may even strengthen the benefits received from other health interventions.

My Personal Experience of Reiki

I was first introduced to Reiki as a child, so the concept of hands on healing is as natural to me as breathing. My aunt Pat practiced Reiki with me after the difficult death of my great grandmother Audney, to help calm my fears over the nature of her passing. She also used Reiki with my grandmother Kay during her long battle with cancer to not only help with the physical symptoms and debilitating side effects of traditional cancer treatment, but when the time came, to help her (as well as the rest of the family) accept that death was near and to allow a graceful transition between life and death.

In my experience, using Reiki in conjunction with traditional talk therapy, helped bridge the gap between healing on an intellectual basis and bringing true healing to my body, mind and spirit. Reiki helped bring me to a place of calm and balance that helped facilitate healing and forgiveness at a cellular level. Recently, while dealing with a debilitating injury to my cervical spine, I used Reiki in conjuction with other healing modalities including acupuncture, massage therapy, physical therapy and eventually surgery. Again, I felt that Reiki was an invaluable part of the healing process on a physical, emotional and spiritual level.

Reiki Attunement Classes

I'm beyond excited to be receiving my Level I Reiki Attunement this July with Jennifer Brinn. Reiki classes are held at Jennifer's studio in the Integrative Health Center located at 1863 Union Street in San Francisco. If you are interested in learning more about her services, please visit her website http://www.jbrinn.com. I look forward to sharing my experience with you later this summer!