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The Lymphatic System- Crucial & Overlooked

When the trash barrels in and around your house are full, you would make sure to empty them. If you don’t, then they start to smell and attract nasty things. Once you have an empty barrel, you’re more than likely going to fill it up again to some extent so you need to make a point to remember to take the trash out on a regular basis.

That is similar to how the lymphatic system works. It is the garbage collector of the body. It collects waste, excess fluid, bacteria, parasites, viruses and dead blood cells and removes them from the body.  The lymphatic system also plays a role in aiding the immune system to help it function more effectively. The lymphatic system is the most overlooked system in the body in the US. More often than not, it plays a role in numerous ailments and diseases because the waste it has collected is just sitting in the lymph fluid not being moved out so it creates an acidic state in the body for disease to grow. If the eliminating organs are not working properly that puts more stress on the lymphatic system and makes it collect even more waste.  You first want to make sure your eliminating organs- the colon, lungs, skin and kidneys are working as best they can. This means cutting out ‘dead’ foods like breads, baked goods, anything white(sugar, flour, rice, etc.), coffee and soda and adding healthy, nutrient dense foods that the body can utilize like fruits, vegetables, nuts, nut butters and milks(almond is a great choice) and drinking plenty of distilled water. Dead foods do nothing but clog the body so if you want to achieve good health it’s best to cut those foods out of your diet.

Then you want to get moving! The thing about the lymph system that makes it unique is that it does not have a central pump unlike its sister system, the circulatory, which has the heart to pump the blood.  The lymph relies on manual stimulation to get it moving like exercising, massage and dry skin brushing. One of the best exercises for moving the lymph is rebounding on a mini trampoline. It may sound silly and childish but studies have shown that it may possibly be the healthiest exercise for the human body. The movement of reaching the height of the bounce and then being pulled down by gravity gets the lymph fluid moving extremely effectively. It’s best to bounce for a few minutes several times a day, if possible. The quality of your rebounder is very important and you most definitely get what you pay for. The brand I use is a Needak and while the cost upfront is a bit high, it’s worth it. This particular brand makes rebounders that are very soft and flexible whereas rebounders that are $40 are hard and actually hurt your neck and back when you bounce on them.  Sometimes when people first begin rebounding, they may feel slightly ill in the following days and that is because the lymph fluid is moving and actually going to work and getting rid of the waste that has accumulated in the body and that waste needs to recirculate to get out. Rest assured that the feelings will pass and take it as a good sign that the rebounding is having a positive effect.

A simple yet effective technique that is commonly used to move lymph is dry skin brushing. It is normally done before a shower and all you do is use a natural, soft bristle brush and gently brush your skin from the legs up always towards the heart. Avoid sensitive areas like the breasts, neck and face. I do this in order from the legs up, front torso, back of torso then hands all the way to the shoulders.  It may feel a bit tingly at first and your skin may appear a light pink and that is all normal. You will notice after you start dry brushing that your skin will be smoother and it won’t feel uncomfortable to do it. Make sure to use the right kind of brush, which is a soft natural bristle, never the clear plastic kind.

A lymphatic cleansing tea is available from Oceanside Herbals which works to decongest and break up stagnant lymph fluid within the body. It contains herbs well known to aid the lymphatic system and is a great tool to add into any lymphatic cleansing program. I usually suggest to people 1 cup of this tea a day for a month to get the full benefits.

Key points to remember about the lymphatic system- eat right, take herbs that will decongest stagnant lymph fluid and get it moving by exercising, rebounding, dry brushing and massage...your body will thank you!

Homemade Body Lotion

I always loved the idea of homemade body products. If you look at the ingredients in store bought products, you will see a laundry list of toxic stuff they put in to keep it fresh because it could very well sit on a shelf for months. As with anything homemade, it has plenty of advantages but the most important is that you know what goes into the product and can customize it to suit your needs.

I already offer a body scrub so I was feeling ready to take on more of a challenge. Over the past year, I had been reading endless recipes and techniques on how to make body lotion. It seemed like quite a bit of work so I hadn’t wanted to attempt it in the past because I was already so busy with other things and didn’t have as strong a desire to make it. I was using oils like avocado, jojoba and coconut oil as a moisturizer so I wasn’t using anything toxic but with the cold weather approaching and dry skin at its worst, I thought what better time to take on a new project. I was really feeling determined to make a homemade lotion so having the drive to do something is half the battle right there.

The recipe I put together called for 9-10 ingredients. I had 8 of them already so I just had to buy a couple, the vegetable glycerin and lanolin to be specific. The way to do it was to put the oils/beeswax blend in a double boiler to melt anything hard like beeswax and cocoa butter. In another pot, warm up distilled water and vegetable glycerin.  I had 2 pots going at the same time throughout the process. I didn’t warm up the water mixture until the oils pot was already melted and warm as the water pot mixture didn’t have much in it so it warmed up quickly. The secret to making perfect body lotion is to combine the oils mix and the water mix when they are as close in temperature as possible. That can be hard to achieve so like anything else, it takes practice. Once the oils/beeswax blend was all melted and stirred and the water mixture warmed up, I turned off the heat and let the two pots cool. Once the oil pot was beginning to cool, it looks like a really soft salve. At that point, I pour the water mixture into the blender and through the plastic hole in the top, slowly pour in the oil mix.

Doesn’t sound too bad, right? Wrong! There is so much that can go wrong it drives you crazy! The first few attempts were made up of lots of wasted ingredients, time, effort, stress, etc. However, if it weren’t for a few mess ups, I wouldn’t have learned from my mistakes and know what to change for next time. If the two pots aren’t cooled down enough, you are going to end up with a watery, moisturizing liquid no matter how long you leave it in the blender for. This happened a couple times and I realized I wasn’t letting the oil/wax mix cool down nearly enough. I thought maybe if I let the runny lotion sit in the blender and cool down, that it would eventually thicken up. Nope. The key really is to have both pots be cooled down enough and then blend them.

There really is a lot more that can go wrong when making homemade body lotion aside from what I’ve stated above but I’d rather get into how mine came out after a few attempts. I worked out the kinks and ended up making a fabulous lotion!!! I was so excited that I actually made it all by myself and I know exactly what is in it! I add essential oil for added benefits. The lotion can vary batch to batch but only minor things. I tend to make it more on the thick side so it’s more of butter than a lotion. I just got the jars for it so shortly this will be listed for sale under the bath & body category! Since each batch is made to order, I will be offering 4 different essential oils to choose from- geranium, peppermint, lavender and orange/vanilla (creamsicle). You can also request it be unscented. Really looking forward to offering this product!!!!

More updates

I’ve been working like crazy to get the new products ready and on the site as quickly as possible. After sending out test products and gathering feedback, I’ve decided to make some changes. I will now be offering the flavored lip balm in tubes instead of the tins. The tubes are easier to use and people have been requesting them for a while now so they asked and I listened! It’s a bit tricky to get the balm evenly in the tube vs the tin but I’ve been practicing with the test tubes I sent out for the tinted lip balm and am getting pretty good at it : )

The new lip balm finally has a name! It will be called “Think Pink” due to the natural reddish pink color. Exact color will vary from batch to batch since I make everything in small quantities to ensure freshness. The first few tubes I made turned out a deeper pink with an obvious red hue whereas the batch I made yesterday was a bit lighter and more of a mauve color. I’m really liking this new balm and love how even with color, its 100% natural. Thanks, alkanet root oil! This product will be going up on the site to purchase within the next few days.

The brown sugar body scrub will also be available in the next few days for purchase. I received the packaging supplies so once labels are made they will be good to go! This scrub will be offered in an 8 ounce jar and like all other Oceaside Herbals' products, contain all natural ingredients with no synthetics or fillers of any kind. Perfect for use in the shower a few days a week, especially with the winter coming up and dealing with dry skin. Price TBD.

The 3 aromatherapy facial serums will be added to the site over the next few weeks as will an aromatherapy room spray designed to kill germs and bacteria without the toxic chemicals. Great for use in the office, home, bathroom or even your car. The lemon scent gives this spray a pleasant smell without hurting your nose!

The elderberry elixir is now being offered in a 2 ounce bottle with dropper. People like to stock up on this product for the wintertime with colds and flu going around so make sure to get a bottle as a preventative or treatment. Elderberry elixir is a great natural remedy to give to children with it being low in alcohol and sweet tasting.

Lemon balm elixir and flower power salve are both now available!

Updates and new products

Since the wedding is a month over, I've had a lot more free time to dedicate to the website and updating it with new information and products. I've formulated several new products that will slowly be introduced onto the site over the next couple weeks. I say slowly because I have to make each label and take a photo of the individual product then write the description all myself so it takes some time. Here's a quick run down of some of the new products to look for being offered at Oceanside Herbals!

**Flower Power Salve, $5.50: Basically a very gentle and soothing salve to help with minor skin irritations. I made this formula because I love the healing effects of lavender and calendula and thought it was cool how they are both flowers and what better thing to call a product. Utilize the power of the flower! :)

**Lemon Balm Elixir, $12: I had such a nice, healthy and abundant crop of lemon balm from my herb garden I decided to make an elixir. I made a tincture of lemon balm but wanted to make an elixir to see how that would come out since elixirs are sweet and easier to give to children. I love the way this product came out as its nice and sweet and the raw honey and lemony flavor really compliment each other. I never made a lemon balm elixir before and hadn't really heard of anyone else making one so I am very excited to be offering this product. It is useful for many ailments including digestive upsets, anxiety, stress and also helping ward off a cold with its antiviral properties. I've already sold a few bottles so I made another larger batch with almost the rest of the lemon balm from my garden! Get a bottle and try it...you won't be disappointed. Lemon balm is an herb that can help everyone one way or another.

** Naturally tinted lip balm, $3: Super excited to announce this product!!! A simple formula I came up with to moisturize and relieve dry, chapped lips and at the same time giving a natural tint. Alkanet root oil is the ingredient in this product that gives it the red color. I was in the kitchen for a few hours playing around with different ingredients and ratios for the tint and I love the final formula. So far this new balm has gotten great feedback from testers. This balm will be available in a tube, not a tin like the other lip balm I offer. I figured people wouldn't want slightly reddish finger tips! This product will *not* have any flavor to it.  I will most definitely still offer the lip balm in the tin so there will always be a choice of natural flavor with that or natural tint with this new balm.

After requests from clients to offer some beauty/body items, I'm so excited to announce a line of bath and body products to Oceanside Herbals!!! Coming soon will be a brown sugar body scrub, whipped body butter and 3 different aromatherapy facial serums~ rejuvenating, balancing and clarifying. The scrubs will be available in 8 ounce jars, facial serums in half ounce bottles and body butter in 4 ounce jars.

These products will be hitting the website within the upcoming weeks so check back frequently. If you'd like to pre order any of the products not yet listed for sale, e mail me and I will put you on the list and notify you know as soon as they are available!

Flower Essences

Over the years we pick up a lot of extra emotional baggage that we are probably not aware of. Traumatic events, relationships, everyday stress, etc can lead to producing negative feelings. Everything in life is a choice and its important to choose to release and let go of any negative emotions you experience and not to hold onto them. Unfortunately, most people choose to suffer and cling onto these negative feelings and they become miserable possibly without knowing its the emotions from potentially several years ago still causing pain, emotional or physical.

I once took a class on the law of attraction and the instructor handed out a few cards to each person with a feeling on each card. Our job was to put in a pile the feelings/emotions that felt good, bad and somewhere in the middle. After we got through the obvious good and bad emotions like joy=good, anger=bad, we got to the middle pile. One of the cards read 'confusion.' The instructor asked why we thought that would possibly feel good. Someone answered that from confusion can come clarity. The instructor smiled and said “but confusion is not clarity, they are two different emotions. Simply thinking of confusion, does that make you feel good or bad? I can certainly say I don't enjoy feeling confused!” It made so much sense when it is simplified like that. There are emotions that make us feel good, and emotions that make us feel bad. Wouldn't it be wise to choose thoughts, feelings and words that instill a feeling of positive emotion??

I will say from my own personal experience that most things are not worth holding onto and can be so detrimental that we don't even realize it. Negative emotions can manifest themselves as physical symptoms and do so so often that people can not figure out why they always get that terrible bout of bronchitis twice a year. They think their immune systems are low and people at work are sick so that must be why. Of course that could be the cause, but if we look a bit deeper and become aware of a trend then it is more than likely an emotional imbalance. From doing research and also working with people who have frequent lung/chest issues for example, it is believed that the emotions of guilt and shame manifest in the respiratory tract and I believe this to be true.

Negative emotions, while they can and often produce physical symptoms and pain, are a blessing in disguise in my opinion. They are a way that our higher self is telling us something isn't right; something is out of balance and needs attention.

This is where flower essences come in and can be an amazing tool to use to assist us in healing.

An easy way to understand flower essences is to think of them as the spirit of the plant where the leaves/roots of a plant( herbs) are like the blood. The flower essences help heal the emotional, unseen parts and the physical parts of the plants heal our physical bodies. There are several flower essences out there for any kind of ailment. The most popular flower essences are the ones from the Bach line which are available at most health food stores. The line I like the most is FES Flowers. Their flower essences cover a broad range of emotional imbalances and are made with quality ingredients. The dosage on the essences varies from person to person and also depends on what you're trying to treat, however most of the time a dropperful a couple times a day in a glass of water is a good place to start. After beginning treatment, you may notice yourself becoming more emotional or remembering past events. This is all ok and normal and its your body releasing the old baggage. Pay attention as to how you feel over a period of 2-4 weeks as that could be your next 'layer' being revealed to you. You will then be able to identify it through how you feel and choose the next appropriate flower essence.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to healing with flower essences. I highly recommend getting a few books on the subject(there are tons) and fully understand how they work and then choose the right essences to help you heal youself. If anyone would like any book recs, please don't hesitate to ask!