What do essential oils (EOs), aromatherapy, and yoga have to do with manifesting your goals and desires? Can smelling delightful aromas have anything to do with your dream job, attaining a safe, comfortable home, enjoying full-filling relationships and loving yourself? Will adho mukha sivasana, or downward dog, really take you there?

As yogic philosophy permeated the West, from fringe to zealous trend, the East Meets West lifestyle has inspired us all, at the least through interior design. The appeal, however, for those who crave exploration and discovery of the Self in connection with cosmic consciousness, is the knowledge that we can control our brainwaves (thoughts) leading to bliss. The goal of yoga, afterall, in it's most simplified sense is finding a state of happiness.

happiness + satisfaction = success * satisfaction + success = happiness * success + happiness = satisfaction

Tune into the intricate system of your mind-body-cosmic connection (yoga) and you might find a portal to manifesting your goals and desires. "Like attracts like" is one principle for concentrating, directing energy, and manifesting how you want your life to be. The reflection we are looking for begins within ourselves as a feeling. Yoga asanas are poses that infer to being in a state of balance and the feeling state of the pose is what is important to explore in order to balance life-energies, emphasizing and energizing positive emotions.

"Life is a matter of enthusiasm, derived from the greek words EN meaning in, and THEOS meaning GOD. Life is a matter of being in God: it is a matter of enthusiasm. With enthusiasm, we understand life's goodness, life's ecstasy, and then energize it. As you energize your life, your body's pores and glands begin to work more efficiently. Everything begins working better and everything begins a cleansing process on itself, physically, mentally, spiritually. It's called regeneration."  ~Goswami Kriyananda

The more positive we are the more positive people and situations seem to come to us. When we direct our attention towards something we want, we are more likely to create a positive outcome ~ and that brings satisfaction. 

Simple to advanced aspects of Yoga emphasize and cultivate focus - the center of interest or activity. The postures call upon awareness and concentration while connecting the sensations that you feel in your body with how you feel in your mind and emotions. The poses combined with various breathing techniques move prana, or life force energy, through your physical and subtle body with proven health and well-being benefits. The idea is to take this awareness and concentration off the mat into our daily lives. Paying attention to the energies and circumstances around you will translate into better decision making; finding better ways of dealing and coping with life to bring more ease, joy, and happiness.

Aromatherapy, like yoga, can easily and gently support a desired state of Being (i.e. happy). Aroma affects the limbic system in the brain, or the feel-good, mood center. We can relate to the uplifting, joyful, tangy-sweet, citusy spray of a fresh peeled orange in contrast to the acrid smell of garbage. We naturally get away from foul odors as soon as possible; a built in mechanism between the senses and the brain. Aroma also affects our bio-frequency, measured in megahertz, and of all of the aromas that we smell EOs have the highest rating. They imbue clarity, grounding, creativity, tranquility, joy. The higher our bio-frequency the healthier we are. To incorporate EOs into your toiletries, cosmetics, and household cleaners just makes sense. Chemical fragrances cause a plethora of irritation from toxicity, skin rashes, agitated behavior to migraine headaches and cloudy thinking; a gamut of negative health reactions both multi-layered and extensive. 

Incorporating natural aromas into your environment envelops you in the divine essence of nature and is a nurturing act of creating a sacred space. The ritual of taking care of yourself supports your focus and intention to stay balanced. Practicing yoga creates a proficiency in maintaining awareness in your mind-body connection, strengthening your power of concentration. Concentration directs your energies towards the goals you want to manifest and that brings success. Ultimately, we learn to take our practice off of the mat and apply our yoga in real life interactions, reflecting positive emotions and feelings so that we may receive them in return.

Aroma is related to the ceremonial qualities of ritual. Everyone can relate to the way it feels and smells outdoors after a rain shower. That primordial smell of wet dirt triggers in each of us a deep connection with the earth, which in turn leads us to a deeper connection with the Cosmos. Innately, we know we are part of something bigger than ourselves. Aromatherapy taps into this connectedness through the essences of plants that trigger this same response. Natural essences not only are beautiful to smell they contain energetic qualities that receptors in our olfactory system sense. Simplistically, these receptors then send the message to the limbic system in our brain affecting our mood, emotion, and cognitive function.

Beyond aroma, E.O.’s have anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, skin rejuvenating and repairing qualities, and are the original apothecary where many of today’s modern medicines were first derived. I like to think of using these oils akin to taking a vitamin everyday. In Ayruvedic medicine a daily self massage called abhyanga not only applies conditioning oils to the skin in a matter of minutes, but therapeutic touch which turns on your body’s healing mechanism of detoxification, increased circulation, increased immune function, and relaxation. All of this self-care is more fun than swallowing a pill.

And for those that refute a bath, another piece of science. Over the years I have learned there are two camps of people: bathers and those that think taking a bath is disgusting and would rather shower away their filth as opposed to sit in it. This next bit is for the shower lover in you. Taking a shower affects body chemistry by changing the electrical charge of your body’s ions, increasing the “feel good” negative ions. By increasing the negative ions we can lower the number of positive, serotonin producing ions. Apparently, emotional stress produces serotonin, which according to Dr. Irving Oyle, is the “ultimate downer”.

In this report,  Role of Ions in Body Chemistry there is an analogous connection between rainfall and taking a shower.

“..a shower will re-ionise and has a tonic effect on the body, just like rainwater which clears the air.”

I think most people can attest to feeling better after showering or standing under a waterfall or walking in the rain; the thrill of getting splattered on is enough but now you really know why. Moving water creates negative (positive for us) ions. Good thing I splash around in the tub and take an occasional shower.

Next time: Hot Springs, Onsen, and The Cold Plunge.

That is the question...and for those that refute a bath, another piece of science. Over the years I have learned there are two camps of people: bathers and those that think taking a bath is disgusting and would rather shower away their filth as opposed to sit in it. This next bit is for the shower lover in you. Taking a shower affects body chemistry by changing the electrical charge of your body’s ions, increasing the “feel good” negative ions. By increasing the negative ions we can lower the number of positive, serotonin producing ions. Apparently, emotional stress produces serotonin, which according to Dr. Irving Oyle, is the “ultimate downer”.

In this report,  Role of Ions in Body Chemistry there is an analogous connection between rainfall and taking a shower.

“..a shower will re-ionise and has a tonic effect on the body, just like rainwater which clears the air.”

I think most people can attest to feeling better after showering or standing under a waterfall or walking in the rain; the thrill of getting splattered on is enough but now you really know why. Moving water creates negative (positive for us) ions. Good thing I splash around in the tub and take an occasional shower.

Next time: Hot Springs, Onsen, and The Cold Plunge.

Pulling from the mental archives all the musings, philosophy, and travel behind the creation of Monsoon Nectar Skin Care, I collectively call these ideas, experiences, and lifestyle choices, Bath Culture.

For whatever aches and ails a hot bath awaits.

My first post does not start at the beginning but rather with the inspiration of last week channeled into the inspiration of today. And so it will continue that way until there is no more inspiration.

I love to be enveloped by water. I’ll swim in a pool, a river or a lake, the ocean or a natural hot spring. jacuzzi are great, but a simple bath tub is just fine. My body just wants to get in that healing water! I swim in salt water pools and soak in hot tubs with ionizing filters. I make sure the springs I go to are really hot and not tepid breeding grounds (I learned about that the hard way), and I use a Bath Ball filter at home. Last week I stopped off in T or C  where the spring water is renowned for its mineral content and hot temperatures, took a soak, and was on my way in an hour. A few days later my cousins and I were whiling away the hot summer days in Albuquerque and we decided to go the river, yes, the Rio Grande. I had swam in the river years ago but this time I asked about the cleanliness of the water. My cousin brought up the Ganges, and all the people who get in, as rational that we would be okay. He also figured going to a part of the river above Intel wouldn’t hurt. The monsoon had brought the afternoon rains, so we went mid-day which was their usual time. The river was high and fresh from the rain the day before. The current was just enough to entertain our plan to get in, float down, get out, and walk back up the trail to get in and do it again. Wearing socks and tennis shoes, long shorts and a t-shirt, this was the stuff of my childhood, revisited on national “cousins’ week” no less. They say it is the simple things in life that bring the most pleasure and taking a bath is one of my simple pleasures, even if I have all of my clothes on.

As refreshing as it was, I do prefer my water hot! In the tropics a refreshing swim is great but it is the heat that takes me places, mentally, spiritually, and physically.  I know it is good for me by how good it makes me feel. Shower if you must, but I bathe. I feel that bathing opens the skin and cleans it more thoroughly. The heat is so relaxing. I could never take a shower long enough to get the same effects of a bath. Morning and night, I find it is the best way to greet my solar day and the best way to meet my lunar night and this is where Monsoon Nectar comes into my story.

Monsoon Nectar is a 100% organic and natural skin care line that I developed to customize and enhance the personal experience of bathing. I love to envelope my skin in essential oils (E.O.’s) and botanicals. After bathing, when the skin is most absorbent, is the best time to apply the immune boosting, skin conditioning, moisturizing, and repairing Nectars. Non-greasy these formulas drive into the skin and work on the cellular level to repair and protect. As an esthetician I made Monsoon Nectar for estheticians and at-home use. Ten years ago, awareness about essential oils was growing and I wanted to create natural, cosmeceutical grade products that gave people the most value and benefit for their efforts. More than just lavender in a carrier oil, my formulations are intricate but simple to use; formulated for potency and efficacy targeting anti-aging and maintaining healthy skin. Monsoon Nectar is part of a lifestyle that reflects the cultural shift of Bio-Consciousness; using organic and natural ingredients, reusable/recyclable, low impact packaging, cruelty free, and delivering powerful health benefits through the largest organ of our body – the skin.

Morning and night, I bring ritual into my life with Monsoon Nectar. Inter-related with bathing, moisturizing the skin is part of health and hygiene. A hydrated cell is a defensive, healthy cell. Not just routine, the symbolism of the bath parallels physically getting clean with mental and spiritual purification. Baptism comes to mind and then, of course, the Ganges with the Hindu celebration of avatarana. Derived from the Greek noun babtismos, meaning washing, different faiths attach varied meanings to this act but the common ground is in the symbolism of spiritual purification, which is a beautiful concept to bring into your daily ritual. This also gives new meaning to a summer float down the Rio Grand.