New Organics for your earth friendly home spa

we love these new spa finds we've just added to our store...

red tea & cocoa butter tub tea
organic oasis spa collection
shea butter

tidbit: Organic Red Tea is from the wild African Rooibos plant and is called "Miracle Tea" for its tremendous healing properties.

at play creating positive vibrations during renewal day

photo by mary myers photography

A Day of Renewal

saturday morning i drove about an hr south to santa rosa valley for a full day of renewal being pampered, educated, and revitalized at aromas for living 2nd annual day of renewal. aromas for living sits atop a hill with gorgeous 360 views of the valley and boasts the largest organic lavender fields in southern californina.

what made this day extra special and more than just a day of pampering day was 100% of the proceeds went to the breast cancer fund. i meditated, practiced yoga, got a brain/body scan, toured the lavender fields, shopped, networked and connected with fabulous woman. does a day get better than that for a woman on the path to wellness!

stay tuned for wellness workshops being offered soon in santa barbara...

endolphins

I was feeling depleted on energy and crankier by the minute. This is what being behind the computer does to me so i took my bike out to the bluffs for an invigorating ride until i hit the beach and i had the majestic privilege of witnessing a family of dolphins at play! does life get better than this?! Certainly got my endolphins (;) pumping through my body.... lol!

unclutter and de-stress by swapping

So I'm reading this illuminating book by the author of Eat, Pray, Love (Elizabeth Gilbert) called The Last American Man and if you've read Eat, Pray Love, you'll fall in love with her storytelling in this book about a really really truly last american man.

Eustace lives in a teepee in the appalachians on 1,000 acres he strategically purchased over time. He's not a hermit, not a survivalist, not an angry woodsy anti-social man making bombs in the woods (sorry, me being judgemental), but an educated, well studied do-it-yourself man of action who truly cares (and sometimes too idealistically) about the earth and destined to convey this to every one he meets (horseback riding across the country). that's the short of it, in this compelling biography. i'm already inspired... (he had me at hello!)

what got me to thinking about the 3 R's was that instead of recycle, why not Reconsider and Refuse the purchase. Ok this might not be good promotion for my store (hard for me to hold back) but in those cases where you really don't need to purchase and your gut telling you otherwise, consider alternatives. ideal bite offers some cool swap sites if you wanna do some soul searching by consuming less.

In this issue of Glow! News - the Soulful Getaway

Just finished putting together this issue of Glow!. It was fun putting together becuase it's all about the summer getaway!

Click here to view this issue of Glow! News or to become a Subscriber.

wellness quote of the day

"Pace yourself. Fatigue has a way of sneaking into our lives."

Stock update and Summer SALE on Sharon Bolton Scents

We've stocked the Sharon Bolton Perfume Oils with the fabulous new packaging which is now available for purchase! .... This means we're phasing out the existing stock of the old packaging which can be found in a temporary listing until we completely phase out the former. These Perfume oils are on sale for $35.00!

See also...

Body Wash
Lotion
New Soy Candles
Pefume Oils

Made in Santa Barbara!

films for personal growth

My eyes are always open to inspirational ways to keep stress at bay in your beautiful life. It's a little movie industry secret where i get to watch movies that don't get released cuz hollywood doesn't think there's an audience for them. now you can become a member of spiritual cinema circle and get movies delivered to you. it's sort of like netflix but focused on movies that enlighten and inspire your soul.

“It’s not often you can combine entertainment with personal growth but that is exactly what The Spiritual Cinema Circle offers. These engaging films provide important messages about life, love and the world we live in.”
— Jack Canfield

Inside the Spa Pantry - Fruit Mask

Fruit Mask for Glowing Skin
by Cait Johnson, author of Witch in the Kitchen

Honey, as needed (about 1/8 cup)
1/4 apple
1/4 orange, peeled
6 grapes
3 strawberries

1. Whiz fruits (but not honey) in your blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Wash face and pat dry. Immediately apply a thin layer of honey, then smooth the fruit mixture evenly over the honey.

3. Allow mask to remain in place for at least 15 minutes, then wash off with warm water
and gently pat dry.

Benefits: Alpha-hydroxy fruit acids help slough off dead skin cells to reveal the fresh new skin underneath, while honey is a moisturizing humectant prized by wise beauties for centuries. Together, they make a traditional recipe for a vibrant and glowing complexion.

For more DE Spa at Home Recipes, click here.

Fresh Summer Tropical Scents

Fresh Summer Tropical Scents in new packaging...

Sharon Bolton Scents made in Santa Barbara

Soul Perfume Oil
Juicy papaya, luscious pineapple, and creamy coconut with undertones of clean musk

Summer sale receive 15% off. use coupon code 'sbscents15' at checkout. Good on entire line of Sharon Bolton Scents - bodycare and perfume oils!

Soulful Summer Retreats

This month's Glow! News is about Girlfriend Getaways and retreats. Our Glow! writer Melissa (of Spa Defined) shares her girlfriend getaway in Tuscany (read article here) and I recently took some time off for my personal retreat. Every year for my birthday (July Cancerian) I do something to expand myself physically and spiritually so I ended up in Big Sur's Esalen. A totally stunning place with amazing vibes, it was my home for 3 days. I participated in a workshop with Laura Day, the intuitive I've been following for over 10 years, where I was trained in my ability to read and direct energy. That's a whole topic in itself but basically it's about changes in our lives and having a greater effect on the people and situations around us -- in business, love, health, happiness, rejuvenation. I learned how to facilitate this process in others.

A weekend of no coffee, no phone, no computer -- I survived. I shared the little cottage (below) with 3 beautiful women from NY, CA, and AZ. I took in a sulfur 'a la freeing nude' bath and massage (omg it was the most incredible experience) al fresco (last photo is of bath house) and drank in some silence in the meditation hut (middle photo) which sits right above a waterfall and ate 3 healthy organically grown meals day. Esalen became distraction enough to forget lack of being connected to outside world and by the last and third day I lost the urge to plug in... actually i avoided it!

I continued my retreat in the bay area with a week long yoga conference dedicated to the legacy of iyengar. So after dropping back in nature for the weekend, my body was all loose for day long asanas. The highlight of that experience was day 4 where I gathered the courage (even though my brain thought otherwise) to stand on my hand for what seemed like an eternity really though i was told for less than a minute. Success to me!

so back now re-charged and re-focused on how better i can serve while i'm here in this world. I love retreats like this, a contrast to laying on the beach, where here i expect to push my limits and step outside of my usual boundaries to that very uncomfortable place.

Have any experience to share that took you outside of your box? Email me maria@destressessentials.com

hummingbird flower essences

One of the fun parts of my job is trying out different products for the store. A couple of weeks ago in santa barbara I had a very unique sampling of natural remedies called Humming Bird Flower Essences by a local gal, Kerry Ann. It was a total mind body experience. She recommoneded a few remedies before i headed off to los angeles. a few drops in my mouth of persephone (aquamarine, carenlian, rosemary, sea salt, purified water) and spirit (amber, flourite, rosemary, sea salt, purified water) and it totally relaxed me... but not to the point i was ready to fall asleep. alert enough to drive but w/o the tension that LA traffic could bring. seriously, the stuff worked.

unfortunately, because of the short shelf life of her essences, it would be less than practical to have it in my store. so here's the link to her website and how to contact her if you'd like a sampling. she's set up downtown and can custom blend the elixirs for you too.

Trusting in your well-being

We're hearing alot about wellness these days, but what does it mean? It's even on the De-Stress Essentials tagline, your online store for relaxation and wellness. Wikipedia's definition is this: Wellness is generally used to mean a healthy balance of the mind-body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being. And according to Wikipedia, components of well-being include quality of life, happiness, art, innovation, creativity, freedom, and environmental.

I think we all strive for this healthy balance. The Dalai Lama states that the purpose of our life is happiness and he travels and talks about it wherever he goes. On my personal path to well-being I've learned that you must trust your gut, your heart brain, intuition, whatever you call it... I call it my internal compass. Here are some practical tips to do that... and have fun with them, don't be so serious:

1) Practice changing your perspective.

2) Practice talking to different people.

3) Practice going to new places.

4) Practice sifting through 'your stuff' for the things that feel like you want to feel

5) then go ahead and feel the joy.

6) Practice being familiar with feeling your joy.

7) when you find this joyful place, know that you have well-being. Start here and play with these notions and cusomize it for you!

World Hoop Day is Saturday July 7!

People will be hooping all around the world, all day long. Here's the World Hoop Day website of events going on.

In Santa Barbara, hoop with Kabir at the Drum Circle on Cabrillo Blvd. across from Carasel from 4pm. I won't be able to make it but you'll find me up the coast 3 hrs away hooping in Big Sur!

downtime at rancho osos

Hubby Brett, muse Sabrina and I took some downtime at a ranch this weekend. Rancho Osos, about 30 min east into the mtns from us, is a spectacular oasis from the hussle of daily life.

Since muse seems to love to herd kids and her dog friends, we tried out sheep herding for her and wow did she find her bliss. I experienced complete joy watching her and being with the animals. Sometimes relaxation comes in many forms... whether it's at a spa being pampered, hiking, training with herders, riding a horse, hula hooping, playing an instrument, reading a book, it just has to allow you to lose time and be in that flow state. What's your flow?