relaxation meditation video

Greetings! I came across this great 10 minute video that you can relax to at work... careful though not to fall asleep at your desk.

Lime also has these awesome meditation themed rooms -- water room, zen room, floral room and my favorite one this month has been the winter room... we don't get snow in Santa Barbara! Enter now. You'll be taken to Lime's website.

Enjoy.

Henry David Thoreau quote

One of the main reasons why I picked up the book French Women For All Seasons was because of my intrigue with this inspiring quote Mireille Guilliano chose for the introduction.

"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. Let them be your only diet drink and botanical medicines."

- Henry David Thoreau

Glow! just released

Today was a huge sigh of relief for me as I just released the first issue of Glow!, that's my store's new newsletter, first issue in fact you can almost smell the copy! Well, not really but you will get lots of tips to help keep you on the path to relaxation, wellness and a spirited way of living. I'm enjoying it, I hope you will too.

Read about Rejuvenation and Resolutions or sign up to receive Glow!

Have a glowing week!

Maria

More and more men want...

relaxation and serenity

Being human, it's simply a basic need. We withdraw for relaxation and come back revitalized. More men like women are seeking out relaxation and serenity. Reading los of articles on relaxation and wellness, the latest hot topic is the male and spa'ing. They are hungry for peace in this fast paced world. Thankfully these modern men are developing their yin for finding a place for cleansing and healing for both body and soul, getting in touch with their spiritual side.

If you're a male and reading this, I salute you! If you're a female reading this and know of a male in your life who could use some retreat time, I salute you! You are respecting the need for male space.

So here's some men straight talk in helping to create a home relaxation sanctuary. No fuss, no frills gift guide:

• Body Wrap in masculine colors and soft wide corduroy.
• Foot Cozy also in masculine colors and soft wide corduroy, to fit most men's large feet.
• Music to feed the soul and reduce stress
  
• Organic Body care... simple healthy ingredients
  
• Woods Aromastick, sandalwood, cedar, and musk
  

when life gets hectic

with all this talk about sales and shopping i wanted to make sure we're also feeding our souls (myself included!).

when life gets hectic... be sure to create that spiritual space for yourself. just as flowers and plants need space to grow and flourish, so do we. nothing soothes my spirit more than sitting outside taking in the natural beauty. i'm grateful for being able to do that year-round living in santa barbara. a quick jaunt to the beach with muse gives me tons of tranquility for the week. the sound of the water never fails to carry my troubles away. even living on the east coast during the winter months meandering along the serene potomac gave me a sense of peace.

find your spiritual space and reflect on all that you have to be grateful for. share if you'd like too. wishing you safe travels and many many more blissful moments. thank you for coming into my space today.

truly grateful for you,
maria

style bakery's holiday gift guide features Luxurious Neck Wraps

Shop from the comfort of your home for a truly stress-free shopping experience AND shop Indie while you're at it!

We're offering 10% off ALL Comfort Essentials - neck wraps, eye pillows, body wraps and oh so cozy foot mules in this year's Style Bakery's huge Holiday Gift Guide. Find us in 50 under $50.

About our NECK WRAPS: Bliss in a bag. Drift into total relaxation with these luxurious neck wraps. The ultimate in relaxation and stress relief. Available in many pretty fabrics. Comes with eco-chic jute tote.

** When purchasing neck wraps or any comfort essentials you must use code: StyleHoliday06 in comments section; free shipping on orders over $100. Adjustment will take place after checkout.

You know what you want. Click here to be taken directly to Comfort Essentials.

Happy Shopping!

many uses for the eye pillow

One of my favorite spa items I own is the eye pillow. It's also one of those items that can be easily tossed aside if it's out sight. To prevent this, I keep it visible on my side table ready to use, stored away in its jute bag.

I use it a few ways.

1- As an end to doing a few sun salutations at home, I end a yoga session with shavasana - deep relaxation - where I lie on my back with my lavendar filled eye pillow on and accept the aromatherapy. I am completely relaxed and my mind quiet and still.
Tip** for a more intense relaxation, microwave eye pillow for a few seconds. You will love the warm feeling.

2- I also bring my eye pillow to yoga class so I can look forward to relaxation even more... in a room full of other yogis. Laying there with my eye pillow I enjoy a total feeling of accomplishment after a solid seventy five minutes of practice!

3- Great for a quick power nap. The eye pillow completely blocks out the light so there are no visual distractions. It's designed to fit above the nose, so it's a comfortable fit.

4- I take it along when travelling. In unfamiliar hotel rooms, it takes longer for me to fall into my zzzz's. The pillow is the comfort.

5- I started toting my eye pillow to the beach recently. I put a cover on it though so muse won't get sand on it while she's digging to get cool. When Muse sees it, she knows it's my time. Muse relaxes quietly next to me.

Stress Relief Yoga - Final Relaxation

Learn the Strees Relief Yoga pose, "Final Relaxation".

Portable Spa

I got this great idea of having a portable spa from my sister who travels alot.
Here's what I pack. Everyone's list will vary.

My Top 10 Portable Spa items include:
1) Green Tea soy candle in travel tin
2) Relaxing music
3) Eye Pillow
4) Yoga Mat
5) My favorite piece of fabric to lay items on
6) Small Buddha statue
7) Photo of muse, my dog sabrina
8) Spiritual uplifting book
9) Stones with personal meaning
10) Journal

The idea is to Establish Your Inner Altar wherever you are to balance work, family, and a home practice. Try carrying just a few essential altar items with you and see how you feel. Adjust as necessary. Be flexible with yourself on how you carry your inner altar. While travelling you might want to pack all items, while some days commuting to work you bring with you a few items - CD and your own thoughts in silence even. You could even create a visual presence on your desk at work to remind you to take a few minutes for an Om break each day. You might also want to carry a few of your favorite things while hiking too... the idea is to take your personal practice with you wherever you go. You get the idea.

Organic Fiji video

Click on this link to learn about Organic Fiji's roots.

Organic Fiji Video

New Arrivals! Spa Soy Candles Summer Scents

Spa exclusives to bring into your home...

Try luxurious Spa Soy Candles in your home. Elegantly packaged to give as a gift too!

New Scents for the summer:

14 oz. candle in organza packaging: NEW Cucumber Melon and Crisp Cucumber

7.5 oz spa candle: NEW Aqua Fruits and Romantic Chypre, perfect for that new summer romance

I want to start shopping for Spa Soy candles now!

De-Stress tip: Mindfulness

Mindfulness, the primary weapon against that 5-letter word (stress) is a kind of "meditation-lite" developed for people who found traditional meditation styles too difficult to practice.

Mindfulness is simply breathing deeply and noticing your surroundings. Sounds kind of new agey but the practice has shown to work in heart patients and is so easily learned.

Can lower blood pressure and heart rate, improve immune function, and ahhhhhh promote relaxation. Not a bad side effect to managing stress and finding the balance in your life.

Isn't that what we all contantly strive for -- finding balance.

Mother's Day anti-aging SECRET

Our bodycare lines are expanding! I'm excited about this new prodcut line direct from Umbira, Italy known for being the "Mediterranean diet for the skin", called Olivella -- from 100% virgin olive oil.

So here's a Mother's Day anti-aging SECRET.... Olivella ALL NATURAL Virgin Olive Oil Moisturizer. It's so rich in vitamins and antioxidants, protecting the skin from free radicals that damage healthy skin. Tell mom to apply 1-2 drops on face, neck or body 10 minutes before betime to allow moisturizer to absorb.

Do it for mom today and maybe she'll actually like trying something new and it's naturally better for her skin too.

Olivella Moisturizer contains premium quality Virgin Olive Oil (rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin E, beta carotene and squalene) and scented with natural floral essences from the Mediterranean.

Wash face first with the bar soap or Liguid soap.





Not tested on aniamls and no artifical coloring.

Soy candles ... the healthy living candle

In honor of this past Earth Day, I'm talking SOY CANDLES.

But WHY soy candles?

Here are the facts...

Almost ALL candles around the world are made from paraffin wax. Paraffin is the left over residue from gasoline refining -yet Paraffin aromatherapy candles are presented to consumers as a health enhancing product!

The Dangers of Paraffin Wax Candles.

• Has been documented to contain 11 harmful carcinogens, 2 of which are toxic.
• Produces problematic petrol soot emissions - has been considered as harmful
as second hand tobacco smoke.
• Paraffin candles are not biodegradable or water-soluble
• Burns hotter and faster than soy wax candles
• May potentially harm your health, pollutes your indoor air quality and our environment
• Many still contain lead wicks - CAUTION

Soy is clearly a better choice because...

• Soy wax candles are 100% natural.
• They are made from soy bean products.
• They are a healthy alternative to petroleum based products.
• They are clean burning and no petrol soot to black walls.
• They are environmentally safe and biodegradable.
• They are non-toxic and safe for children and pets.
• They are hand crafted and made from 100% Soybean based wax.
• The wicks are all natural cotton
• They contain the highest quality essential oils

The great thing is they come in different aromatherapy scents and the soy candles burn cooler and longer than mainstream paraffin candles.

I have always enjoyed the ambience, warm environment and the scent throughout the house from paraffin candles. I didn't know any better. But after learning about the hazards of the most popular paraffin (petroleum based) wax, I am now seeking the healthier choice, the soy candle. They smell delicious and look so elegant that I can rest easy that my lungs will be healthier. It's a better world with soy!

Soylicious Soy Candles

Be well.
Maria
www.destressessentials.com

Find your bliss

Hi everyone, I this finds you well.

So it's been a while since my last post. Have you felt pulled in so many directions? That would describe me in the past month. Buidling a business is taking me in directions that keep me on my toes and happily surprised by the results.

Well, because of my commitment to "walk the talk" in all things relaxation and wellness, I've been making time to care for my total wellness -- my mind, body and soul. I started to get into a regular exercise routine, rather than just walking my dog so I went to a yoga class last week. It totally invigorated me and felt stronger coming out of a class. Glad I survived it because I was starting to think bad thoughts about the instructor. But these are the things I need to do for myself to keep my stress level to a minimum and at the grueling end, my tension is released and ready for the day's challenges. Yoga is my bliss.

Let's put stress into perspective. Not all stress is bad. Think about the time you were in a stressful situation tyring to make a deadline on something you procrastinated too long. Didn't that type of stress propell you to take action? That's what I mean by some stress is ok.

From time to time we all find ourselves in stressful situations - that's normal. I think we can't avoid it 100% of the time, that's just life and part of being human. However for many people stress has become a constant way of life. More often than not this is down to work and/or money problems, but relationships and ill-health are also common factors that contribute to our high levels of stress.

While we can't always elimate the things in our lives that normally cause us to feel stressed, what we can do is change the way we react to them, while also learning to relax more and worry less. We could all use a gentle reminder on managing stress. I know I do.

De-stress tip: Examine your life more closely and make the necessary changes required to reduce YOUR levels of stress.

What's your bliss?

How do you de-stress?

Today, I'm talking de-stress. We're already into the 2nd quarter of 2006 which makes it a good time to reflect how we've all done taking care of ourselves and how we have de-stressed ourselves. Here are some ways I do it and some tips to practice today. How do you de-stress?

- For me, saying "No". It's a hard lesson for me to say this one word, but I'd rather say it than dissapoint. Try it, it's a pretty big stress reliever.

- Relax, do nothing and be still. Practice breathing deeply. Do this several times a day for a few minutes or more as your schedule allows. Start in small doses until it becomes a natural part of your day.

- Have a plan for your day/week/month. When you anticipate, you can cope better.

- Just know that there will always be bumps in the road. Take the burden off you and acknowledge that. That's what makes life interesting!

- Go for a walk. It increases your mood level and de-stresses a stressful day.

- Play with your dog or pet!

- Have people you can count on in your lives. We can't go it alone, we're social beings.

- Get organized -- get rid of stuff and clutter.

- Being thankful, keeping postive, and most importantly staying away from negative people helps me to lead a stress-free life.