Diving Deeper...

Digestion: 

   Our stomach is connected to the brain: When we have digestive imbalances such as slow digestion, nausea, even bloating, our mood won't be in balance. we can have brain fog, anxiety, mood swings.

along with such imbalances we can experience skin troubles like acne, rashes, even itchy skin. what is going on inside will be pushed out through our skin. 

When our digestion is out of balance, we may even experience a white tongue, known as thrush. 

Diarrhea and constipation can be symptoms of digestive imbalance along with feeling more sluggish in our day-to-day life.

What can we do about it?

   We can take digestive bitters, keep a food log or do an elimination diet. There are many digestive herbs that can be utilized. we can even tongue scrape or utilize enemas.

Cutting out sugar or reducing it can greatly help as sugar can feed the "bad" bacteria. 

   I have personally struggled with digestive imbalances in my own life. I had most, if not all of these symptoms listed. I found through an elimination diet, certain herbs and even more rest that I felt a lot better. It took me months to get my digestion back to "normal". Years later I had the same digestive troubles. This time I already knew what to do, at least I had a better understanding. 

Healing takes time. Keep on the path and try not to get discouraged.

Emotions:

Anxiety and emotional imbalances.

   Felling of heaviness in your stomach or chest, feeling frozen/stuck. With anxiety can come an array of troubles, such as digestive imbalances and acid reflux. Along with Anxiety you may experience panic attacks, trouble sleeping and handling day to day tasks. 

It depends on why you are feeling anxious to better find ways to balance emotions. What is the root of such discomfort? Are you having financial troubles? overwhelmed with work? Maybe there are things you have been holding onto from childhood or past experiences. 

I find that all emotional imbalances or discomfort have a root cause. Something may trigger an emotional response/anxiety to arise. 

What can we do about it?

   With certain calming herbs and essential oils, mindfulness practices such as mediation, yoga and chi gong we can find a lot more presence and ease within ourselves. Make sure you eat well-balanced meals, as that will help you be more alert and aware of such feeling when they arise. Just getting enough fuel, enough sleep and enough movement can help. Finding a craft or hobbies to shift the mind from anxious thoughts to a more easeful mind can be a great way through. I understand how difficult it can feel to get started on this journey of emotional well-being, but it is not impossible. It all starts with recognizing your emotions and thoughts, noticing the triggers and wanting to change for the better.  

   Personally, anxiety has been a lifetime journey for me. I have had better days.  I find it very important to recognize parts of us that are currently showing up, but to not let it become our identity and get stuck in the label. I have the ability to get stuck in anxiety and have it rule me or to recognize it and find peace/ease with it. It has taken me years to better understand where such anxious thoughts are stemming from. Through years of therapy and different calming herbs I have found a lot more peace with anxiety, although I still see it there and feel it. If I am not eating enough food, getting enough adequate fuel, I find I am more prone to anxiety. Same if I am not getting enough sleep, meditating, or doing any helpful mindfulness practices, I find myself more anxious, less present and not emotionally regulated. One thing that has shifted over the years is my awareness of such anxiousness when they arise. I also no longer experience panic attacks as I once did. 

   If you can recognize your trouble spots, if you are even aware of emotions as they arise and want to live a more harmonious life, that is a beautiful thing. you can be excited to embark on this "healing" journey. I know it can feel uneasy and bring up a lot, to change anything that has resided within us for so long. I find when anxiety is not present, I feel a lot better, yet it has been my baseline for so long. What a blessing to be able to grow, what a blessing to want to shift and seek balance in your own life.

Women's Hormones: 

   Our hormones, much like our digestion play a key role in how we function. When they are out of balance we may experience, late, or missed moon cycles, acne, mood imbalances, weight gain or loss, fertility troubles too. we may experience intense p.m.s. symptoms like bloating, cramping and mood swings or even experience heavy bleeding during menstrual cycles as well. 

If you have been on birth control for a long time, that can have an effect on hormones as well. you may want to ease off of birth control or find an alternative 

What can we do about it?

   Women need plenty of protein in their diet to have healthy, functioning hormones. Having a diet rich in omega 3s, mineral rich foods like black rice, spinach or even seaweed is very useful for healthy functioning hormones. We also need plenty of sleep and good amount of exercise. if we can keep these things in balance we can greatly assist in our hormone function. 

By reducing stress in our lives through Mediation, even yoga, we can help keep our mood in balance, thus helping our hormones function more harmoniously. 

   There are many hormone balancing herbs we can utilize through teas or tinctures that you can find at most herbal shops or health food stores.

There is also an array of essential oils we can breathe in to help assist, by wearing them on our wrists, temples or bellies, or by diffusing them.

You may want to opt for more natural beauty and cleaning products as most generic items contain hormone disrupters.

   I personally have struggled with hormone imbalances in my life. My moon cycle came every other month, or I would miss them entirely. When I was vegetarian and even vegan, I wasn't getting enough protein or a well-balanced diet and with that I became anemic and that is what triggered my irregular cycles. I found that I wasn't in balance in my own life with drinking excessively and not getting regular sleep. Many other factors that came into play beyond diet which was a big part in my hormone function, was stress. Once I found ways to reduce stress and started spending more time in nature, I found more peace thus helping my hormones out a lot. I also utilized different tinctures and herbal teas. I saw an herbalist that helped a lot in fine tuning the right herbs for me.

By learning what is imbalanced in your own life, diet, sleep, or even stress, you too can get on the path to better balancing your hormones. 

Skin Health:

   Our skin is our largest organ. Whatever is imbalanced within will be pushed through our skin, as mentioned in the description on digestion. We can experience acne, rashes, dry skin, oily skin too.

   Toxins in the environment can have a big influence on our overall wellbeing including our skin health. Any harsh soaps, detergents, body wash and even most hair products and deodorants contain many synthetic ingredients including fragrances. These products like lotions and perfumes being directly on our skin will be absorbed by our skin and into our system, then being pushed out and causing such acne and rashes, over production of oil or even doing the complete opposite like drying out our skin. Most makeup can clog pores too. If you enjoy utilizing makeup, try opting for more natural options in which there are many found online and at health food stores. 

What can we do about it?

   Reduce or completely get rid of harsh chemicals and any products containing synthetic ingredients. We can try utilizing certain herbs for internal support or as a face wash. You can even opt for more natural products found at most health food stores. Try essential oils instead of perfume, maybe try drinking more water, even utilizing natural oils such as grapeseed, coconut or even almond for moisturizing instead of generic lotions and fragrance filled moisturizers containing many chemicals. 

   I personally had acne for many years, even in my adult hood. I experienced rashes and hives due to an internal disruption with digestion and many synthetic items and chemicals. Once I started eating a healthier more well-balanced diet, switching to natural products such as essential oils and herbs for my skin health, I found my skin could breathe better. I had less acne and no longer experience any. I even stopped utilizing makeup all together. 

   It takes time to find what is imbalanced within to better balance the skin and find more ease with any irritations and other skin troubles.  You too can have a more easeful time with your skin. It takes time. Just by wanting to embark on the journey of "healing" your skin is a great start.