Ah, winter—the season of retreating indoors, finding every way to keep warm, and snuggling up with your favorite book or Netflix show for a slow descent into hibernation, solitude, and a fair amount of seasonal down time.

While the frigid cold winter weather outside can affect your energy levels and leave you with the sluggish winter blues, there are seasonal winter herbs that can also lift you out of your winter funk to revitalize your well-being and mood with some natural herbal supplements.

So why does the heart hurt? It’s not a physical pain unless you are having a heart attack. The heart itself is not hurting, or wounded, or even broken. What happens is a physical manifestation of the emotional pain that you are feeling. There is an intense sadness because a loved one has left you or deserted you. And you end up channeling it into small bombs of pain that seem to hit you everywhere. You are sad and depressed, and want life itself to end. To compensate, some of us tend to build walls around our heart.

If we are not careful, the older we get the more excuses we can have for why we cannot love.

The products you use in your home matter. Even if you live a fairly healthy lifestyle (vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, etc.), the products you use can really affect your life. Items we use around the house on the daily (such as cleaning products, hand soap, and plastic) can cause serious health concerns if you're not careful. You might not even be aware they're toxic until it's too late. Prevention is the best medicine though, so here's how to create a non-toxic home you'll be proud of.

Pistachios belong to the family Anacardiaceae, commonly known as the sumac family. They are in the genus pistache P which has six species; the scientific name for the species pistachio nut is Pistacia vera L. The plant is native to regions in western Asia and was found to be eaten by people in Turkey and the Middle East as early as 7000 B.C.E. and cultivated for millennia.

Wellness Wednesday Week 97: Ananta’s pose/Anantāsana/Supine Leg Stretch

Benefits:

Strengthens legs.

Improves strength in core and back muscles.

Can help improve balance.

Foundation & General Alignment:

Start lying on side of body, raise both feet into air while together.

Entire body is engaged and lifting.

Feet are flexed.

Both legs are straight.

Body can be held stable by arms.

Heart is pressing forward.

Shoulders are pressing back. 

Botanicals have a lot to offer when it comes to keeping our nervous systems healthy and helping with nerve-related issues.  Here are four of my most used allies!

If you’re shameless about eating a pint of cherry tomatoes in the summer sun, you might consider including ground cherries in this year’s bounty. Though known by many a name—husk cherry, husk tomato, ground tomato, winter cherry, strawberry tomato, or cape gooseberry—the flavor of the ground cherry is like no other item you’ll sow in your garden.

From a young age, most women (myself included) are instructed on how to use tampons and pads and find a hormonal birth control that works for us. Some of us continue to do fine on conventional products, but it’s important to know that there are other options that don’t contain pesticides, reduce waste, and help manage PMS symptoms and irregular periods without adding synthetic hormones.