lavender

Everyone deserves a little pampering every once in a while. In fact, I make a promise to myself to try and take a relaxing bath at least once a month. Sometimes life gets in the way of that, but when I do get a chance to take a bath, it's beautiful. I personally love adding in some bath salts to my bath. They add a beautiful aroma and are great for relaxing or reviving your energy (depending on the scent). Bath soaks are kind of similar, but they're made in a different way. Recently, I became curious about how to DIY my own bath salts and soaks, and it's actually not too hard.

Floral waters give you that low-level kind of scent you have to lean in to smell —subtle and natural. So what exactly is floral water? Floral waters are actually the water leftover from the extraction of an essential oil .

Herbal hair teas are super nourishing, give your hair extra vitamins, and can even bring out subtle tints and colors. They can also help treat oily, dry, or thinning hair (depending on the herbs used).

Fresh herbal teas are fantastic, and they have been used over many centuries to improve people’s emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. Herbal teas can be the most beneficial and delicious when brewed from fresh herbs, and nothing beats an herbal tea made from freshly grown herbs you’ve produced yourself. So, why not try growing your own herbal tea garden? Most of the herbs used in teas are easy to begin and continue growing.

Mother Nature literally provides us with everything we need, in every aspect. This first aid kit is made from simple plants or plant products that are easy to come by and well-known.

These 7 items I am going to discuss are the very basic components of Mother Nature’s First Aid Kit. It’s possible you have all of these items in your kitchen or growing out in your yard already. That’s right, the very weeds along your sidewalk could be benefiting you in a big way!

If you are suffering from insomnia, sleep can be a challenge. Tossing and turning, wondering if you're going to finally get some rest, or if the night will be like all those other sleepless nights is a terrible thing. Even for those that only have the occasional bout of a restless night suffer the consequences the following day.

The sacred action of smudging has been used for centuries by  various cultures, and today it is still being used for clearing, purifying, and adjusting surrounding energies. A great way to look at smudging is like a kind of spiritual bath, with the smoke cleansing away undesired dirty-spiritual vibrations.

To smudge, most people tie certain herbs and plants together with a thread, and burn them. Nowadays, there are many different kinds of plants that can be used for smudging. Here are 5 plants used for smudging as well as some of their spiritual purposes.  

The kids are back in school and the weather is getting cooler -- which brings a bounty of beauty, as well as cold and flu season. We all know what it feels like trying to sleep with a stuffy nose and chest congestion.

If you take a look at your average store bought vapor/chest rubs you will see many unnecessary ingredients on the list. The shorter the list of ingredients in your products the better, especially if you can pronounce them.

What Oils Should I Use?

Well here is where some of the fun gets to take place -- at least I think so!

American beautyberry is also known as French mulberry, sour-bush, bunch-berry, and purple beautyberry. The berries grow all throughout the Southeastern USA. Funny enough, it’s actually the leaves and stems that have the most power in warding of bugs in this DIY spray.

As the summer winds down and nights wander in with cool breezes our bodies call out for different things to keep healthy and strong. Where the heat of the blazing summer sun was once enough to call forth the power of our immunity, without its penetrating rays staying strong in the sky, we require a bit more to support the seasonal transition into fall that leads the way to winter's doorway. Here are some essential nutrition tips for fall-transition and beyond.

1. Start with a Glass of Warm Water