It's estimated that more than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies each year. Allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic illness in the United States. Chances are, your doctor wrote you a prescription to manage your symptoms, or directed you to an OTC medication, but will exert zero effort to find out WHY your body reacts in this way or how to support your body so the allergies don’t happen in the first place. A way to stop allergies before they start? You betcha. You see, most of us think, "I have allergies. whomp, whomp. Nothing to see here". But that is so far from the truth. The alergens blow in and we surrender to our bottle of Zyrtec or Allegra. If we're lucky, we manage our symptoms with a synthetic medication until the attack passes. If we are not so lucky, we develop an infection. Sinus infections, upper respiratory infections, bronchitis, and asthma can almost always be traced back to allergies.

Gradke Case Study no 1: Our oldest son, now 21, has suffered from terrible allergies for most of his life. At age 7, he was tested for 50 allergens. Ya'll, he was allergic to 49 of them! So we did what any red blooded American would do. We fed him a concoction of prescription nasal sprays and medications for a few years. This was back in the day that even Zyrtec required an Rx. Around age 11, we decided to go through the 5 year allergy shot process. After 5 years, his allergies were nearly gone. But guess what, they came back full force about a year later. Argh! (I'm not bitter for all those hours wasted in the allergy doctor office. promise.) You guys, my son is not a small guy. At 6'5" 220lbs he consumes 3-4 Zyrtec a day to keep him just above miserable status.

A few summers ago when he was home from college, I started him on essential oils. I filled capsules with equal parts of Lemon, Lavender, and Peppermint. He started with 2 in the morning; 2 at night. By day 3, he was symptom free so we went down to 1-2 per day for a few days just to make sure. After a week, he was still symptom free so we stopped taking the capsules. Throughout the remainder of the summer, he didn't take one single allergy pill. He would occasionally need a capsule for maintenance but his symptoms had all but disappeared.

** Side note: We use only Young Living Essential Oils. I would NOT recommend ingesting any other brand of essential oil because purity standards vary greatly.

Gradke Case Study no 2: I also have allergies. For most of my adult life, without fail, I could count on getting bronchitis at least once a year. It would start as allergies, turn into a sinus infection, then leave me flat on my back with full blown bronchitis. Insert essential oils and no more annual bronchitis parties for me. I keep a roller ball with equal parts lemon, lavender and peppermint and rub on my feet and neck daily for maintenance.

Ok, so you're probably thinking, "My Allegra is working just fine, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.". But are you aware of what that little pill is doing to your body over the long term? Our bodies were designed to ingest and absorb naturally occurring compounds. Allergy medication is far from that. Sure, the antihistamine will provide short term relief for that runny nose. But the liver, kidney and rest of your body systems are taxed to filter out the chemicals in that pill. Your body wasn't designed to process synthetic medication and treats it as a toxin, taxing your liver and other major organs.

Side effects of antihistamines:

• Drowsiness or sleepiness.
• Dizziness.
• Dry mouth, nose, or throat.
• Increased appetite and weight gain.
• Upset stomach.
• Thickening of mucus.
• Changes in vision.
• Feeling nervous, excited, or irritable.
• Impaired liver health
• Increased blood pressure

Side effects of essential oils:

• You will smell good
• Supports your health at the cellular level
• Emotionally uplifting

So I don't know about you, but I'll take the side effects of Essential Oils any day.

Your resident hippie public service announcement is now concluded. Stay oily my friends!

I have four exceptional children.  One of them happens to be twice exceptional; blessed with giftedness and a very high level of intelligence along with neurodivergent configurations (Autism, ADHD and Auditory/Sensory Processing Disorder).  Reed is 11 years old and one of the coolest, smartest, yet quirkiest kids I've ever met.  But let me be real for a minute.  Parenting this particular child has been serious WORK.  Kicked out of his first school at 3, pulling the fire alarm at the next preschool, my inability to manage him in public places, and countless tear-filled conferences with teachers as we moved into elementary left me feeling overwhelmed and ill-equipped.

This is the story of my oily AH-HAH moment.

You see, I was desperate to find something to help my son that wasn't medicating my (then) five year old.  Please don't hear me say to you mamas that have gone this route there is ANYTHING wrong with this choice.  I know this is a very personal decision and we are all doing the very best we can for our children.  To this day, I will never say "never" to medication. Admittedly, the decision to not medicate was overwhelming in itself.  Because this means we had to find another way.  We started with diet changes (helpful).  Then - enter my dear oily friend (VERY helpful). As I mentioned in my last post, she had been trying to rub oils on me for years. I finally agreed to some samples to try with Reed.  (I wouldn't even buy them -🙄 )

YOU GUYS, 3 weeks in, his teachers noticed a significant difference in Reed.  One even asked if I had medicated him.  Another teacher wanted all the details to try on her own son.  I literally cried tears of joy. Could this be for real? If it is, then take ALL OF MY MONEY Young Living.  

What do we do specifically?  That's what I plan to share with you today.  Both oily and non-oily tips that have worked for us.

As a side note, the quality of essential oils absolutely makes a difference.  I've tried to save a buck with essential oils from other sources (health food store, amazon).  They simply did not work for us.  If you ever doubt the difference in quality, one easy test will convince you: Take a whiff of a store bought bottle of peppermint vs. a Young Living bottle of peppermint.  (or any of their oils for that matter). Each and every bottle of Young Living essential oil is 100% of that actual oil, and nothing else.  It is also vigorously tested to ensure therapeutic grade.  This means they don't just smell good, but work with your body at the cellular level to support your emotional, neurological and physical wellness.

Diet: To piggy-back on gut health, we must talk diet.  So many physical and neurological imbalances can be traced back to the gut.  A good probiotic can help balance your gut bacteria, but we also must be mindful of what we put in our body (and on our body but we will discuss that next).  Think about this: our bodies and organs expend energy to keep us going.  If we consistently feed our bodies the wrong types of food, our organs go into overdrive trying to digest, process, and eliminate the junk.  And if we are taxing our organs in this way, you better believe our bodies and brains will be exhausted and imbalanced.  There are many chemicals found in our food that actually exacerbate ADHD/Autism behaviors.  7 years ago, we threw out 80% of the food in our home and made a drastic change in our diet.  As a family we do our best to avoid any foods with artificial color (food dye, red 40 seems to be the worst), artificial flavor, artificial sweeteners (no diet drinks), and mainly 3 preservatives found in many packaged foods: BHT, BHA, TBHQ.  Increasing nutrient intake has shown to have a beneficial effect in resolving ADHD/Autism so Ningxia Red, a whole food supplement, is also a staple in our home.

Environmental toxins: As much as possible, we've eliminated toxins from our home.  We clean our entire house with Thieves Household cleaner and have switched our laundry soap, hand soaps, and personal care products to either Young Living products or other natural alternatives.  Instead of candles, we diffuse essential oils.  Instead of Lysol to disinfect, we spray Thieves.  It was a serious game changer for us to realize that every substance we inhale or put on our skin is absorbed into our body.  I'd highly encourage you to download the Think Dirty or EWG app and start scanning products in your home.  You might be surprised what you find.

I wouldn't be real if I didn't wrap this post up by admitting one thing.  These changes did not happen overnight for our family.  It is EASIER to just take a pill.  But the side effects and long term dependence ramifications were really worth a hard look at alternatives for us.  We've had difficult and emotional conversations with so many people, all with the very best intentions, about medicating Reed.  I have defended our decision to not medicate more times than I can remember all the while wondering if I'm making a terrible mistake.  If I'm really messing this kid, who I love with all my heart, completely up.  But all we could do was pray and ask for direction. Then parent as we felt called to.  I am thrilled to be able to say today that we are now 6+ years into Reed's diagnosis and have managed to successfully support him without the use of one single synthetic neurological medication.  I won't say we don't face parenting challenges with Reed; that will never be the case; but he is truly thriving and we thank God every day for where he is today.  

Interested in learning more?  Contact Heather HERE.  Or come to our next Intro Class at the studio on Friday January 11, 2018 at 11:30am. 

Becoming a member with Young Living affords you a 24% discount on all products plus lots of freebies and rewards with their Essential Rewards Program.  To become a member is easy.  Purchase a starter kit (at nearly a 50% discount), and get started with a diffuser and Young Living's 11 most diverse essential oils.  You can literally replace your entire medicine and cleaning supplies cabinet with this kit!

​So we all have that one friend, right?  That friend is convinced that if you will try this, or try that, your life will be changed.  I have that friend.  She is near and dear to my heart. And her thing was essential oils.  She tried rubbing her oils on me for years. “Oh, you have a cold? Whiff this peppermint!”  “Oh, can’t sleep? Diffuse lavender!”  “Oh, you can’t poop?  There’s an oil for that!” 

Interestingly enough, I'm now becoming that friend.

Side bar: Funny enough, my AH-HA oily moment had nothing to do with our physical health.  I really thought I had no use for this product; we are relatively healthy.  In hindsight, I had no idea of all the ways we would end up supporting our wellness with essential oils.  My AH-HAH moment was supporting my twice-exceptional son with essential oils.  An incredible story for another post.
 
Back to my oily friend.  She finally succeeded on rubbing those oils on me and weird but our lives did change a little.  We felt better without a drug.  BUT, being the skeptic that I am, I continued to use my oils over the years, pray they work, and when they always showed up for me; just let that be that (well and buy ALL the oils).  But in full transparency, all the while I’m thinking, ‘this is too good to be true and something, someone, somewhere is going to expose these essential oils as a total scam.’  (which is ludicrous considering people have used the plants of the land to support their wellness since the beginning of time).  But like I said, SKEPTIC.

That same dear friend that introduced me to Young Living affectionately refers to me as a “closet oils addict”.  I probably care too much about what people think about me. No one wants to be that girl that is always trying to sell you something.   But if another family could be blessed by our story, I should take the time to share it.  So, I'm starting a blog post series on essential oils and the upcoming testimonies are for real, tangible stories straight from the Gradke family of how we’ve found a better way to support our health.

Before Young Living, I didn’t typically buy products from direct sales companies.  I’m a skeptic (remember?) Oh and I’m also cheap. It's not that I was totally against the idea.  I had some essential oils bought from a local store and those seemed good enough.  Well, they didn't actually DO anything but make the house smell good. I was very good at blowing off those party invitations (sorry friends - even the Essential Oil parties!).  Come on now, like I'm gonna rub some snake oil on my body and my woes will disappear?  Puuulease..  But then that's exactly what happened. 

I want to kick off this blog series to talk immune support, but let me clarify one thing first.  Although I’m a total hippie about a lot of things, letting my child suffer through an infection just to avoid use of an antibiotic is not how I role.  But what if I told you not ONE (1) of my four children has NEEDED an antibiotic in more than 3 years?  We started using essential oils, and my HSA account started to grow rather than deplete (bonus!)

My baby Rowan (now 4) was barely 1 when we started incorporating essential oils into our family and has managed through her toddler years into preschool (in day care the entire time) without one single illness that required an antibiotic prescription.  The same is true for her 3 older siblings.  So how do we do it? 
Well, first we try to support our immune system BEFORE the bug hits.  We are not perfect but good nutrition and adequate sleep are priorities in our home.  Ningxia Red is a staple and packs some major antioxidant and immune support in just an ounce of yumminess.  Plus my kids love it. 

When this family’s child spiked a 102 fever, she decided to do a little experiment with a nose swab.  This photo is from the 4 day mark.  Um, wow.  And did you know Lysol actually CONTRIBUTES to respiratory issues?  Check it out on the Think Dirty App.  This is not stuff you want to by spraying around your house.  Thieves is 100% non-toxic and provides your body an extra punch of immune support in a completely natural way.

Side bar #2: Curious about how thieves got its name?  It’s a Young Living propriety blend based on research about a group of 15th century thieves who rubbed botanicals on themselves to avoid contracting the plague while they robbed the bodies of the dead and dying. Morbid much?

Ok, so we’ve all agreed you need some thieves in your life.  I keep a roller ball on this puppy and swipe my kids feet and/or wrists (hello non toxic hand sanitizer) before school.  At the first signs of a sniffle, I’m diffusing this bad boy all over my house.  And you guys, it works. 

This essential oil blend is so incredible, Young Living developed an entire Thieves line of products.  Laundry soap: because our skin is a carrier NOT a barrier! Thieves toothpaste, dental floss, mouthwash.  I clean (ok let me be real….. my cleaning crew cleans because JOB) my entire house with Thieves Household Cleaner.  I could go on but trust me, you are going to want all the thieves in your life once you get a whiff.  Bonus, it smells AMAZING. 

Thieves, I’ll never quit you.
 
Want to learn more?  Contact Heather HERE.  Or come to our next Intro Class at the studio on Friday January 11, 2018 at 11:30am. 

Becoming a member with Young Living affords you a 24% discount on all products plus lots of freebies and rewards with their Essential Rewards Program.  To become a member is easy.  Purchase a starter kit (at nearly a 50% discount), and get started with a diffuser and Young Living's 11 most diverse essential oils.  You can literally replace your entire medicine and cleaning supplies cabinet with this kit!

Photo credit by Pexels
 
Self-care is crucial for preventing burnout, negating stress, and helping you to refocus. Making time for fitness is an important part of taking care of yourself, but sometimes, it just feels like more work.
 
How can you manage self-care and fitness to live a more balanced life? Here are some great tips for getting started.
 
Are You Doing The Right Workout?
 
If you consistently feel stressed out after your workout, you may not be doing the right one. Check with your doctor to make sure you are doing the best routine and impact level for your health, weight, and body. This is important for everyone, but especially for those who have a health condition, like high blood pressure and chronic pain, and even those in addiction recovery. While working out can be a great supplement to a recovery plan, your body may have lost nutrients, bone density, or muscle mass while you were using, so check with your doctor before getting started in an exercise routine. Also, check with your trainer to make sure you are doing each exercise properly and that your breathing is in rhythm.
 
Additionally, make sure that your workout is something you enjoy. While high impact training may be the quickest way to a fit body, if you’re miserable doing it, you won’t be motivated to stick with it. You should also be sure you are not straining your body past the point it can go and risking injury. Read these tips from Fitness Magazine on selecting the best workout based on your goals.
 
If you are looking for an exercise to improve both your body and mind, give Pilates a try. Not only does it build strength, power, and flexibility, but the controlled movements give your brain a boost too. Each movement, no matter how small, requires that you focus on the movement in detail, including the sensations you experience and your breathing. As a result, Pilates will improve your focus and mindfulness, while also creating a strong core to carry you through.
 
Does Your Self-Care Support Your Workout?
 
Often, we mistakenly think that working out begins and ends with our time at the gym, but we need to get the right nutrition, hydration, and rest even when we are not there. Make sure your nutrition plan aligns with your program, too. Weight training, for example, requires much more protein intake than low-impact exercise. Read this article on self-care strategies to help you stick to your fitness routine from Make Yourself Unstoppable.
 
Today, more gyms are offering services in self-care, according to Shape.com. Some of them feature spas, care clinics, registered dieticians, and even self-care classes such as guided meditation. If you belong to one of these gyms, take advantage of all they have to offer.
 
Self-Care Beyond Fitness
 
Supporting your fitness routine with proper self-care is important, but you also need to move past constantly thinking about having a healthy body. Having real emotional downtime is key to good mental health.
 
Hobbies
 
Hobbies are a great way to reduce stress, gain a new skill, and add something new and interesting to your life. Photography, knitting, and coloring are great ways to relax and be useful at the same time. Here are more hobby ideas that can improve your quality of life from Daring to Live Fully, and these hobbies from Everyday Power Blog can actually build your confidence and self-esteem.
 
Quality Sleep
 
Too many Americans underestimate the importance of sleep. According to HowSleepWorks.com, the average American needs 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep a night. If you find you don’t get that much, you may need to start going to bed earlier. If sleep is a challenge, you can try:
 
●       Using a white noise machine to fall and stay asleep.
●       Making sure you have high-quality pillows to support your neck.
●       Putting up room darkening blinds or curtains.
 
The APA has more information on sleep disorders and additional suggestions on how to improve your sleep quality.
 
Relaxation and Minimizing Stress
 
In addition to sleep at night, you should have periods throughout your week (if not daily) to relax. This can be as simple as taking a few deep breaths during a crisis or as advanced as finding time to do deep relaxation or meditation. You may even want to set up a place in your home that is calm and quiet to function as a meditation space to inspire you to relax; decorate it with calming imagery and soothing scents to keep you focused on the present rather than the distractions of the outside world.
 
Proper self-care is important for both physical and mental health. Be sure that while you are supporting your fitness routine, you are also taking downtime yourself. Both contribute to a more balanced life.

by Susan Treadway with Rehab Holistics

Welcome guest blogger Susan Treadway with Rehab Holistics.  Susan is a recovering addict and is passionate about educating people in the ways a trusty fitness routine can be integral to maintaining sobriety.

When you’re caught up in the world of addiction, it’s easy to neglect your health. Not only do you suffer physically, but emotionally and socially as well. And there’s no denying that the recovery process is tough. Thankfully, there are many healthy ways to cope with your addiction. Exercise is one that can boost all aspects of your well-being. Here are four reasons to begin your own fitness revolution as you learn to maintain your sobriety.
 
1. Exercise has been proven to relieve stress. While pounding the pavement and pumping iron seems like it would add stress to a time already ripe with anxiety, nothing could be further from the truth. US News & World Report confirms that exercise has a positive effect on the mind that rivals its effects on the body. Stress is a common relapse trigger so it makes sense that a healthy fitness routine can help you avoid this dangerous state of mind.
 
2. Exercise changes your brain. Here’s a little science lesson: physical activities, such as walking, jogging, swimming, and lifting weights, tell your brain you’re doing something good. Your brain, in return, thanks your body by cranking up its production of endorphins, which are a group of hormones that can be stronger than morphine. As neurotransmitters, endorphins work on the brain’s opiate receptors to block pain and create a sense of sustained euphoria.
 
3. Exercise promotes positive relationships. The funny thing about exercise is that no matter where you do it, there always seems to be someone else doing the same thing. Take a quick jog around the neighborhood and you’ll no doubt pass half a dozen other weekend warriors pounding the pavement. Head to the gym, and you’ll find yourself smack in the middle of a society of people working toward their own wellness goals. Dance, martial arts and other types of fitness classes give you access to a social network, a support system you’ll never find at the bottom of a bottle.
 
4. Exercise improves self-esteem. You already know that exercise can help you lose weight and build muscle, but these things combined can also improve your self-esteem. The Online Journal of Sports Psychology recently published a study conducted by Bishop’s University. Researchers studied data collected by more than 125 students through university age. It was found that those who engage in regular exercise had more self-confidence and self-esteem than those who stayed stagnant most of the time. Many psychologists believe that low self-esteem acts as an open invitation to substance abuse disorders.
 
Despite all of its positive benefits, not all exercise programs are the right exercise program. Whichever type of fitness routine you choose should be based on a combination of your overall health, physical abilities and likes. If you’ve never really worked your muscles, walking is one of the best entry-level exercises you can do and it comes with the added benefit of being accessible from almost everywhere. Weight and balance training and cardiovascular exercises are also important and work to keep your body strong and your lungs healthy respectively. Plexus offers more tips on how to find the right workout.
 
Exercise is part of an all-around healthy routine and, when implemented correctly, can be part of your long-term recovery plan. Consider waking up 30 minutes early each morning to workout or find a partner and go for a jog. After all, you found time to prioritize your unhealthy habits, you can find the time to swap them with healthy ones.

For more information, visit Rehab Holistics Webpage.

I tried Pilates and it cured my bad knees and back.

​No Joke.

Did you know that 31 million Americans experience back pain at any given time?  The most common cause is muscle strain often related to heavy physical labor, lifting or forceful movement. Other causes may be from bending or twisting in awkward positions or standing or sitting in one position for too long.  Core weakness significantly increases your risk for back injury.  Fortunately, the majority of back pain can be great reduced or eliminated entirely by a focused exercise plan to strengthen the core muscles of the body.

What is the Core?
When many people think of core, they think abs. In reality, your core is a complex series of muscles, extending far beyond your abs, including everything besides your arms and legs. The core includes the traverse abdominis (TVA), erector spinae, obliques, glutes, and your lower lats. These muscles work as stabilizers for the entire body and are incorporated in almost every movement of the human body.

Real Results.
Once upon a younger version of me's time, I was an avid runner.  I ran every day, miles and miles.  By my mid 20s, my activity started to take their physical toll on my joints and muscles.  My left knee started to hurt after every run.  Then it hurt even after a long walk.  It got so bad, that on a trip with my husband to New York City, I had to make multiple trips back to our hotel room to ice it from all the walking.  I was only 27 years old.  So I started weight training and yoga hoping any gains in strength and flexibility would alleviate the pain. But before long, I added to low back pain to my list of ailments.  My runs got shorter, my workouts less intense.  This went on for several years until I discovered Pilates.

Pilates literally CURED my knee and my back.  I had always gravitated to more cardio-intense workouts (think HIIT) so my first reformer class was a change of pace, but certainly not any less intense.  We started with an abdominal warm-up, and with the instructors coaching, I realized I'd been doing IT ALL WRONG.  I didn't realize you could do ab work without eventually feeling strain in your low back.  (DUH says all you fitness experts out there).  After 5 minutes I'm like, "Are you kidding me?  This is the warm-up?".  My abs were on FIRE.  We went through a whole body work-out on the reformer that was difficult but felt great at the same time.  Another combination I never knew was possible during a workout.  I left completely hooked.

I was amazed at how quickly my body responded to Pilates.  Within 3 months, the back and knee pain that had plagued me for years had completely disappeared.  I added miles to my runs and found that my body rarely fatigued, even on long runs.  More importantly, Pilates acutely increased my awareness of how I move my body all day.  Whether I'm driving my car, running, or loading groceries, I'm constantly thinking of my movement mechanics.  

Simply put, I've stopped groaning "arrrgh" when I roll out of bed.  And for us Pilates enthusiasts, that's what it's all about.

We are just over a week into 2018 and with a new year comes new resolutions.  As a self-proclaimed self-help addict, I tend to make lots of grand plans as each new year approaches.  But then real life happens.  I plan my workout but then a kid spills a gallon of milk on the floor and the dog poops in it before tracking it all over the house. In my role as a wife, mother of 4, small-business owner and active member of our church, I am plagued with a constant nagging of how I should be better.  How I could be a better wife, mom, or volunteer.  Or how I should be giving more to my business.  But over the years, I've made a conscious effort to be more realistic.  Not give up on myself, but to give grace to myself.  I still think resolutions are a good idea and here are 3 worth making:

1. Pick something to start doing.  What is it that you have felt convicted to start doing?  Is it eating healthy? Working out? Reading more? Finding community? Developing a skill?  If you're like me, perhaps the answer is all of the above?  The key work here is pick.  Pick 1 (or maybe 2) and really focus on doing it well.

2.  Pick something to stop doing. I don't mean just bad habits here like injecting heroin or picking your nose.  I mean something that, if you are honest with yourself, you don't really have time for.  In this era of extreme busyness,  we have to learn to prioritize our time with our roles.  Maybe you need to drop the book club, or dinner club, or *gasp one of your kid's activities.  Not because any of these things are bad, but because it's the only way you can do the more important things well.

3. Pick a cause. Instead of focusing solely on ourselves, let's focus on the one thing that has scientifically been proven to make us happier, more fulfilled individuals.  Let's focus outward and find ways to be more generous.  What pulls your heartstrings?  Is it animals? Children? The homeless?  There are countless ways for us to use our gifts to bless other people.  Whether it's your time or money, pick a cause and get involved.  When we give to others, we experience more joy in our lives, because people get a lot more joy out of giving than getting.

​Give the Gift of Wellness this Holiday Season
Looking for the perfect gift for the Pilates enthusiast in your life?  Or for the loved one that would benefit from starting a Pilates practice? Now through December 31st, purchase a gift certificate valued at $100 or more, and earn a FREE Pilates Class.  Or use the value ($30) toward any private or semi-private purchase.

The holidays are upon us and it is common for many adults to gain 5-10 lbs and lose sight of our wellness goals.  I'll share a few tips that help our family stay healthy and happy over the holidays.

1. Eat Well. Planning is key to keep a relatively healthy diet over the holidays.  This is a busy time and to avoid the temptation of drive-throughs and soft pretzels at the mall, consider packing healthy snacks.  Some of my favorite snacks on the go are almonds, boiled eggs, turkey roll-ups or protein bars. We also tend to have less time for dinner prep so plan ahead and stock your freezer with healthy, easy to prepare meals. Know which foods are high in caloric content and eat them sparingly. I like to use a tracker such as MyFitnessPal. 

2. Prevent Illness. As the winter months approach, so does the cold and flu season. The most effective defense to getting sick is washing your hands.  Our hands are the body part that germs are most commonly found, and we are constantly touching our eyes, nose and mouth without even realizing it.  Washing your hands frequently with soap and water will help keep you and your family well this holiday season.  We also incorporate the use of essential oils to boost our immune systems during cold and flu season.   There are many essential oils that help fight off those germs.  Some of my favorites are Thieves and Oregano from Young Living.

3. De-Stress. For many of us, the holidays are a season of fun, family and happiness.  But that's not the case for everyone.  Rates of depression are actually at their highest during the holidays.  It's important to set boundaries, learn to say no, and to take some time for yourself.  Limit your schedule so that it is manageable and fun without creating additional stress.  Find time for the things you love.  Whether it's a pedicure, yoga class, or massage, make your "me-time" a priority.  I promise you will be a better spouse, parent and friend when you are intentional about carving out time to de-stress.

4. Sleep. First, meet my sweet daughter Adalae and our newest family member, Loki.  Loki is a 10 week old Goldendoodle puppy and is absolutely adorable but a real pain at night when he thinks 3am is playtime. Speaking of sleep, I was recently challenged to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep for 7 days straight.  To be honest, some days were harder than others.  Laundry was left undone, sometimes dishes left in the sink, and let's be real, that show I was binge watching on Netflix got unwatched.  But I did it and immediately noticed a difference in my energy levels and clarity of thought.  With so many demands on us, getting adequate sleep often takes a backseat to getting that one last thing done.  I would encourage you to try it yourself.  7 hours for 7 days.  

5. Help Others. If you are reading this post through an internet or data connection of some-sort, you are richer than 85% of the world's population.  Wow!  Let us remember how incredibly blessed we are this season and use our resources and talents to give back to those less fortunate.  Go volunteer, donate to an organization you are passionate about, or consider providing a Thanksgiving meal or Christmas to a needy family.

6.  Stay Active. Last, but certainly not lease, is to keep moving.  A study by the US Government found that most adults gained more than a pound of body weight over the holiday.  Unfortunately, most of these adults did not shed that weight over the following year.  A few indulgent holiday seasons can really add up!  But there is good news.  Studies show that adults that stay active tend to not gain weight, and some even lose weight during the holidays.  Ideally, you should aim to exercise 4-5 times per week.  Even though it's cold outside, find activities that are fun and get the body moving.  Bundle up and go sledding or ice skating with the family.  And there are plenty of indoor options, like PILATES.