Everyday we’re bombarded with ads and news stories of “eat this, not that!” One day eggs are terrible for you, another day you can eat them in unlimited quantities. One week kale is all the rage as the “ultimate superfood”, the next week it’s revealed kale's no greater than spinach. It can be very confusing to understand how to fuel your body for holistic wellness, but I stick to a just a few time-proven habits, rather than chasing the trends. The tips below are like the little black dress for your wardrobe: tried and true, will make you look and feel great, and will never go out of style.
 

1. Fill the majority of your plate with whole fruits and vegetables

 
Nutrition experts around the world agree: a diet that is focused primarily on fruits and vegetables is better for your health, your mind, AND the planet. “Plant based” can mean 100% animal product free, or it can mean a diet made up primarily of fruits, vegetables, nuts, oils, beans, and legumes, with smaller amounts of meat and dairy still incorporated. Either way, the benefits are enormous: Prominent research has shown that plant based diets can lower your blood pressure, reduce or reverse your risk of heart disease and diabetes, and reduce your risk of diabetes. A Harvard study of 110,000 people tracked over 14 years showed that people who ate 8 or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day had a 30% decreased risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
 
Fruits and vegetables truly are superfoods in their own right! Try filling at least 50% of your plate with fruits and vegetables of several different colors--focusing on them as the main dish rather than just a side dish. 
 

1. Incorporate whole grains for energy and fiber

 
Many people have gone off grains like whole grain oats, brown rice, and quinoa because of their carbohydrate content, but a moderate amount of whole grains are essential to our everyday diet. Whole grains provide an array of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and protein, and consuming them has been linked to a reduced risk of diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure!
 
Oats are one of the quickest and easiest ways to incorporate whole grains into your diet, and coming into the Fall season are a perfect hot breakfast, lunch, or snack! Check out the nutrient powerhouse of one cup of dry oats:
 
Manganese: 191% of the RDI
Phosphorus: 41% of the RDI
Magnesium: 34% of the RDI
Copper: 24% of the RDI
Iron: 20% of the RDI
Zinc: 20% of the RDI
Folate: 11% of the RDI
Vitamin B1 (thiamin): 39% of the RDI
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid): 10% of the RDI
Smaller amounts of calcium, potassium, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) and vitamin B3 (niacin)
 
This is coming with 51 grams of carbs, 13 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat and 8 grams of fiber, but only 303 calories.
 

1. Make sure to supplement

 
Though we always aspire to eat healthy and hit all our food groups, a busy life can often get in the way. That’s why it’s important to incorporate a good round of supplements into your day. My family and I swear by Young Living’s supplements: they are infused with essential oils and studies have shown the body is able to absorb them up to 46% better.
 
 If you only add one supplement to your diet. I’d highly recommend Omegagize3. One the whole, most Americans don’t get near enough omega 3’s in their diet to properly feed the brain. OmegaGize3™ combines the power of three core daily supplements—omega-3 fish oil, vitamin D3, and CoQ10 (ubiquinone), and the omega-3 used is one of the purest available on the market.
 
Benefits of Omegagize3 include:
 

• Antioxidant/Reduce free radicals formed in the body in adults
• Maintain/support energy levels in adults
• Helps enhance/promote general health and wellbeing in adults
• Maintain/support healthy teeth in adults
• Maintain/support bone health in adults
• Maintain/support healthy cardiovascular system function in adults
• Maintain/support cognitive function/mental function in adults
• Maintain/support brain function in adults

 

1. Enjoy your favorite treats in moderation

 
Completely eliminating entire food groups or treats from your diet not only isn’t healthy, it’s not sustainable long term and can even lead to overeating and weight gain later on. While it is best to limit things like refined sugars (candies, sweets, juice, breakfast cereals) and alcohol, learning to incorporate these items as small treats (if you want them!) will work better than trying to abstain from them 100%.
 
Nutrition is often more than half the battle in our overall journey to wellness. I’d love to talk with you more about a nutrition and exercise plan that meets your unique goals. Contact me today to get started!

​Pilates is more than just exercising, and it does more than just improve muscle tone and strength, relieve chronic pain, and produce an evenly conditioned body with long and lean muscles. At The Pilates Center, Pilates is a way of life, and when you practice with us, it will change your life. Pilates will create emotional changes in the way you feel about yourself, helping you to stand taller physically as well as emotionally, helping you move through the world with more confidence and ease. This is in large part to our strong, dedicated, and highly educated and trained team of instructors.
 
Why Your Instructor Matters
 
There are a LOT of fitness “instructors” out there, and the quality varies greatly. There is no shortage of YouTube and Instagram sensations with little to no substantial training, who have millions of followers. Underqualified and over-promoted celebrities and influencers can spread unhealthy and dangerous fitness messages at worst, or provide shoddy products focused more on decreasing your body size than on real health and fitness. And following these influencers can have a negative impact on our overall well being: Recent studies have even shown that while those who follow fitness influencers on social media found the access to the information to be beneficial, the content also negatively influenced their well being and their perception of what was a healthy goal. Another study of college age women showed that the “fitness” images on social media led to greater body image concern and did not motivate participants to engage in more levels of activity.
 
Choosing the right Pilates instructor is important because you’re going to invest time and money, and as with any investment, you want to get a good return. This is your body and your whole well being we’re talking about- would you trust that to just anyone?
 
What Makes Our Instructors Different
 
Every one of the instructors at my studio has completed over 500 hours of training through classroom lecture, self-practice, observation, and apprentice instruction before obtaining their teaching credential. This means not only do they have a very strong knowledge background, they also have real world, on the ground experience working with the different needs of different bodies.
 
But I also don’t just hire any trained instructor off the street. I look for that something special, that something extra, that I know will deliver the absolute best results for our clients, and have built a well rounded team that is able to develop personalized and customized Pilates sessions for any type of client. My team comes from all walks of life: from lifelong dancers, athletes, and gymnasts, to recovered chronic pain sufferers, stay at home moms and corporate CFOs. No matter who you are, chances are we’ve walked a mile in your shoes, meaning the Pilates program we develop will meet your needs and your specific goals. This is our love and our joy and we are so excited for you to join us on this journey.
 
Come join us! To get started today, sign up now or contact us to get started. 

​“You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.”   - Dr. Seuss
 
Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy, and keep choosing it every day.” -Henri Nouwen
 
Life is beautiful. It is also messy. Emotional wellness is not always discovered in our circumstances; even when life is going great. As we all know, life is often stressful and the challenge is learning how to choose to stay peaceful, calm, and centered, through the messiest of times. Emotional wellness doesn’t just happen when you have enough money, or you’re in a great relationship, or all of your kids are healthy and safe. Emotional wellness is something that we create, regardless of our circumstances, using our “muscles” of choice and intention. These muscles require our focus and attention in order to strengthen-- just like any other muscle! Today we are talking about some of the self-care habits I've put into practice to stay, not only physically, but emotionally healthy.
 
Pilates for Emotional Wellness (no surprise here! - this is a Pilates studio blog)
The role of exercise in improving emotional wellness has been thoroughly established in the research, and Pilates is especially well positioned because it is a true mind/body exercise. Pilates is mindfulness: its movements are intricate and controlled, with a heightened focus on tensing some muscles while relaxing others, and incorporating your breathing. Because of the many different components working together at once, your mind has no choice but to live in the present, focused on your body and the soft, encouraging guidance of your instructor. In this way, Pilates enhances your body and your mind.
 
Exercising through the practice of Pilates three or more times a week has been shown to:

• Reduce stress and depression
• Improve memory, thinking, and reasoning abilities
• Reduce normal rates of cognitive decline as we age
• Delay the start of Alzheimer's for people at risk of developing the disease or slow the progress of the disease
• Slow the rate of brain tissue loss as we age

 
For more in depth information on the role of exercise in mental health, check out my blog post “The Anti-Aging Fitness Regime: Pilates to Protect Against Dementia.”
 
I know it’s not easy to commit to a regular Pilates practice: life has a habit of “getting in the way,” and if you’re anything like me, you are always feeling pulled in a million different directions. But our physical and mental health is foundational to everything else we do! When you prioritize showing up for yourself and carving out that exercise time, you’ll find it’s that much easier for you to show up for everything and everyone else.
 
Rounding Out Your Practice: Essential Oils for Emotional Wellness
 
I know what you’re thinking- “Heather’s going to get all ‘woo woo’ on me while we burn incense and sing folk songs.” I was skeptical at first, too, but then I learned the the science behind this stuff, witnessed its power in my own personal circle- and guys- this is for real! The olfactory system is the ONLY sensory system (smell, touch, taste, hear) that involves the amygdala and the limbic system in its primary processing pathway. This explains why smells can bring back strong memories and how scent can affect our emotions. For example, when I smell cinnamon I immediately think of my grandmother who always made us cinnamon toast and feel nostalgic.  If you're so inclined for a little biology lesson, here's a high level view of how it works:
 
 When you smell an oil, some of the molecules dissolve in the mucus lining of the olfactory epithelium on the roof of the nasal cavity. There, the molecules stimulate the olfactory receptors, and neurons carry the receptor signals to the olfactory bulb, which filters, processes, and sends the information to the brain’s limbic system.  The different parts of our limbic system then release neuro messengers like serotonin, endorphins, and other hormones to provide feelings of relaxation, calm, or stimulation (depending on the oil). 

As clear as the science is, you can’t expect that you can just smell an essential oil and feel better instantly. Key in an essential oils practice are mindfulness and setting clear intentions. Mindfulness involves being aware of our thoughts as they happen so that we can change damaging thought patterns and replace them with more positive, helpful thought patterns. Author Elizabeth Erickson describes this as building new train tracks in our minds. Sometimes we can get caught in the same thought patterns, like “I’m not worthy.” We think these thoughts for so long they’ve built train tracks in our mind and the train runs on them constantly. When we mess up, or when our boss or spouse gets upset with us, or when we don’t like the way our body looks in the mirror, that train starts chugging. Mindfulness is about recognizing that train, and building new train tracks--new thought patterns--for the train to ride on. You can set a mantra, or an intention, like:

• I am strong, I am beautiful, I am enough
• This too shall pass
• This is a moment of suffering. Suffering is part of life. May I be kind to myself in this moment. May I give myself the compassion I need.
• I will get through this

 
Oils from Young Living that I really love to help with my mood and emotional wellness are:

Joy essential oil blend
A blend of oils to promote positivity-- Ylang Ylang, Geranium, Jasmine, Palmarosa, Rose, Bergamot, Lemon, and Tangerine

Lavender
Shown in studies to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, promote sleep, and improve feelings of well being. Promising results in the treatment of painful periods.

Orange
Helps with anxiety, depression, inflammation, and stress

Peace and Calming II blend
Includes Tangerine, Orange, Ylang Ylang, Patchouli, German Chamomile, Vetiver, Cistus, Bergamot, Cassia, Davana, and Young Living’s exclusive Northern Lights Black Spruce essential oil. Contains the naturally occurring constituents germacrene D, linalool (promotes relaxation), alpha-pinene (reduces inflammation), and bisabolol (skin healing and anti aging properties)

Peppermint
Uplifting and invigorating, this oil can refresh us from fatigue, help clear our minds, and promote mental and emotional clarity

Jasmine
Helps with depression, improves mood, promotes energy and positive feelings, encourages a sense of calm

​Understanding that we can choose what we want to feel, and for how long we want to feel it, is the start of a more meaningful, intentional and healthy emotional state. At The Pilates Center, we are committed to partnering with our clients to discover our best self, both physically and mentally.  To learn more about our Pilates offerings and/or our Essential Oils offerings, contact the studio today at 817.737.2673. 

It’s very rare that science can actually point to one thing as a silver anti-aging bullet, and I always approach any “too good to be true” claims with skepticism. (“Reduce Belly Fat with Chia Seeds!” Really??.). But one claim DOES have the science to back it up, and that is that exercise really is the fountain of youth. Exercise has been shown to:
 
Physically

• Reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes
• Strengthen your bones and muscles
• Improve your sex life
• Help you live longer

Mentally

• Reduce stress and depression
• Reduce normal rates of cognitive decline as we age
• Improve memory, thinking, and reasoning abilities
• Delay the start of Alzheimer's for people at risk of developing the disease or slow the progress of the disease
• Slow the rate of brain tissue loss as we age

 
The protective effects of exercise against dementia are especially important, since strong evidence indicates that memory and other cognitive functions start declining at age 50, and people are living longer than ever.
 
How does exercise protect against dementia?

Recent research shows that physical activity seems to help your brain not only by keeping the blood flowing but also by increasing chemicals that protect the brain and countering some of the natural reduction (brain tissue loss) in brain connections (nerve cells) that naturally occurs with aging.
 
A recent study found that physical activity might reduce the buildup of a normally occurring protein in our brains called b-amyloid. When b-amyloid clumps together and forms “plaques” on our brains, it erodes our nerve cell synapses, which are essential to things like storing memories, processing thoughts and emotions, and planning and ordering how we move our bodies. Preventing the deterioration of these synapses preserves these areas of our brain.
 
Low-grade inflammation is common during aging and seems to be linked to brain tissue loss. Lower levels of inflammation and healthier nerve cells equates to better cognitive functioning.
Researchers from Brazil and Belgium have found that regular physical activity helps reduce the cytokines in our bodies that promote inflammation (“pro-inflammatory cytokines”) while improving the concentration of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). BDNF is a protein that, in our brains, helps the nerve cells mature, grow, survive, and function optimally.
 
Lastly, exercise has been found to help our existing nerve cells communicate better as well as help us develop new nerve cells (neurogenesis)! Researchers found that physical activity increases the length and branching of our dendrites (dendrites are a nerve cell part that brings electrical signals--information--to our cells to tell them what to do) and also increases the production of neurons (nerve cells) in our hippocampus (the area of our brain responsible for memory, learning, and emotion). 

Image credit: https://www.ducksters.com/science/nervous_system.php

With all the benefits of Pilates clear, it’s no surprise that Pilates is being used in rehab after injury or surgery--or to prevent the need for surgery. Recent research has shown that individualized and carefully developed Pilates programs can be effective in enhancing the recovery process after foot and ankle injuries, hip and knee replacement surgeries, hip fracture, and ACL reconstruction surgery, and more. That doesn’t mean you can just pop in to any Pilates studio for rehab, though: the research is also clear that the rehabilitation stage, client limitations, and qualification of the instructors are all essential factors when considering Pilates after an injury or surgery.

Fortunately, our instructors are specially equipped to work with this population! We have the expertise, background, and passion to train clients with a multitude of conditions and injuries, from the more common to the very severe. 

Some of our recent success stories include:

A client who was encouraged by her doctor to have surgery for her frozen shoulder. We’ve been able to rehab her to remobilize her shoulder and remove the need for a costly surgery with a lengthy recovery time.

A client with a rare inherited neurodegenerative disorder, Ataxia Telengiectasia. People with AT have progressive difficulty coordinating their movements: difficulty walking, problems with balance and hand coordination, involuntary jerking movements, muscle twitching, and disturbances in nerve function. The lifespan of kiddos with AT is between 19 and 25 years, and most are wheelchair bound by adolescence. Treatment centers on control of symptoms, and we’ve been able to work with this client who, at the age or 28, is still walking.

We’ve also had immense success rehabbing clients with rotator cuff tear/repair, hip and knee replacement, scoliosis, herniated disks, spinal stenosis, and a myriad of neurological and degenerative conditions.

Expertise
Our instructors are professionally trained in a rigorous, college-level training programs that have a heavy focus on anatomy and injury pathology, meaning we understand body mechanics in both healthy and injured bodies:  what muscles tend to weaken or tighten with certain indications, and how to develop a Pilates program to bring the body back into muscle balance and strength. We continue our training with frequent workshops like Spinal and Trunk Abnormalities, Knee Abnormalities and Gait and Its Common Deviations to keep us at the forefront of non surgical healing options for pain and injury. Most importantly, we don’t “wing it”! We follow tried and true protocols for injuries and conditions from sources such as Samantha Wood’s Pilates for Rehabilitation.  

In addition to their Pilates certifications and ongoing training, the background of the instructors at The Pilates Center means you’re working with an instructor who has “lived” what you’re living: 

Dancing & Gymnastics

Jacqueline, Shalyn, and Kristyn have a combined 50+ years of experience in dance and gymnastics, enabling them to create Pilates programs attuned to the unique demands that these sports puts on the body, setting clients up for both peak dancing performance and injury prevention and rehab. A professionally trained dancer, Jacqueline has been dancing since she was 3 and has a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance. Shalyn, once a competitive gymnast, also brings an extensive health background to her Pilates clients, with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing.And Kristyn’s background includes not only 20+ years in dance and gymnastics, but experience positively managing her scoliosis in the midst of it all.

Neck, Back, and Knee Pain

Our instructors are living and breathing success stories of the ways that Pilates can alleviate chronic pain and injury. Having walked a mile in the shoes of pain sufferers, we practice what we preach: the programs we develop for you aren’t based on conjecture- we use them for ourselves! For example, Sarah came to Pilates after a significant sports injury, while Lori and eliminated her chronic back pain with Pilates. Michelle used Pilates to alleviate her neck pain brought on by years of hunching over patients as a Dental Hygienist, made worse by a terrible car accident. Jacque found healing in Pilates after her knee and shoulder surgeries, and as a Licensed Massage Therapist, brings additional expertise to all of her clients. Both Lacey and I were avid runners until we started experiencing severe back and knee pain, both of which we’ve been able to eliminate with Pilates!

Whatever your injury or condition, chances are we’ve developed a Pilates program for it!  We so look forward to walking this healing journey with you. We recommend private sessions for clients who are experiencing an injury or looking for post-surgery rehab: click here to book now.

 

​

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!