"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got" - Tourles Organic Body Care

I think people (read: I) spend a lot of time and energy thinking about ways in which they could improve – become better people (thinner, healthier, happier, more successful, a better spouse, partner or friend). I think when we don’t put any energy towards these goals, we start to brood on them, feel discouraged, and beat ourselves up. In the last two-three years, I’ve been starting to really try and face some of the things/attributes that I admire but have been afraid to attain for myself. I started running (when I started, I used to tell people, “I jogged” because I was scared of owning the word – runner), and I’ve run two half-marathons since which were really important to me in that they represented me facing something I admired and was frightened of and realizing I could do it and taken one step at a time, it wasn’t as hard/intimidating as I had built it up to be.

I took the initiative to decorate our apartment in CA when we moved, I tore up many magazines, kept a journal of things I saw and liked, asked friends/relatives for advice and really put a lot of work into our home. I had always thought decorating was artistic and there is still more I want to explore in that area but I really enjoyed the creative, thought-buzzing, idea-generating nature of moving/decorating and I was proud of giving it a real shot.

I started cooking, slowly. My boyfriend, Patrick, and I started small with easy meals (burritos, stir fry) and eventually after my sister-in-law told me, “If you really want to learn how to cook, like really learn about the process and science of cooking, read Cooks Illustrated). I bought a Cooks Illustrated magazine and after staring at it intimidated for about three months, I began baking and cooking recipes from it. Now I have a lot of those magazines and while I still don’t attempt some of the really involved recipes, I cook/bake about 2-3 times a week something from those magazines. I’m a devoted follower of those writers, they know their stuff..

Currently, I am trying to re-learn the piano (something I quit when I was little and always sort of wished I hadn’t) and starting this project with Jedi Kiri. When I was little, almost every game I would play involved magic or potions of some sort. I couldn’t get enough. In high school I think I redirected some of that energy to learning about nutrition. I loved the idea that certain foods, vitamins, etc could change how you look, feel, and act. Finally, Jedi Kiri and I are going to really delve into the specifics of what ingredients, properties, and combinations have healing effects and why. I’m excited to put real knowledge behind this interest. I’m also excited to explore the maternal, feminine aspects of healing and herbal medicine. I think women have an incredible sense for health and well-being in themselves and those around them. I think it is something that has been fine-tuned for thousands of years and I’ve always wanted to know more about it and try and understand elements of it.

Things I want to work on: * I want to have more energy during the day. I’ve tried to cut out drinking during the week and started taking fish oil vitamins. I also started working out (running, and alternating between some of these: weights, leg exercises, sit-ups, and yoga-type stretching) with Patrick 1 -2 mornings a week which really makes me feel better during the day and about 2 more times on my own normally in the afternoon or on the weekend. * I want to focus on gratitude and self-esteem, something I think I can exercise with meditation and relaxation techniques. I read a Dr. Phil quote once (I know cheesy) that talked about how when we have our own ‘reservoirs of self-esteem’, getting cut off in traffic, or offended by someone is easier to brush off because we know that we are good people with admirable qualities and instead we can feel sympathy for the person who may have otherwise angered us. * I want to have more stable moods, especially around my period. I think different teas have the potential to help as well as the fish oil vitamins. Also, drinking less alcohol and finding different drinks/juice/tea that I like and can replace as a treat. * And finally, I want to feel confident in my knowledge of herbal medicine and its connection to feminine elements and feel like I have something legitimate that I understand and have spent time learning.

So far, I have gotten a few ingredients and am using a large, nice boot box to hold them. I have powdered milk, ground oatmeal, coconut oil, and Echinacea. I first tried the avocado/buttermilk hair mask which was hugely messy but really fun and I learned about specific avocado vitamins and protective properties. I felt like my hair looked more “baby-soft” and stronger following the mask. I also made an eye mask with chilled, grated cucumber and powdered milk which was also pretty neat. It almost had a slight sting while it was on which I think was the “tightening-effect” and possible exfoliating off dead skin. It says to use 1 -2 times a week and I have a feeling that if I did this for a month I would really see a difference, so I’m going to try and keep it up. I want to follow the meditation guide on page 68 of the Holistic Herbal book by Hoffman, a body polish, and some of relaxing or better-sleep teas/other recipes with Jedi Kiri. I really want to try a decongestant steam, but I feel like some of the recipes have a lot of ingredients and I haven't yet found a grocery which carries the right essential oils.

Overall, I’m really excited about this blog/project and I find it motivating to have Kiri who is also interested in this topic and with whom I can compare notes, observations, effective treatments etc. Tonight at the grocery I’m going to get some pumpkin and sunflower seeds (which have zinc, iron, and omegas 3 and 6 in them) for snacking, a body brush, and some body oil to put as an under-layer to moisturizer (which Kiri is also doing!). Next step, picking a recipe we both want to try and finding some of these ingredients!

Beginning

This is the first time I wrote a blog title that actually felt very fitting and I wasn't struggling to figure out an apt title. Because, really, this is the beginning of a hopefully successful endeavor where Liv 4 Potions and I actually become semi-ok herbalists. Or, as we like to call ourselves: Healers.

Sometimes the beginning is always the hardest part. And if I feel like it’s hard now, I have no idea what I’ll feel when I actually start trying to attempt difficult recipes. My problem is that I just don’t even know where to start. We ordered three books: Herbal Healing for Women by Rosemary Gladstar, Organic Body Care Recipes by Stephanie Tourles, and Holistic Herbal by David Hoffman. So far I have only received two – Holistic Herbal and Organic Body Care.

Organic Body Care is definitely fun and I’m excited to try our recipes that are purely aesthetic. I feel like recipes for the body will yield results in a way we can see. With consistency, they are easier to track differences because of the basic ability to touch and look at our skin, hair, nails, etc.

At first I was intimidated by Holistic Herbal as it reminded me of a college textbook (which I have been trying so hard to avoid since graduating in May). There is a wealth of information in this book, more so than I expected when just reading up on the book online. But after getting over my initial hesitancy, I saw that there was so much history and background to the text that is not available in Organic Body Care. I feel I will read and reference this book before making any recipe as it will provide a solid background to why an herb(s) will provide results I want.

I am excited for the third book by Rosemary Gladstar because as I continue researching herbs, healing and herbalists online, she seems like a pioneer in the herbalist movement. Plus, being a woman makes me all the more eager to read up on herbs and specific problems for women that are probably more pinpointed than other standard herbalist books.

So, after this brief introduction (in which Liv might have taken a completely different course), I have decided to first begin with my health as it is now and areas where I want to improve. I also realized that I will probably have to start being more aware of what I eat and what I do during the days coming to decide if any of the herbs actually have an effect. If a recipe doesn’t work, is it because I ate something different recently, did not exercise during the week, etc?

My Health:
• Nutrition: I eat ok. Generally eat meat and salad for dinner, plus cold cuts in my sandwiches, and bagel with cream cheese everyday for breakfast. Weekends I deviate slightly with a more elaborate meal and breakfast. Overall, I could eat healthier and should be trying to. I try to keep my alcohol drinking to the weekends. I will drink beer if out with my husband, but wine at home. I rarely get full out drunk often, but I still do occasionally.

• Eyesight: Not great, but not terribly poor either. I feel more comfortable driving with glasses, but can do without.

• Hearing: Ah, well. I am practically completely deaf in one ear, which leads to quite a few socially awkward situations and many misunderstandings between my husband and I. I used to be able to hear fine, but freshman year of college I lost my hearing in the left ear (known as Sudden Hearing Loss, which happens with no apparent reason other than you are unlucky) and it was accompanied by extremely loud tinnitus (buzzing or ringing in the ear). When I say the tinnitus is loud, I mean it is annoying, frustrating, and never ceasing. Thankfully, my personality only lends itself to a day or two of sulking, so I was back on my feet in no time. It also helps me sleep, surprisingly. Not sure how I handle it because when I actually think about it, like now, it is so loud that I am not surprised that many people go into depression.

• Body: I am on the thinner side, but not so much so that I look unhealthy. I am very angular looking. I am starting to get wrinkles on my face and a little cellulite on my legs (eek bad thoughts), but overall I still look my age. Acne on my face occasionally, but generally it’s clear.

• Vitamins: Fish oil, vitamin C, Echinacea, calcium, vitamin D - 5x a week.

• Prescriptions: Nuva Ring – birth control.

• Disposition: I am a very, very energetic person. Also a morning person. Very Type A personality and I am uber organized, scheduled, and punctual. I do not have a good balance in my personality – I am an extremity, basically. It is hard for me to relax without a schedule…actually it’s hard for me to relax in general.

• Exercise: I tend to exercise often, mostly at the gym. I used to run, but since knee surgery, not so much anymore. I do weight training, elliptical, zumba, cardio kickboxing and yoga. It sounds like a lot, but it’s not. Yoga is the only thing I try to do every day, but even that falls to the wayside at times.

So knowing all this, I decided to begin by focusing on things I am most concerned about. Mainly my hearing and tinnitus, cellulite, clear face, stress levels/trying to relax, and woman issues (I get horrible cramps during my monthly friend). This will be my starting point for what recipes I will begin with.

Now, the next challenge: where do I get/find all these ingredients and which recipes will I actually use?