Abhyganga, or Ayurvedic self-massage, applies warmed oil (oftentimes infused with herbs for unique bodily constitutions) to our entire body from head (including scalp) to toes. This ancient and traditional practice helps with regulating the nervous system, nourishing the skin, and relieving tension from muscles and tendons. 

Yvette guides us into a simplified practice of Abhyanga that you can easily fit into your busy schedule!

How often do we feel that we are not in control when it comes to our hormonal health, and that we are unfortunate victims when it comes to menstruation and menopause? In this episode, I speak with Yvette Racines, founder of Vital Living Wellness, an Ayurveda inspired bodycare brand, on simple self-care and self-nurture practices that can aid us throughout our hormonal transitions, especially the transition into menopause. 

Listen IN to our conversation on self-care principles based in Ayurveda for a more easeful perimenopausal period. Even if you are not yet in that stage in your life, or past that, Yvette's tips are timeless and foundational for all, even non-menstruating folks.

Many of us are oblivious to the knowledge and awareness that how we care for our menstrual cycles can greatly impact our energy, mood, sleep, PMS symptoms, and more. Furthermore, when we choose to ignore, alter, and/or suppress the natural rhythms of our menstrual cycles, our entire bodily functions can be thrown off course, resulting in hormonal-related health issues.

Listen in to my conversation with Nicole Tillotson, founder of Season and Cycle, on menstrual health, cycle syncing, and how we can actually revitalize our health when we lean into the little known secret superpowers of our menstrual cycles! We discuss the different inner “seasons” of the menstrual cycle and self-care practices appropriate for each “season” for ultimate self-nurture.

This short and sweet yoga nidra / guided relaxation practice is suitable for when you are in a pinch with time, yet feel the need to nurture yourself. Embrace rest with these little moments of self-soothing to help regulate your nervous system throughout the day. The yoga nidra guides you through the contemplation that, when you tend to your body, your body will tend to you in return.

In this episode, Elaine explores our relationship with rest and the resistance many of us have towards it. She shares her own journey of learning to embrace rest and the importance of balancing busyness with rest. Elaine encourages listeners to have an honest conversation about their relationship with rest and to reframe the idea of deserving rest. She emphasizes that rest is the foundation for success and caring for oneself and others. The episode concludes with a reminder to constantly listen to our bodies and adapt our forms of rest as our circumstances change.

This guided meditation helps you anchor into yourself, so that you can reconnect to who you are and what you value. This is a perfect accompanying practice with Episode 11: Prioritize Your Days Better With This Simple Trick. Use this meditation to help you with the exercise discussed in Episode 11.

Have you ever sat yourself down on the couch at the end of the day, feeling completely exhausted from a busy day, and yet, you couldn't quite remember exactly what you did? This is because we often fill our days somewhat mindlessly with busy activities that feel urgent (but may not be so important), and by the end of it all, you still didn't complete what you set out to do that day. And forget about personal down time!

In this episode, discover a simple experiment that can help you reprioritize your days so that you can include your self-care, family time, work, hobbies, and other activities without having to choose. This experiment is inspired by Stephen Covey, author of "7 Habits of Highly Effective People."

Every event and/or interaction that feels triggering to you can be an opportunity for further self-reflection and self-healing. This guided contemplation and journaling practice takes you through a compassionate exploration into your more reactive moments in certain events and/or interactions with people. While holding this compassionate space for yourself, reflect upon how you can communicate to set healthy, compassionate boundaries.

Can "setting boundaries" with other people be yet another form of finger-pointing rather than turning the mirror back to ourselves?

How do we know whether we are trying to avoid a healing opportunity (which can be messy and painful) by "setting boundaries?"

Listen in to this week's {potentially} controversial topic with my very dear sister Irene as my guest.

We speak about:

• How we can miss out on healing opportunities and bypass deeper self-work when we are too quick to set boundaries with people who trigger us

• Recognizing good stress, and balancing stress with rest for better personal growth, healing, and development

• The need for everyone to reinvestigate our old emotional wounds rather than never ripping off the Band-aids