Be happy and have a great life

By Green Apple | Mindfulness

Have you ever amazed yourself by creating the right environment to feel good and to be happy with yourself?

Too many times we are so busy with situations that keep us tired, exhausted, and not happy, and still, because of demands from others, we do not make the time to feel good, to be happy.

Of course, we have responsibilities and of course, we must consider others when we are making decisions for ourselves.

And still, if you want to take care of your health and your life, you must stop in a while, count to ten, and move on to your happiness.

Because being happy is important for a well-balanced life:

• for your health;
• for your genuine appeal;
• and to be successful.

What about if today, with whatever needs to be done, you stop time and

• sit still and listen to some awesome music;
• sit under a tree and feel the soothing environment;
• talk to a friendly-looking stranger;
• pay forward at the gas station;
• write a letter to an elder in your life and mail it;
• call someone you have not talked to for a long time;
• write your first poem.

There are so many moments that you can create and make memories so that whenever you think of them, you will feel happy.

Be happy, stay happy, and have a great life.

3 natural skin care products you can find in your pantry

By Green Apple | Skincare

Skincare does not have to be expensive or filled with 100 toxic chemicals that you cannot even pronounce. A lot of products in your local grocery store are perfectly great for your skin, body, and hair.

Here are three of the most common, least expensive, and highly beneficial natural products that are 100% safe for you to use on your skin.

Coconut Oil

One of the most popular natural skin care products you can find (without pulling too much out of your wallet) is coconut oil. Coconut oil is full of anti-inflammatory properties, which help to reduce the effects of free radicals. It is fast absorbing, leaving your skin smooth from the moment you put it on your skin. 

You will want to go for raw or virgin coconut oil to get the most nutrition out of it. It is a super food for radiant skin.

Coconut oil also has lauric acid, which helps with collagen production. Which can help delay wrinkles and fine lines.

Coconut oil was also used in testing on staph infections and was shown to have very high anti-bacterial effects.

Olive Oil

Olive oil is filled with benefits! It tastes great when roasting your favorite veggies or drizzling over your artisanal bread, and it helps protect against free radicals when you use it on your face and body.

A study showed that olive oil on their skin showed significantly lower tumor growth than those without. Another study showed that olive oil could help fight skin cancer after exposure to the sun.

Olive oil is full of vitamins such as D, E, and A. It's been found to be used in old medical books for skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis.

It is a very popular oil for hair. To help soften it and give it shine. It also helps reduce breakage and split ends of your hair when applied to the ends.

Olive oil is used in many natural skin care products and remedies. If you mix it with sea salt it is great for exfoliation. Or it can be used as a makeup remover.

Olive oil has also been found to help scars fade.

Honey

If you live under a rock you might not have seen the videos. But every skincare guru has some honey in their stash.

Frozen, it is great to rub on your face in the morning to help with inflammation, puffiness, and dryness.

Other benefits include antibacterial and moisturizing properties and fading dark spots. 

A few studies show that honey may have skin-lightening properties. Though it will not completely eliminate dark spots, it has been shown to brighten and lighten the skin when used on the skin.

In conclusion

Before reaching for that product on the shelf with 65 ingredients, 60 of which you might need help pronouncing. Do some research on some natural products.

You might be surprised what you find in your cabinet that can help your face.

When switching to more natural products you may notice your skin get a bit worse before getting better, but this is just your body getting rid of the toxins that have been sitting in your skin for who knows how long. Once your body has expelled these toxins, you will be forever glowing. 

Also, the fewer products you put on your face, the more your skin will be able to detox.

Make it a day to remember

By Green Apple | Mindfulness

Today is a day to remember.

Yes! because you are making it a day to remember.

When was the last day that you really went out of your way to remember pleasant small details that you created in your own life?

When was the last time that you wrote a message to yourself to be thankful for the great things in your life?

What about if you take just now 15 minutes to indulge in anything that will make this action one to remember?

• Sense some sweet-smelling lotion;
• Eat a bar of chocolate;
• Laugh out loud;
• Do some dance steps;
• Look in a mirror and tell the person you see how great you look.

Today really is the day.

Would you mind sharing how fantastic it is?

Enjoy!

Heal Your Yoni, Heal Yourself

By Green Apple | Intimate Care

“Women have always cradled within their bodies secret mysteries of life, death, and rebirth and the healing, grounding, and balancing powers of our Mother on the Earth. We have held these mysteries sacred within us as we would carry babies in our wombs.”

― Elizabeth Eiler, Singing Woman: Voices of the Sacred Feminine

Yoni. The ancient Sanskrit word for space, source, or womb.

Your womb is very powerful.

Yoni care is a self-health practice used by women throughout and in every culture. Healing your uterus should be an essential practice in your life, whether it be from sexual trauma, childbirth, menstruation, or just reconnecting to your feminine energy.

Practicing yoni care or womb care is said to not only have energetic healing but physical and mental healing as well, such as,

• help reduce anxiety
• help with grief or loss
• help with anger issues
• help remove negativity
• remove toxins
• strengthen and tighten the vagina
• help with feminine odor
• balance hormones
• stabilize moods
• improve self-esteem
• get rid of stagnant energy

There are many ways to reconnect to your yoni or womb. Even though the vagina is self-cleaning, you can naturally help it.

You will feel the benefits of these care acts inside and outside your body.

Natural Soaps

You want to be careful with what you are putting around or inside your intimate area. You do not want something full of chemicals and other nonsense you cannot even pronounce. Finding an excellent cleansing soap filled with natural ingredients known to help promote wellness in your intimate area is very beneficial.

Look for soaps made from natural oils like Olive oil or Coconut oil.

And for extra care try to find one that contains natural beneficial herbs that are healing for your sacral space like Basil (cleansing), Rosemary (anti-bacterial), Calendula (Anti-inflammatory), and Lavender (anti-microbial), that’s just to name a few.

Organic oils

Using natural and organic oils outside your intimate areas is a great way to keep your skin soft and moisturized.

This is not something that you want to put inside your vagina.

Depending on what kind of oil you use, there will be different benefits from reducing ingrown hairs, softening the skin, being great for an intimate massage, or being anti-fungal. 

Yoni Steam

Mayans used them to heal the womb after childbirth, menstrual cramps, detoxification, and reawaken your divine feminine power.

It is said to bring health back to the vagina.

Rejuvenating and energizing the life-bringing source.

Steams include many herbs and plants. Some of the most common are

• Basil
• Chamomile
• Rosemary
• Mugwort
• Motherwort
• Yarrow
• Calendula
• Rose petals

These can help increase libido and fertility, help the vagina detoxify itself by adding moisture to the area, help with PMS cramps, ease dryness from menopause, maintain a proper PH balance, and many more benefits including headaches and stress relief.

Yoni Eggs

Yoni eggs were used to help women better understand their bodies and sexual energy in ancient times.

The Chinese and Taoists believed that the yoni was a vortex of energy.

The yoni was known to be able to create lifeforce, and thus that energy could also be used to create clarity and health. It is a source of creativity. 

They promote sensuality, increase libido, help with concentration, increase female Chi or life force energy, strengthen the pelvic floor and tighten the vagina.

In our modern-day culture, the female body has been controlled in a male-dominated world. They want to tell us how we can use our wombs. It's time to take back our power. Reconnecting with yourself is one of the best things you can do for yourself, your sister, your mother, the planet, and all the future generations we will create.

Heal your Yoni, Heal Yourself.

Finding Self-Love

By Green Apple | Mindfulness

Have you ever been scared of being alone? Trapped by your thoughts and loneliness? Maybe you think you need to be surrounded by people or that you need to be loved by others.

Constantly looking for your happiness in others and counting on them to give it to you? And then feeling cheated, destroyed, isolated, and heartbroken when nobody is around. Calling someone when you are upset and having them not answered is painful. Forced to sit and figure out your problems on your own. Forced to face your fears and anxieties.

Who is going to be there to help you through it all? You!

It is a learning process to be okay with it and to pick yourself up. You do not need to release your emotions to anyone else. You do not need to depend on someone or wait to be picked up when you fall.

Yes! It is always nice to have someone there to help you. It is incredible to be loved and cared for by others. Beware of getting addicted to this feeling.

If you are always chasing love from others, you will never have time to love yourself. It is only in solitude that you learn to love yourself. Alone with your thoughts, you realize that you are responsible for your happiness. Only you can make yourself happy. It is an inside thing.

So,

• Sit with yourself
• Sit with yourself in silence
• Sit with yourself to music
• Sit with yourself and look in the mirror
• Sit with yourself at meal times
• Sit with yourself and become okay with it

That is how you begin to invest in yourself. 

Solitude helps to process your life and figure out your thoughts.

There are ups and downs in life. It is human to crave the touch of another. And it is okay, but do not underestimate the power of alone time where you find love for yourself and can fall in love with yourself.

You will start to love every minute of being with yourself. Your life and interaction with friends, family, and loved ones improve. Being in love gets better, and relationships get easier. Knowing that it is okay to love another person and that it is also okay to let go. Know that you will be alright at the end of the day, the next day, and the day after. You do not depend on others to make you happy anymore.

When you love yourself, you appreciate being by yourself and embrace solitude. Nothing can hurt you. You will feel the energy of being surrounded by the Universal light of protection.

Solitude is something to love. It is in solitude that you find self-love. It helps you to love others and help them to love themselves.

Instead of looking up for a hand to grab onto, to help you off the ground, start helping others off the ground. You have the power to do so and there is no better feeling in the world.

Aging Holistically

By Green Apple | Aging

Aging is a part of life. How you age is entirely in your hands. More senior citizens are turning toward a holistic approach to aging, wanting to lengthen their lives and improve their quality of life.

Holistic living means you focus on improving all aspects of your life and the world around you. Make sure your body, mind, and soul work in harmony. Make conscious decisions to improve all aspects of your life.

As you age, you will start to feel the side effects of aging, such as

• Vision changes
• Slowing down
• Lower immunity
• Higher risk of developing diseases
• Hearing loss
•  Fragility
•  Wrinkles
•  Grey Hair
•  Muscle Loss

The main three aspects of holism are your body, mind, and spirit. Here are some tips on how you can improve each aspect as you age. Remember, everything is connected. Once you start healing your body, your mind and spirit will follow.

Body

Your body is made up of trillions of cells. These cells start losing their ability to divide as you age. Maintaining a healthy diet is one way you can keep your cells working and dividing properly.

A cell's age is determined by the length of its telomeres. The shorter the telomere the older the cell and the closer that cell is to die. 

Telomeres shorten as you age. Eating holistically, as close to a food's natural state as possible, can prevent the shortening of your cell's telomeres, increasing your health and lifespan. 

It is something you have been hearing your whole life. Eat your fruits and vegetables. Avoid red meat, high sodium food, sugars, and processed foods. Eating this way actually works.

Following a holistic diet can help you improve

• Weight
• Disease prevention
• Balance blood sugars
• Improve immune system
• Improve mood
• Increase energy levels

Mind

Once you start healing the body, your mind will follow. After all the mind is a part of the body.

When you start taking care of one aspect others start to change as well. As you age, your brain gets stuck in certain habits and thought patterns. It gets harder and harder to change these patterns. But as you heal your body you will notice your thoughts start to change. You become happier. You have a brighter outlook on life. You start thinking and feeling things you may have not felt for a long time. Wonderful things happen when we decide to live holistically.

Some practices you can include in your daily routine as you age are

• Pray
• Meditate
• Conscious breathing
• Participate in hobbies you enjoy
• Spend time with friends

Spirit

As your body and your mind start to heal you will start feeling a deeper connection to yourself, your spirit, and the universe.

Working on your spirituality doesn't have to mean religion. It can mean trying to find your place in the world or your meaning in life.

Mindfulness and meditation are both spiritual practices that are known to have physical results such as

• A feeling of calm
• Reduce anxiety
• Improve brainwaves
• Improve heart rate

There is no “one right way” to live holistically. Self-care is extremely important and you need to make sure to take care of every part of yourself as you age. Body. Mind. Spirit.

All We Need is Peace of Mind

By Green Apple | Mindfulness

Your mind is an asset. Taking care of it should be a top priority. Achieving peace of mind, known as Zen, tranquility, mental freedom, meditation, and many other names across the continents, should become a daily practice. Once you have peace of mind, you will have better mental clarity and a better ability to focus.

Wanting to find peace of mind has been a goal in many spiritual practices worldwide. Be it Buddhism or Christianity. We all want to calm the racing thoughts in our heads.

Here are three things you can add to your daily routine that has been practiced for many years by monks, yogis, and spiritual teachers from all walks of life.

Sustainable Living without Breaking your Wallet

By Green Apple | Sustainability           

Are you concerned about your carbon footprint? Maybe you want to start helping the planet, but you think it may be too expensive or do not know where to start? 

Scientists are consistently issuing several warnings about our rapidly changing climate. Our world is heating up. It is becoming increasingly important to change our ways and be more eco-friendly to our environment. You can make minor adjustments that will not hurt your wallet or the planet.

Here's a list of five things you can start doing today.

Switch your light bulbs

Energy-efficient lightbulbs provide the same amount of lighting while using less energy. The Energy Saving Trust reported that using energy-efficient lightbulbs reduces your carbon emissions by 40kg per year.

They last longer than regular light bulbs and save money by having to replace them less frequently. A pack costs between $7-$15.

Recycle your old clothes

Fast fashion is filling up our landfills. Clothes can take hundreds of years to decompose. If you need new clothes, look up companies that make sustainable and eco-friendly clothing.

In addition, repair your clothes and keep them longer, shop at thrift stores and second-hand shops or donate your used clothing to charity.

Unplug your devices

Even if you are not using your microwave or tv, it still uses electricity. Unplugging these things while not using them can save you $50-$100 a year, especially if you leave the house for a prolonged period.

Unplug computers, electronics, and kitchen appliances, to add money to your bottom line at the end of the year and help the planet.

Reusable Containers

Reduce waste and invest in reusable containers for your lunch and beverages. Replace zip lock with silicone bags. Replace plastic water bottles with glass. It will save you money in the long run.

It also helps decrease the need for plastic manufacturing and fights pollution.

Walk more, drive less

If it’s less than a 10-minute walk, walk!

Walking instead of driving is a great way to save money and the environment! The benefits of walking far exceed the benefits of driving. Walking can lower the risk of heart disease and your weight. You also get fresh air and can save money!

Just start with little changes to keep the planet livable for future generations.