Introducing our Wellness Junkie Blog

I’ve started a new blog that I’d like to share with you: Wellness Junkie.  I’ve long been a wellness junkie – always up for trying new (or new to me) health and wellness products, services and therapies.  Each week, I’ll share with you a little bit about the topic, my experience with it, and how you can find more about it in your area.

Yes, this is my clever (though not so sneaky) attempt at fully embracing and legitimizing my wellness addiction under the guise of bringing health & wellness information to you.  Rest assured, I do pay for these products and services to maintain my objectivity, but try to take advantage of special offers & discounts when available.

Here are just a few of the recent adventures of the Wellness Junkie:

Hawaiian Lomi Lomi Massage

Cold Stone Therapy for Headaches & Sinus Relief

GYROTONIC® Stretches

Hemp Protein Powder

Have ideas for future wellness junkie adventures & posts OR a wellness product or service you’d like me to try first?  Leave a comment here…thanks!

Searching for the perfect (no sweat) yoga t-shirt…

In the last year, I’ve been learning so much about the issue of human trafficking – what’s happening in our country and all over the world. I’ve found great organizations to support and have stepped out in a few small ways – donating a portion of YogaXoga’s profits, teaching yoga at Veronica’s Voice in Kansas City and co-hosting a yoga/human trafficking awareness retreat this past spring…

There’s always more to do, and when you’re more aware it affects how you move forward…so when I decided to order a t-shirt for our DVD release party…I went out in search of a fair-trade, no sweatshop, no slave labor product…but one that wouldn’t kill my small business budget…

At first, I found great choices — eco-friendly, organic, bamboo — you name it…but the prices were too steep.
I was so excited to find No Sweat Apparel. This is a great company – they were easy to work with and I’m very happy with the results.  The t-shirts are really soft and comfortable.  I just checked their site – they’re having a sale!

YogaXoga Product Find: Nutiva Hemp Protein Powder

I’ve been looking for a great tasting, healthy source of protein for my morning smoothies and I found one that I want to share: Nutiva Hemp Protein Powder + Fiber is superb!  I wanted to stay away from the whey and soy protein powders, so I tried this one.  It tastes good, isn’t grainy and doesn’t have any after taste.

I have one in the morning to give me a boost, especially when I have morning classes to teach.  When I was on a  cleanse, I would have a couple of hemp powder smoothies a day and they really kept my energy level going.  I know some may have some questions about hemp — here’s more information for you who may be snickering:

From the Nutiva Website

Here’s my usual smoothie recipe:

1 cup V8 Fusion Pom/Blueberry (or home juiced carrots & apple)

2 T. Hemp Protein Powder + Fiber (the label says 2-4 T. per serving)

1 Banana

1 cup frozen berries

(and if I have it on-hand) a handful of baby spinach

You’ll want to drink right away – that’s the best. Enjoy!

YogaXoga Product Find: Alaffia Body Lotion

While I’ve been trying to find more natural products – food, beauty products, clothes, I believe the ante has been upped. It’s not just about natural, which can be a very ambiguous word…it’s about organic, fair trade, sustainable, local and likely other words I’m forgetting… I find it to be overwhelming at times…but come back to taking steps (even if they’re small steps) toward ridding my bathroom counter, my pantry, my house of toxins, additives, preservatives, etc… and replacing them with products made with sustainable, fair trade, organic ingredients by companies giving back and supporting their community and world…

With all that said, I want to tell you about Alaffia. I found their Shea & Rooibos Antioxidant Body Lotion with Red Palm Oil and Papaya at Whole Foods and love it…they have other flavors – Cafe au Lait and Green Tea, this the Red Palm is my favorite so far…It’s really helped my dry skin and coloring. This Olympia, WA-based company gets their ingredients from fair trade cooperatives in Togo, West Africa. No parabens, petroleum derivatives or animal testing… So already loving my lotion, I googled them and learned more about this company, their mission and philanthropic efforts in Washington and West Africa. Now I’m hooked and wanting to share… Here’s the website:

www.alaffia.com

Alaffia Products

You can buy body, hair and facial care products online or check them out at your Whole Foods…I’m excited that there are good choices in these products out there. We don’t have to just live with the chemicals and toxins in products for their results…I’ll take the results (healthy, happy skin) and leave the rest.

YogaXoga Product Find: Priti Nail Polish & Polish Remover

As a wellness junkie who once majored in Fashion Merchandising (I know, you’d never know it now – I’m pretty much in yoga gear all week long), I do like to shop…Although it can be a bit challenging… Whether it’s looking for eco-friendly fabrics that don’t break my budget, or painstakingly reading the labels of cosmetics, skincare, toiletries to minimize the chemicals that I knowingly expose myself to – it can be very daunting!

So, when I find a product that works in a healthy and/or eco-friendly way, I’m telling you all about it, along with links so that you can learn more and get yours if you like. Just to let you know, I have no relationship or partnership with any of these companies – I just wanted to spread the word so that more people are introduced to their products…

My first find is Priti Nail Polish and Soy Polish Remover. These nail polishes are DBP, toulene and formaldehyde-free…a safer alternative to regular nail polish ($12.50 each). A lot of the marketing messages I’ve read about these polishes say they’re safe for expectant moms. (Even though I’m not an expectant mom, I’d gladly choose the healthier non-toxic path to pretty feet.) The polishes go on great and definitely have less odor than typical polish.

The Soy-based polish remover contains no petroleum ingredients, readily biodegradable and non-toxic ($22.50). I really like this remover, and you don’t use very much – one cottonball took care of all 10 of my toes…

Where to get the goods? I ordered mine from:

www.theycatalog.com The Y Catalog – 10% of your purchases go to a variety of charities.

Also available at www.beautyhabit.com