Clearing Your Crystals

Clearing a gemstone or crystal is key right after purchase. It may have many things attached to it on its way to be yours. A cleared crystal will feel bright and positive. If it feels hot and heavy, it probably needs to be cleared.

Sea salt is the best way to clean your crystals. It will dispel any disease and negativity. It is also used as a psychic and physical disinfectant. It can be mixed with water or used dry. Place t stones in the container and let them soak overnight. If you are lucky enough to live by the ocean, you can bring the salt water in a jar and soak your crystals in it overnight.

The light of the moon is also a powerful cleansing agent for stones. Place the stones outside during a full to new moon. Place necklaces in tree branches where the moon will be sure to hit them. The waning moon is a good time to dispel any negative energies from the stone.
Don’t place them in sunlight ever. The sun can fade the intricate color from the stones. It can also cause cracking or internal damage if they are left out too long in the sun.

Burying your crystal in herbs such as sage, sandalwood, frankincense, or myrrh can also help cleanse them. This has a lower cost and is gentle to your stones.

You can also bury them in the dirt. This method is used for deep cleanings. Simply dig a hole and place the crystal in with the point down, and cover. Place some kind of marker so you don’t lose your stone. The amount of time needed is up to you and how you feel the crystal is recharging. You can also use flower pots for this as well.

Alternative Treatments For A Restful Nights Sleep

Habitual sleeplessness is called insomnia. Chances are if you experience it, you don’t need me to define it, and that fact that it is frustrating is an understatement. Insomnia affects one out of ten Americans and approximately 30 percent of healthy seniors. Insomnia can cause the inability to fall asleep at night, or cause you to wake up during the night without the ability to fall back asleep. Although insomnia itself is not dangerous, it often is a symptom of a more serious underlying medical condition.

Insomnia has been studied and it has been shown that 50 percent of insomnia cases can be attributed to depression and psychological disorders, such as anxiety, stress, or grief. Insomnia can also result from a wide variety of causes such as arthritis, asthma, apnea, hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism, digestive system disorders, kidney or heart disease, muscle aches, Parkinson’s disease or just simple physical pain.

Furthermore, it is known that certain drugs such as many of the commonly used anti-depressants, anti-seizure medications, appetite suppressants, beta-blockers for high blood pressure and the decongestant pseudoephedrine (found in most cold and allergy medications) contribute to insomnia.

So what can be done about it without drug intervention? One of the best treatments for insomnia is reflexology for a multitude of reasons.

Reflexology is the practice of applying pressure in a strategic manner to reflexes of the feet and hands, and even the face and ears. Reflexologists see the hands and feet as an open door to the bodies systems. Each section of the feet and hands correlate to a specific organ. By stimulating nerves on specific areas of the feet and hands, you can stimulate blood flow and eliminate toxin buildup in the corresponding organs and systems of the body. And because reflexology works to put the body in a state of well-being, it is beneficial to every system in the body. It helps reduce body tension and definitely brings a sense of relaxation.

You may be wondering if you will need to learn reflexology yourself or if you will need to pay for professional services. That is a personal matter of preference. If you are not concerned with the cost of getting professional services, more power to you. However, most people simply cannot afford the services on a regular basis. Furthermore, if you are suffering from insomnia, chances are you will need the therapy on a moments notice and late at night, so professional services probably are not the way to go, except for maybe getting you started on a routine. One of the most attractive things about reflexology is that it is simple to learn. Not to say that there isn’t a technique that should be followed, because there is. However, of the many forms of massage and healing techniques, reflexology is probably the easiest and fastest form of therapy to learn. Many believe it is part intuitive and part learned skill. For me, it comes quite naturally. Whatever you decide to do, just remember that you are ultimately responsible for your health and it is high time we start accepting that responsibility. I do not believe drugs are the answer to our problems. Try a complimentary treatment such as reflexology and draw your own conclusions.

Complementary Medication and Alternative Medicines for Premenstrual Syndrome

Okay ladies, its time to talk about PMS. Premenstrual Syndrome is something that happens once a month and the severity definitely varies among women. Some women have emotional and physical symptoms that completely disrupt their lives while others experience minimal symptoms. The typical treatments for PMS are over the counter medications that can help with the bloating, irritability, headaches, and other symptoms. The most common of these medications is Midol and Tylenol PMS. However, there are plenty of complementary medication and alternative medicines that can help.

Although any man who lives or knows a woman who suffers from PMS will most likely complain about it, the woman definitely has it worse. It is terrible feeling bloated, ugly, irritable, unstable, depressed, not to mention the pain and discomfort as well. Complementary medication and alternative medicines are available so that this time of the month does not have to be so disruptive.

Complementary medication is taken in conjunction to the traditional medications. Therefore, this could include drinking a chamomile tea to relax the muscles and help with the sleep deprivation while taking an over the counter medication or birth control pill. Alternative medicines are used instead of traditional medications. Therefore, women who are not on a steady birth control pill or do not want to take over the counter medications should look into the alternative medicines. Alternative medicines do not have to be something that is ingested. Complementary medication and alternative medicines can consist of relaxation methods, exercise, diet change, and other treatments.

Relaxation techniques usually involve breathing exercises, yoga, and meditation. This can help reduce the irritability as well as the mood swings. For women who get depression with their PMS, something called sleep deprivation therapy could help. It has been proven that women who experience at least one night of recovery sleep typically do not experience as much depression with their PMS. This means that at least one of the nights during PMS or the actual period, it is helpful to get around three or four extra hours of sleep.

This helps the body recover from the stresses of the PMS and period. Another common complementary medication and alternative medicines therapy is bright light therapy. This is when women intakes cool white florescent light in the mornings during the time of PMS can reduce the symptoms. Regardless of what symptoms need to be helped, there are tons of options and choices for complementary medication and alternative medicines for women who suffer from PMS, and let us face it, the men in their lives as well.

Home Remedies To Lighten Hair

There are some great home remedies to lighten hair - no need for bought hair dyes if you have dirty blonde or mouse colored hair.

Sun

The best, purest and most natural way to get those real blonde highlights is to be out in the sun. Lie face down with clothing covering your skin and spread your hair out to drink in the rays of sunlight. Or just get out in the sun more. Anyone with blonde to mid brown hair will find that it is always lighter in summer - provided you do not stay indoors all of the time.

Do not overdo it of course. You must be careful not to become sunburned. Use a strong sun blocker on all exposed skin and you may also consider using sun cream on your scalp.

Swimming

Swimming in either a pool or the sea and then letting your hair dry in the sun is a great way to lighten it. It’s great exercise too!

However, some of us live in climates where there is very little sun for many months of the year. What do we do then?

Hydrogen Peroxide

Mix small amounts of household ammonia and hydrogen peroxide in equal quantities. Warning: it will smell bad! Test on a small area of skin near the ear and wait 24 hours to see if there is any allergic reaction. If not, mix a fresh batch and apply to hair. Rinse off when developed. You may also want to test on a strand of hair.

Never use household bleach or any other chlorine based product on your hair. This can destroy your hair, cause terrible damage to your skin and possibly kill you with the fumes.

Lemon Juice

Squeeze one fresh lemon. It should give you about 2 tablespoons of juice. Mix this with 3 times the quantity of water and apply to dry hair. Leave for several hours before rinsing out. Do this every day and your highlights should become lighter in a very natural looking way.

You may want to use more of the lemon juice/water mixture if you have very long hair and less if you have short hair.

Tea

Ordinary tea can lighten brown hair - seems crazy given the color that it is, but it’s true! Make tea to a normal strength that you would drink, let it cool and then rinse your hair with it.

It is best to test a strand before using tea on your whole head. If your hair is already a light shade, it may darken it.

Some of these methods can leave your hair rather dry, so be sure to use a good conditioner for blonde hair. Shampoos and conditioners containing chamomile are great for fair hair.

Going out in the sun after using any of these home remedies to lighten hair will increase their effectiveness.

Allergy Relief and Common Causes

Today about 60 million people has some kind of allergy to one thing or another. It could be from the food you eat, or maybe the soap that you use, to the pollen in the air. There are so many of them that you do not know what to look for.

What are allergies?

Allergies are something that you get from an antibody called Immunoglobulin.

Antibodies is very important to us, since it helps to fight off any parasites, uniformly it does fight off the allergies since IgE or Immunoglobulin E affects the cells and tissues, causing damage.

What are the most common allergies that people get?

The most common allergies that people get are asthma, hay fever, allergic eye, emphysema, and hives. These are the most common ones you see today. There are outdoors allergies as well as in sides one. Rhinitis and sinusitis is common also.

One of the most common allergies that you may get is hay fever it is from the pollen in the air. Hay fever however is a seasonal allergic condition. Some of the insides allergies that you may see a lot are from dust mites and mold.

When you developed allergies, it causes your nose to swell making it hard for one to breathe. This will cause the tissue inside your nose swells from inflammatory attacks. The white blood cells and mast cells are affected, which sets in inflammation.

There are little things that you breathe in called allergens. Once you inhale these, they can set in your ears, nose, throat, or your sinus. The most common symptoms that come from allergies are runny nose, stuffy nose, sneezing, nasal itching, itchy eyes, and postnasal drip.

Allergies can also cause your bronchial tubes to get inflamed. This will narrow the passageway causing you problems breathing. This can also cause you to develop asthma as well.

What are allergens?

Allergens are in the air that you breathe, they are in what we ingest, they are touching our skin, and they are everywhere that you can think of. What are allergens?

A substance that is foreign to the body’s immunity system causes an allergic reaction. In some case mold and pollen causes such reactions.

What is some hope for me with allergies?

There is hope out there for the ones that have allergies. You will have to go to your local family doctor and talk to them and see what they can do for you. Some tests that you can take will let you know what you are exactly allergic to. They have all kinds of news medicines out that will help you to get some relief from allergies.

You just have to find the one that help you the most. What might help you may not help the next one. Most of the time if you have bad allergies, they send you to a specialist and they find out what you have and give you some shots to take for it they work most of the time. Although some times it takes a while for you to notice but it does work.

If you have allergies to something in your house then you might want to try to use heap filtering systems this will help you to clean the air in your home, making you more comfortable. You may want to look into hepa products. This product is used in burn centers, hospitals and so on. The product has proven to reduce microns in the air over more than 95%.

You will also need to learn tactics to keep away dust mites, pollen, mold, dust and so forth, keeping your home free of fed that these particles live on.

Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis is one of the most diagnosed diseases of the intestine. It is an autoimmune disease meaning that the body’s immune system is attacking the large intestine. Although commonly confused with irritable bowel syndrome and Chrones’ Disease it is different. Ulcerative colitis affects the lining of the large intestine and rectum. Chrones can appear anywhere from the esophagus to the rectum and is deeper within the walls of the intestine and other organs. Ulcerative colitis is typically controlled through the use of an anti-inflammatory drug called Asacol.

Although when Asacol does not control the illness the next step is steroids and then a surgery called a total colectomy and J pouch. The root of the illness has not been determined, but there is definitely a genetic link. There is also the sign that stress and irritation to the body both physically and mentally can have a negative effect on the illness. Although stress does not create the disease, it can make the symptoms worse. If typical drug therapy is something that someone with colitis is not interested in, then there are complementary and alternative therapies available. However, colitis can be quite serious and results in the bleeding of the intestines and therefore, people are most often to use complementary therapies rather than alternative therapies.

The most common of the complementary and alternative therapies is most definitely psychotherapy or counseling. This is because it can reduce the stress and therefore lessen the symptoms of the disease. It allows people to remain on an even keel so to speak and with mood stabilization comes less pain and discomfort. Complementary and alternative therapies can also include changing your diet. For example, sometimes the lining of the colon is so affected that foods that are difficult to digest normally become impossible for people with colitis to digest.

Therefore, it is quite common for a complementary and alternative therapies diet to include the following. First, corn and popcorn are often not tolerated by people with the illness and refrain from eating these foods. Others may find it hard to digest foods that are considered roughage as well as anything that is overly spicy. There are many different diet plans available for people with colitis; however, each person will notice what disturbs their system the most. Complementary and alternative therapies may also include drinking hot beverages with their meals and having relaxing hot baths. The heat from the beverage helps to digest food while the heat from the bath tends to relax the bowel. Complementary and alternative therapies for ulcerative colitis can be researched online, from a physician, or in medical journals.

Vinegar and Allergy Relief

Chemicals can affect us in many ways. Some cleaners we use have harmful chemicals that can kill us if inhaled, or digested. We need to learn how to clean our home to avoid irritants that cause allergies. To get started we need to consider chemicals.

How vinegar works:

Vinegar is distilled. Its made of grains and acidity products that come from natural sources. Vinegar has a strong aroma that sways most people from using the product, yet if you were to clean your home with vinegar, the irritants will stay away also. They too hate the nasty aroma that comes from vinegar.

Most chemicals we use for cleaning have hasty elements that interrupt the respiratory system, bronchia and sinuses. If we are to find allergy relief, we must convert to a new way of living. This means we should only use natural products to clean our home.

Lysol is a common household cleaning product. Many people use this product, yet some people suffer severe headaches after spraying the chemicals. Lysol has an active ingredient known as dimethylbenzylammonium chloride, which is said to eliminate germs.

The chemicals in Lysol are far less hazardous than other chemicals according to experts. Yet, the chemicals when overexposed to are toxic. The toxics are linked to birth defects, cancers, and have been linked to allergy attacks.

One thing for sure, many household cleaning products contain toxics. Not anything toxic surely should be worth letting into our environment. Most of your air fresheners, soaps, bleaches, shampoos, antiperspirant, hair spray, cleansers, detergents, paint thinners and so on are toxic.

Still we have to clean our homes. Instead of using chemicals with harmful toxics, take your cleaning journey to organic reserves.

Vinegar is great for removing stains. Vinegar will keep away irritants. You can also use natural products made by SFI products. Most of these products are safe to use. In fact, thousands of people have tried these products and have giving good reports. Go online to check reviews before considering the product. The vendors enable you to make money from selling the products as well. For the most part, you want to think health, so consider what you need to find allergy relief.

Filters for vacuums should be considered also when searching for allergy relief. High-efficient filters can reduce irritants from you home over 90%. Hepa manufactured by NASA is one of the best filters on the market. This product was intended for use in plants, yet it was approved by proper channels and is now used in homes, hospitals and so on.

Cleaning beds and furniture is important. If you want to keep, dust mites and dust at bay wash your bedding weekly in hot water. You may want to add vinegar to your wash to help fight dust mites and dust.

Studies show that furniture made of upholstery has higher potentials of causing dust and dust mites to stick. If possible, you may want to invest in foam-packed furniture.

Wood collects dust. Televisions and carpets collect dust also. It is wise to cleanse the areas frequently. Dust at least once each day. To clean wood tries using the oils instead of the sprays. Oils are healthy for breathing than sprays.

If you have pets in your home, keep in mind that most allergies emerge from pet dander. If you are not prepared to separate from your friend, then take more time to clean your home. If you clean your home each day, you can keep irritants at bay. Perhaps you can designate one area of your home to your pet only.

Natural Remedies For Growing Hair Back

Natural remedies for growing hair back can avoid some of the complications of transplants and other processes. Hair loss is something that happens to most men and many women but the process can be prevented, slowed or even reversed in some cases.

While transplants are the quickest way to replace lost hair, they do have some disadvantages. One is that they do not stop further hair loss. So for example a man with a round balding patch at the crown who has transplants, will later probably develop a bald ring around the transplanted area as the hair loss spreads. The other main disadvantage is that unless you have a series of many treatments, people are likely to notice that you suddenly have more hair. They may think it is a hairpiece, toupee or wig.

Natural hair loss remedies come in various forms and the best results are likely to come from using more than one.

Massage

Scalp massage can stimulate hair growth where the loss is temporary or not severe, and can help to prevent further loss of hair. Gently massage the full scalp with your fingertips for about three minutes each day. Be careful not to scratch the scalp with your nails or damage any growing hair.

Massage with jojoba oil will provide the scalp with B and E vitamins plus many minerals that will give hair a boost. Jojoba oil is particularly effective if you have a tendency to skin problems such as dandruff, eczema and psoriasis, or oily hair.

A Chinese form of massage said to stimulate the follicles involves tapping the scalp with the fingers of both hands. Beginning in the middle of the base of the skull at the back, tap about 20 times then move the tapping slowly upward and outward around the ears. Then begin again at the back a little higher than where you started before. Repeat until you have covered the whole scalp, finishing at the front.

Nutrition and Vitamins

The hair requires a full balance of vitamins and minerals to grow healthily. Most of us do not get all that we need from our diets. Increasing your intake of fresh fruits and green leafy vegetables to around 10 varied portions a day will go a long way toward rectifying any deficiencies.

Make sure that you are getting enough of these nutrients in particular:

Vitamin A
All B vitamins, especially B6 and B12
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Zinc
Iron
Copper
Iodine
Essential fatty acids

You can track all of the nutrients in your diet with a free computer program such as the Cron-o-meter available from http://spaz.ca/cronometer

If any of the above nutrients are deficient in your diet you can either look for foods that contain more of them (best option) or take supplements, except for vitamin A which should always be supplied from food. The best food sources of vitamin A are orange and red vegetables such as carrots, pumpkin, red pepper etc or dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach.

Men should pay particular attention to the amount of zinc in their diet because it is very important for the prostate. It is vital to have enough, but too much can cause problems.

Herbal Remedies

Men may find the herbal treatment Saw Palmetto useful in treating hair loss. This is believed to have an action on the prostate which is involved in typical male pattern baldness. Be careful not to take too much because if the male hormones that lead to hair loss are reduced too far, breast tissue can develop.

Saw Palmetto may be useful for some women too but must not be taken with hormone therapy, oral contraceptives or any other medication that contains hormones.

Reduce Stress

Stress can cause hair loss and therefore anything you can do to reduce stress or anxiety in your life is likely to have a beneficial effect on your hair. Try meditation or practice relaxation techniques for 10 minutes each morning, preferably after exercise. Regular exercise will both reduce stress and create a healthier skin and scalp.

These solutions may help in cases for male pattern baldness and age-related hair loss in women. They do not constitute a health treatment or cure. If your hair loss is related to health problems or medication or has an unknown cause, it is best not to rely on natural remedies for growing hair back and you should see your doctor.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Alternative Therapies

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that affects the joints causing inflammation and can result in severe complications. It is considered an autoimmune disease. This means that the immune system actually attacks parts of the body. In this case, the joints are attacked. However, rheumatoid arthritis can also spread to the heart and lungs. The pharmaceutical drugs for rheumatoid arthritis often have severe side effects from stomach discomfort and diarrhea to kidney malfunction. People who take the pharmaceuticals for this condition often find themselves in the lab frequently having their blood work monitored carefully. However, this is why there are rheumatoid arthritis alternative therapies. Especially with the high levels of side effects that drugs have and even the discontinuation of several drugs by different companies, the use of rheumatoid arthritis alternative therapies has increased. Rheumatoid arthritis can greatly affect someone’s life. It can result in the inability to use your hands, walk, or do simple daily tasks. Therefore any rheumatoid arthritis alternative therapies that can help are greatly appreciated by the sufferers of this illness.

The rheumatoid arthritis alternative therapies are most often herbal supplements but there are also some simple symptom relief symptoms as well. The most common therapy is hot cold therapy. This means that heat is used on the affected area for about fifteen minutes to reduce the inflammation and then cold is used for fifteen minutes to help control the pain. The most common herbal supplement used for rheumatoid arthritis is Glucosamine. Glucosamine is known to aid in the repair and health of the joints. The second most common herb that does the same is Chondroitin. There is also something called MSM. This is a sulfur based anti-inflammatory that is said to work just as well as the typical medications. TO try and slow the progression of the disease and not just symptom relief is Niacinamide. This is supposed to maintain the health of cells and therefore slows the progression of the illness. It is otherwise known as Vitamin B3. Rheumatoid arthritis alternative therapies are available at most health food stores and pharmacies. Although they each have their own benefits and are proven to be helpful, it is mentioned that when taken together in a combined supplement they are the most beneficial. Acupressure is a common physical treatment that can help with the pain or arthritis. It works by placing pressure on specific places on the body. This can be done by a trained therapist, or techniques can be taught and done at home. Rheumatoid arthritis alternative therapies are readily available and most are not very reasonable priced. They are definitely gaining in popularity every day.

The Truth about Hypertension and Alternative Therapies

Hypertension or high blood pressure affects millions of Americans. The problem with having high blood pressure is that the risk of heart attack and stroke increases substantially. There are two different types of hypertension. The first type is known as primary or essential hypertension. The second is called secondary hypertension. Secondary hypertension affects about one in every six people with a hypertension diagnosis. However, it differs from primary hypertension because there is a specific cause like a tumor or kidney disease. Therefore, once the cause has been accessed and then treated, the blood pressure should return back to normal. Hypertension and alternative therapies coincide with primary hypertension. Hypertension and alternative therapies has become more popular over the past several years because not everyone wants to be on permanent medication or wants the side affects that permanent medication can cause. When hypertension is the diagnosis and alternative therapies are being used, it is important that the blood pressure still be monitored on a regular basis to ensure that it is remaining stable and hopefully improving.

The most common of the used methods for hypertension and alternative therapies is changing your diet. Diet is not only important for people who are over weight, but for anyone with hypertension. Reduced weight will of course reduce the blood pressure, but eating a diet with a considerable amount of fruits and vegetables has shown to reduce blood pressure more than eating a lot of meat. The most important thing to consider when a vegetarian diet is not reasonable for someone is that they reduce the amount of fat and cholesterol intake. One interesting fact is that celery has proven to be one of the most helpful foods for people with hypertension. It actually reduces the smooth muscles within the actual blood vessels. Another important therapy found within hypertension and alternative therapies is relaxation or meditation methods. These are important because it will help the person remain at an even keel and not raise the blood pressure when people get angry or agitated. A natural supplement that has been proven to help reduce the systolic number of the blood pressure is garlic. Garlic is most often consumed in pill form because it does not have the odor and taste. In order to get the benefits from garlic someone would have to eat about two or three cloves a day. This can be quite difficult and those around you may start to keep their distance. People who have hypertension and alternative therapies for treatment can reduce their blood pressure enough that their hypertension disappears. Although, it should be discussed with a physician because some people need to take medication and the alternative therapies can only be used as a complimentary treatment.

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