Play with Yourself

Be Me Website

Be Me Facebook Page

Be Me Blog

Be Me Herbal Products

The doctor tells you to do it.  Touch and feel your breast.  All around the breast.  Other tests encourage you to squeeze your nipple to check hormones.  Squeeze the ends of your toes to open up sinuses or rub your temples to relieve a headache. One of the best ways to learn about your very own body is to feel it.   A few ways to stimulate the body include exploring, brushing, and exfoliating.  Play with yourself to stimulate as well as monitor any changes in and on your body.

Personally, I love when my pampering sessions serendipitously happen.  It may be weekly, monthly, and some weeks more then others.  Recently, a friend graciously gave me homegrown avocados!  I made guacamole, flax crackers with avocado, dressing, salad with avocado and many other creative recipes.  Then I decided to apply it on my body instead of just in my body!

I had been at the beach and needed to moisturize my sunkissed skin.  I love the feeling of salt water and the natural exfoliating properties. Typically afterwards, I apply a little oil on my body including the hair as a deep conditioner.  This time, I grabbed a glass of wine, music and a towel and got messy.  I took some dead sea salts and epsom salts, a little sunflower oil plus lemon and ylang ylang essential oil mixed well in a paper cup with a chop stick.  As my body was dry, I brushed all over from the top of my feet, underneath armpits, up the arms, legs, and 'rear' with a medium bristle (body) brush.  It feels tingling as if your body is vibrating.  When putting food on your body or face, just take the plunge!  I feel like a little kid playing with my food as I smash the (very ripe) avocado in my face and hair.  Then, exfoliate.  I find exfoliating very sexy.  Take the salt/oil combo and rub in a circular motion all around your body following up from the dry brushing.  Chill out for as long as you decide -  5 minutes, 30 minutes, there is no wrong.  Allow the oils to penetrate into the skin and enjoy the aromatherapy.  After about 10-15 min. I added a little of the oil to my avocado hair and some avocado to the oily skin. When I felt the time was right, I took a warm shower to rinse everything off thoroughly and finished with a cold splash.  In the shower, I combed through my conditioned hair (no soap, shampoo, or conditioner).  My body felt perfectly soft with little beads from the oil.  Lightly pat dry.

The avacodo is very nourishing, hydrating and good for mature and sun damaged skin.  Visualize the consistency and texture.  Dry brushing brushes off dead skin which allows the skin to breath also increasing lymphatic circulation.  Other benefits include reducing cellulite, stimulating circulation and more!  http://naturalhealthtechniques.com/healingtechniquesdry_brushing_technique.htm provides a great explanation about dry brushing.  Exfoliating is similar to dry brushing and includes the benefits of the oils, essential oils and aromatherapy.  

I hope you enjoy messing around!
     


Body and Mind Enrichment. A unique way of exercising your body and mind!

Scrub A Dub

My husband travels for business. I give him an herbal tincture to take on his trips to strengthen his immune system. This time, he got hit pretty hard. Look around, there are many many people catching colds, viruses, mystery illness and flus. Anyway, after a few days of him sleeping, resting, and fighting whatever it was that was winning the battle, I decided to disinfect the house with a vinegar, water, lemon and tea tree essential oil solution. I sprayed it all over the house - counter tops, toilets, shower, furniture, bedding. It made Jay and I feel so good and that the stagnant air and aroma around the house was lifted and refreshed! I also threw some baking soda on the counter tops and used the spray.

As I was scrubbing with this all natural solution to cleanse my surroundings, it occurred to me this was a great way to explain the benefits of scrubbing our bodies. I don't care if you are a man or woman, we all have different skin types of which could benefit from caring for our skin from time to time with natural products. You know if you work out in the sun for a living, your skin typically needs moisture and protection. If you are inside with recycled air your skin may be dry and also yearn for stimulation!

Aromatherapy is powerful. How often do you relate a song to a particular place or time? And how often does a scent remind you of a place or time? It is real my friends! As we inhale, smells travels across the olfactory nerves in the nose and up to the brain which triggers a reaction (this information is part of my Emilyisms book on recipes and tips). The essential oil is drawn into the lungs to provide physical benefits. So, back to the cleansing. It is just as important to clean off our skin. The skin is our largest layer and if you are really interested in a cleanse think about what you put into and onto your skin. Essential oils, oils, minerals such as salts, clay and mud allow our bodies to pull out toxins, tighten skin, rejuvenate cells and assist our body to stimulate, relax, calm, balance and more. I am just brushing the surface of my knowledge about cells but it appears these things are quiet important.

Cells are the building blocks of any living thing, plant and animal. Cells make up all known life. Every cell is produced from another cell by dividing and multiplying. Cells will be replaced when things break down or get worn out. Together they perform the functions of life. Since we are made up of cells and each cell has functions that ideally work together to form our healthy body, these cells are constantly wanting energy such as food, minerals, air, water, etc. So much of what is outside (our bodies) creeps its way inside (our bodies). Exfoliating can be a way to detoxify, rejuvenate and encourage new cell growth. There are also many environmental treasures in nature (for example, the beach, rain forests, green trees, parks) but also be aware of hazards.

There are many ways to 'treat' your skin, and as I was cleaning and scrubbing, I had this bizarre correlation between scrubbing the countertops to cleanse and scrubbing my body to cleanse. Imagine if the products were so pure they were practically the same. My body salts may include the following: baking soda, magnesium sulfate (otherwise known as epsom salt - this is a great product and can be found at many grocery stores and markets) and dead sea salts for the dry ingredients. You may opt to add a few lavender flowers or any other herb or flower of choice. The liquid could consist of one or a combination of oils and essentials oils. Add enough oil such as olive, sesame, grapeseed or a combination, then coat the salts. You can always add more if you want more oil. Essential oils are a bonus. Play around with your scents. Your body may crave a particular scent during a certain time of year or part of your life. Honor that request.

Get a brush and dry brush the dead skin off your body. Stimulate the lymphatic system. See how much you can tolerate- sometimes lighter and sometimes more aggressive with the brushes. Brush in circular movements and up towards the heart. Then exfoliate. You may also choose to exfoliate your body with the salts and oil and provide your face a clay mask. This will draw out toxins and tighten skin. Allow the oils to penetrate into the skin. The same for the mask. Allow to dry. About 20 minutes or longer. (Just about the time the needles need to work in your body during an Acupuncture treatment). Lightly pat yourself to dry. The essential oils, again, have so many medicinal properties. I make some that also repel bugs. So, after doing a luxurious spa treatment for yourself, you can hang outside and keep the bugs away! If you haven't already seen it, I posted a short video on making and applying a body scrub and mask. Check it out! bodyandmindenrichment.ning.com

Body and Mind Enrichment A unique way of exercising your body and mind!