Welcome to Part 2 of a five-part series on living a natural solutions lifestyle - the goal being to keep things simple.
There are 6 primary areas on living a wellness lifestyle; Eating Right, Exercise, Rest & Manage Stress, Reduce Toxic Load, and Informed Self-Care. The 6th component, Proactive Medical Care, I believe becomes a given as you'll be caring for your body before it breaks down when you follow the 5 other primary areas.
Last week we addressed Eating Right, be sure and start with that healthy foundation if you missed it. This week we'll discuss what essential oils, supplements and other natural solutions you can implement into your pre and post workout routines to support your body naturally as you maintain a healthy EXERCISE regime.
We all know the importance of exercising, but just like most things, we can fall short if you don't build health habits and know how we can support our bodies. Essential oils as well as supplements and other natural solutions can be an extremely beneficial part of our exercise regime, supporting our body from the inside out.
The ability to breathe smoothly is a key component of our exercise routine. It doesn't really matter whether your playing a friendly pick-up game, working out in a gym, hiking up a mountain, or playing sports competitively we all require the ability to take deep breaths and breathe ease. This helps fuel your muscles with the oxygen they require.
doTERRA knows just how important it is to maintain feelings of clear airways and breath easy, so they've developed a full line of products designed to do just that - welcome doTERRA Breathe® Respiratory Blend. With an essential oil, quick-dissolving respiratory lozenges and a vapor stick for easy application to your chest all the Breathe® products were formulated to soothe and support the entire respiratory system.
Adding doTERRA Breathe® to your pre-workout routine is helpful. I like to use the Breathe® Respiratory Stick or the essential oil in the touch form (pre-diluted with fractionated coconut oil in a roller bottle) and rub it directly on my chest. As you're well aware, other pre-workout tips include proper hydration to help you be proactive since you'll lose water as you sweat, and doing a warm up to loosen the muscles and help avoid strain or injury.
I don't know about you, but as careful as I am with a good pre-workout routine I like to push myself and sometimes my body doesn't agree. That or I'm exercising without realizing I'm exercising - like cleaning the house, doing yardwork, etc. While any good workout requires a good recovery routine to cool down and rehydrate it's also important to use products that will support your joints and muscles. You can topically massage essential oils into affected areas like the feet, back, neck, legs and arms, or if you have time just give your whole body a nice soak in the bath.
I know a lot of people that have heard of Deep Blue, even if they haven't heard of doTERRA. doTERRA Deep Blue® Rub is a go-to topical cream formulated with Deep Blue® Soothing Blend which contains CPTG Certified Pure Tested Grade™ essential oils and natural plant extracts: Wintergreen, Camphor, Peppermint, Ylang Ylang, Helichrysum, Blue Tansy, German Chamomile, and Osmanthus that are helpful in providing a comforting sensation of cooling and warmth to the applied problem areas.
The Deep Blue™ Stick is a newer product, released in September of 2021, it's infused with doTERRA Deep Blue® Soothing Blend, plus the beneficial properties of Copaiba essential oil, the Deep Blue Stick offers powerful, targeted relief in a fast-acting solid. It delivers temporary relief of minor aches and pains of muscles and joints associated with simple backache, arthritis, sprains, strains, and bruises. As an added bonus, it includes moisturizing emollients that leaves your skin soft and non-greasy.
Exercise of any form isn't going to be possible without a good energy level and motivation to do so. Whether you're a caffeine drinker or not I've got something for you try. doTERRA Mito2Max® is an energy and stamina complex that supports optimal mitochondrial function, aerobic capacity, and stamina naturally without the use of harmful stimulants. And Mito2Max is a healthy, long-term alternative to caffeinated drinks and supplements. It's natural and safe enough to take daily, so for my folks who hit an afternoon lull - these are for you.
In addition to Mito2Max® there are TONS of essential oils you can use to help uplift, energize and motivate you to get your body moving when you're feeling emotionally or physically drained. Citrus oils are great! My personal favorite is a combination of Wild Orange and Peppermint. I just put 1-2 drops of each in the palms of my hand, rub my hands together and inhale. Yum! Another great blend is seen below in the Breathe® diffuser blends. Combine Lime, Wild Orange and Breathe® together to invigorate your senses with a wonderful pick-me-up aroma.
Although we'll touch on this more next week when we talk about solutions for rest and managing stress, another HUGE component with your exercise routine is the rest period, going beyond the post workout recovery. Namely getting adequate sleep to avoid burnout and fatigue. My BFF in the bedroom will be revealed next week, but the diffuser blend above using doTERRA Breathe® and Lavender is a perfect combo of oils to promote clear breathing while deeply relaxing the mind.
As I mention in part 1, I'm breaking this wellness made simple series down into bite-sized pieces. Join me next week as we tackle the best ways to REST & MANAGE STRESS.
Until then...
xoDanette