First off, I should clarify that I am not a relationships coach or certified to give relationship advice in any way. What I am sharing is solely based on my own research from qualified individuals and my own personal experiences.

Also, don’t worry… your partner doesn’t have to be on board with any of this or participate in any way. These tips are about YOU and what you can do for yourself, which inevitably benefits your relationship and your health. It has NOTHING to do with manipulating your other half or playing games. You’ll be wayyyyyy too busy focusing on yourself to conspire against anyone!!!

Read on below or watch the video.

Strengthening your romantic relationship will help you become healthier. How so? Your relationship is likely one of your biggest curveballs. Arguments, resentment and lack of support can all throw you off your healthy A-game and make you indulge in your unhealthy habits as a coping mechanism.

I’m here to tell you, you don’t have to choose between your relationship and your health!

There are a lot of parallels between your romantic relationship and your relationship with your health. These are my top 3 tips for improving both of these important aspects of your life.

Improve your communication 

This is classic and well-known relationship advice. If I were to ask you what does your communication with your partner look like, what would you say? The best thing you can do to improve your communication is to listen more.

If I were to ask you what does your communication look like with your health, what would you say? Yes, health talks! In the form of symptoms… and the same advice applies here. You want to listen to your symptoms just like you listen to your partner.

Ask questions, be curious. This is key to getting the relationship and level of health you desire.

Stop controlling and obsessing

This is a big one.

Most of us go into relationships with expectations and we do the same with health. We want our partners to act a certain way; we want our health to happen in accordance with our expectations. We do this because we feel better once our expectations are met. But this is also where we fall into the trap.

When we let go of our expectations, we eliminate the disappointment we feel when things don’t go our way. That’s not to say we tolerate getting treated badly or suffering through unbearable symptoms.

But we can take responsibility for our own happiness, and let our relationship and health be the cherry on top.

Focus on the experience

Lastly, pay attention to how your romantic relationship and your health feels. What is the vibe?

When you feel good, your partner will feel that and you’ll notice shifts. Also when you feel good, taking care of your health becomes so much easier and shifts also happen there.

Look, I know you won’t always feel good and that is not the goal. But you do want to recognize these moments and address them so you can keep focusing on the positive experiences on your relationship and health journey.

I guarantee you, if you follow this advice, you will see a difference. And it can happen FAST!!!

So remember these 3 romantic relationship tips for better health:

1. Improve your communication
2. Stop controlling and obsessing
3. Focus on the experience

Are you ready to take your health, relationship and business to the next level? Come join my world in The Health + Mindset Collective on Facebook.

M.

PS – Learn more about Rustik Health here.

The post Your romantic relationship and your health appeared first on Rustik Health.

These 7 habits will help you do just that. But I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed… Do as many of these habits as you have time for and stick to what resonates with you the most.

Build up to it. As you begin to implement certain habits, they will become second nature and you will find space and flow to implement more of them.

Always remember that the non-toxic lifestyle is not only about reducing your toxic load and swapping out toxic products that you currently use. It’s also about supporting your body in detoxifying itself and helping it remove any toxins you may be holding on to.

These 7 tips are going to address both of these facets. Watch the video or read on below.

(Note: affiliate links appear below)

Peppermint essential oil in your healthy morning routine

A lot of women and mamas out there complain about a lack of energy and general fatigue. Many of us need a big cup of coffee in the morning to get us going.

Although I believe this is part of a much bigger issue, one way to counteract this lack of energy is by taking a deep breath of peppermint essential oil when you wake up in the morning. This is not addressing the root cause but is a natural way to address the symptom.

If you feel like trying to skip the caffeine altogether, you can add in some coconut oil and apply to your temples and the back of your neck to deal with withdrawal symptoms. Just be careful around the eye area!

Tongue scraping when you first wake up

Tongue scraping is an ancient Ayurvedic practice that dates back thousands of years. It involves scraping the white film off your tongue to remove bacteria and metabolic toxins that accumulate while you sleep.

To do this, you can use a tongue scraper tool. If you don’t have one, you can simply use a spoon. Place the edge of the tongue scraper or spoon at the back of the tongue and then scrape forward.

Rinse the tongue scraper or spoon and repeat up to 3 times. Make sure to do this first thing in the morning before you drink or brush your teeth as part of your healthy morning routine.

Dry skin brushing before you shower

I admit, this is a tougher non-toxic lifestyle habit for me to do consistently and regularly.

Dry skin brushing is another great natural way to kick start your morning because it’s invigorating and energizing. It also stimulates the lymphatic system, which is essentially your body’s sewer system. So as you dry skin brush, you help eliminate toxins and detoxify your body.

You’ll want to dry skin brush while your skin is still dry and before hopping into the shower. Always brush from your extremities towards the heart. On the stomach, you can do a circular clock-wise motion.

Hot / Cold shower to move your lymph

This is a relatively new habit for me that I plan on solidifying in 2020. I love that it provides immediate results.

Once you’ve skin brushed, you can hop in the shower and alternate between hot and cold water. I generally start with hot water, wash my hair and body then alternate hot / cold water 1 – 3 times before stepping out of the shower.

This is another great way to boost your energy levels and also stimulate the lymphatic system. It’s also said to strengthen resilience and grit.

Linen spray as part of your healthy morning ritual

One of my favourite things about the non-toxic lifestyle is how it can bring more joy into your life, help reduce stress and make boring mundane chores a lot more enjoyable.

For example, I am obsessed with making the bed in the morning and that’s simply because I’ve started making my own DIY essential oils linen spray and I spray the sheets every day when I make the bed.

I’m sure this is partly due to the essential oils working their magic on the limbic area of my brain but regardless, I just love it.

Also, this habit helps makes up for the lack of strong, lingering scent from switching over to a natural laundry routine. It will help bring back that freshly-washed scent that is so satisfying from taking the sheets out of the dryer!

While I’m at it, I usually also spray the inside of our closets, the laundry I haven’t put away and just anything really… Feel free to go a bit nuts with it.

Diffuse essential oils in your non-toxic ritual

If you have time in the morning before heading off to work, you’ll want to diffuse some essential oils in your home. Again, this will help with energy levels and enhance the general mood in the house.

It’s also a great non-toxic, natural way to bring more joy into your life and help reduce stress.

Get yourself some high-quality essential oils and put 5 – 6 drops in your diffuser. My favourite energizing and mood-boosting scents are combinations of mint and citrus essential oils.

Drink water with citrus to help detoxify your body

Sleep is an important part of your body’s natural detoxification process. It’s a time of deep rest when it can focus on eliminating wastes and toxins from your system.

Keep this momentum going by starting your day with a big glass of pure, natural water and ideally some citrus to pack extra punch. If you want to kick-start your metabolism, add a pinch of cayenne pepper. If you want an extra energy boost, add one TBSP of chia seeds.

When I have more time and a lot of citrus in the fridge, I will stick to a glass of straight water. Then, make myself freshly squeezed citrus juice for its powerful hydrating, astringent and detoxifying properties.

I hope this gave you some useful ideas and tips for starting your days naturally with a more non-toxic lifestyle ritual.

Do you have any healthy morning routine rituals?

M.

Get my top 5 non-toxic living tips.

Join the conversation in the Non-Toxic Living Collective group.

The post Healthy morning routine 2020 appeared first on Rustik Health.

Even though new year’s resolutions seem to be out-of-style these days, the start of a new year – or decade, in this case! – is a great trigger to make positive changes in your life. It can be your cue to start swapping out your products for non-toxic options, testing out DIY recipes and reconnecting with nature.

Watch me talk or read on below!

Start with something easy

This might seem obvious but it’s definitely worth mentioning. Plus, “easy” will mean something different if your goal is to buy natural products versus make natural products in 2020.

If you are committed to buying more natural products, pick products you can easily buy. These could be from the natural product section of the current stores you buy from or from a natural product store that is conveniently located. Don’t make it hard for yourself by getting a product that makes you go out of your way or that is hard to find.

If you are committed to making more natural products, pick recipes that are easy to make and have minimal ingredients. Don’t make it hard for yourself by choosing recipes that take a lot of time out of your already busy day! You also want to make it easy to refill this product once you run out.

In both cases, starting with something easy also means not swapping out a product you are currently really attached to. Go with something you don’t mind having out of your life right away. Something you buy without really paying attention to what brand you get or something you buy just because it’s on sale, for example.

Swap out products you use daily

To really create a new habit and, ultimately a new natural lifestyle, consistency is key. Start by swapping out products you use daily – like toothpaste or hand soap – so you can develop this consistency and also experience the empowerment that this lifestyle brings on a daily basis.

If you’re not quite ready to swap something out but want to add a more natural, non-toxic product or habit into your life, try layering it into your existing routine. For example, I’ve layered spraying our linens with anti-microbial and great-smelling essential oils every time I make our bed. Every time I go to make the bed, it’s my cue to take out the spray!

Do something that provides immediate benefit

Aim to really get that dopamine going and program yourself to keep living your natural lifestyle goals from the get-go. Swap something out or introduce a new habit that provides an immediate or obvious reward.

Examples of natural lifestyle habits that will leave you feeling amazing immediately:

• Diffuse essential oils to clean the air, enhance your mood and help reduce the spread of illness in your home. Breathe it in deeply and pay attention to how it makes you feel.
• Moisturize with 1 TBSP fractionated coconut or jojoba oil with one drop of lavender essential oil and feel how smooth your skin gets without any nasty synthetics.
• See how clean your dishes can get using simple, all-natural ingredients with a homemade DIY diswashing liquid recipe. Feel the power.

If you can start feeling the joy and empowerment early on, you are more likely to keep going on your non-toxic living journey.

Make your resolutions progressive

If you have many non-toxic living goals, take little steps at first. This is a progressive and ongoing journey. When I started on this lifestyle, I began with simply replacing my face wash and I waited many weeks until I mastered that step before moving on to other habits.

By making your resolutions progressive, you:

• reduce the overwhelm
• build confidence
• can celebrate milestones
• set yourself up for lasting change

Don’t give up on your natural lifestyle goals

Finally, and this is the most important tip, DO NOT give up! Sure, the start of the year is a great cue to make positive changes. But if you slip up anytime during the year, you can absolutely press the reset button on your new year’s resolution and try again!

If you’d like support on transitioning to or progressing in your non-toxic lifestyle, make sure to check out Purify. For more non-toxic living tips, download my free e-book.

Thanks for watching / reading

M.

Join the conversation in the Non-Toxic Living Collective group.

The post Natural lifestyle goals | How to CRUSH your 2020 appeared first on Rustik Health.

As a teenager and even into my early twenties, I had very oily skin. I would wear tons of foundation and powder my face multiple times to give a semblance of perfect skin. As you can imagine, my pores were also quite clogged and I was prone to breakouts.

I tried multiple different face washes, creams and masks but nothing make huge improvements. To be honest, massive shifts only began happening once I became much more conscious of my diet and transitioned to non-toxic face products.

To celebrate, I haven’t used face powder or foundations in YEARS. I can remember the last time I put anything on my face except for blush. I’m actually terrified to put anything more on my face than that given all of the progress!

For a while, my favourite non-toxic DIY face mask was simply egg white. I liked the tightening effect and may go back to it someday but lately this has been my go-to…

DIY face mask recipe

• 1.5 tsp green clay
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 drop essential oil

This makes a one-time use portion, which I love because I don’t have to worry about it going back or adding preservatives to it. I leave it on for about 5 – 10 minutes, or dry, and then wash with water. I’ll then go over oil-prone areas with witch hazel and apply face oil to moisturize.

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I set an alarm on my phone to remind me to do this mask every week. I will sometimes change it up and only use green clay and water. I’ll also switch up the essential oils I use. My favourite include geranium, frankincense, black spruce and tea tree.

And your non-toxic facial routine can be as simple as that!

What’s your favourite DIY face mask recipe?

M.

Get my top 5 non-toxic living tips.

Join the conversation in the Non-Toxic Living Collective group.

The post DIY face mask | Clay, essential oils and apple cider vinegar appeared first on Rustik Health.

I was that girl that used to shave her legs dry. Creepy, huh?

I wasn’t intentionally being non-toxic then. I just couldn’t be bothered to even put shaving cream on my legs! Nowadays, I’m much more mindful of my skin

Here’s an amazing self-care protocol for your legs and feet: apply the bergamot foot mask in the bath. While the mask is setting on your feet, use the DIY natural shaving cream to shave your legs. Once complete, wash off the foot mask and apply the serum to both legs feet.

(Be careful getting out of the bath, and make sure to put on socks or slippers. Your feet will be slippery!)

DIY Natural Shaving Cream

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup shea butter
• ⅓ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup fractionated coconut oil
• 5 drops each:
  • sandalwood essential oil
  • peppermint essential oil
  • tea tree essential oil

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients except for essential oils in double boiler.
2. Once melted, remove from heat and let sit three minutes.
3. Add essential oils and stir until combined. 
4. Let shaving cream rest until hard. Tip: You can put it in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.
5. Using hand or stand mixer, whip shaving cream until light and fluffy.
6. Place in container of choice.

(Source)

Razor Relief Serum

Ingredients

• ½ cup fractionated coconut oil
• ¼ cup rosewater
• 5 drops each:
  • frankincense essential oil
  • lavender essential oil
  • tea tree essential oil
  • helichrysum essential oil
  • myrrh essential oil

Instructions

1. Place fractionated coconut oil and rosewater in glass spray or pump bottle. 
2. Add essential oils and shake.
3. To use, spray directly on skin or place two to three pumps in palms and rub on affected skin.

(Source)

Bergamot Foot Mask

Ingredients

• ½ cup organic Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons organic raw honey
• 2 squirts of fractionated coconut oil
• 1 stalk organic celery
• 6 drops bergamot essential oil

Instructions

1. Grate stalk of celery and drain excess moisture in strainer or with paper towel.
2. Add celery and remaining ingredients to food processor or blender.
3. Blend until smooth.
4. Ready a wet washcloth or sit by tub.
5. Apply mask immediately to entire foot with fingers or brush.
6. Let sit 15–20 minutes while enjoying mask’s cooling sensation and the calming effects of bergamot essential oil.
7. Rinse off and enjoy your nourished and moisturized feet.

(Source)

While you’re at it, revamp your whole bath routine to the non-toxic lifestyle. Here are my non-toxic bath tips.

Enjoy!

M.

Get my top 5 non-toxic living tips.

Join the conversation in the Non-Toxic Living Collective group.

The post Natural shaving cream and foot mask appeared first on Rustik Health.

I could go on at length about why you want to avoid those ingredients but my goal here is to introduce you to new DIY oral care options. My usual protocol goes like this:

1. First thing upon waking, tongue scrape
2. After breakfast, floss
3. Oil pull
4. Brush teeth

Usually in the evening, I will use mouthwash instead of oil pulling. I’ll also go through phases of using activated charcoal when I want to whiten my teeth.

And remember… what you EAT is an important consideration for oral care and it should not be ignored.

Here are some of my favourite non-toxic DIY recipes.

DIY Toothpaste Options

I use a few different types of homemade DIY toothpaste recipes and most are just one ingredient with an added essential oil. There are no specific proportions to these one-ingredient toothpaste recipes… I usually just use enough to cover the bristles and add more if necessary.

1. Coconut oil + 1 drop of pure, therapeutic grade clove and/or tea tree essential oil
2. Baking soda + 1 drop of pure, therapeutic grade tea tree essential oil
3. Activated charcoal (I gently brush enough powder to cover my teeth, leave on 1 – 2 minutes and brush off with water – careful, this gets messy!)

I also keep a jar of re-mineralizing toothpaste on-hand and follow this recipe minus the cinnamon and clove powder.

But even before brushing my teeth, I love to tongue scrape. I made a habit of doing this first thing when I wake up. You can use a tongue scraper tool (pictured above) or simply a spoon.

Patchouli Mouth Rinse

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 drops peppermint essential oil
• 1 drop patchouli essential oil

Instructions

1. Combine baking soda and water in a small cup.
2. Add essential oils and mix well.
3. Swish mixture around in mouth for one minute before spitting into the sink.

(Source)

DIY Breath Spray

Ingredients

• 5 mL glass spray bottle
• 3–5 drops essential oil (try peppermint, spearmint or cinnamon)
• Distilled water

Instructions

1. Place 3–5 drops of essential oil into your spray bottle.
2. Fill the remainder of the bottle with distilled water.
3. Shake well to combine and spritz in mouth for a refreshing burst of flavor.

(Source)

Simple Mouthwash

Ingredients

• 5 drops essential oils (try peppermint, myrrh or cinnamon)
• 1 cup water
• Mason jar

Instructions

1. Add water and essential oil to mason jar.
2. Shake well before each use. Take small sips and swish. Do not swallow.
3. Store in a dark location.

Oil Pulling

My gums love it when I oil pull. I have super sensitive gums and they get irritated quite rapidly if I don’t oil pull for a while. Plus, oil pulling can help whiten your teeth naturally

My favourite is to oil pull for 2 – 3 minutes with castor oil and one drop of an essential oil. Many people use coconut oil but you have to oil pull for much longer – 20 minutes, ideally…

For more information on the benefits of oil pulling, see my dedicated post on this topic.

Non-toxic whitening

Another natural way to whiten your teeth is to use activated charcoal. I simply wet my toothbrush, dab it in the activated charcoal and gently apply the paste to my teeth. I make sure to leave a thick, black coating for a good 3 – 5 minutes before rinsing and brushing out.

Repeat regularly to maintain the whiteness…

Enjoy your new non-toxic oral care routine! Feel free to ask any questions

M.

PS – be part of the non-toxic living conversation… join The Non-Toxic Living Collective Facebook group!

The post Non-toxic oral care appeared first on Rustik Health.

Anyone that know me well knows that I am the worst when it comes to a stuffy, sniffly nose. This past week was terrible, as I caught a bad cold right before the holidays.

A few years back, I caved and decided to try this weird device called a neti pot. I hesitated at first… The process sounded kind of gross. Now after seeing the benefits, and on further thought, I love it and now think it’s kind of gross to not wash your nose. Don’t we wash the rest of ourselves?

Neti pots are used for nasal saline irrigation which basically means you rinse your nose with salt water. Doing so helps thin and flush out mucus (yuck). You can buy a pre-made saline rinse or I started making my own of equal parts pure sea salt and baking soda (1/4 tsp each).

Since introducing more essential oils into my life, I’ve been adding a drop of pure tea tree and/or lavender essential oil to my neti pot rinses every now and then. I have definitely noticed a difference in the effectiveness of the rinses.

Another thing I do to help with the stuffiness and sniffles at night is to put a drop of essential oil on both bottom corners of my pillow (I turn around a lot). I normally use eucalyptus but this time I tried “easy air” and it worked even better for me. In fact, once the aroma wore off, I woke up in the middle of the night all stuffed up. I put a few more drops and fell right back asleep until morning. Easy air also works well in the diffuser.

Obviously, I follow this routine when I am sick. However, I will sometimes do the neti pot as a preventive measure (i.e. after taking a flight or train ride or during allergy season).

Hope this helps!

M.

The post Sniffles and a neti pot appeared first on Rustik Health.

After switching to my DIY deodorant, I then revamped my skin care routine. The title of this post may seem deceiving because there are a lot of products in the picture, but it’s pretty basic. These are just various options I go through.

I started my transition to natural skin care with the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM), which means I washed my face with oil (e.g. coconut, argan, castor, sweet almond oil – or a mixture!). This seemed counter-intuitive (and like an overall bad idea) considering I had oily skin. The first few days were rough – and I did break out – but my skin then regulated itself. On blemishes, I used a mixture of equal parts Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) and water or tea tree essential oil.

Over the years, I gradually moved away from daily OCM and am now mainly washing my face with water. If I wear make-up, exercise heavily or need extra moisturising in the winter, I will use the OCM or wash with diluted Dr. Bronner’s castile soap before going to bed. After washing my face, I moisturise with jojoba oil mixed with a few drop of helichrysum essential oil. Jojoba is currently my favourite oil for the face since it is similar to naturally-occurring sebum and does not clog pores (I’ve used coconut and argan oils in the past). Helichrysum has amazing skin benefits (you can also use frankincense or lavender).

Oh, and the aloe vera plant in the picture is not just decor. I do, every once in a while, clip a piece of it and rub the gel on my face.

About twice a week, I will use witch hazel as a toner on my t-zone. I also try to exfoliate once or twice a week with xylitol (which I grind to a finer texture) or baking soda (rubbing very gently since it can be irritating). I also treat myself to a weekly face mask.

I guess I call this simple because there are no fancy products involved…

To recap, here are the steps:

1. Wash with water (0r natural cleanser)
2. Use toner (witch hazel or rose water is another option) 1  – 2 x per week on t-zone
3. Moisturise with jojoba oil (or argan oil or coconut oil or even aloe vera gel!)
4. Exfoliate 1 – 2 x per week
5. Weekly face mask

Remember, everyone is different… I recommend you test out a few options to see what works best for you. Also, please be patient. Your skin will need a bit of time to adjust to whatever new routine you introduce.

Hope this was helpful!

M.

The post Simple skin care routine appeared first on Rustik Health.