Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health plus Kat's Travel blog

Hi everyone! I've been quite busy the last month so the natural beauty blogging has been sporadic (I know, excuses, excuses). So I wanted to update you all of the things I’ve been up to. Firstly, last summer I launched a travel blog called Kat's Travel. I've written posts here on Natural Beautee about French and Italian natural beauty products as well as let you what products I'm using when I go on holiday. So you've probably already gathered I'm a keen traveler!

I recently posted on Kat's Travel about my lovely experience at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Western Massachusetts. I was thinking of editing it and posting it here on Natural Beautee but then I figured that I was doing you the reader a discredit. You're all internet savvy and know how links work!
Click here to read about my amazing R&R Retreat at Kripalu.

Now for everything else I've been up to, here's a update in Beauty Schooled Pretty Price Check style (which is now by the way Virginia Sole-Smith’s fabulous all-encompassing blog):

500: the number of hours that I've already put into my Aromatherapy qualification at ITHMA attending classes, massaging, writing assignments, and studying for exams

60: the mark I got my anatomy and physiology exam which coincidently was also the passing mark (I mean why put in any more effort than absolutely necessary? Of course I'm kidding. I was relieved to pass but gosh it was too close!)

44: the number of remaining massages I have to complete to become a qualified aromatherapist.

38: the number of trails in the ski area of Madonna di Campiglio, Italy where I went skiing over New Years

Too many to count - the number of products I have to review but I will review them soon!  Promise.

Neal's Yard Spa Detox and Glow Treatment - Kings Road, London

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you’ve all had a relaxing and enriching end to 2011 and beginning of 2012.  Back in early December it occurred to me that I had massaged about 30 people in 2011 but no one had reciprocated on me. I felt that I gave myself a little TLC.  To top it off my back and neck had so many knots in it that I could barely lift an arm (I'm only a wee bit exaggerating here).  It was definitely time for me to get my own treatment.

With the Neal's Yard Kings Road Spa being a 25-minute walk from my flat (and whose products I was familiar with since they contain a high percentage of organic ingredients) I decided to see what they had on offer. I booked a Detox and Glow package with Aya. Perfect! And it was, about 98% perfect.

The treatment started with a full body brush to stimulate lymphatic drainage and help remove the toxins from my body, of which I imagined there was a lot.  Aya brushed my skin very gently, much more gently than I brush my own skin, not soft enough to be ticklish, but soft enough to be distracting. But maybe I'm not being too kind to my skin if I'm brushing it too hard?

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Anti-Aging Soothing Emulsion by Bio Beaute by Nuxe Product Review

 

Whenever I review a skincare product I make sure to use it for at least a month. Your skin renews itself every 28 days or so to know the real deal you have to use a product at least that long.  After the month is up I choose to blog about the product after one of the following three triggers:

1)      I’m so excited about it that I have to blog about it straight away

2)      I’ve used up the entire bottle and want to blog about it while it’s still fresh in my mind

3)      I’ve decided to stop using it because I don’t really like it that much

The Anti-Aging Soothing Emulsion for sensitive normal, or combination skin by Bio Beauté by Nuxe fell into the 3^rd scenario for me.  I bought it in the summer at Monoprix in Avignon, France.  The summer months are so nice for dehydrated skin.  Hydration takes a back seat to sun protection worries.  This is why I picked a lighter product than normal .  The emulsion is a bit watery and it separates easily which I guess is why it was called an emulsion and not a cream.  However by definition creams are an emulsion (binding water and oil and getting them to stay together) so I’m not really sure what the marketers were trying to achieve there.  Plus if there is water in the product then you’ll need preservatives which will hopefully be of the naturally-derived, more expensive, non-paraben kind.

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Acorelle 100% Natural Oriental Wax Product Review

courtesy of Echemist

For a while now (almost a year) I’ve been working on my own natural hair remover recipe but I haven’t quite nailed it yet.  It’s extremely infuriating as the ingredient list is so short and simple: water, sugar, lemon juice and a few drops of essential oil if you’re feeling like it.  The reason why it’s so difficult to make a natural hair remover at home is because to get the perfect consistency (sticky enough and soft enough that it spreads well after the mixture cools down) it’s a matter of the perfect temperature and the perfect timing.  So when I don’t have the luxury of the time to experiment and my body hair is getting out of control then desperate times call for desperate measures.  I go out and buy something.

Enter stage left Acorelle 100% Natural Oriental Wax for face and body.  I’m not sure what makes it “oriental” per say.  Ingredients are simply sugar, water, and lemon juice.  The sugar and lemon juice are organic and the product carries the ECOCERT label.  I couldn’t find information on the Acorelle website specifically about the “oriental” wax that I used so I suspect it might have been replaced by a newer product “royal wax” which uses natural pine resin, organic beeswax, and white lily extract.  I’ll be sure to try that next, although hopefully I’ll have mastered my own recipe before then!

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Latte di Pulizia per il Viso al Cetriolo e all'Amamelide

My skin has been having a bit of a ho-hum time over the last month.  It’s always my belief that where there is bad skin, there is something else bad going on (e.g. stress, poor eating, dehydration, illness, etc).  I’ll admit I’ve been way too busy to even think about what my skin is trying to tell me and I think all of the above external factors are probably at play.  I’ve had a few bad breakouts, and overall my skin has looked dull, and maybe even a touch grey.  So that’s my disclaimer as I launch into my review of Latte di Pulizia per il Viso al Cetriolo e all’Amamelide by L’Erbolario.  I picked up a bottle of the facial cleanser in an erboristeria in Italy last Christmas because I had forgotten to pack a cleanser. 

About the product:

Loosely translated the name of the product means “Cleansing milk for the face with cucumber and witch hazel” and below the picture on the front of the bottle is the specification that the product is a skin purifier for oily and combination skin.  Unfortunately there is no ingredient list.  The instructions state to apply the milk to face and neck in the morning and at night in a uniform and careful way.   Remove it with a cotton pad spritzed with toner.  Then take a second pass with another cotton pad but this time with it soaked with toner.  Also the back of the bottle says that the active ingredients are: triglycerides, witch hazel, cucumber extract, and hydrating complex “NMF.”  Nice.

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I Love Lavender

There’s a reason why lavender is considered the panacea of essential oils and why lavender is synonymous with aromatherapy.  That’s because lavender (lavandula angustifolia) has the most therapeutic properties of any other essential oil.  Lavender may not always be the best essential oil for every condition, but you can be assured that it will provide some level of benefit.  Also, it’s not contraindicated for anything.  (Note- there are other types of lavender which are contraindicated in pregnancy e.g. lavandula stoechas, lavandula latifolia, and lavandula x intermedia the common names of which are French lavender, spike lavender, and lavandin so it’s important to read labels and know which lavender you are buying!)

For the natural beauty or aromatherapy expert out there, you may note that there is a factually incorrect statement in my video.  Clue – I got the wrong burn victim who stuck his hand in a vat of lavender oil and was miraculously healed!  I’ll send a lavender sleepy time roller ball oil to the first person who can correctly name the person I’m referring to.

Lush Duck and Burts Bees Super Shiny Shampoo and Conditioner

Thanks to Amanda and Daniel from Lush Duck for sending me some Burts Bees Super Shiny Grapefruit and Sugar Beet Shampoo and Conditioner to try.  Lush Duck is a new UK online natural and organic beauty retailer which sells some of my favorite brands: Akin, Pai Skin Care, and Lavera.  New customers get 10% of their first order and you get free second class shipping in the UK.  Who says natural beauty has to cost a lot?!

I really enjoyed using the shampoo and conditioner.  The grapefruit has a nice zingy scent which is uplifting and clears the mind.  The shampoo made my hair really soft and manageable and the conditioner allowed me get a comb through my tangled locks after my shower.

Shampoo ingredients as follows:

aqua, decyl glucoside, sucrose laurate, betaine, coco-glucoside, glycerin, glyceryl oleate, sodium cocoyl hydrolyzed soy protein, coco-betaine, lauryl glucoside, parfum (fragrance), citrus grandis (grapefruit) seed oil, citrus aurantium dulcis (sweet orange) peel oil, citrus nobilis (tangerine) oil, citrus medica limonum (lemon) oil, citrus aurantium amara (petitgrain) oil, hydroxypropyltrimonium honey, glucose, citric acid, xanthan gum, sodium chloride, glucose oxidase, lactoperoxidase, limonene

Conditioner ingredients as follows:

aqua, cetearyl alcohol, betaine, glycerin, cetrimonium bromide, sucrose polystearate, sucrose stearate, citrus grandis (grapefruit) seed oil, citrus aurantium dulcis (sweet orange) peel oil, citrus nobilis (tangerine) oil, citrus medica limonum (lemon) oil, citrus aurantium amara (petitgrain) oil, sclerocarya birrea oil, glucose, polysorbate 60, hydroxypropyltrimonium honey, parfum (fragrance), sodium chloride, glucose oxidase, lactoperoxidase, limonene

The Environmental Working Group rates these products 4/10 for toxicity which is the good side of average.  Looking up each ingredient individually, most ingredients came in 0 or 1/10.  Parfum was the biggest offender.  All in all, both solid products.  I would buy them myself if I was perusing the nearest Whole Foods store.

Pai Rosehip BioRegenerate fruit and seed oil blend with vitamin E

Pai Rosehip BioRegenerate fruit and seed oil blend with vitamin E is a nourishing facial oil packed with the omegas (3,6,7, and 9).  With a very simple formulation - rosa canina (rosehip) seed extract and rosa canina (rosehip) fruit extract both of which are organically produced and 99% organic certified with the Soil Association seal.  Plus some added mixed tocopherols (natural vitamin E) and you can’t go wrong!

My skin easily absorbed the golden amber oil which gets its color because of the caretonoids (which makes carrots orange in color too!)  I used 3-4 drops per night for almost 3 months and occasionally applied it under makeup if I was having a particularly dry day.  I found that if I waited about 10 minutes then I could easily apply makeup on top.  At the point of starting to use this product my skin was in pretty good shape.  It was clear and hydrated for the most part and this facial oil fitted in nice and neatly without disturbing the good state that I had achieved for my skin.  I can’t say that I noticed any improvements in terms of the sunspots I have on my cheeks which I was a little bit hoping for but then again I’ve never noticed a difference in my sun spots after using any product so this is a very tall order!  For me the smell was a little off putting.  It’s very seedy and earthy smelling.  But it smells like it’s very good and doing very nice things for your skin (which it is).

I’ve been using a facial oil as the last step in my nightly skin routine for at least 5 years now.  I highly recommend that you do too.  When I compare this facial oil with others it stacks up in terms of performance but purely for smell reasons I can’t rate it as my absolute favorite.  A few drops of essential oil could have made this facial oil more pleasant or indulgent-feeling to use but then again some people with really sensitive skin can’t use products with essential oils.  The pure gentleness  and simple formulation of the oil will mean that anyone anywhere with any skin type or condition can use it.

Interesting to note is on the shelves at Whole Foods this product is placed both in the beauty section and first aid sections of the store, or at least it was in the Kensington, London branch where I shop!  I was sent this product by a PR person so I didn’t have to purchase it myself but I could see how the oil could be used in first aid on damaged skin.  Overall this is a good product that I would recommend for those with really sensitive skin.  For me I would have liked a little more bells and whistles so I’ll probably add a few drops of lavender and geranium essential oils to the rest of my bottle.  If you want to have a go at making your own customized facial oil I would recommend the Pai Rosehip BioRegenerate as the carrier oil and then spruce it up with some essential oils according to your skin type.

Liz Earle Colour Sheer Skin Tint SPF15

This lucky blogger was invited to attend a sneak peak of a new Liz Earle product range launching in September called Liz Earle Colour.  This new product range is a departure from Naturally Active Skincare and is the first Liz Earle foray into makeup!  I am so excited, words can not express.  I decided to put the Liz Earle Colour Sheer Skin Tint SPF15 in beige 02 (it comes in 3 colors) to the test against my Bare Minerals Fairly Light SPF15 Foundation to see how they compared.  See for yourself!

One of the advantages of having a mineral makeup in liquid format rather than solid form (e.g. “powder” form although it’s not really powder) is that you can add some nice skin goodies like borage and avocado oils and essential fatty acids (e.g. the omegas).  When I asked Liz why they went with a liquid skin tint rather than solid she told me that the liquid form was better suited to all skin types. She herself has dry skin and solid mineral makeup can be drying or cakey for her.  Liz Earle Colour Sheer Skin Tint has only one formula for all skin types.  I was a bit worried that my oily-side-of-normal skin would look a bit greasy with the skin tint on but it doesn’t, it looks absolutely radiant.  Plus it feels absolutely gorgeous going on.  Although the skin tint sits on top of the skin (like all mineral makeup) and feels great to touch, it stood up well to the napkin test.  It stays put.  Liz herself wore it for 24 hours straight on a QVC show and didn’t need to reapply once (normally she does a full face 3 times for that kind of show!)  Speaking of Liz’s face, when she met with us bloggers she was sporting a full face of test makeup that she’s currently working on.  I’m very hopeful for future products because she looked fabulous, not at all like a make-up guinea pig!

You can be the first to know when this exciting product is going on sale by clicking here and filling in a form.  When you can finally order the product you’ll be sent your bottle of Liz Earle Colour Skin Tint along with a sample of each of the 3 shades.  That way you can try all 3 to make sure that you ordered the right shade.  In case that you didn’t, you can swap out your unopened bottle for the right shade which will help cut down on wastage, not to mention the fact that it comes in a recyclable bottle, yeah for the environment and for customers!  The 3 shades should be suitable for 90% of skin tones out there.  I found that the middle color – beige blended well with my own skin tone.  I would say that it provides a medium coverage.  It didn’t quite make my sun spots disappear even after 3 layers, but it did enhance my complexion and give me a dewy finish.

Another noteworthy thing about the Liz Earle Colour Skin Tint is that it’s cruelty-free.  That’s quite a feat not to use carmine (crushed up beetles) in a makeup range.  It’s a pretty standard practice among main stream beauty companies.  So there you have it, Liz Earle Colour Skin Tint SPF15 is good for customers, good for the environment, and good for the beetles.  Everyone wins!

Ren Products at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh

When you roll with Nadine Jolie, you roll in style.  So when Nadine came to visit the UK earlier this year, I was happy to accompany her (read tag along with her) to Edinburgh.  We stayed in a suite at the amazing Balmoral Hotel where JK Rowling finished her last Harry Potter book in 2007 in room 652.  See Nadine’s video of our suite at the Balmoral here.

Apart from being a gorgeous hotel steeped in history, I was very impressed with the complimentary bath and shower products from REN.  Glad to see a luxury hotel embrace natural beauty products!

Here's the list of what Ren products don't contain: Petrochemicals, sulphates, parabens, synthetic fragrance, synthetic colours, TEA, DEA, Glycols, silicones, PEGs, et al.  The lack of these synthetic nasties makes me very happy.

Oat and Bay Conditioning Shampoo left my hair very soft the first few times I used it although over time the effect faded.  The smell is light, fresh, and citrusy.  Towards the end of the bottle I started washing my hair twice with it to make sure it was really getting clean.  I was fine with this though because I really enjoyed using the shampoo.

Pro-Vitamin Hair Conditioner works well as a conditioner and also as a natural shaving cream.  Leaves hair and skin moisturized without silicon or petrochemical build up!

Neroli and Grapefruit Body Wash although I've long detested the way neroli smells, this body wash changed my mind. The pairing of neroli and grapefruit zest is a match made in heaven.  It's light and refreshing and a delight to use in the shower.  Afterwards I felt invigorated!

Liz Earle Mineral Sun Cream SPF 20

Liz Earle Mineral Sun Cream SPF20 has saved my skin from the scorching sun on my last 3 holiday (well except for in Tenerife where there was so sun in April but you can still get burnt on a cloudy/rainy day!) My favorite part is the sun cream's usabilty. It's tan in color rather than white so it doesn't look chalky on the skin. And I think I've mastered the best application technique. First smear on a glob. After a few strokes to get it spread around the surface area, then pat the remainder into the skin. Your skin will feel a bit tacky but you won't have any more obvious splotches. This helps to keep the minerals on top of the skin where they can reflect the sun. Unlike chemical sunscreens which work from inside out and take lots of chemicals into the skin with them!

Ingredient list:

Caprylic/capric triglyceride, citrus aurantium amara (orange) flower water, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, aqua, glycerin, polyhydroxstearic acid, vitellaria paradoxa (shea butter), cetearyl alcohol, cetearyl glucoside, lactic acid, tocopherol (vitamin E), panthenol, punica granatum (pomegranate) seed extract, camellia sinesis (green tea) leaf extract, sorbitan olivate, sorbitan palmitate, p-anisic acid, phenoxyethanol, glyceryl caprylate, sodium lactate, alumina, aluminum stearate, xanthan gum, isostearic acid, methylisothiazolinone, benzoic acid, dehydroacetic acid, ethylhexlglycerin, polyaminopropyl biguanide.

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Confessions from an Armpit

Strangest thing, I got this letter in the post the other day:

Dear Katherine,
It's been a long time since I last wrote you a letter. For that I apologize. However there are some issues that I need to raise with you. Firstly, and most importantly, I stink! How could you not notice?! I said nothing of this the last few summers but I really can't take it anymore! Now that it's warm again in London every time you get on the hot tube I instantly fill up with sweat and while most of the time that's ok, once I get past a certain thresh hold, then I well and truly stink. Secondly, I'm really a shy armpit. I get very uncomfortable when people stare at me. Ever since you ditched the antiperspirant it's all anyone ever does is stare at the big circles of sweat that dampen your top! Fine in the winter when you can cover up with a jacket but in the summer it's impossible. Don't think I haven't noticed that you've stopped wearing certain tops just because you know you'll immediately get sweat stains when you put them on. It seems to me like it's a waste to only wear half your wardrobe.

There, I've finally said it. So can I request that just for the summer you use some alum on me????

Yours sincerely,
Your armpit

This is the photo that sparked my underarm to write to me

Ok I had a little bit of fun with that one but unfortunately everything my armpit is saying is true.  I’m well and truly tired of having sweat stains on my clothes all of the time, and then when it’s too hot, when I get nervous, or when I work out I start to smell.  So recently I purchased a main stream anti-perspirant with the active ingredient aluminum chlorohydrate which is a complex inorganic salt.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that that aluminum chlorohydrate is only rated a 4 in the EWG cosmetics database.  That doesn’t mean that all the other ingredients were squeaky clean but it was a bit of a load off my mind.

The problem with aluminum salts (which can be listed as chlorhide, chlorohydrate, hydroxybromide, or zirconium) is that when tested on lab animals they are a neurotoxin and have bad effects.  At one point there was thought there was a link with aluminum and Alzheimer’s although that thought has passed.  Some scientists think that there is a link with the increase in anti-perspirant use with the rise in breast cancer, but other scientists disagree.  As usual, these things are never straight forward.

So for the summer only I’ve decided to live life on the edge and embrace aluminum. So although 75% of the year I’m still hopefully reducing my exposure to harmful aluminum, I’m upping the ante a little bit for the remaining part of the year.  Overall it’s still a decrease.  You can’t win them all.

UNE Natural Beauty

I've noticed UNE Natural Beauty products in pharmacies on more than one occasion when in France and Italy.  I took the plunge and purchased a tube of Lip-Toned lip color while recently in Avignon, France. I have to say I'm quite amoureuse with this lipstick. It glides on beautifully, feels great on the lips (not too sticky, but just moist enough) and lasts about 3-4 hours if you're not eating/drinking. The color L09 is fab. It’s a very neutral red. It's a great every day color that would suit lots of different skin tones. I now carry it around in my handbag and reapply regularly throughout the day

In terms of green beauty cred, the package boasts an ECOCERT, 21.82% of ingredients from organic farming (good but not great), and 100% of ingredients from natural origin (ok what the devil does that mean?!)   I couldn’t find any ingredient lists on the website, or even any info on the lipsticks so it’s a bit of a mystère as to the contents of this product.

It's always a difficult balance finding a high performing product that has equally high eco quotient.  Since I can’t comment on the latter and already told you about the former, then I’ll leave you with this quote from the UNE website:

“I am natural.  I don’t hide behind a thick layer of make-up that absorbs my personality.  I want a make-up which enhances my natural beauty without concealing it.”

I can really dig it since I don’t wear a lot of makeup.  When I actually do, I want a natural look.

Molinard Perfume Museum Grasse, France

Suspend for this blog post only everything I’ve told you about the nasty chemicals in perfumes because I’m now going to tell you about the time that I designed my own fragrance at the Molinard Perfume Museum in Grasse, France.  If you’re ever in the area I recommend the experience.  For €27 and a half hour of your time you can do it too!  You work one on one with a fragrance consultant who helps you through the process.

Step 1 – choose your base note.  This is the scent that’s going to stay on your skin the longest well after the top and middle notes have disappeared (in that order) so it’s really important that you like it.  I had the option of selecting from about 15-18 “essences” some of which were clear base notes, some of which could be either base or middle note depending on the other essences they could be combined with.  I thought initially that cypress was the winning base note but then when I combined cypress with the other 3 essences I had selected (I was allowed a max of 4 essences) I decided to swap it out for an essence called “marine.”  Ironically marine smells nothing like the ocean (because the real ocean smells gross, especially at low tide) but it’s that scent which is in any product that is branded as relating to the sea or summer.  Although it’s a synthetic scent, I absolutely adore it because it reminds me of summers in Maine, not because of the real beach but because I associate it with summer and summer smells.

Me and my fragrance - Acqua di Caterina

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Aromatherapy Exam Update

Hey everyone! I'm pleased to report that I passed my Essential Oil Science exam!!! I don't normally use excessive punctuation but this news deserved the three exclamation points because it was such a close call. Pass was a 55 and I got a 56. I've been telling people for weeks that I wasn't sure if I passed to which the usual response was that everyone thought for sure I had. Thank you to everyone who felt so confident in my when I wasn't sure myself! Now only 51 massage case studies and an Anatomy and Physiology exam to go...

Pai Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser Review

Pai Camellia and Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser is a light cream cleanser which multitasks as an eye makeup remover too.  It’s delightful to use and has a fresh, floral scent.  Pai was launched by Sarah Brown in 2007 who helped battle her severe skin allergies by making her own natural formulations.  When doctors prescribed her daily high dose anti-histamine tablets for her skin, she said no thanks and quit her successful PR career to pursue natural skincare.  You can tell from the formulations that these products are painstakingly researched and developed. 

Here is the list of what you won’t find in Pai creams: ethyl alcohol (sometimes labeled alcohol denat), artificial fragrances, beeswax, formaldehyde, sodium laurel sulfate, parabens, phenoxyethanol, petrochemicals, phthalates. Whew!   What really impressed me about the list is not that it’s long and that it contains the usual baddies, but the explanations around why Pai choose not to use certain other ingredients.  For example, ethyl alcohol is not harmful for you, in fact it is quite benign.  However, it is really drying for the skin and you’re better off without it.  Unfortunately, ethyl alcohol tends to feature at the top of the ingredients lists of many “natural” beauty brands because it acts as a preservative where they are trying to avoid parabens.  I was sent my bottle of Camellia and Rose Cleanser to try a few months ago and it has a best before date of 16/08/12 so the product still has a decent shelf life without the preservatives, no doubt helped by the clever pump which keeps the air out of the product.

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Save Herbal Medicine in EU

I was really shocked to learn recently that the Traditional Herbal Medicine Products Directive (THMPD) came into enforce in the EU on 30^th April 2011.  The directive means that many herbal products constituted as Traditional Herbal Products will need to be licensed before they can be sold in the EU.  The impact of this directive will mean that many of the herbal products people have been using for years will become unavailable, as companies struggle to keep up with the expensive and complex licensing procedures.  Considering how little regulation there is around what we put on our skin, I was so upset that this directive came into force, and the lack of press around the issue.  I do acknowledge that consumers should not be able to buy things that could harm them but the level of risk around herbal medicine products is so low, especially when prescribed by a licensed herbalist.  I don’t think the answer to a few dodgy herbal shops is taking herbal medicine off the shelves.  If you agree with me sign the petition organized by Avaaz – click here

Butter London Product Review Part 2

I went on a bit of a Butter London splurge at Whole Foods following my initial introduction to the 3-free range.  In this video I review No More Waity Katie lacquer, Fash Pack nail polish, base coat, Powder Room Acetone Free Lacquer Remover and Matte Finish Top Coat.  One thing I didn’t mention in the video which I only found out later is the fact that when I removed the No More Waity Katie lacquer from my toenails, the very next day I had some nasty fungus growing on one of my big toes.  Ewwwwwww!  But I made an essential oil blend of lavender, tea tree, and lemongrass and it quickly cleared.  Whew!

Jivamukti Yoga - Feel the Om Shanti

Sharon Gannon co-founder Jivamukti Yoga photo by GuzmanNow that my aromatherapy exam is behind me (although results still unknown) I m rediscovering all of the things that I love that have been put on hold since I started my aromatherapy course last year. One of those things is Jivamukti yoga. On my first free Saturday morning in what felt like ages, but what actually was a year, I ran over (literally) to the Jivamukti Yoga centre in Nottinghill, London. Class with Durga was amazing! I ve been a student of various types of yoga over the last 7 years, although I practiced Ashtanga the most. As a former ballet dancer and aerobics instructor, I prefer really dynamic yoga classes (read extremely physically challenging). However Jivamukti yoga is so much more than physical exercise. These are my favorite things about Jivamukti yoga:

Chanting at the beginning of every class the instructor leads the class in a chant. There is a different theme each month and the chants are picked from various Sanskrit texts in line with the theme. This month s theme is (in my words) when something in life seems really, really negative, focus positive energy towards that source of stress. I know, easier said than done! The class made me meditate on the negative energy I was feeling and I managed to squash the bad vibes in the end. The true test however will come Monday morning whether I can keep up the positive energy at work.

Music Originally I found it a bit distracting but I now like the fact that music is played throughout class. It helps keep the flow of class. Music plays a large part in Jivamukti yoga.

Adjustments The instructor walks around the whole class correcting students postures. For large classes there are two instructors, one leading, and the other dedicated solely to adjusting students. Physical adjustments are the best way for students to learn so it s great to have 2 instructors in class.

Massage One of the best parts of doing sun salutations (series of warm up postures) is that the instructor massages Jivamukti China Gel into the students. It s very stimulating and invigorating (thanks to the menthol and camphor) and the scent really perks you up.

Dynamic flow Jivamukti yoga is physically challenging but not in the painful, make-you-want-to-drop kind of way. I think the fact that the class flows seamlessly between postures and doesn t stop helps facilitate this good kind of hard feeling.

Post-class effects When I get up out of savasana (also known as corpse pose for very good reason) which is the last posture of class, I feel like my best possible self. If I m tired or cranky before class starts, then I leave feeling relaxed. If it s a morning class (and I m a morning person) I leave feeling energized.

So there you have it, all of my reasons why I love Jivamukti yoga. In fact I love it so much that every year I m tempted to do the yoga teacher training at the Omega Center in upstate New York. It s the first thing I would sign up for if I was ever made redundant from work. You ve always got to have a fall-back plan, no?

Weleda Citrus Deodorant Review

I recently decided that I was tired of my deodorant not having any scent and I needed to shake it up a bit.  So I combed the aisles of Waitrose on Gloucester Road (which for a small supermarket has a very large natural beauty aisle!) and decided on a bottle of Weleda Citrus Deodorant.

The ingredient list is a natural beauty’s delight.  Basically it’s just alcohol, water, and essential oils.  The scent is light and refreshing and can’t help but lift the spirits.  The first ingredient you get a whiff of is the alcohol which fades quickly, and then the citrus fruits.  Personally, if I was the formulator I would have added some middle notes just to broaden out the scent a bit.

Generally I found this deodorant kept me smell free, although it’s not an antiperspirant so you will still have wet armpits from time to time, if it’s too hot or you’re feeling nervous.  However, you can reapply as much as you like since there’s nothing toxic in here.  Although if I reapply too many times I find it a little drying on the skin but it works well.

In fact, the formulation is so simple I’ve decided to try my hand at creating my own signature deodorant.  Recipe to follow.