Updates from Keri Elkin

Stress and anxiety can be overwhelming sensations, and it’s important to realize that they affect both our mental health as well as our physiological health.  You can try it out yourself....next time you're feeling anxious try focusing on where in your body you feel it.  We need to be able to listen to our body, mind, and emotions to create balance.  A weekly yoga routine is a great step in connecting to ourselves and why I offer a FREE virtual class each week here so join in!!

There is increasing scientific evidence to show that our mental health is intricately linked with the health of our digestive system.  October's annual "Gut Detox" isn't just to prep our immune system for colder weather, it's also for our mental wellness.  

Healing is so empowering. Not just for the body, but for the mind, too. Knowing ourselves well enough to recognize what our minds and bodies need in order to THRIVE & can be being preventative.  Before you turn blindly to the crutch of pharmaceutical treatments, it’s worth looking a bit deeper into holistic remedies for your ailments. There are SO many ways to heal ourselves naturally from illnesses, imbalances, and diseases that the main issue will simply be to pinpoint exactly what the best one is for YOU.  

Our bodies are naturally programmed to restore, digest, and reproduce cells. When we interfere with these processes by ingesting unnatural substances or medicines, we are actually hindering the most basic processes of the body. We need to start learning how optimum functioning of the body should be the goal.  Natural remedies to human illness and imbalances date back thousands of years, and it’s simply our modern world which has lost touch with the more effective and sustainable concept of preventive medicine.  

My goal during  this Anxiety webinar is to help you learn some of the most beneficial methods to calm you naturally....and you'll be able to start Implementing them right away!    Check it out here.

Know someone that struggles with Anxiety?  Share this with them.  

A recent study from the American Stroke Association suggests that optimism can reduce inflammation. 

In a small study of 49 stroke survivors, researchers examined the relationship between optimism, inflammation, stroke severity, and physical disability for three months after a stroke.

“Our results suggest that optimistic people have a better disease outcome, thus boosting morale may be an ideal way to improve mental health and recovery after a stroke,” said Yun-Ju Lai, Ph.D., M.S., R.N., the study’s first author and a postdoctoral fellow in the neurology department at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. (See more here: https://newsroom.heart.org/news/optimism-reduces-stroke-severity-inflammation)

While inflammation is an unfortunate side effect for stroke survivors, chronic inflammation affects millions of people worldwide. So whether you’re dealing with a diagnosed medical condition or just are looking to keep inflammation levels low, try injecting a bit more optimism into your life.

For some people, optimism comes naturally. For others—not so much. If you fall into the latter category, try to pay extra attention to your inner-dialogue. Whenever you find yourself saying something negative or pessimistic, pause and offer yourself a counter-argument. For example:

“Wow Cindy is wearing an ugly sweater today,” turns into “Power to Cindy for rocking that presentation last week.”

Make it a habit to leave every thought on a non-negative note. It’s not as hard as you might think; it just takes practice!

Healthy living is SO much more than Diet and Exercise.  Because of this, each month I have a healthy living theme to guide you towards becoming the healthiest and happiest version of you.  With the shift in season, start of school, beginning of the leaves falling and cooler nights upon us, this month is all about creating a routine.  Our body's love routine and need it!  

So mark off some time each Friday for YOU (really, go add a 30 minute recurring event on your calendar now.  Label it something like "HEALTHY ME-Time").  Then check out my virtual classes during that allocated time to get you working on your wellness each week.  Follow this pattern every month and in 12 months (next September) you won't believe you could've lived any other way because it'll be your lifestyle.

On 9/4 we kick off the month with “Yoga Flow for Stress Relief” Webinar which will give you the info on joining the 20 day reset your routine challenge.   Learn about this webinar & challenge here. Because it takes 3 weeks to create a habit, I urge you to join this month  challenge!

Want to watch my weekly virtual classes to compliment this healthy theme, webinar & challenge?  

*If you're not on Social Media, that's okay....just let me know which class you're interested it and I'll email you the link.

9/11:  Intro to Essential Oils

This class is about the best & safest oils and why you should be using EOs!    We will dive into the most popular oils and how to use them every day to get you into the Routine of EOs.

9/18:  I have my Oils, now what?

This class is for those that are ready for change and have already ordered or gotten their kit.   This will guide you through how to get the most out of it BECAUSE you gotta use them to benefit from them!

9/25:  Essential Oils for Special Needs 

The start of school is all around us and last month we talked about Back to School Wellness and Essential Oils for College Students.  Since there's many special needs family's out there, this class is a perfect compliment to kicking off the school year.  We will focus on using essential oils to support you and your child through life’s daily challenges, helping you both achieve the best version of yourself in the process.

Let's start with what we eat....the American food system is broken in many ways, from lack of fresh produce in inner-city areas to unethical work conditions for farmers. To list them all would take up far too much of your time. Every time you spend a dollar, you vote for the way our food system operates. Here are some tips for helping you shop more consciously, sustainably, and healthily.

Whenever possible, buy organic or local. These types of foods cut down on emissions and fossil fuels from transporting the food from far away. They also cut back on pollutants from agricultural chemicals.

Look for a few specific labels to support farm workers. If a food is marked Fairtrade, that indicates it was sustainably sourced, made in a way that doesn’t pollute water or airways, and ensures that farmers and workers receive fair prices and wages. 

Not only will these shifts in shopping behavior help your community (and the world), but you’ll also end up with fresher, tastier, more nutrient-rich food.

Although each grocery store is set up differently, the overall layout is usually the same:

- produce on one wall
- fresh meats on one wall
- processed foods in the center aisles

Next time you go to the grocery store, do your best to only shop along the four walls!

What we put on our body is JUST as important as what we eat...BECAUSE it absorbs into your bloodstream SO if I'm mindfully shopping for food, transform this way of thinking to your skin (our largest organ).  This is EXACTLY why I do the monthly Young Living Essential Rewards program for ALL of my personal care products....it's mindfully made products that are more than organic with simple ingredients.  Every month I restock my lotions, deodorants, toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, shampoo, hand sanitizer, etc.

BONUS**I shop from me (instead of the CVS's, Walgreens, Amazons, etc of the world) so I make commission from me & others in my Young Living community.  I don't know about you but I'd rather shop from my friends and family and ME than some giant corporation.  Learn more about Essential Rewards here.    

These 3 things....food, personal care products & cleaning products are a great first step into mindful living.  I call this Yoga off the mat because it takes everything I am learning from a yoga class and incorporating it into a lifestyle of truly caring for myself, family and world.  

Join me on a healthy living journey of prevention medicine through mindful shopping. Join Young Living's shopping journey with me by choosing one of these kits to get started.

See below for some simple ways to swap out everyday toxins you take in daily to protect you immune system.