HOT OFF THE PRESS: THE BOOK OF BEAUTY

It sometimes takes a long time to make a dream come true. This week, mine finally arrived in four boxes. My first official publication, The Book of Beauty: Making Skin Care Products with Aromatherapy and Ayurveda. When I was six years old, my mother bought me my first brand new book, Martine à la mer. Right there and then, I knew I wanted to become an author. I spent most of my career writing as a reporter, as a communications officer or in some other capacity but it did not meet this urge deep within. Now this one did and propelled me to start another one.

The Book of Beauty summarizes everything I learned over the past 15 years about making skin care products. I share with readers the basics of Ayurveda as it relates to skin types and provide a test that allows you to assess your own and other people's dosha or constitution with photos that support the teachings.

NATURE'S BOUNTY FOR YOUR BEAUTY: TURMERiC, NEEM, HENNA AND HIBISCUS

Comes February, I will be back in Kerala, India, for 21 days of pancha karma treatment and to learn more about ayurvedic use of medicinal herbs for health and beauty. Already familiar with turmeric, neem and henna, I discovered the wonders of hibiscus for amazing hair during my last trip.

Turmeric

North Americans are familiar with turmeric as

RECIPE: MUSTARD COMPRESS FOR COLDS AND FEVERS

Use this with CAUTION. Mustard can be quite heating and irritating to the skin, so make sure you don’t let it burn you or the person under your care. Some people have allergies to mustard seed; in doubt, ask or do the muscle test.

Ingredients:

2 cups of flour

4 Tbsp. dry mustard powder, or less according to strength

Warm water

Method:

• Mix the flour and mustard, then gradually add warm water to make a paste. Aim for a smooth and easy-to-spread, but not runny, consistency.
• Take a clean tea towel, or piece of cotton or flannelette and apply the paste on it.
• Fold up the bottom half of the towel and apply to chest area, fabric side on the skin. Do NOT apply the paste on the skin! This would cause blistering.
• Before covering with a blanket to encourage sweating, make sure you put another piece of fabric on top of the paste to avoid staining the blanket.
• Leave on for 10 to 20 minutes. Tingling, heat and redness of the skin are normal as heat and blood circulation is drawn to the surface but too much can bring blistering. Remove if skin turns deep red. If using on a child, watch carefully as young skin is more delicate.
• Remove poultice, wash skin with a warm cloth to remove any trace that may have seeped through and dry.
• Apply sesame oil.
• Repeat the same procedure on the back.

Apply every 4 to 6 hours as needed.

A good recipe to make your own mustard paste is available at http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/12/how-to-make-mustard-home.

DECOMPRESS WITH HOT AND COLD COMPRESSES

Compresses are great for a great many conditions and the ingredients to use for them will vary accordingly.

Both hot and cold compresses can be used, but for different purposes.

Rules of thumb


- Using hot or cold compresses depends both on the condition and the person’s dosha.
- Never apply a hot compress on the head.

TIP - FATTY ACIDS AND IODINE: TO WRITE HOME ABOUT!

You have heard a lot about the benefits of Omega-3 and -6 for brain growth and performance, and to reduce cholesterol and the risks of heart diseases and cancer. Whether you integrate Omega-3s to your meals or spread them on your body, your skin loves them because of their anti-inflammatory properties and ability to repair damaged and dry skin. Omega-6s are also great because they support anti-allergic functions and are great allies against eczema.

Next time you prepare a menu for your skin, add avocado oil and 2 or 3 drops of linseed oil (the best of the Omega-3) and rosehip or poppy seed oil (the richest in Omega-6).

For those of you with eczema, add linseed and rosehip oil to increase the value of your unguent or massage oil. Linseed and rosehip also contain iodine, which is great for the thyroid. Rashes, discoloration, acne and edema are some of the skin problems associated with thyroid malfunction.

HOLLOWEE'N, HOUSES AND MASKS

Do you sometimes dream of house? This morning, I was meditating to find a topic for this blog. This lead me to my heart chakra where I found a wonderful house, welcoming, well lit and with bright windows and cheerful colours. This was a start contrast to the state of the gloomy, decrepit houses I used to dream about years ago when I was healing from burn out. They looked like Hollowee’n houses, without moonlight. I also also wanted to bring something fun to this blog for Hollowee’n, so here's an experiment in mask making.

RECIPE - 2 FABULOUS EXFOLIANTS

1. For the Vata and Kapha constitutions, therefore for cold-dry and cold-oily skin. Excellent to calm acne.

1/2 teaspoon of honey 1 cup of boiling water 5 bay leaves 1/4 teaspoon of sage powder 5 fresh neem leaves or 1/4 teaspon of neem powder Method: - Infuse the herbs in boiling water. - Gradually dilute honey in approximatez 1 Tbsp of the infusion to obtain a texture that is smooth but not runny - Apply on your face and let penetrate for 11 minutes. - During that time, drink the rest of the tea. - Rince with tepid water. Use a coloured facecloth to avoid visible stains!

2. For the Pitta constitution, therefore sensitive hot skin, use: 2 teaspoons of rice syrup 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric 1/4 teaspoon of neem leaf approximately1/4 teaspoon of rice milk or organic cow's milk Method: - Make a smooth (but not runny) paste with all the ingredients. - Let penetrate for 11 minutes. Meanwhile, enjoy a nice cup of mint tea.

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BEAUTY TIP - CHECK YOUR FACE FOR CLUES

Consider your face as a map on your journey to beauty. Pimples, wrinkles and other blemishes in various areas of the face indicate an area of depletion, stress, emotion and loss of balance of one element:

FOREHEAD: a loss of balance of the air (Vata) element; a discomfort or problem in the colon and/or can related to emotions of anxiety, fear and worry

NOSE AND CHEEKS: a loss of balance of the fire (Pitta) element; related to the small intestine and/or emotions of anger, jealousy and frustration

MOUTH, CHIN AND NECK: a loss of balance of the earth (Kapha) element; issue relates to the chest and stomach and/or to emotions of grief, depression and attachment.

Identify what is happening on you face and in your emotional life. See how this relates to the above.

Reviewing what you know about the elements and what you discovered about the emotions to which you gravitate most often, what will you do to bring back balance to your skin?

I FEEL GREAT BUT... STORIES THAT CAUSE PIMPLES

Yesterday, I had a booth at the Journée de la culture event in Embrun, Ontario, and as usual was offering free assessments. I had the opportunity to meet a women who gave me a topic for today’s blog. Her face was tight and serious, she had pimples in the lower part of her cheeks and her eyes were dull.  She asked what I could do to help her skin.

Given the location of her pimples, I surmised that the source was constipation and/or grief or depression. Her shallow breath and shoulders held high and very tight, as if defending from something, also struck me. She mentioned that she has constipation, is chronically depressed, and that people have been mean to her since childhood and keep putting her down. She repeating that story several times during the session.

STAY YOUNG WITH GOLDEN MILK: A RECIPE

Aging is a normal process with many benefits. Several signs of decay associated with it, including the calcification and drying of the joints, can be slowed down considerably with proper maintenance. Golden milk is one of your ticket to liberation from cracking, stiffening joints. I see it a the velvety golden stream of nourishment that flows in the fountain of youth. This delicious recipe has been a staple of Ayuvedic medicine for few thousand years. Drink it regularly.

It is also used before (women) and after (men) sexual intercourse to replenish the ojas.

The recipe below serves 1 person.

Ingredients:

• 1/8 teaspon of turmeric
• 3 pods of cardamom
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 cup of milk or almond milk
• 1 Tbsp of ghee
• 1 tsp honey (2 for Vata) or maple or rice syrup for Pitta

Method:

1. Dilute the turmeric in water on high, then medium heat and stir until you obtain an nice paste.
2. Add milk and cardamom until comfortably warm.
3. Pour in a cup.
4. Add sweetener.
5. DO NOT add honey during the cooking process.

Enjoy!

WHAT CAN WEARING GEMS DO FOR YOU?

Under what stars were you born?

Did Eve and Adam wear gems in the garden of Eden? We likely will never know. However, given every human being’s desire to look and feel beautiful it is very likely. For eons, women, men and children have adorned themselves with flowers, feathers, animal parts, gems and precious metals to play, seduce, impress, or establish their status. Gems are also have been given other roles.

RECIPE - REMOVING MOLES

Ghee and agni hotra ashes unguent is a very powerful medicine for many skin conditions, including moles. Mix 1/4 tsp of agni hotra ashes to 1 tsp of ghee. Apply gently on the mole every day, for 40 days. Ashes can be obtained from Face to Grace. Agni hotra ashes are obtained from a fire ceremony held at sunrise or sunset. To learn how to make ghee and get your own ashes, contact Samyukta at info@facetograce.com.

EFFORTLESS EVOLUTION: THE GIFTS OF THE PRACTICAL AWAKENING and BALANCING YOUR EMOTIONS COURSES

Life changes can bring great joy, great stress and often both. Choosing a new career or partner, having a baby, losing a loved one or a job, having you life threatened by a serious illness, a natural disaster or criminals are great tests. How do you cope? Can you observe your thoughts and emotions, without freezing or reacting, to get a wider perspective of reality?  Allowing life to flow through you without judgment or chaotic emotions during quiet or challenging times  supports your evolution. The first thing to remember is that thoughts and emotions are not permanent. Only habitual patterns make you believe that they are. Learning new techniques and reflexes as well as upgrading how you feel about yourself and view the world can help you take control of them instead of letting them control you. Practical Awakening and Balancing Your Emotions with Aromatherapy are courses that help build your nervous, hormonal and immune systems. They bring you to a place where you can ground and create a distance between the judgments, fears, anger and other emotions that paralyze you and block your life force. The practices taught also help remove memories lodged in the cells of you physical body and from the chakras. Watch http://vimeo.com/43226631 for more comments on Practical Awakening and how effortlessly your personal evolution happens when you stop resisting the moment, when you stop trying to change yourself. The gift is the same for Balancing your emotions. Sitting to do the practice for 40 days settles the emotions regardless of what you are going through. It is that simple, so simple you may not notice at first. Then one day, you realize something shifted... Open the door to the pure creative potential of your life and celebrate the natural healing power available within you. Contact Samyukta at info@facetograce.com to sign up for these empowering classes.