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How to Conquer Thanksgiving This Year

How to Conquer Thanksgiving This Year | The Organic Beauty Blog

This time of year, most of my clients start panicking about the inevitable onslaught of travel, pies, and family stress that can be associated with Thanksgiving.  Well I say, screw that!  This year, how about we all take some key, powerful steps towards not letting this super fun, gratitude-filled holiday derail us in any way!  Giving in to the assumption that the next month is just going to be a landslide of undoing all the amazing things you’ve been doing for your body this fall is just plain silly, and that frame of mind sets you up for failure.  Remember, you are in total control of all your actions:  what you do and do not eat, how you take care of your body, how you interact with loved ones, and how you let things affect you.  So with that in mind, I give you my 8 tips for conquering Thanksgiving, and having a healthy, fun, and fabulous holiday!

 

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How to not obsess about your health

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

How to not obsess about your health | The Organic Beauty Blog

This last month and a half brought with it a whole load of drama. I won’t bore you with all the gory details, but basically, I developed some pregnancy related fluid in my inner ears, resulting in one ear getting completely clogged (like, pretty much deaf-level clogged), and some debilitating vertigo and nausea that rendered me couch-ridden for the better part of a month.  I essentially couldn’t move my head without throwing up!

Not. Fun.

Although my official prognosis is “this just may continue until after you give birth!” (ugh.), my symptoms have gotten a lot better, and I can now walk around and drive unassisted, and was even able to restart my yoga practice last week.  Yay!

The whole situation made me feel so out of control.

Thoughts like: “Why was this happening to me??”  “I had had such an easy and healthy pregnancy so far, and now this?” and “But I’m so frickin’ healthy! I do everything right!!!” flew through my mind on a daily basis.

Yes, I threw myself a couple of serious pity parties, but I also did my best to maintain a sense of humor and lightness around this miserable situation.

It really made me think about how obsessed we can get with our health, and how harmful it can be to lose site of the big picture and our sense of humor.

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Our fave healthy reads!

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

The stack of books on my night stand just keeps growing and growing with all these awesome wellness books that I just can’t get enough of!  From creating miracles in your life, and acting in alignment with how you want to feel, to eating for a perfect period, and having a super healthy, natural pregnancy… There’s so much to choose from!

Here’s what I’m reading now:

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Fitness Trackers: Your New Fave Healthy Accessory

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

Fitness Trackers Your New Fave Healthy Accessory | The Organic Beauty Blog

All it takes is a peek at the wrists of your friends, coworkers and passersby on the street to see that fitness trackers are all the rage right now. And for good reason!

These unobtrusive bracelets track your steps, workouts, sleep, mood, food and more, and in the opinion of this holistic nutritionist, they can be an invaluable tool in understanding your body, setting and sticking with wellness goals, and getting (and staying) super healthy and fit.

For the last 4.5 months, my techie husband and I have been testing the UP24 Band ($127), and I have to tell you, it rocks.

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3 Day Post-Holiday Cleanse!

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

NU Health 3 Day Cleanse Ebook

I am so super excited to introduce you all to my new, 3 Day Post-Holiday Cleanse! I’ve gone through all my favorite detoxifying, seasonal smoothie, soup, and lunch recipes to compile a beautiful, and above all, effective, 3 day, whole foods detox to help you reboot, reset, and recharge your system after the (ahem) indiscretions of the holiday season.

Stress, travel, more alcohol than usual, sugar cookies and other favorite holiday foods all have an impact on your body and mind that can show up on your skin, your waistline, and your mood.  Well I’m here to help you wipe the slate clean!

This cleanse is jam packed with delicious recipes, cleansing tips, and even the magic formula for you to create your own cleanse if you want to keep the detoxifying, glow-making action going!

>> Click here to sign up and download your free cleanse! <<

Are you already on our list?  Just enter your email above to update your profile and make sure you’re signed up to receive updates about Greens. Grains. Gorgeous. — our new, life-altering, game-changing online program launching this winter!  You’ll get the link to download your ebook in the confirmation email ; )

Extreme Skin Nourishment from Biao Beauty

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

Biao’s Beauty Rejuvenation Collection

It’s no secret that dry, winter skin is something that plagues many of us, and is yet another reason to dread the coming of  these darker months.  Well, I am happy to report that you can cross this winter bummer of your list!  Introducing the Beauty Rejuvenation Collection from Biao Beauty.  This line of hyper moisturizing, extremely nourishing products are your key to dewy, glowing, soft skin all winter long, no matter what mother nature throws your way!

The secret to this amazing line of products is a potent one-two punch of Epicalmin TCM and babassu oil.  Epicalmin TCM is a synergistic blend of three plants traditionally used in Chinese Medicine which have amazing protective and anti-aging effects on the skin.  When combined with babassu oil, which improves skin’s elasticity, suppleness, and moisture, the result is an amazing combo for youthful, glowing skin!

I’ve been using the Rejuvenating Night Creme, which leaves my skin feeling like absolute silk.  Loaded with other powerful skincare ingredients like olive oil, vitamin E, lavender and honeysuckle, the cream is also intensely healing for sensitive skin or skin prone to eczema or psoriasis.  The rose scent, which is absolutely heavenly, comes from palma rosa oil, which is not only yummy smelling, but has powerful oil regulating and cell regenerating effects, making it perfect for reducing the appearance of wrinkles or scars.  I wake up in the morning with glowing, supple skin, that, I kid you not, barely even needs a brush of powder to look flawless!  This is definitely my new favorite night cream.

The Rejuvenating Mask is also a vital addition to your winter toolbox. Not only does it totally drench your skin with intense hydration and essential nutrients, it also detoxifies, deep cleans pores, and combats premature aging.  Ingredients like green tea, sunflower seed oil, and vitamin A add even more power to the line’s already powerful herbs and oils. The mask goes on like a thick cream, and I definitely felt something tingling under there.  When I washed it off, my skin looked like I had just gotten a facial.

Organic Beauty-Biao Skincare

Sprouting boxes! How beautiful!

These formulas are, of course, all natural, and free of parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, petrochemicals, phthalates, GMOs and Triclosan.  To boot, the boxes — which come with such warm fuzzy reminders such as “Remember to think beautiful thoughts to create positive energy during this skin beautification,” (adorbs, right?!) — are also plantable and embedded with a mix of seeds including Baby Blue Eyes, Black-Eyed Susan, and Siberian Wallflower.  How’s that for eco-friendly! (Click the photo to enlarge and see the seeds sprouting when you soak the boxes!)

To celebrate this beautiful line, we’ve got a couple goodies for you!

First, we’re holding a giveaway!  To enter, just complete the following 3 steps by this Sunday, November 24th:

  1. Follow us on Twitter!
  2. Leave a comment on Biao’s Facebook Page sharing what makes you feel beautiful, inside and out!
  3. Leave a comment here sharing that you’ve completed the two steps!  Bonus if you share your answer here too ; )  We want to know!

Second, Biao Beauty is looking for 15 women between the ages of 35 and 55 to test their product!  If you’re interested, fill out the form here to be one of their testers!

Here’s to perfect, glowing, winter skin!

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Our giveaway is now closed… Congratulations to our winner, Erica Jones!

Sweat Outdoors for a Mood-Boosting, Stress-Busting Workout!

by Nkechi Njaka, Msc.

I am not a gym person. I cringe at the very thought of having a membership to sweat indoors. When I have belonged to health clubs, it was more for the hot tub, the sauna and the occasional yoga class (before I discovered studios, and before I was a yogi). But yeah, the gym? Soooo not my thing. Never has been.

As a runner, I’ve always enjoyed my cardio done outdoors. And studies are showing that there is something to that!

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Eating for a Perfect Period

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

Eating for a Perfect Period _ The Organic Beauty Blog

Welcome to the first post in our Perfect Period Series: Eating for a Perfect Period.  First, a few facts:  what you do and do not eat/drink has a direct impact on how you experience your period.  Mood swings, cravings, cramps, irritability and fatigue are all affected by your diet in the days leading up to and during your period.  {Tweet it!} You cannot go on a pizza and beer binge the week before your period and expect smooth sailing come P-time. Our culturally engrained habit of ignoring our menstrual cycles in terms of dietary and lifestyle modifications is what makes America the land of PMS.  You don’t get an award for pretending that you are just like the boys, don’t have a natural cycle.  And you certainly don’t get any awards for needless suffering.  You DO however get an amazing Organic Beauty Goddess award for being mindful of heeding the natural changes of your body’s needs!   Select specific foods for your luteal phase (the weeks between ovulation and your period), your bleeding phase, and your follicular phase (from period to ovulation) to maximize your energy and health all month long, and lead you to a perfect period.  Read on to find out how…

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Perfect Period Series!

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

In many traditional cultures, a woman is considered powerful, sacred, even a force to be feared during her menses (and not just due to her mood swings). Menstruation is traditionally a time of calm and reflection, and some cultures absolve women of many of their duties for those days. In our Western culture, fighting through one’s period and behaving as though nothing is different is seen as a badge of honor. We gulp down Pamprin, go drinking and hit boot camp like nothing is going on in our bodies, and then wonder why we feel like we’re going to die for a few days a month.  In our culture, we seldom make adjustments to our diet and lifestyle with respect to this important time in our cycle, and consequently, symptoms of PMS are much more common than in cultures that have traditions of honoring the menstrual cycle.  Guess what? Severe cramps, mood swings, fatigue, and other symptoms are not “normal” byproducts of our cycle, and covering them up with drugs is not the answer.  If we can learn to listen to our bodies and honor what we need at various times in our cycle, we can learn to live in harmony with our periods, decrease or even eliminate symptoms, and live more mindfully all month long!

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Daily Inspiration

Adventure is waiting for you

The Organic Beauty is going camping! Filling life with little adventures keeps you happier, healthier, and more inspired. And guess what? That keeps you away from chips, cookies, and other stuff we use to substitute for adventure.

What adventure will you go on this weekend?