I will probably write many future posts on the wonders of Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia = “true” lavender) but for now just want to share my own enlightening experience.

Recently I was visiting Palm Springs and had the great pleasure of spending a day at Two Bunch Palms. If you ever are in the neighborhood, I highly recommend this Spa to de-stress,  enjoy the mineral baths, and receive one of their specialty treatments (I chose the Herbal Poultice, a full immersion mud bath followed by a massage, which uses a warm essential blend of oils and herbal poultices to soothe and detoxify the body.)
While there I had the delight of meeting Felina Danalis, who was teaching a "Meditation for Everyone" class. It was a great session as I was the only student that morning! While I have practiced meditation at times, I have never made it a regular practice. What I learned from Felina was that the power and benefits of meditation can only be achieved through everyday practice. Of course I immediately thought . . . how can I possibly squeeze meditation into my already busy life every day? But Felina walked me through some alternative strategies for incorporating meditation that have worked for other people. One paradigm shift for me was the idea that 10 minutes a day could create benefits IF practiced every day.
I know that when daily meditation was part of my Qi Gong classes at Pacific College, I did experience benefits:

• I slept better.
• I felt calmer.
• I reacted less to stressful situations.

However, at those times I was spending about 1/2 hour per day. I never thought that I could experience those same benefits with less time spent. So now I am in the process of establishing this new habit, 10 minutes per day. I will report back on how it goes. I encourage you to give it a try, too!

Had my 6 months cleaning at Dr. Wu's a few weeks ago and the hygienist was amazed with how great my teeth and gums were. I puzzled over this a bit . . . I knew that my electric toothbrush (Phillips Sonicare) had greatly improved the maintenance of my dental hygiene, but that's been the case for the last several years. So what had changed?
It dawned on me that I had changed toothpaste. I attended the mini health fair within the Del Mar Fair last summer and had purchased a new toothpaste, Davids. It's fluoride and sulfate free. It uses peppermint essential oil - so it also tastes good!
Ethically I also approved of its recyclable material and that it was 100% American made - really, what's not to like?! So I wanted to give a shout out about it and let others know what a great product it is.
Happy Brushing!

I read a very interesting article today . . . something that I hadn't heard about before. It was an article about research that's been done over several years that proves Vitamin D levels can prevent colds and the flu. In many cases, Vitamin D supplements are as effective or more effective than the flu vaccine. Here's a key excerpt from the article:
"Most recently, a scientific review of 25 randomized controlled trials confirmed that vitamin D supplementation boosts immunity and cuts rates of cold and flu. Overall, the studies included nearly 11,000 individuals from more than a dozen countries."
If this topic has captured your attention, like it did mine, take a look at the article.