We can all use a little more ease and simplicity in our lives, especially after what is sometimes a bit of a chaos-infused holiday season.
I’m not one for the whole “new year new me” thing. I don’t set resolutions or make promises to be a better me. I’m not sure if the timing feels off with the cold and the darkness, or if it just seems forced. And especially this year, where I am feeling absolutely drained at 7 months pregnant with a very active toddler, it seems like right now is the perfect time for ease and simplicity.
So instead of demonstrating all the ways you can overhaul (and over-complicate) your life, I want to introduce simple herbal and botanical swaps you can make to your existing everyday routine that can help improve your total wellness.
1.) Skincare
Chances are you’re already washing your face, and if you aren’t it may be time to add this quick step to your morning and evening routine. Many traditional facial cleansers have ingredients that can contribute to dryness, redness, or other unwanted outcomes. Chemicals used in these products can strip our skin of necessary oils, leaving this barrier compromised. Do you know what’s in your cleanser?
Our skin is our largest sensory organ and acts as a protective barrier against pathogens and other damaging factors. It’s also a bit like our own personal HVAC system – our skin regulates our temperature and acts as an evaporative cooler.
We want to protect this natural barrier so it can continue to protect us. Using a high-quality facial cleanser helps to do this while washing away the day’s grime and buildup. Milda Apothecary’s Rejuvenating Oil Cleanser contains a blend of botanical oils that support the integrity of our skin’s barrier - encouraging healthy oil production, a balanced pH, and an ideal microbiome environment. The botanical oils pull out toxins, remove any sunscreen and/or makeup, and feed your skin with nutrient and antioxidant rich oils that leave you hydrated, nourished, and cleansed.
2.) Sleep Support
It’s hard to recover from a poor night’s sleep. If we don’t sleep well, not much else can help us truly feel good during our day. Lack of sleep can contribute to a decline in our health, increasing risk of sickness and injury. Being tired also impairs judgement, leading to physical risk factors like tripping or falling.
Without sleep, we don’t give our body’s systems the time needed to restore proper function, and our bodies then operate in a higher stress state. Remaining in this stress state impacts the absorption of nutrients, reduces the functionality of our immune system, fries our nervous system, and disrupts our hormones.
Bottom line – sleep is critical.
With so many sleep supplements on the market, how do you select the best one for your needs? The goal is to interfere as little as possible with our body’s systems. Supplements like melatonin not only can leave us feeling groggy, but can affect our hormone production, potentially creating long-term issues with sleep. Our Sunshower Wellness Sleepy Syrup is made with 3 herbal extracts known to support our body’s natural rhythm without drowsiness or grogginess. Sleepy Syrup is blended to support falling asleep (hops!), relaxation and tension release (skullcap!), and easing restlessness and body spasms (passionflower!). Extracted in water and mixed with honey, this is an alcohol-free supplement to add to your evening routine to stay in dreamland.
3.) Restoring your nervous system
After what may have been a chaotic, plan-packed holiday season with changing schedules and lack of routine, our mental health can be difficult to re-regulate. Our reactions can feel extreme and our management of the everyday can feel impossible since we may be operating in a heightened stress state. This leaves our nervous system feeling fried, frazzled, and in need of some TLC.
When we are in a heightened stress state, this is what we call “flight or fight” mode. Our sympathetic nervous system is turned on and our bodies go into protection mode, turning off non-essential functions. This is why you may experience digestive issues, heavier breathing, and increased heart rate while in this state. We want to get ourselves back to our resting state, the parasympathetic state of the nervous system, where all systems are functioning as usual because our body doesn’t sense an impending threat.
It can be difficult to pull yourself out of the sympathetic state, but herbs are here to help! Herbs considered nervines and adaptogens are indicated to help in this exact high-stress scenario. A nervine herb nourishes and supports our central nervous system, while adaptogenic herbs promote homeostasis in our body and can help our body adapt to stress. Functional mushrooms are sometimes considered adaptogens, as they have many overlapping benefits, so for this instance we will categorize them as such.
To support ourselves in returning to our resting (parasympathetic) state, we take these herbs to help signal to our bodies that we are safe, protected, and can begin to turn back on all our systems. Tinctures are a portable, quick, and easy method to do this.
With our Sunshower Wellness Restore Herbal Tincture, you can deliver a boost of calm to your nervous system to support yourself in restoring balance. Blended with fresh milky oats (a star in the nervine world), reishi mushroom, and chamomile, this herbal tincture is sure to help you exhale and shake off stress. When your body is telling you it needs a little extra love, add 1-3 droppers full (1 dropper full = 1ml) to 1oz of water, gulp, and let the herbs flow through you to help bring you back into balance.
Have questions? Reach out!
