A hack for a low energy day + a recipe

If you struggle with low energy, fatigue, adrenal or chronic fatigue, depression, or can identify as a “spoonie” in any way, this tip might be for you.

Phone a friend.

Literally can’t get off the couch but need to do something wild like: cook food (let’s not get too fancy and try to wash dishes or anything), try calling a friend!

Or even texting sometimes works but there’s something about having someone who loves you on the other end of the line that can give you that little push of motivation that you need.

Call them when you’ve gotten up or have them call you and walk you through whatever task you’re attempting.

Try it.

Recipe:

Brain fog and low on spoons? Hormonal and craving chocolate but allergic to chocolate? Looking for a tasty treat that’s healthy?

Bananas dipped in cacao powder.

Coat each banana bite thoroughly and it will taste like you’re eating truffles.

Yum.

How to survive UTIs (Urinary Tract Infections)

(Collage by me, Joy Boardman)

In Ayurveda, kapha rules the water in your system so it makes sense that Kapha body types might have troubles with their Urinary tracts.
If this happens to you, follow these instructions to get your body back in balance:

First of all: Add 1/2 tsp baking soda in a glass of water as soon as you see the first symptoms of urinary tract infection.

*Drink: (liquids are MOST important)
**WATER- as much water as possible, preferably warm (not hot) (&with lemon=delicious.)
**Cranberry and pomegranate juice!!
Orange juice
Pineapple juice
Fresh lemon juice
Carrot juice
Coconut water
Marshmallow Root–brew a tea containing marshmallow root. The herb has powerful antiseptic qualities to clean out the urethra and kill bacteria.

Eat lots of:
Apples
Grapes
Peaches
Plums

Herbs: *Coriander* and cilantro, cumin and fennel

Supplements:
*Echinacea and *Goldenseal are very good to increase your vitality and fight against infection and are some of the best home remedies for urinary tract infection.

Yoga:
Cobra
Bridge
Bow
Cows face pose
Cooling breath 10x (curl your tongue, or purse lips like you are sucking through a straw, breathe in through mouth, close mouth, breath out through nose, repeat)

Massage:
Do complete body massage with sesame oil daily. Sesame oil is great!

No no NO:
Avoid intake of hot, oily, spicy, sour, salty, and bitter foods• Avoid alcohol and cigarettes, carbonated drinks like beer, soda or any other drink with fizz.
All these foods and drinks promote growth of bacteria. Gross.

Keep in mind:
Go to the bathroom as soon as you feel the urge & empty your bladder completely when you pass urine.
Avoid tampons.

Do not give bacteria a chance to grow!!

*things with stars are most important*

(This article was originally posted October 12, 2012) 

Joy Boardman

Massage Therapist and Collage Art Therapist

Planet Joy: Otherworldly Massages for Women, Planet-Friendly Collages for Everyone

Find me here:

[PlanetJoy on Facebook]

[PlanetJoy on Pinterest]

Ayurvedic Guide: How to Gain Weight

(Collage by me, Joy Boardman)

Gaining weight is not something a lot of people struggle with but for people like my friend it’s a real battle.
I researched Ayurvedic approaches to weight gain (typically a vata problem) and here is a summary of what I’ve found:
Diet:
Eat a lot of veggies (sweet potatoes!) and grains fully-cooked with olive oil or ghee (clarified butter- super easy to make)
Eat a lot of chicken, fish, and eggs
Eat as many raisins and bananas as you are in the mood for- just snack on raisins all day!!
Figs are great, too.
Juices (made with 100% juice)
In general, gravitate towards foods that are sweet, sour, and salty.

Lifestyle:
Stay positive.
Do yoga and lift weights. Exercising is good for circulation.
Nap in the afternoon.
Snack all day (every 2 hours) if you want- don’t eat junk made with white flour or sugar, though.
Stay warm.
Drink water after you eat.

Supplements:
Vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6
(in capsule form and also naturally: get outside in the sun, drink milk and eat cheese, and eat lots of leafy green veggies like spinach!)

As always, let me know if this helps you and/or if you have another topic you’d like me to research. 

(This was originally posted onSeptember 15, 2012) 

A Little Bit About Meditating

I just recently started mediation again. My eating disorder was resurfacing and a friend of mine who has battled ED for a long time reminded me that meditation can help. 

Even in yoga I still don’t always give myself a chance to just shut my brain off for a second and be still and really feel things. It’s so important for your mental health.

It’s not about shutting your mind up completely. It’s more about pausing for a second to see what bubbles to the surface….

We spend a lot of subconscious effort suppressing thoughts and feelings so that we can DO stuff. So when we actually take time to stop DOING for a few seconds, we are able to finally think those thoughts and feel those feelings.

I have 3 meditation apps that I use:

• Headspace (love the guy’s British accent and the adorable illustrations)
• Smiling Mind (from Australia for all age ranges)
• Breathe (helps you check in with what emotions you are experiencing) 

Improving and Stimulating Digestion for Kapha

Kapha is cold and wet which dampens digestive fire referred to in Ayurveda as “Agni“. Low digestive fire is a big problem. Agni is the fire of transformation, the mechanism of digestion and understanding in our mind and body. In Ayurveda strong Agni builds wellness and opportunity.

Sama Agni means “Strong Even Digestion” 

Stoke your Digestive Fire with your food choices:

1. Redefine satisfied. No food coma or discomfort at all. On a scale of 1 being starving and 10  aim for 5 to 7.
2. Find a way to feel deeper hunger once in awhile and befriend it. Historically it was normal to feel hunger and be hungry. Every so often my body needs to burn accumulated fat, not just carbohydrates. Consider doing a fast or juice fast one day a month or so.
3. Lighten up on the starches and add growing green stuff to your plate.
4. Probiotics are living foods. 70 to 80% of your immune system lives in your gut. Probiotic organisms in your gut biome are the front line Agni decision makers.

Detox for stronger Agni:

1. Sweat. Sweating through the skin is often a completely underutilized detox pathway. Get moving every day as your muscle movement pumps moves toxins out of your lymphatic system.
2. Breathe with awareness. They don’t say take a deep cleansing breath for nothing you know. Every exhale releases ama we don’t want or need.
3. Drink clean water. Sip it regularly over the course of your day. Water is the medium for communication and transportation in the body. Water saturates and flushes tissues and releases toxins for disposal out through the kidneys.
4. Add Antioxidants. The key antioxidants; Vitamin C, E, Co Q 10 and Glutathione give your body a detox boost. A plant rich diet full of color gives all the nutrients you need to stoke your fire.

Add essential oils and spices to your life:

When your digestion gets sluggish you can use essential oils like Thieves, juniper, eucalyptus, ginger, and clove. Always make sure you use 100% pure, therapeutic-grade essential oils. 

And you can also add ginger and clove spices to your dishes. 

With a little support your Agni can be sturdy and resilient. Healthy Agni means you can eat and assimilate a wider variety of information and foods. 

12 Nutrition Ideas for a Happy Heart

1. Listen to relaxing music to slow your heart rate, lower stress, and steady your systolic blood pressure. (Try out my massage music playlist that I play when my clients come in for a massage.)

2. Increase your intake of omega-3 rich foods to protect yourself from heart disease. Omega-3s may provide blood-thinning benefits without side effects. 

3. Use neroli essential oil (aka orange blossom). The oil helps many heart-related conditions, from palpitations to lovesickness. (Always use 100% pure, therapeutic-grade oils)

4. Take a B-complex supplement to ensure that your body doesn’t carry too much of the amino acid homocysteine which can put you at a greater risk for heart disease.

5. Limit your daily salt intake to 1 teaspoon to keep your blood pressure from rising. I also recommend switching to Himalayan crystal salt. The herb oregano can help reduce salt cravings. 

6. Use rose oil and rose water to lower stress. The natural scent lifts mood, calms the fight-or-flight stress response, and tames tension. It’s also excellent for your skin. (Again always use 100% pure, therapeutic-grade oils)

7. Gum disease can lead to an increase of pro-inflammatory bacteria in the blood leading to cardiovascular disease and plaque around the heart. 

8. Two out of three people with diabetes succumb to heart disease or stroke, according to the American Diabetes Association. Avoid foods that spike blood sugar levels.  

9. Ylang-ylang essential oil quiets heart palpitations, reduces anxiety, and puts you in the mood for love. 

10. Garlic can help lower your total cholesterol which can lower your risk of heart attack or stroke. 

11. Cayenne pepper improves circulation, lowers cholesterol, and prevents blood clots. 

12.  Curcumin which is found in turmeric prevents artherosclerosis, a build up of fatty deposits and cellular waste that clogs arteries. 

Allergy Season: Pump the Lymph Out of Your Face

Just a friendly reminder that spring is here and soon, if not already, ALLERGIES will also be here :-/

If you suffer from the spring sneezes, a great thing to do RIGHT NOW would be to schedule a lymphatic drainage massage for your face.

(If you’re asking yourself, “What is lymph??” I wrote a post about it!)

You know that horrible congested feeling you get where your face feels like it is just FULL and HEAVY with gunk? Well, most of that fluid is lymph!

Lymphatic drainage helps your lymph move out of your face (making it feel less puffy) and helps you decongest.

If you start now, your lymphatic system will actually not only unblock but also create new little pathways! How awesome is your body??

Lymph is great. Stuck lymph: not so great.

What to expect:
Lymphatic drainage is different from regular massage.

During a lymph session I focus specifically on your head, neck, and face.

Your head will be slightly elevated to allow the fluid to drain.

It’s extremely relaxing because the motions are very repetitive and light. I’m helping manually pump the lymphatic fluid down and away from your face and head.

You might find yourself feeling the need to swallow more and that is great because it means stuff has started moving! (Totally gross if you think about it too hard but also VERY AWESOME.)

Sessions are 15 or 30 minutes, your choice. (If you’ve never had a session before, I recommend the 30 minute session because, chances are, you have a lot of accumulated fluid!)

And, after the session I will teach you some things you can do in between sessions to help pump the fluid on your own.

$15 for 15 minutes
$30 for 30 minutes

You can add a lymphatic session to the end of a regular massage or you can come in specifically for a lymphatic drainage session!

Schedule an appointment with me today by emailing me at joyboardman@gmail.com or sending me a Facebook message :)

Balancing the Root Chakra

An imbalanced root chakra can resonate in the body as fatigue, hemorrhoids, constipation, low back pain, excess weight, diarrhea, sleep disorders, and poor circulation.

A balanced root chakra can resonate in the body as confidence, security, enthusiasim, correct expression of anger

How do you balance your root chakra?
Singing, dancing, hot showers, walking (especially barefoot)

Red gemstones help your root chakra.

Aromatherapy for root chakra:
Vetiver, sandalwood, clove, juniper, cedar, lavender

Herbs for root chakra:
Raspberry leaf, cloves, ginseng, dandelion

Yoga poses for root chakra:
Mountain, side angle, warrior, standing forward fold, bridge

“I have courage and strength.”

Foot massages are beneficial.

Make sure to rest, eat nutritiously, stamp your feet, and take responsibility for yourself.

Gaze at the color red.

The Wonderful World of Hemorrhoids: The Complete Guide to Getting Piles to Go Away

Okay, so hemorrhoids is difficult to spell and pretty gross looking (there’s a definite reason that there are no photos of hemorrhoids enclosed in this post) but around 70% of the population will experience hemorrhoids before the age of 50. Both men AND women (but men are more likely to visit the doctor to figure out what’s happening down there).

In fact, hemorrhoids are a normal part of your anatomy (veins around URANUS). It’s when they become swollen or inflamed that they are a problem. Then they start going by the name PILES. Piles are related to vericose veins….the veins have become stretched due to pressure (usually from straining).

Fun fact: in Ayurveda piles is called Arsha Shoola which means “like needles pricking pain.”

Helpful dietary changes are:
*Immediatly stop eating fatty foods and alcohol.

*Start eating easy to digest fiber:
Whole juicy fruits (especially berries and watermelon)
Carrots
Cucumbers
Rice (white and brown)
Radishes
Yams
Spinach
Okra

*Eat a banana on an empty stomach every day (if you’re bleeding, eat 3)

*A weird thing you can do that will help your digestion a lot is to soak dried figs in warm water overnight and then eat them first thing in the A.M.

*Drink a mixture of lemon, ginger, honey and mint.

*Other good drinks are apple juice and cranberry juice

*Try wheatgrass juice, too. (Great for detoxifying the body)

*In general greatly increase your water intake

*Vitamin C is great for vein health so taking vitamin C supplements can help.

*Try to also up your intake of anthocyanins to strengthen your veins.
These include dark red berries, blueberries, cherries, and red grapes.

*Take probiotics

Herbs that can help:
*Ginko Biloba
*Butchers Broom
*Triphala (an ayurvedic herb)

Lifestyle changes that can help:
*Get your body moving. Obesity and sedentary lifestyle are major contributing factors to inflamed hemorrhoids.

*Taking a morning walk is EXCELLENT for dealing with this situation

*Walking in general is THE BEST treatment for piles. Not only does it alleviate symptoms it can reduce stress and anger which are very aggravating to hemorrhoids.

*Also: don’t sit on the toilet too long (don’t hang out and read in the bathroom….places stress and extra pressure on the hemorrhoids)

*Use witch hazel on the area after wiping (add chamomile, frankincense and myrrh essential oils for quick healing)

Aromatherapy:
*Rub rosemary & marjoram essential oils on abdomen

*Take a 15-20min bath with juniper, cypress, and lavender. (Relieves pain and shrinks hemorrhoids)

*Lots of nice warm showers

*Make sure to take breaks from sitting to get up and walk around and stretch.

Here are some yoga stretches to try:
*Legs up the wall
*Shoulder stand
*Wind relieving pose
*Fish pose
*Garland pose
*Standing forward bend
*Childs pose

In Chinese medicine one cause of piles is blood stasis.
Here are some helpful acupressure points:

*It’s important to balance your root chakra to recover from hemorrhoid damage.

6 Products I’ve Found on Pinterest

constellation earrings from Etsy

solar system necklace

epic bear sleeping bag

little ziplocks to make your own freeze pops!

twinkle lights on copper wire

everything from this company….their packaging is the best.

Have you ever bought something you found on Pinterest? I’m always so busy pinning that it never even occurrs to me….but the stuff on there is so cool!

Thank you for reading!

If you haven’t filled out my survey yet, and you’d like to tell me about yourself, please go here:

https://artisticdrama.polldaddy.com/s/i-want-to-get-to-know-you

Malady Monday: Endometriosis

Endometriosis
An autoimmune disease where layers of fibrous endometrial tissue form on other pelvic organs

Causes severe abdominal pain (more intense than childbirth) due to bleeding and tissue sloughing

Most common cause of pelvic pain in women of reproductive age
Leading cause of infertility
Affects 10% of ALL women in the world!!!!

In ayurveda it’s an imbalance of all 3 doshas.

In Chinese medicine it’s caused by blood stasis, qi stagnation, & liver congestion.

HELPFUL LIFESTYLE HABITS
Gentle, moderate exercise every other day

Deep breathing
Heat on abdomen (hot water bottle)
Kegels 50-100 daily– 10 at a time
No sex during period
Use shower filter for chlorine
Castor oil or senna tea on days 14-15 of your menstrual cycle
Get a LOT of rest especially around your period (days 1-3 of your cycle)

Abdominal & pelvic massage
Sweating (sauna can help)
Lymph massage

Lower your estrogen level (avoid or minimize estrogen)

*Strengthen & cleanse your liver so it can more efficiently remove estrogen

Increase progesterone (eat yams–not sweet potatoes, walnuts, vit b6, zinc, turmeric, thyme, and oregano)

Reduce inflammation, increase antioxidants, limit salt

Do everything in your power to reduce stress (also helps fertility) avoid anger, fear, and excessive emotions–meditate 20min/day (practice relaxing)

Warm baths with your favorite essential oils*

ESSENTIAL OILS
*frankincense, *myrrh, *clary sage, *peppermint, *geranium, lavender, rosemary, juniper, thyme, fennel, bergamot

HERBS, SUPPLEMENTS, AND VITAMINS
Dong quai
Evening primrose oil or Borage oil
Triphala
Blue cohosh (days 22-28 of your cycle– good for fertility, too)
Chaste Tree Fruit (aka chasteberry or vitex)
Grapeseed
Bilbery

Omega-3 fish oil
Use calcium and magnesium as pain reliever
1 Tbl FERMENTED codliver oil 2x/day for 60 days
Zinc
Vitamin B
Vitamin C heals tissue and controls bleeding
Vitamin E balances hormones
Folate or folic acid

Turmeric
Sage
Chlorophyll
Aloe Vera

DRINK
*Use spring water (to avoid chlorine in water)
Drink warm water first thing in the morning
Soak 4 Tbl of flax in 1 cup of water overnight, strain and drink

Pineapple juice
Use radishes in smoothies
Only organic, non-homogenized milk

Teas with licorice, dandelion, milk thistle
Chamomile tea at bed time
Ginger tea for nausea

EAT
(HIGH FIBER–think foods that will help you poop, low sugar, low carb, and don’t eat heavy meals)

Protein at each meal helps stabilize hormones– also, don’t skip meals.

Eat all foods cooked and warm

*walnuts
Pumpkin seeds
Brazil nuts

Dark leafy greens
*Kelp (dissolves masses and is good for thyroid)
Onions
*Daikon radishes (move qi)
Cooked cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, bok choy at lunch with grains
Carrot and parsley at dinner

Papaya for breakfast
Lemons
Limes
Rubarb

Salmon
Tuna
Organic meat (no hormones added)

Wheat germ (high in vitE– good for scar tissue)
Honey

ACUPRESSURE POINTS
joining valley
Great rushing
Lv 2, 3, 14
Cv 4, 6
Gb 41
Ub 17

Sp 6, 8, 10, 12, 13
Ki 3, 17

AVOID
Avoid using plastic containers and plastic bottles

Avoid bleached foods (white sugar, white flour, white rice)

Avoid fried foods, fatty foods, processed foods

*Avoid cold/dry/raw foods– YIN foods which will make blood stagnation worse

Avoid alcohol (except occasional glass of red wine)

Avoid soy & tomatoes

I really hope you can incorporate these habits and nutrition guidelines into your life and that they can bring you some relief.

Some additional helpful links:
What not to say to a woman with an unhappy uterus.

Just send this link if you’re tired of explaining endometriosis to people.

More lifestyle and dietary changes for endometriosis.

More Chinese medicine for endometriosis

Yoga for endometriosis:
Yin Yoga for Endometriosis

Doing yoga with endometriosis

Devotion: My Commitment to Myself and to the World

DEVOTION: My commitment to myself — and the world — for 2015.

My name is Joy.

Starting today, I am devoting myself to the following projects:

–Being completely debt free.

–Being generous.

–Reaching out and being vulnerable.

I am devoting myself to these projects because I care about other people and feel that we are not meant to live life alone.

These projects deserve my full focus, attention, discipline and love.

Starting today, I am releasing the following from my life:

–Scarcity thinking.

–Pretending that I don’t have enough.

–Poor time management.

I am releasing these things because I need to create time & energy for giving to others.

These things no longer have a place in my life.

I believe that the world needs more kindness and generosity and that’s what I am here to create.

I may not be able to give millions to every charity, but I can do my part to help.

The very next step is to pay for people behind me.

And then after that, to actively seek out people to help.

When things feel overwhelming, I will remind myself that my job is simply to: spread love and kindness.

I have the power to leave the world, and the people around me, in better condition than I found them.

I don’t have to “reach” for that power. I have it, right now.

Anybody can serve.

I am devoted.

I am focused.

I am ready.

I know what I am here to do.

I am officially signing this agreement — with myself — on Feb 25th, 2014

Joy Boardman

Every word is true.

Holistic Help for Acne Scars

Oh, acne scars….the zits weren’t bad enough? You wanted to leave me something to remember you by? So sweeeeet.

Acne scars are caused by collagen going crazy trying to protect your body from an open wound.

Which is kind of adorable.

But, it’s like you getting a paper cut and then your mom deciding that maybe 8 bandaids will protect you better than just one.

Except on your face. And then you have to keep the bandaids on for like 6-12 months. And sometimes you get more paper cuts in the mean time…..

Okay. So how do we get the bandaids off?

First, let me tell you my personal skin story:

I have finally cleared up my breakouts that I’ve been having continuously since September.

How? I finally stopped eating processed foods & sugar. I am eating less bread and cheese and more whole foods: fruits and veggies and nuts and grains.

And I started drinking at least 64 oz of water every day (starting the day with warm water with lemon to detox my body)

I’m also taking b-complex, magnesium, vitamin d, and ashwaganda.

I’m also eating a high-protein breakfast within 30-min of waking up.

Before bed, I swipe apple cider vinegar on my face, rinse with water, and apply coconut oil.

All of these things combined have helped balance my hormones and make my skin happy.

Will they work for your skin? I don’t know. But, I’m not breaking out for the first time in 4 months….actually I don’t remember a time in the last 8 years that I didn’t have at least one zit. It’s been a never-ending battle.

Now, I’m able to focus on getting rid of the scars!

Okay, so how do we do that?

Well, media says we could use snail slime, laser treatments, fillers, and other weird things which are gross and/or temporary fixes.

OR we can use some things which are totally healthy and easy to incorporate into our lifestyle.

Every single day:

ACV (apple cider vinegar) +water on your whole face at night.
Mix it with water, the more sensitive your skin the more water you need. (I have sensitive skin so I actually rinsed my face right afterwards the first couple nights. I didn’t seem to have any problems so now I’m mixing the ACV with water and letting it dry on my skin and then just applying my coconut oil*)
*Some people say that coconut oil makes them break out. I use it because in Ayurveda it’s actually the best for acne prone skin. I don’t use it to wash my face though (that’s on the internet a lot….I think that would probably seal in the dirt and then make you break out….wash face and then use coconut oil as moisturizer)
ACV is great because it is antiseptic, it lightens skin, dissolves dead skin cells, balances pH, and minimizes pores, ((along with like 5-bajillion other wonderful things that it does.))

Only at night and only on red scars:
Lemon juice + rose water (1:1)

Two times a day: 
Aloe Vera gel (pure) apply for 30-min and then rinse off

Diet:

*Drink hot water with lemon every morning to detox your system

*Eat a whole food diet with NO chemicals

*More fiber

*Almonds, tomatoes and cucumbers

*Beta carotene found in yellow fruits and veggies

*Vitamin c- heals collagen and connective tissues

*Silica from fruits and veggies

*Zinc from the dark meat of organic chicken or turkey, beans, eggs, dairy, pumpkin seeds, potatoes

*Fenugreek either as a supplement or as a tea (can place tea bag on your face)

*Green tea (drink or use tea bag on face)

**Vitamin E

*Vitamin A

*Evening primrose oil or fish oil

Essential oils (use as spot treatments only. Use ONLY on scars–place on q-tip to apply.):

******Lavender oil– HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and great for sensitive skin. This is the only one you can apply directly to your skin without a carrier oil. Lavender regenerates damaged skin tissue, reduces inflammation, and fights redness.

All of the following oils you will need to apply along with either grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, argan oil, or borage seed oil. Or you can apply myrrh oil first.

****Frankincense oil- natural toner (also good for wrinkles!)

**Neroli oil- safe for sensitive skin, clears scars by helping for new cells.

**Helichrysum– *Make SURE to dilute this one. It’s is said to be the MOST effective. And also I’ve heard it’s kind of expensive. But, it does the job.

**Geranium oil

**Calendula– famous for wound-healing capabilities

**Rose hip oil– contains retinol which helps get rid of dead skin

*Rosemary– cleansing

*Carrot seed oil

Sage oil– even old scars respond to this treatment. It’s also anti-stress so it accelerates healing. *Do not consume!!

Masks (1-2 times a week):

Exfoliate GENTLY with baking soda.
(1:2 baking soda to water) Pretend you’re rubbing a baby kitten on your face. Be gentle. If you SCRUB then you might cause your face to break out….that is NOT the point of this exercise.

Probably a little too much honey….

Manuka honey +aloe Vera + lemon juice (lemon juice will fade any pigmentation)

Honey + nutmeg

Bonus fact for people who suffer from acne:

Benzoyl peroxide contains free-redicals, ages skin, and depletes your body of antioxidants….so don’t put it on your skin!

Maybe using some ACV will change your life the way it’s changed mine.

If you have anything helpful to add, leave a comment! Thank you.

2014: Best of the blog [my absolute favorite posts]

My favorite business moments of the year:
*Collage parties turned into art therapy

“I know I said it a bunch of times, but I still want to say ‘thank you’ once again for the collage party and for your insightful prompts on the making of the collages. As I said, I’ve not done anything that was free-flowingingly (I make up words sometimes) creative in many years. It was a great experience for me on so many levels.”

*My clients fell in love with 90-min massages

“I would DEFINITELY recommend trying a 90 minute massage – it allows extra time to be spent on areas that need extra attention, plus it’s 30 extra minutes of JOY!”

*I designed PlanetJoy t-shirts

*I started doing 2-hour massages

*2014 YOM client testimonials

My favorite health articles of the year:
*Yoga and nutrition for SAD

*What is the pineal gland and why is it making me SAD?

*Holistic help for KP (keratosis pilaris)

*Mucus in your colon?! Gross!!

*I learned how to spell eczema

My favorite artist of the year:
Ashley Percival

My favorite personal moments of year:
*Learning to tell it like it is

*My financial freedom plan

*I wrote my bio

*What if I were a novel character

*My year: 2014 in review

Favorite bonus helpful articles:
*My favorite free apps

*My 12 favorite blogs

2014: Blog stats

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.