We live in such a fast-paced world, in many cases instant gratification is a real thing. We have become so used to getting things immediately. In many ways this is truly a blessing, but if we are not mindful, it costs us the gift of patience. Not everything is designed to happen right away, there are many lessons in cultivating patience. Patience teaches us to slow down, be present, and enjoy the ride.
Our minds go so crazy because we want everything right now and when things don’t happen in our expected time frame we start to ask: why isn't this happening right now, what am I doing wrong, I’m I not enough? In yoga these are all the vrittis (fluctuations) of the mind.
Here’s the ultimate truth my friends:
THINGS TAKE TIME.
When we come into a space of being ok with the process, releasing expectations of a timeline, it naturally allows us to have patience and enjoy the process so much more.
I’ve created a beautiful asana practice to help support you in cultivating more patience in your life. Join me on your mat and take time to open the body. Healing takes time and this gentle restorative practice offers space for that healing to happen.
Follow along with me in following video or keep reading to take the “Cultivating Patience – Oil + Restore” practice at your own pace.
For this practice we will be using Young Living’s blends
- Peace & Calming
- Grounding
- Release
- Surrender
I choose these oils to help us get into the energetic frequency of patience. If you do not have these oils on hand please still practice with me! Essential Oils are not necessary for the practice, but they do add another layer of healing to the work you are doing.
If you would like to learn more about essential oils and how to become a part of the Oily Love Team please click here.
Now, Let’s get into our practice…
Start by sitting in Sukasana;
either on the straight on the mat, blanket, or bolster.
Place 2-3 drops of Peace & Calming in the palm of your hand and take a couple of deep breaths. Then bring your hands to your feet and rub the stomach point, which is located just below the ball of your foot at the beginning of your arch.
Peace & Calming placed on the stomach point helps to calm the nervous system and settle digestion. So often when we are impatient we activate the stress sensors in the body, this in turn halts digestion. Everything in the body is a feedback loop.
While you’re giving the stomach point a little message say the mantra:
“I am content and blessed” at least 3 times.
Bringing more contentment into our lives helps us to slow down, appreciate what we do have, and cultivate more patience as we work towards what we want.
Slowly making your way to your back we will take Supta Baddha Konasana
Staying here for 10 breaths, allowing the hips to relax open. If you need some support place blacks under the knees.
Bring the hands to the Sacral Center, just below the belly button. This is the center where we hold the gift of patience. Tune in, feel the energy here.
After 10 breaths slowly bring the knees back up and take a gentle twist to each side. Again focusing on the sacral center and any sensations you feel. Have patience with the body and surrender to it opening in its own time. Allow 5-10 breaths on each side.
Take your time and make your way back to your seat, we will start some gentle bandha work to connect further with the sacral center.
Dropping 2-3 drops of Grounding Essential Oil to your hands and rub them together, take an inhale to breath in all those amazing conifer oils that help us to simultaneously feel the energy of grounding and upliftment.
Bring your focus to your breath and say the mantra
“I am in alignment”
When we are in alignment we know that everything will come and happen in right timing, giving us patience to see how it all unfolds.
Next, apply Release Essential Oil Blend to the bottom of the neck just above the color bone.
Using the mantra “I am in perfect timing” while applying the oil.
When we allow ourselves to be in “perfect timing” we release expectations on timelines. So often we try and force things to happen in a certain time frame, but all this does is cause frustration and cut off the natural universal flow. When we allow ourselves to be in flow and allow ourselves to truly trust in “perfect timing” we naturally cultivate more patience.
Repeat the mantra “I am in perfect timing” at least 3 times.
The last oil we will use for practice today is Surrender.
Taking 2-3 drops of Surrender Essential Oil Blend into the hand, rub them together and inhale.
Applying the oil to your forehead, say the mantra:
“I am open and welcome change” repeat at least 3 times, slow and steady.
Sometimes the thing that blocks our progress and takes away our patience is when we want things to be a certain way and we are not open to the change and flow in the process. When we truly surrender, are open to change, and have patience in the unfolding of the path so often things manifest so much better than our original vision.
Now that we have connected deeply on an energetic level, let’s move into the physical…
Coming forward and flow into some cat-cows, experience the body, feel the body. Notice where you want to move faster and slower. Can you feel the body’s natural rhythm and flow with it?
Finding Adho Mukha Savansana (down dog)
Feeling and allowing the backs of the legs to open. No destination here. Just breathing. This is a great pose to explore and have patience with if you have tight hamstrings, calves, low back, or cultivating patience in your strength and endurance in the arms/shoulders to hold this pose.
Stay 5-10 breaths.
Coming into Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (pigeon pose)
Working the hips tries almost everyone’s patience. We hold so much in our hips. Physically because we are sitting, standing, and walking all day. Our emotional center is also found in the hips so this is where many repressed emotions are held. Patience is the key to allowing the hips to open and energy to flow.
Hold this pose for 10-15 breaths on each side. Stay the course, tune into your breath, and cultivate patience in the process.
Take a seat, bring the legs wide to come into Upavishta Konasana (wide legged forward fold)
We worked on the outer hips in the previous pose, not we bring our attention to the inner part of the hips. Our hips are multifaceted and multilayered. Breath. This pose can be a huge lesson in cultivating patience in the body.
Hold for 10-15 breaths.
Bringing the legs together come into Baddha Konasana (cobblers pose)
Another pose to work the inner hips as well as moving into the low back. Allow your torso to drape over the legs. Breath into the back of the body, sacral center, and inner thighs. Accept where you are at, you are in perfect timing.
Stay 10-15 breaths.
Once you come out of the pose make your way onto your back to come into
Ananda Balasana (happy baby)
Allowing your knees to move towards the ground and taking any gentle movements you need. Staying 5-10 breaths.
Bring the knees into the chest and give yourself a little squeeze. Taking another twist to each side if that calls to you or coming right into
Savasana
Resting for at least 5 min. Our true test of patience. Can we be still and allow our body and mind to rest while awake. Be patient with yourself.
After your 5 minutes is up slowly make your way back to yourself and bring the palms into prayer. Honor yourself. You are amazing.
Namaste,
Mallory
Hey there! I’m so excited to bring you a few of my easy & quick laundry room DIYs to help you ditch and switch all those nasty chemicals out of your laundry room. Head over to my previous blog post all about “Airing Out your Dirty Laundry” to learn more about why it is so important to be aware of what’s in your laundry products.
But today, I’m going to make it super easy on you and teach you how to make a fabric softener, a stain stick and wool dryer ball Spritz to get those clothes smell and yummy, without all those yucky fragrances. Make sure to read until the end because I have a super fun surprise for you to make your DIY bottles Oh. So. Cute!
Feeling constantly overwhelmed, like you can't get ahead, that there's never enough? I know exactly how you feel, for years I felt the same way. Fear was a big part of my life, like even when things were good I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. What a shitty space to be in, overall life is good but you still have an underlying feeling of stress and worry.
The one practice that really helped to pull my mind out of that space and as I started practicing them my energy started to shift and I noticed more flow and ease in life. As the saying goes "Where focus goes, energy flows" When we are constantly focused on the negative that's where our energy goes, to the negative and we start to manifest all the negative shit we don't really want.
So what did I do?
Well it was pretty simple it fundamentally started with gratitude. Yep that simple, really cultivating a grateful heart. How can such a simple thing have such a big impact? Well it literally shifts your energy. Everything is made of energy, everything has a frequency which is why our thoughts and mindset have such a big impact on our lives. What gratitude does is it raises our vibration. It may sound a little woo-woo but its true. There have been many studies done to show what we think has a direct impact on the world around us and our lives. Dr. Masaru Emoto did an experiment where he wrote and spoke words over water and froze the water to see how it crystalized. The results were crazy and the water's crystallization was so different for each word. Here's a quick YouTube Video showing the impact of our words:
So yes words impact the vibration of the world. Living in gratitude is one of the fundamental ways you can shift your mind which will shift your life.
Where do you start? I started with a simple gratitude practice where every morning while I'm drinking my cup of coffee I write down 10 things I'm grateful for. These things range from very simple like being able to take a hot shower to the grand like expressing gratitude for the dream life that I am in the process of creating. I show gratitude to the things that have already manifested and to the things that I have not yet manifested on the physical plane but I know are coming to me.
In addition to my gratitude practice I also choose to send love to 3 people each day; a loved one, a neutral person, and someone who challenges me. This practice helps to open your heart and increase your receiving muscle. When we learn that the challenging people in our lives are still worthy of love we in turn learn that we are worthy of whatever it is that we want out of life.
If you need help starting your own gratitude practice download my free one page gratitude journal here
You can also purchase the full version where I walk you through 21 days of gratitude prompts and a Metta Meditation to practice while sending love to the 3 people in your life. Click on here to get both for only $5.55.
Practicing gratitude for 21 days will help instill this practice into your being and you will find yourself walking around throughout the day finding things to be grateful for, even the challenging stuff! When we show the universe that we are grateful for what we already have it bestows more amazing blessings into our lives.
In Gratitude,
Mallory
The other day I had to tackle cleaning up our laundry room. It’s been on my do-to list for WEEKS but it finally got moved up to top priority when my son and I were in there putting a load in that morning and ants started crawling all over our legs. (insert eww emoji!)
While I was spending my time cleaning out our laundry room and finding of the source of attraction for the ants (turns out it was the old half eaten granola bars in our beach bag, oops) I got to thinking I how many laundry products are on the market that mess with our bodies.
Watch the video below to learn more about how to ditch and switch your laundry products or keep reading!
Here’s the thing, unless you live in a nudist colony, laundry is a part of life. And even if you do live in a nudist colony you probably still have sheets and towels to wash! So, here's the thing, there’s a lot of junk in commercial laundry products. A lot of the “big name” brands have stuff that you will be shocked to learn is in their products. And this is why I always felt so important to buy from a company that you trust, a company with integrity, a company with your health and wellness in mind.
Here’s a BIG tell if what you’re using in your laundry is suspect to have a bunch of hidden junk in it… can you smell your laundry going outside? Does your laundry hold on to that “fresh laundry” smell for days after it has been washed… taking words from Jeff Foxworthy… then you might have toxic chemical laden laundry products.
Let's talk a little government stuff. Many of us would think that our government would not allow these companies to put harmful chemicals in our consumer products, but the fact is the U.S. government has no regulations over what what the companies are able to use in their products they also take it a step further, they don't even require them to disclose all of the ingredients in their products. Like WHAT???
Full discloser and transparency is important to me! That is why I only buy all of my laundry and cleaning products from one company because they tell me EVERYTHING that in their products. If you are scared to tell me everything that’s in your product, that’s a big red flag, in my mind.
Now you may be thinking, well the washer rinses all of those chemicals out anyhow right, so why be concerned? Well two reasons… 1. All of those yucky chemicals are being washed right into our eco system creating harm for ourselves and the planet and 2. The commercial laundry detergents have chemical binders that keep them locked onto the fabric of whatever it is you’re washing.
Alright, so let's talk about some of the chemicals.
- 1-4 Dioxin
dioxin is a known carcinogen. Remember I wrote earlier that the government doesn't require all these companies to disclose all the ingredients in their products. You probably won't see this on the ingredient list, but it's there. There was a study conducted by a woman at the University of Washington. If you Google, University of Washington toxics toxic laundry detergent, study, it'll pop right up. So go do your own research, don't just trust me. Do your own research. 1-4 dioxin is a known carcinogen. That means, it can lead to cancer. Yep, I said it… the “c word”
- Fragrance
Remember I wrote about how a lot of commercial laundry products have very strong smells? Those are all fragrances. Here’s the thnk about fragrance…. That is listed as a ‘trade secrete” so companies do not have to disclose what makes the fragrance. So basically, what they can do is shove all of the chemicals that don't want us to know about under this fragrance umbrella. Lesson here: if you pick up a product and it has “fragrance” listed under the ingredients, Please put it down, walk away, I don't care how good you think it smells. Not worth, your health is your health is worth caring about what's in your products and you know what it's really not hard, because you know, I have the answers for you. You know I have great suggestions and you know I'm going to save you tons of money, because that's what I love to do.
- Chlorine
Chlorine is found in many laundry products especially bleaching products. We want to stay far away from chlorine because it messes with our hormone function. If you want to get science-y with me, chlorine attaches to the binding sites on our thyroid and pituitary glands. So many of us suffer from hormone issues and making sure to cut out the chlorine is important!
If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed and need a little help with what chemicals to stay away from download my “Ditch the Chemical Dirty Dozen Guide” for a reference to keep on hand while shopping.
Please feel free to share this blog post because this is “need to know” information for all of us! I’m here to help educate; when we know more, we do better!
Also if you watched the video above I spoke about how I use Young Living’s Thieves products for all of my laundry and cleaning. Young Living is a company of integrity, transparency, and they care for my family’s health and wellbeing as much as I do. If you’d like more information and my guide to the Thieves line send me an email Mallory@MalloryRiess.com
When you join my team you get tons more oily education, resources, and a community of people on the same journey as you!
Our Thyroid does so many amazing things; it regulates how we burn energy, helps with the production of proteins from amino acids, and is the driving force behind how much hormones our other glands send into the body.
There are so many ways you can take care of and support your Thyroid! Three of the biggest ways are
1. Ditching the chemicals from your home (snag my "Chemical Dirty Dozen guide here if you don't know where to start)
2. Drink Purified Water (Fluoride and Chlorine is commonly added to tap water, both have major negative effects on how the thyroid functions)
3. Do a cleanse! My personal favorite is the Master Cleanse.
Along with the 3 physical things above there are a few yoga postures that can also support good thyroid function. Keep reading to learn how these yoga poses support the Thyroid and flow with me at the end.
Now, let's get flowing!
Starting in Sukhasana (easy sitting pose) do some gentle neck, this opens the neck and creates space for energy and blood to flow to the thyroid. When the muscles are tense and tight it makes it harder for both energy to flow with ease, when energy is stagnant that's one of the ways dis-ease starts to develop in the body.
Anahatasana or puppy pose gently opens the front of the body and shoulders. You may start with the forehead down then as the body opens work towards bringing the chin to the ground. Bringing the chin to the ground helps to open the throat chakra physically as well as energetically which has a healing effect on the Thyroid. Again we are opening the energetic pathways to the thyroid through opening the physical body.
Urdhava Hastasana with arms wide and slight back bend again opens up the energetic pathways through the physical body. We spend time working to open the front of the neck since the thyroid is located on the front of the throat.
Here is Salabhasana we are working the muscles of the back, this strengthening helps to the the body upright when we are flowing through our everyday life. With the muscles of the back strong and stable we are able to stand with better posture, keeping our head and neck in better alignment and again allow energy to smoothly flow in the body.
Ustrasana, camel pose, is another back strengthener as well as deep opener for the front of the chest and shoulders. This also brings energetic alignment back into the body to help balance out any tendency for hunched shoulders. Again when we are able to stand up straight with ease energy is able to flow through the thyroid, supporting it proper function.
Sasangasana, rabbit pose, so far we've done a tone of lengthening out the front of the neck, now it's time to work on flexion. We start with Sasangasana after balasana (child's pose) as a natural progression. The gentle flexion of the neck starts to trap some of the fresh blood we have allowed to flow up to this point and helps to bring more oxygen into the thyroid. Also we start working on opening the back of the neck and allow energy to flow there to support the throat chakra.
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, bridge pose, again has the trapping effect of the blood into the thyroid region. Again with the pathways open it to safe to allow the blood to pool in the thyroid for a few breaths and deeply nourish. Having our heart above the neck also allows the blood to flow a little more easily since gravity is now working with it instead of against.
And finally the pinnacle pose of our practice, Sarvangasana, shoulder stand. As B.K.S. Iyengar states in "Light on Yoga" it is the "Mother" of all asanas. I'll let Iyengar explain how important this asana is in his own words, an excerpt from "Light on Yoga" (page 213):
"There are several endocrine organs or ductless glands in the human system which bathe in blood, absorb the nutriments from the blood and secrete hormones for proper functioning of a balanced and well developed body an brain. If the glands fail to function properly, the hormones are not produced as they should be and the body starts to deteriorate. Amazingly enough many of the asanas have a direct effect on the glands and help them to function properly. Sarvangasana does this for the thyroid and parathyroid"
Hopefully you are now inspired to get on your mat and show your thyroid a little love, set your mat up and flow with me!
