Showing all posts in Natural Wellness

In Life in General, Natural Wellness, Uncategorized

Introducing Wellness Wednesday! A New Blog Link-up

Author Kiel LemonPosted on Leave a comment

Hello! And welcome to our first official week of the Wellness Wednesday blog link-up! I am so excited to be hosting this link party, and I hope you will be encouraged and empowered as we share our wellness journeys here together. 

Why am I starting the “Wellness Wednesday” link-up?

Well, for a host of reasons. One, I am on something of a journey to physical, emotional and spiritual health and healing. Also, I have found some things lately that have been really helpful and inspiring, and I wanted to have a space to share them with others. Finally, I have been mulling over a host of ideas about getting healthy and whole, but I have had a hard time sitting down to write about them. I needed some accountability and motivation. So this link-up was born!

What is “Wellness Wednesday” all about?

I plan to explore a variety of topics related to holistic health and wellness. When we think of wellness, our minds typically jump to physical health and fitness. That is a huge part of our wellbeing, obviously! I think most of us today are aware, however, that our emotional, mental and spiritual health also play huge roles in overall wellness. We are integrated beings. Our bodies, minds, souls and spirits intersect and interact in ways that we don’t even understand. So what we eat affects our moods. What we think affects our energy levels. What we believe affects our response to our environment. 

All that being said, I will be writing on anything in my life that is related to wellness, from food and exercise to emotional issues and spiritual practices. I welcome you to link to your own posts on these topics as well. You don’t have to write and post them on you blog on Wednesdays, but the link-ups will go live on Wednesdays. 

How to participate: 

  1. Write a post on a topic related to wellness, and add your link to the list below.
  2. Grab the Wellness Wednesday logo graphic below and put it in your linked post, also with a blurb mentioning and linking back to that week’s link-up.
  3. Please stop by at least two other participants’ blogs and leave a comment on their Wellness Wednesday posts. This doesn’t take long, and it is really encouraging and helpful for building community and continuing the conversation!
  4. Bonus points if you post about the link-up on your social media. I will feature a post from one or two Wellness Wednesday participants on my Facebook page during the week after the link-up, so please head on over there to follow me and see if your post is featured!


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In Homemaking, Life as Mom, Natural Wellness

Fitting in Fitness as a Stay-at-Home Mom

Author Kiel LemonPosted on Leave a comment

 Let me preface this post by saying I am by no means a fitness fanatic. In fact, most of my life I have tried to find ways to avoid strenuous exercise such as running or lifting weights. It is highly unlikely you will ever find me joining CrossFit or Camp Gladiator or the like.

However, as a wife and mother inching ever closer to that “dreaded” decade beginning with the number “4,” I am becoming increasingly aware of my need to take better care of my physical health. It’s not about being a certain weight or fitting into a certain size of jeans…hey, sometimes I think about giving up jeans altogether and just living in comfy pants and skirts year round! What fitness is about for me is being healthy enough to serve my family, friends and community well. I want to have the energy to chase my kids around the yard, to take long hikes through the local nature parks, and to get through long days of housework and homeschooling and not be too tired to enjoy time with my husband.

And those are just things I want for myself in the present stage of life. As I focus my thoughts on the future, say 20 years from now, my motivation for staying physically fit changes a bit. I want to be able to get down on the floor and play with my future grandchildren without worrying that I may never be able to get back up again. I want to be able to travel and enjoy the empty-nest stage going on new adventures with my husband without the concern of preventable health problems.

As a busy stay-at-home mom with young children and a budget that prohibits extra expenses like a gym membership, the trick is finding creative ways to fit fitness into my daily routine. Honestly, even if I could afford to go to a gym all the time, I really wouldn’t do it. I’m a major homebody and introvert, and I hate, hate, HATE working out in public. So it works best for me to find things I can do at home that are either very inexpensive, or, even better, free! Sometimes I get up early and work out first thing in the morning. Sometimes I use a few free minutes during my daughter’s nap. Others I unwind with a little exercise at the end of the day after the kids are in bed. The key is making it a priority and being intentional!

Here are a few of the ways I have found to fit in fitness even as a busy homeschooling mom who doesn’t really love to work out in the first place:

  1. Getting a FitBit and working on upping my steps. This is the most recent change that my husband and I have both made, and we are loving it! He works a desk job, and I sit on the couch and read to kids for a large part of the day. It is easy to become “couch-shaped” when that is the norm! Now that I have a FitBit to keep me accountable and remind me to get off the couch, I am becoming more active throughout the day. One creative way I’m getting in more steps is by walking around while I read a book. Exercising my brain and my body at the same time is a win-win!
  2. Doing 30 minutes of yoga every morning. I love, love, love doing yoga but had gotten out of the habit after having my daughter (3 years ago now, yikes!) My current favorite routines are “Yoga with Adriene” videos  on Youtube. I’m working my way through her 30-day “True” challenge from the beginning of the year right now, and it is so yummy!
  3. Following Fit2B workout paths. Beth Learn has created such a wonderful wealth of mom-life friendly workouts to do at home. She is a gentle coach, both motivating and encouraging. I have done many, many of her workouts since I found her membership site when my son was just a little guy, and I still love them all! Whether I am in need of some gentle stretching or a more challenging workout, I know I can always find something to fit the bill at Fit2B.

If you are a homeschooling mom, or a mom of littles, I would love to hear how you stay motivated and find time to work out on a regular basis, especially if fitness does not come naturally to you. I can always use more creative ideas to fit fitness into my daily life!

In Frugal Living, Natural Wellness, Uncategorized

Simple Soothing Chamomile and Calendula Salve

Author Kiel LemonPosted on Leave a comment
Simple Soothing Chamomile and Calendula Salve

This time of year we tend to have lots of dry, cracked skin. My son’s skin was super sensitive when he was an infant, and most ointments made his eczema and dry skin worse instead of better. Finally, I found a soothing salve that worked and actually helped heal his skin instead of irritating it more. The problem was, it cost around $11 for a tiny tin of the salve. And whenever I ran out, I either had to drive 20 miles to get more or order some on Amazon and pay even more for shipping. (This was before the wonder that is Amazon Prime!) So, instead, I decided to try my hand at making my own salve so that I could always have it on hand. 

Chamomile and calendula flowers are both known as amazing powerhouse herbs. They have both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, making them excellent additions to ointments to promote healing and reduce swelling and irritation. This is my simple recipe for a super soothing herbal salve that works great for eczema, cuts and scrapes, insect bites, burns, chapped lips and dry skin. 

[recipe title=”Chamomile and Calendula Salve” time=”30 mins” difficulty=”easy”]
Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Place the dried flowers and petals in a pint mason jar, then cover with the oil.
  2. Let the oil and flowers sit at room temperature for 4 weeks to infuse, shaking daily.
  3. Quick Method: place the jar on a wash cloth in a slow cooker. Fill slow cooker with a couple of inches of water and close the lid. Heat on low for between 2-6 hours.
  4. Once the oil is infused, strain it into a clean jar using a fine sieve or cheesecloth.
  5. In a double boiler, slowly heat the beeswax until fully melted.
  6. Pour melted beeswax into infused oil and mix gently.
  7. Let cool and use on all your dry, chapped skin as needed!

[/recipe]