Pete Campbell from Mad Men is a Smirking Rat and Who Doesn't Know One?

So Pete Campbell got his this week.  A left hook to the face by oldster Lane Price.  Who hasn't wanted to smash a co-worker in the face?  but in these buttoned up times we are very Zen about it -- inviting the smirking rat to a Birkam yoga class or couples Reiki session to air out negative energy.

If co-workers called each other out in the year 2012 the police would be called. There would be crisis interventionists and post traumatic stress counselors available onsite.  This is the correct way to handle disputes, however when working with a slimy, nasty little rat it sometimes seems like it would just be great to belt it out.

Are you working with someone you just can't stand or are afraid of?  are you concerned about loosing your job if you speak up?  if this is the case you can handle things.  Try bringing essential oils of lemon and lavender to work. Add a drop or two of each on a cotton ball and inhale.  Feel instant relief and get cracking on finding a new job.

Anger Management

Have you ever stopped to consider anger?  A full blown attack of anger, not just a little shakeup.  It is all consuming.  Its easy to get so wrapped up in it that everything else seems to fall by the wayside. 

I think anger is different from fight or flight.  Both are reactions. Fight or flight seems reasonable, the body goes into action to defend itself.  Anger though?  is it a survival instinct?  Wikipedia describes anger " an emotion related to one's psychological interpretation of having been offended, wronged or denied and a tendency to undo that by retaliation. Videbeck describes anger as a normal emotion that involves a strong uncomfortable and emotional response to a perceived provocation. R. Novaco recognized three modalities of anger: cognitive (appraisals), somatic-affective(tension and agitations) and behavioral (withdrawal and antagonism). DeFoore. W 2004 describes anger as a pressure cooker; we can only apply pressure against our anger for a certain amount of time until it explodes. Anger may have physical correlates such as increased heart rate, blood pressure, and levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline. Some view anger as part of the fight or flight brain response to the perceived threat of harm. Anger becomes the predominant feeling behaviorally, cognitively, and physiologically when a person makes the conscious choice to take action to immediately stop the threatening behavior of another outside force.^[4] Anger can have many physical and emotional consequences." 

We are all familiar with the physiological aspects of anger. The emotional side isn't as easy to deal with.  However essential oils can help.  Sometimes anger and the inability to see beyond it can clog up the brain with extraneous emotional baggage, causing an actual feeling of congestion.  Exercise is a great way to find physical and emotional realease, but there is an excellent role for essential oils. 

Inhaling a pleasant aroma such as lemon or bergamot immediately makes the world look brighter.  Bergamot and eucalyptus react on the part of the brain that tends to ruminate.  Cypress is also excellent when it comes to obsessing over the cause of the anger.  These sunny oils also cut through the physical feeling of fuzziness caused by anger. 

So next time you feel angry, reach for an essential oil, inhale deeply and exhale all that aggravation. 

Reiki and Essential Oils

If you are a Reiki practitioner you may want to consider adding essential oils to your practice. The wonderful thing about alternative medicine is that the modalities can work together to enhance treatment. 

There are many ways and reasons to include essential oils during a Reiki session or for your personal use, particularly when it comes to relieving anxiety.  

Anxiety can take many forms, sweating, difficulty breathing, even chest pains. Still other individuals experience a sense of total disassociation.  Reiki helps ground and bring the person back into the moment.  Essential oils can help with this grounding.   The oil of woods and resins are excellent for grounding and reducing anxiety.   A drop of essential oil can be placed on a paper scent strip and passed over the body in the Reiki path formation.  For this like to rely on cedar wood, sandalwood and peru.  The deep, woody aroma plus the stability of the tree the oil is expressed from helps lower anxiety levels.   These soothing oils also act on the brain, sending calming and stablizing messages

A Little Valentines Day Tidbit That'll Make Things Really Big

Here's a fun tip I enjoy sharing with my students:
Cinnamon, peppermint and vanilla are very uplifting essential oils for men.  That is uplifting in all the right places.  It increases blood flow for a very uplifting experience by 40%.

Men also are very attracted to the scents of peppermint, vanilla and cinnamon.  It is thought that these aromas make men feel secure and relaxed. That these essential oils will help them let their guard down.  Indeed it may transfer them back to the days when they were young in their mama's kitchen.  Diffuse any of these oils and see how quickly they change from thinking mama to thinking hot mama.

Is Social Networking the New Workout?

Let your fingers do the walking, talking and even dancing. Are social networks like Ning, Meetup, Linked In, Facebook, Twitter and who knows what else the Gyms of the year 2012?

I could reasonably argue yes. Some social networks request a fee of $25.00 and up per month like a gym. While gyms stretch, tone and augment muscle buildup in all parts of the body, they never focus on a finger work out. Social networking exercise the fingers and sometimes the brain but the butt and the biceps are ignored. Below's video of breakdancing fingers is a perfect example of what we have come to expect:



I remember way back when in the 1990's the gym was not only a place to run, swim and sweat but it was also a place to socialize. Why bother now though? I can watch a video of someone pumping iron while I try to promote my latest products and get my pinky finger into excellent shape. An occasional stretch and a heart pumping game of tennis on Wii sport seems to be all I need.

However, after attending a really great bloggers meeting this week, I realized that even bloggers get the blues sometimes. There seems to be this human urge to connect in someway, even though many people are pushing an agenda. So what? Maybe virtual networks are proving the point that no person can live on an island (however tempting that is) and we all need to connect somewhere and somehow.

For those of us who do prefer to work out our palms rather than than our soles, I recommend an energizing blend of Urban Om's Shape. This aromatic blend of the essential oils of lemon and spearmint in a creamy, rich lotion will both energize you to get out there and flex your fingers or your triceps and cool you off after a workout. It is an awesome reward whether you are working on a yoga mat or a keyboard. Go to http://www.omstonearomas.com/

Can you stop laughing? Check this out

http://www.theawl.com/2012/01/six-reasons-to-ignore-the-new-york-times-yoga-article