We found this great post from Yoga Journal about how yoga is helping soldiers with PTSD. Thank you to all of those that have served our country and protected our freedom. Have a safe Memorial weekend.

When an American soldier was accused of killing 16 people in Afghanistan earlier this month it generated much discussion about how to preserve the mental and emotional health of our troops. Speculation that the soldier suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder hasn’t been confirmed, but the tragedy has opened up discussion about PTSD and the other stresses that come with serving in the military.

A recent article in the Miami Herald explored how yoga can help soldiers with PTSD. “There is no magic pill that can erase your past or what you have seen but the practice helps me to cope,” U.S. Marines Sgt. Hugo Patrocinio told a reporter. “Now I am not afraid to go to sleep.” Read More

The post Yoga Helps Veterans with PTSD appeared first on Soothe Your Soul.

Then we have the perfect remedy for you!  At Soothe Your Soul, our popular Bella’s Naturals line is featuring their “Muscle Soak” blend… this is a bath soak blend that will leave your muscles feeling pampered and relaxed!  This bath soak contains Sea Salt, Epsom Salt, and Certified Pure Essential Oils (Cypress, White Fir, Marjoram, Wintergreen).  So come experience the soothing effect of this bath salt containing magnesium and essential oils which help provide fast relief to tired and sore muscles.  And remember, Bella’s Naturals are ALL NATURAL:  NO Dyes, NO Perfumes, EVER!

The post Are your muscles feeling sore, overworked, and tired?!? appeared first on Soothe Your Soul.

Love for Mom ~ Rose Quartz Cluster 24.95, Plumeria Bath Salts 9.50, Mom Mug 13.95

Sunshine bud vase 15.95, , Book 17.95

Spa Day Candle small 7.00/large 12.00, Angel 19.95, Incense 3.50 ea.

Wall Sign 22.00, Stacked Stone Tea-light holder 8.95, Love Rock 3.00, Soap 4.50

Lakshmi Candle 17.50, Gift Certificate available online

 Think Happy Stuff Mug 19.95, i-Phone cover 18.00, Angel Cards 11.95

The post Great Gift Ideas for Mom appeared first on Soothe Your Soul.

Massage may be serious medicine, at least when it comes to treating persistent low back pain, a new study shows.

Low back pain is one of the top reasons people seek medical attention in the U.S., and it is notoriously tough to treat. Studies show very few medical therapies, from medications to injections to surgeries, reliably relieve it, and some can aggravate the problem.

The new study randomly assigned 400 adults with moderate-to-severe low back pain lasting for at least three months to either weekly whole-body massages for relaxation, weekly massages that focused on specific muscle problems around the lower back and hips, or usual care.

People assigned to the usual care group were tracked by researchers, but they dealt with their back problems on their own. The approach could include, for instance, taking pain medications or muscle relaxants, seeing doctors or chiropractors, physical therapy, or simply not doing anything.

From Web MD Read more by clicking here 

The post How Can Massage Help Your Lower back Pain? appeared first on Soothe Your Soul.

What is an Art Journal??

Simply put, an art journal is a journal in which you combine art and words to express yourself. That’s it. It’s not complex, and there really aren’t any rules for art journaling. It’s all about self-expression.

Art journaling has a long-standing artistic tradition. Artists through the centuries have kept notebooks in which they sketched, practiced, experimented, and recorded themselves. Vincent vanGogh kept notebooks (and he used moleskins!). Picasso and DaVinci were two other prolific sketchbook keepers. You are in good company! If you feel like exploring famous and not-so-famous artists’ sketchbooks, go to Artists’ Sketchbooks Online.

You might be thinking, I’m not an artist! Well, I beg to differ. You are an artist, and you can create an art journal without drawing or sketching. In fact, I’m lousy at drawing, so I use collage techniques to express myself. Stamp images, vintage photographs and magazine images make up for the fact I can’t draw. ~ Description from Dena Wakley

Come Create Your Own Art Journal

Our feature project for the evening will be embossing our creative pages!!!

The post Monthly Art Journaling Workshop appeared first on Soothe Your Soul.

Last week we explored the laundry side of cleaning.  This week I am going to share more of my cleaning creations/experiments with you.  You will need the ingredients pictured above and also some empty spray bottles.  I got mine at the dollar store and just labeled them with a sharpie, but feel free to get much more creative with your labeling than I did.

My Favorite is the All Purpose Cleaner. This stuff is fantastic!  Beats anything I’ve ever tried that is store purchased.

Ingredients:

1 tsp Borax

2Tbsp Vinegar

½ tsp Washing Soda

½ tsp Castile Soap (liquid or grated from the bar)

20 drops Tea Tree Oil

10 drops Lavender Oil

2 cups hot water

Combine all ingredients in the spray bottle and shake until mixed.  If you use the bar soap (I used the Dr. Bronner’s -lavender), you will need to add that to the hot water first and shake or stir until the soap flakes dissolve.

Grease Cutter:

2 cups warm water

¼ cup Castile Soap (I use Dr. Bronner’s)

10 drops essential oil (I used lemon)

Mix together in a spray bottle and spray on surface, let sit for a few seconds than wipe with a damp sponge.

 Garbage Disposal Deodorizer:

Drop the following in the disposal

½ lemon

Sprinkle of baking soda

Dash of vinegar

Turn on disposal and it works like magic!

Microwave Cleaner: 

A bowl of warm water, with lemon slices.  Put the bowl in the microwave for 1 minute.  After it is done, let it sit in the microwave with the door closed for 3 more minutes, then wipe with a damp sponge.

Room Spray

¾ cup water

2/3 cup alcohol or vodka (cheap stuff is fine)

15 drops essential oil of your choice

15 drops complimenting essential oil of your choice

My favorites are Lavender and Grapefruit, Peppermint and Orange, Peppermint and Rosemary, Vanilla and Orange or Lemongrass and Lavender.  Get creative!

Shake it all together in a plant mister or spray bottle.

I love cleaning with natural products, it keeps your space connected with nature and it keeps the energy feeling great.

Remember we have a great selection of essential oils here at Soothe Your Soul.

Happy Cleaning!

Want to learn more about cleaning with essential oils? Join us on Thursday, April 12th at 6:30 PM for our Spring Cleaning with Essential Oils Class.  Only $10 or FREE with oil purchase.  Call 248-236-9855 to register.

The post More Spring Cleaning the Soothe YourSoul Way appeared first on Soothe Your Soul.

• Use Be Happy Mug  $14.95
• Write Your Own Happiness Story with this great Magnetic Poetry Kit for $11.95
• IPhone Cover $ 15

• Does it make you happy to make others happy? Try one of our products that gives back! Bridgewater Candles… below is a video sharing the inspiring story of Bridgewater Candles, sold at SootheYourSoul!

The post I Want You to Be Happy Today! appeared first on Soothe Your Soul.

Well, I may have mentioned it before, but it is official now….I have an addiction to Pinterest and I admit it.  I know anything that causes me to cook and clean has to be a big deal!  My latest Pinterest experiment has been making my own cleaning products, laundry soap and fabric softener.  I tried several variations on posts I found and tried to keep them as “clean” as possible.  I’ve been using them for about 2 weeks now and they are fantastic.  It took me and my daughter a couple hours to mix up all of these.  And a little bit of hunting to find all the ingredients, but the savings are BIG!  With 4 kids and 2 dogs we go through a lot of laundry, so I’m guessing I may be able to take the family to Disney after a year of making my own laundry soap.

Today we can start with my laundry concoctions and later this week I will share my household cleaners.

To make laundry soap, spot cleaner and fabric softener, you will need:

• White vinegar
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Borax (in the laundry soap aisle)
• Alcohol
• Washing Soda (in the laundry soap aisle)
• Baking Soda
• Bar soap (most recipes I found they used Fels Naptha or Pink Zote both were hard to find and had a lot of chemical, so I stuck with Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap.  1 bar lavender and 1 bar peppermint)
• Dawn Dish Soap (original Blue)
• Oxy Clean (optional, but my kids are pretty messy so I added it)
• Suave Conditioner (I used the Rosemary Mint scent)

Laundry Soap:

1- 4lb box of Borax

1- 4lb box of Baking Soda

1- Box of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

2- Bars of soap (I used Dr. Bronner’s)

3.5 lbs Oxy Clean (optional)

Instructions:

1. Line an empty garbage can or 5 gallon bucket with a garbage bag.
2. Start by adding Borax3. Then Baking Soda

4. Washing soda

5.  Next add bar soap.  I used my food processor to grate it, but you can also use a regular cheese grater.  The combination of the peppermint and lavender smells great! Don’t worry; this will dissolve in your washer even if you use cold water.  I was skeptical, but it works!

6. Last step is optional, but if you have messy kids…I’d recommend adding the Oxy Clean.

Now just mix it up and you are all set!

I know you probably have a few questions, so I will try to be proactive and answer all the questions I had prior to using it.

Can you use the powder in an HE washer? Yes.  I have one and use 1TBS.  This is a very low suds mixture, so it is great for HE washers.

Can I make a liquid soap? Yes.  Cassie made one and it works well.  Just a little more work than I was in the mood for, but we can post it next.

Can I use any bar soap? I only tried the Bronner’s but read that pretty much any bar soap will work.

Fabric Softener

6 cups Warm Water

3 cups White Vinegar

2 cups Suave Conditioner

25 drops Essential Oil

Container for storage – I found a great beverage container at Meijer that has a spout and is easy to use in my laundry room.

1. Add 2 cups of conditioner to the container.  I chose Rosemary Mint and it smells pretty good.
2. Next add 6 cups of very warm water.  Shake or stir until the conditioner dissolves.
3. Add 3 cups of Vinegar
4. Add about 25-30 drops of essential oil to the mixture if you’d like a stronger smell.  I used 10 drops each of Rosemary, Spearmint and Lavender to try to go along with the conditioner scent I chose and I love it.  

I add this to my washer with a Downey Ball.  I read that the vinegar also can help repel dog hair.  Not sure if that one is true or not.  We have so much of it flying around in our house it would probably need super powers to keep it off our clothing.

Miracle Spot Cleaner

No kidding!  This stuff is amazing.  Works way better than Spray and Wash or Shout!

Ingredients:

1 part Dawn Dish Soap (original blue)

2 parts Hydrogen Peroxide

Mix and pour or spray right on the stain.  Wait 1-2 minutes and rub and the stain should be gone.

Happy Washing!  I’ll post more on the household cleaners later this week.

The post Spring Cleaning with Homemade Cleaning Products appeared first on Soothe Your Soul.

Cassie is crafting again!

She has a fabulous Shamrock Craft to share with us!

Stop in to Soothe Your Soul to see her handmade festive decorations!

Here is her supply list:

• Green Paper
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Two-sided Tape
• Needle
• Fishing line
• Green Pipe Cleaners
• Pencil

Ready to create!

1. Cut several green paper strips.  You can decide how wide you would like them. Cassie made hers about 2 inches wide and 11inches long.
2. Fold the first strip in half and roll the paper with your pencil.  Keep rolling until the mid-point and repeat on the other side.
3. Repeat this step 2-3 more times depending on how many leaves you’d like on your clover.

4.  Use a small piece of 2-sided tape to connect your leaves.

5. Thread your fishing line up through the center of your clover.

6. Make Lots! And enjoy!

The post Shamrock Craft with Cassie appeared first on Soothe Your Soul.

Make your own luck with these Blessed Herbal Candles from Coventry Creations.

You are supporting a wonderful Michigan Company.

$10

The post Luck and Prosperity Candles appeared first on Soothe Your Soul.