Blog

Let’s chat about the toxicants of conventional air fresheners and synthetic fragrances (aerosols, sprays, plug-in deodorizers, gels, and even scented candles). We use them to mask unpleasant odors. Unfortunately, these are doing more harm than good for our overall health and well-being.

Any type of artificial air fresheners and fragrances pose long-term health risks with repeated exposure. These products actually increase indoor air pollution!

Air fresheners, especially aerosols and plug-in liquids release what are called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air, which is a type of chemical that turns into a gas at room temperature. Air fresheners also contain phthalates which are chemicals added to sustain the fragrance in a product. Other toxins present in air fresheners and synthetic fragrances can include phenol, ethanol, benzene, pesticides, and formaldehyde! These toxins cause respiratory, endocrine, and reproductive disruption, among other long-term health concerns.

When toxins enter our body through the lungs, they go directly to our bloodstream (and quickly!). Our body is not capable of detoxing the thousands of toxins in the environment, so these toxins are stored in our fat cells (adipose tissue), and over time, these toxins build up in the body! Think about how difficult it may be to lose weight as we age, or mystery symptoms that pop up and we chalk it up to “getting older” and that it’s just the way things are going to be. We’re actually retaining toxins that we have been exposed to, and one day our bodies are going to no longer be able to handle the toxic load.

Exposure to these chemicals is especially toxic for children! If you are using synthetic fragrances and air fresheners with (or without) children, I highly suggest you go to the Environmental Working Group’s website (ewg.org) and search for the products you are currently using in your home. According to the EWG, 88 air freshening products scored an “F” and they are all very common products seen in homes.

In the short-term, exposure to these chemical carcinogens can cause headaches, nausea, rashes, dizziness, migraines, asthma, mental fatigue, brain fog, and coughing. Long-term effects can lead to cancers, hormone disruption, blood, liver and kidney issues and other dis-eases of the body.

There are natural alternatives, such as high-grade essential oils from @DoTerra that you can diffuse in your home. Next #toxicthursday I will also be talking about the toxins lurking in your cleaning products!

If you need suggestions and tips on healthy alternatives to air fresheners or would like to consult about how to detoxify your body, contact me!

We all want better for ourselves. I truly believe that nobody deeply wants to sabotage their own life day in and day out. 

The difficult part is that it would require us to take a step back and self-reflect on our life choices and our daily habits. Have I consciously made the decisions that got me to where I am today? What behaviors and choices do I embody and carry throughout my interactions with myself and with others? 

Self-reflection can be painful when we do not take personal responsibility for our actions. It hurts too much to step back and recognize that we are not our best selves.

Why take personal responsibility when our current patterns and habits work for us? But also, are we stepping into an environment that challenges us to step out of our comfort zones – ones that actually challenge us to see our lives through a different lens? It is easier to keep the blindfold on if we are not stepping into the unknown.

However, the lack of personal responsibility may not become a choice, until it is brought into our awareness.

You’ll get to the point that you want to make a change. When you feel that enough is enough, this is where personal responsibility comes in. I know that I had to make a conscious decision to stop engaging with behaviors, activities, and people that ultimately would not carry me to my desired future. 

That decision will not always come with unbridled enthusiasm and applause from your circle. It often comes with doubt (from ourselves and from others) because it comes from a place of fear. 

But, once we make the decision to be our best selves, we need to show up for ourselves.

Each and every day.

To get started, you need to do a self-assessment of your daily habits. As you make a list of each habit, ask yourself this question:

Is this habit going to carry me to my desired future?

If the answer is no, it needs to go!

What habits do you have that you need to eliminate? Maybe it is eating a diet too high in processed foods, smoking, drinking alcohol too frequently, not drinking enough water, not eating enough fruits or vegetables, not having a daily morning or evening routine, spending too much time on your phone, watching TV shows every night to “relax,” or maybe you have a lot of external clutter that you need to eliminate. Regardless of the habit, or how many you engage in, it is the little changes you make every day that will make a bigger difference.

Keep the destination in mind, but don’t get overwhelmed about where you are now compared to where you want to be. Just be willing to give up that which does not serve you, and make one positive change.

“The best time to start was yesterday, but we’ll have to settle for now. – Mastin Kipp

Make one small change today. Then try it again tomorrow.

Just take the first step, and you’ll build momentum!

We’ve all been inspired to begin something new. Many of us have experienced this energy multiple times. However, many of us have failed to follow through. We very rarely ask why, but instead, avoid or move on to the next thing. That next thing is often falling back into our comfort zones. And there’s nothing ultimately wrong with that. Comfort is safe. However, if you desire to grow you need to become uncomfortable.

Limiting beliefs are these thoughts that we have in our minds that tell us we’re not good enough. It is that inner monologue that we are all guilty of. It criticizes us for not doing what we said we would do, tells us that we’re worthless or meaningless and that the mistakes we’ve made were a reflection of our character. These limiting beliefs reinforce the concept of fear. This concept may have been ingrained in us as children. Or, it is fed by our ego, which is only here to keep us safe and alive. Ultimately, it keeps us afraid of trying new things. Especially if we’ve been in this pattern for years, it’s hard to release.

Now, go back to when you wanted to try something new and you failed to follow through. We feel pretty defeated, huh? Cue, comfort zone. Then we become unhappy with our comfort zone and think the next thing will solve it. The problem with this is that we become “happiness chasers.” This in itself is another limiting belief we end up holding onto. It doesn’t allow us to be happy where we’re currently at.

I’m guilty. Did I consciously choose where I am today? I don’t think that I can answer “yes” to that in its entirety. Can you? I know that what I can do is answer “yes” from today on.

Maya Angelou once said “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

I’m beginning again.

After the past year of diving deep into personal self-development, I’m doing something that I’ve thought about doing but never committed myself to due to limiting beliefs.

Starting my own business.

The fear of what others will think of me is telling my body to retreat back to safety. But, here’s the amazing thing. This past year has taught me that other people’s opinions of me are NONE OF MY BUSINESS. My self-worth does not resonate with people’s projections of their lack of.

All of these things have come from a place of self-love. Something that I realized that I had been missing all these years. But I’ve been diving down into the depths of my soul and bringing light to the shadows. It has been a lot of work, but very liberating. I learned about my own limiting beliefs and have brought light to them. They haven’t served me up to this point, so I set them free. At this time in my life, I am happier than I’ve ever been. EVER.

If that sounds like something you could never do, then you probably need to invest in some self-love. If you don’t love yourself, how can you start?

In our society, it is “selfish” to love yourself. You’re just going to end up living alone for the rest of your life, and then you’ll die. No thank you. That is your opinion and fear, not mine. I’m committed to showing up for myself before I can show up for anyone else.

Begin self-love today. You’re actually going to love yourself so fiercely that you’ll attract a tribe to your life that reflects that. Don’t let the fear of others hold you back.

Try some of these simple things to get started:

• Drink lemon water first thing in the morning and stay hydrated throughout the day
• Take a yoga class at a new studio, or try a new style of yoga at your current studio
• Start writing your thoughts down on paper
• Read a good book
• Take up meditation; sit in your space and feel it
• Listen and dance to the music that fuels your soul
• Go outside and connect with nature

If you can’t do any of those things today, just stop what you’re doing right now, place one hand on your belly and the other hand on your heart.

Take three deep breaths, in through your nose for a count of four, and out through your nose for a count of four, breathing into your belly. Feel your belly fill with air, and release that which does not serve you.

Then Begin Again.