Rudy the Robin - A Christmas Fable!

A story about sharing your gifts with the world.

Rudy the Robin loved waking up the Smith family each morning with his beautiful voice. But one morning shortly before Christmas, the family left! Whatever was he going to do for Christmas?

Like clockwork, Rudy would perch on the branch of the Smiths’ large oak tree nearest to the upstairs windows. Once there, he would sing beautiful choruses.

And, like clockwork, each member of the family would come to their window and say, "Good morning, Rudy! Thanks, as usual, for the lovely wakeup call."

Whether rain or shine, he would make the sacrifice to go and sing for them because he realized it made them happy. It also made him feel good to be able to share love with his voice.

One morning, Rudy saw that the Smiths were awake even before he showed up, and were busy loading up the car.

"Oh, morning, Rudy," said Peter Smith as he looked up and saw him. "We're heading off to Austria for the Christmas holidays. See you when we get back!"

Rudy flew away disappointed. He wondered how he would manage for the entire Christmas season without sharing his musical love with the Smiths.

Then he thought, "Wait a minute. I share my voice because it makes others happy." He then declared, "There must be another family around here that would enjoy hearing me sing to them each morning."

With that, he set off down the block and found another home with a tall oak tree. He perched and immediately started singing. Shortly after, a little girl opened a window and shrieked, "Look, Mum! A Christmas Robin, just like I wanted!"

When Rudy saw that, he felt fulfilled. He realised that once he had his gift of singing and love to share, his duty was to share that with anyone he came across. And even though he had a special place in his heart for the Smiths, he was happy singing for anyone who needed that gift.

Moral: Sharing love and our natural gifts unconditionally is the best gift we can bestow on others. Whether it's time, our skills, our humour, our talents, anything we do out of love for others without expectation is the greatest Christmas gift. Whether we are rich or poor we all have these type of gifts to share.

During this Christmas Season , making a special effort to share the gift of ourselves with others goes a long way and is the best gift we can bestow on the world.

The Surprising Health Benefits of Bathing Like Cleopatra!

Soaking in a warm tub doesn’t just feel decadent. Bath time can provide a wide variety of mental and physical health benefits especially with the use of essential oils and bath salts.

Sure, doctors in ancient Rome may have overestimated the therapeutic powers of the water cure. Regardless of what Hippocrates said, you probably don’t want to rely on a bath to cure pneumonia, but you can still find relief for less serious ailments. Just ensure you rinse off completely, dry your skin gently, and get out of the tub after about 10 to 15 minutes to avoid dry skin. (You don’t want to be prunish!)

Prepare to unwind with warm water and or favourite essential oils and salts. Discover more about the medicinal value of bathing.

Mental Health Benefits of Bathing

1. Helps fight depression. Immersing yourself in warm water raises serotonin and endorphin levels. Those are two of the main brain chemicals associated with happiness and wellbeing.

2. It relieves stress. Soaking away tension may be the first thing that comes to mind. Dim the lights, turn off your phone, and slather yourself with a fragrant moisturizer afterwards.

3. Promotes learning and retention. Prop your head on a bath pillow and read a book or listen to a lecture on audiotape. Acquiring knowledge and insights can sharpen your thinking and may even protect you from certain forms of dementia.

4. Helps you sleep better. Warming up in the bathtub before bed raises your core temperature. When you start to cool off, your body will produce melatonin that makes you feel sleepy. That good night’s rest is good for your mind and body.

5. Helps you feel connected. Psychologists at Yale found some evidence that loneliness makes us bathe more because our brains associate physical warmth with the affection we may be missing. Try taking a bath while you’re working on your relationships.

6. Helps you create your own experience. Add essential oils into the mix for whatever results you want. For example, chamomile tends to be calming while rosemary stimulates memory.

Physical Health Benefits of Bathing

1. It boosts circulation. Hydrotherapy increases blood flow and may strengthen your immune system. To try it at home, splash yourself with cold water while sitting in a warm tub.

2. It pampers your feet. If you’re short on time or conserving water, you can still get your feet wet. Fill a basin with warm water and add a few drops of peppermint oil.

3. It helps soothe your skin. Experiment with essential oils and natural ingredients known to stop itching, treat sunburn, or moisturize your skin. If you sat too long in the sun, dip into cool water with two cups of vinegar. Try lavender or milk for dry skin.

4. It reduces congestion. Steam is a natural antidote for congestion when you have allergies or a cold. If breathing in a steamy bathroom isn’t enough, wrap a towel around your head and lower it over a bowl of hot water to help break up and loosen mucus. Eucalyptus oil can help the process too.

5. Helps lower a fever. If you’re running a fever, you may be able to cool off with a sponge bath. Use warm water because cold water or alcohol can make your temperature drop too quickly.

6. It banishes body aches. Did you overdo it at the gym? Add a cup or two of Epsom salts to your bathwater to shrink inflamed tissues and relieve soreness.

7. Helps you give birth. What if you’re expecting? Birthing pools might have some benefits during the first stage of labor. Advocates claim warm water can reduce pain and accelerate labor.

Enhance your overall wellbeing while you clean up. Hop into the tub to enjoy some refreshment and healing.

The 6 Benefits of Aromatherapy Massage You Might Not Know...

Holistic Aromatherapy Oil

An aromatherapy massage is a relaxing way to spend an afternoon for many people – but it could also have a lot of additional benefits you weren’t aware of.

If you consider an aromatherapy massage to be little more than an occasional luxury or beauty treatment, you could be missing out on far-reaching health and fitness advantages.

After all, massage is one of the oldest-known forms of human health service. Just like we’ve been using herbs and nutrition to help heal our bodies since records began, human beings have been using massage with aromatic oils as a way to aid with circulation, recovery, muscle development and psychological balance.

We’re going to cover some of the benefits of aromatherapy massage you might not know to help you justify spending a little extra time for yourself in getting this luxury treatment.

1. It Tackles the Issues of a Desk Job

Lately, research has begun to reveal the dangers of spending more time sitting down. Hours spent in front of a desk, tapping away at a keyboard, simply isn’t good for our bodies. Pair that time at work with hours relaxing on the sofa, and you’ve got all the ingredients of a dangerous sedentary lifestyle.

Fortunately, massage can help. Massage helps to improve circulation, and even helps with posture, which can be damaged by spending too much time sitting down.

Aromatherapy Massage is also one of the best ways to improve your energy levels, combining an energising essential oil with bodywork, so you can increase the amount of time you spend working out or exercising when you’re not sitting at your desk.

2. Aromatherapy Massage Makes You Happy & Reduces Stress

The idea that a relaxing massage might bring a smile to your face probably isn’t the most shocking concept you’ve heard of. However, the happiness-boosting benefits of massage especially with the use of organic essential oils, are more far-reaching than you’d think.

Massage therapy with essential oils is regularly offered as part of therapeutic and rehabilitation sessions because it’s good at improving emotional health, as well as physical fitness.

Studies are gradually beginning to reveal more benefits from using aromatherapy massage for conditions like depression, anxiety, and general low mood. Massage can improve the number of endorphins rushing through your body, and it’s great for leveraging the benefits of human touch, too. And the longer terms effects of regular massage can prevent chronic pain brought about by stress.

3. Aromatherapy Massage Reduces Blood Pressure

Studies also show that massage significantly improves your blood pressure, reducing the amount of pressure on your heart. If you’re suffering from hypertension, at a higher risk of stroke, or you’re concerned about your cardiac health in general, massage could be a good idea with the right selection of essential oils.

Massage works by manipulating the flow of blood throughout the body, helping to keep your circulation working exactly as it should.

Some studies have even found that a massage can continue to reduce your blood pressure, and positively affect the central nervous system, even days after you’ve had your treatment.

4. It Helps Stop You From Getting Sick

Although additional research into the impact of aromatherapy massage on immunity is still needed, initial studies indicate that having regular massage therapy with essential oils could reduce our chances of getting sick.

Why? Because aromatherapy massage doesn’t just improve the flow of blood in your body, but it can also significantly enhance the development of white blood cells too – which help to fight disease.

Massage also has a detoxifying effect. It can clear out the lymph nodes and get rid of toxins you might have had building in your body for some time.

This means that if disease does come your way, you’re more likely to be able to fight back.

5. Aromatherapy Massage Improves Sleep

We could all do with a better night’s sleep, right? If you’ve ever wondered why you feel like you could just doze off on a massage table, there’s a good reason. Getting a relaxing massage with organic essential oils helps to eliminate stress and pain throughout the body, putting you in a position where you’re ready for sleep. Think of it like taking a muscle relaxant – one of the main kinds of medication used to tackle insomnia.

Massage reduces the presence of factors that would otherwise keep you awake, like stress and general discomfort, so you can drift off more rapidly.

6. Aromatherapy Massage Makes You Beautiful!

While you might not feel like you’re the most attractive at the end of an aromatherapy massage treatment, with your flushed cheeks and your oil-covered body, massage can help you to become more beautiful in a multitude of ways.

Aromatherapy Massage helps to improve circulation and the turnover of cells. This supports the growth of new skin cells, for fresher and younger looking skin.

You can even use massage with specific essential oils to encourage the growth of new hair. Studies have proven that massaging the scalp improves the flow of nutrients and oxygen into the hair follicles, allowing for thicker and healthier hair.

With all these benefits, who wouldn’t want an aromatherapy massage more often?