kbarnes 
A whiff of lemon oil can be an instant energizer. A deep breath of sweet lavender oil can lower your blood pressure. A few drops of tea tree oil can stop an infection in its tracks. And try a whiff of eucalyptus to stop an allergic reaction. Essential oils are not magic or folklore. There … Read more
Most of us have heard of iodine, but we’d be hard-pressed to recite what it does. If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember your mother dabbing the yellow-brown liquid on a scraped knee and the vicious sting that followed! Maybe you remember that iodine is added to salt. Maybe you can identify iodine … Read more
I’m the first to admit to a certain amount of craziness. I was reminded recently of the time when I lived in Northern New York (their winters put our Southern winters to shame) and how we would walk outside barefoot for a few minutes every morning as part of the yoga practice a group of … Read more
Gardening is the world’s best kept exercise secret. But that’s changing. Recent medical studies have documented what backyard enthusiasts have known for years: Gardening is good for us and it’s a great way to achieve and maintain physical fitness. Regular garden chores can burn anywhere from 120 to 200 calories per 30 minutes, depending on … Read more
As summer arrives, just a reminder that it’s always wise to limit your sun exposure. But who among us is always wise? Not me! Now’s the time to sing the praises of the kitchen plant — aloe vera. There’s nothing quite like the gel of this succulent plant to ease pain and speed the healing … Read more
How many e-mails do you get a day? How much time to you spend online other than for actual work? I’m sure you are getting an inkling about where I’m going with this: Online time clutters up your day and contributes to stress. Stress is an underlying cause of many physical ailments and it’s something … Read more
I’ve always called it “eating the elephant one bite at a time,” but modern culture has now given it a name: Micro goals (as opposed to macro goals). Of course, it means the same thing: Break any big and daunting task or project into a lot of little achievable or bite-sized pieces. I talked about … Read more
Summer—is it your time of languid summer days floating on a tube down the river or balmy evenings listening to the tree frogs – or are you exhausted from endless guest, barbecues, family crisis and any manner of stress inducers? I’ll have to admit that this summer, most often I fall into the latter category. … Read more
Is your house full of clutter? Your office? Maybe you’ve made a New Year resolution to de-clutter your spaces. Think about this: A few years ago, someone told me that we are energetically connected to our “stuff.” It made perfect sense to me. The more “stuff” that is hanging around the house, the more physical, … Read more
Do you get high blood pressure readings when you visit your doctor’s office? I know I almost always have high readings, even sometimes fairly alarming ones. I also know that my pressure is well within the normal range (best is 120/80) because I measure it at home at least a couple of times a week. … Read more