Hi I'm your new SCOBY! Now what????

 

After baby and momma yoga

bevvy of Homemade

Kombucha brew!

  Welcome to the world of Kombucha! Homemade is so much better and tastier than commercial stuff, just like anything. Plus, you can love this little SCOBY knowing it found a wonderful home! So there's a few things you'll need to start your own Kombucha system. If you are lucky enough to have one of my OOLONG SCOBYs, all the better! Also remember to keep clean utensils including hands when handling your SCOBY and any Kombucha equipment. You do not want to introduce a bad bacteria.

1. Keep your SCOBY out of direct sunlight at all times. The "good" bacteria colony does not like the sun's powerful rays.

2. You'll need to brew your kombucha in a one or two gallon glass jar - with or without a plastic spicket without a fitted lid. I use a fresh napkin with a ribbon tied around the neck to keep debris out of the brew but allow it to breath.

3. The newly brewed green or black tea needs to be cooled to room temperature before adding that to the jar. The sweet tea mix your SCOBY will love is one gallon of tea and one cup of sugar. Also the water used must not contain chlorine like in municipal drinking water. I always use distilled or you will get mold on your SCOBY. (the bad bacteria will win the battle)

4. After about a week, dry out a taste of your brew....you decide when it's ready to bottle for the second fermentation. This roughly two day process, is when you add the fruits and delights that will make it wonderfully tasty and fizzy bubbly! You'll know when it's ready when you see little bubbles on the top line. We keep our Kombucha in a cupboard in glass jars. Never use plastic - it explodes and really isn't ideal for the Kombucha brewing process.

5. When you bottle for second fermentation, remember to love your new SCOBY and put it in your own hotel....mine is a box in the cupboard and I use plastic freezer bags to hold it with about a cup of kumbucha or 2 cups of fresh sweet tea mixture.

6. Always keep 10% of your Kumbucha with your SCOBY to start your new batch. If you happen to need to start from a fresh sweet tea mixture, it may take up to 2 weeks for your brew to turn itself into Kombucha!

7. Lastly, love this little colony of goodness! The vitamins and nutrients it provides is amazing! Peace Love and Namaste! Enjoy the process of the brew, new Brew Master!

Stop the Madness! Your hormones will thank you!

If you suffer from a chronic illness like diabetes, Hashimoto's or any other autoimmune disorder or disease, you need to know about endocrine disruptors (chemicals that are found everywhere when you look) that can wreak havoc on your well being.
To know how this can affect your life, we need to first talk about your endocrine system.
My wha?? Yes, you have an endocrine system that is a very important system in the human body.
I'm not going to go into a bunch of medical blah blah blah...here's some things you'll notice your endocrine system does!
You want to lose/gain weight? That's a part of your endocrine system. How about remembering where you last put your keys or about an upcoming meeting time? You guessed it, that's information that your endocrine system controls. Heart rhythms, skipped periods, low libido? That's part of your endocrine system too! Your endocrine system controls many many areas of your body and with out it or if it becomes severely damaged, the human body can decline rapidly. According to the medical staff on WebMD, "The endocrine system influences how your heart beats, how your bones and tissues grow, even your ability to make a baby. It plays a vital role in whether or not you develop diabetes, thyroid disease, growth disorders, sexual dysfunction, and a host of other hormone-related disorders." It's kind of a big deal.
So what can disrupt your endocrine system? Look in your medicine cabinet. Look in your make-up case. Do you put mass manufactured baby oil or lotion on your biggest organ - YOUR SKIN - daily? Anything we put on our bodies, gets absorbed into us and can disrupt an already faulty or struggling endocrine system. Even room sprays and air fresheners like Febreeze can harm a person trying to get their system back in line. Perfume, mass produced deodorant and laundry detergent can all disrupt your system.
So what is a person gonna do? My recovery plan for my flailing adrenals and confused hormones, I turned to cutting out all non-toxic cleaning materials, laundry supplies, body lotions, sprays, sunscreens and even shampoos. I make most of my own products for our house and if I don't have success making the products, I can usually find something in one of my natural stores or online to fit the bill.

People cannot argue with my results. In a year, I have overhauled my body internally. For the first time in over twenty years, I have been off allergy remedies and medications. And this is just one change that I've noticed. I've noticed several other things like not breaking out inexplainably in hives, I do not have dry itchy skin anymore and my brain fog seems to have loosed up its' grip on me! New lady!

Check out these great items!!

Things for dry skin:

• Coconut oil
• African Shea Butter
• Olive oil

Toothpaste replacement:
I love the brand Tom's, otherwise, baking soda with a dash of peppermint, tea tree or lavender oil will do in a pinch!

Hair care:
Coconut milk based recipes are amazing for hair. You can find some here.
Honey and eggs are also a great conditioner for your skin and they are affordable!

All natural deodorant:
When I first went off commercial mass produced deodorant, I was freaked out. I was having to apply it two or three times a day to keep up with the funky smell. Firstly, I detoxed my armpits using this recipe. Then I purchased a salt block and used that. After a few weeks, I detoxed the pits again. After only six months, I do not even need to salt to start my day and leave the house!

When cleaning your home, look for products that are biodegradable, earth friendly and use essential oils to disinfect and clean. Anything that leaves a trail or a chemical haze in the air is really off limits for a while.

Do you like to burn wax? Try using a soy based wax melt scented with all natural essential oils without artificial coloring. These smell great and our family has  no issues with allergies while using these. These are my current favorites and the product is awesome!

A special note about baby oil: Mass produced baby oil is petroleum or mineral based. These kinds of products do not allow your skin to breath. It coats your skin and disrupts the process to cell regeneration. It actually ages your skin. Your pores do not function as they should. Vegetable or fruit based oils are suggested in place of petroleum or mineral oil.

   In the United States, efforts have been severely hampered by chemical lobbyists to change laws or put statutes in place to  remove the harmful endocrine disrupting agents from the shelves of the stores. Despite the work of several hardworking individuals, over a decade has passed with the measures still awaiting to be carried out. European nations are in a much better lot with their governmental agencies taking the scientific data seriously. For more information on the measures, click here.

Blessings!

Ask me about Distance Healings

or need a consult?

Cris Ness

Messages from the Red Planet: Infrared Sauna Therapy

"Divine Waves In  Me"

   This week's subject: Infrared Therapy Saunas and how easily and affordable it is to have in your own home. After reading several documents and scientific papers on the effects of "red light therapy" on the human body and how it can help my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, I set on the journey of how to build a portable unit for my home. The benefits of infrared therapy are vast. On my road to recovery from my latest Hashimoto's Thyroiditis flare, centering on key healing points is essential. Detoxification, pain relief, stress and balancing body chemistry are the key points to this plan and the answer that hits all of those points is the infrared sauna.

Sweating is a perfect way to rid the body of unwanted toxins. But what if you can't exercise due to illness or injury? The infrared sauna is your answer!

   Just what is a sauna? There are several types of saunas and the one that is most prevalent in the United States, where I live, is the Finnish style of sauna that is known as a steam sauna. Steam saunas utilize water on a heat source that creates steam to heat a closed off unit or area where a person is sitting or laying. They can take up for 30 minutes to heat up for usage and unless you want to plunk hundreds of dollars into a unit, it is not feasible....I'm leaning more in the price range of under $100 to see if it really works.

   My search started to become a reality when I learned just how easy it is to build an infrared sauna in your home. After looking into the basic materials I would need, I set out and had my own sauna in two hours. With just a wood board, three porcelain "chick" heating lamps and three infrared bulbs (both of these items can be found at a farm supply store, hardware store of online)  and a frame with heavy material used as an enclosure, a small ceramic heater and a temperature gauge  I had in my closet and I was cooking!

   I installed my new healthy infrared sauna (basically a wood board with three lamps attached to in inside a curtain of fabric) in my basement. No worries for me about a fire hazard besides making sure the fabric wasn't touching the lamps or the heater. I sat in the radiant heat with my workout bikini on because it is essential to have as much as your skin being exposed to the therapeutic waves. Remember to not look directly into the bulbs but other than that, I read a book and chatted with my outside world :). Also, you must rotate your body every five minutes for maximum benefits.

If you are new to infrared saunas, it is recommended that you start with 4 minutes sessions in 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit and work your way towards 30 minutes sessions.

   After my first session, which I stayed in for 25 minutes, I reached a level of relaxation that I've only been able to achieve through therapeutic massage. My skin was soft and silky. I felt refreshed and centered. I couldn't wait until my next session. Two days later, I again went in my DIY sauna and the result were the same. I also had some very sore muscles from my previous yoga session and I came out with no soreness at all! In 30 minutes, my muscles were not sore or stiff.

   There are three types of bulbs you can chose from: Near, middle or far.

• Near infrared bulbs are best used for wound healing and immunity boost.
• Middle infrared bulbs are designed for increasing circulation and promoting muscle relaxation.
• Far infrared bulbs are suited best for detoxification.

After three sessions, the verdict is in! Infrared saunas are an essential tool for anyone's health arsenal, not just for chronic illness sufferers. With just a few minutes three times a week, the body's immune response can be boosted, cortisol levels can become balanced and stress will melt away with the sweat running down your body. People can even use this tool to get over viruses and infections  more timely and boost your immunity for infections...and this therapy has been found in some cases to affect and kill cancer cells.

   Of course, as with any treatments, be mindful of your body. You know your body best. With this therapy there is risk of heat exhaustion. Watch yourself for light headedness or dizziness or clammy skin ( you will be sweating, but it feels cold and clammy, get out immediately).

   Do yourself a favor and think of ways to incorporate this in your home, especially if your health conditions make it difficult for you to exercise! People even set this portable system in their bathtub and then remove it and store it in a closet. It's so versatile and easily one of the best ways to help your body to heal and function at the best level it can!

And Ill close this post with a word to my fellow Hashimotians: BE IN CHARGE OF YOUR OWN HEALTH! Read, read, read. Try a new avenue to a better you and although you aren't the person you used to be, you can become a better version on this new person you've become. Hashimoto's is a personalized, invisible illness. Become your own crusader---even if all you can do is be a crusader from the comfort of you bed at times, we've all been there!