You cannot be your healthiest without having a healthy mind! It may be hard some days to stay positive, but its something you need to strive for every day. Because when you have a positive mindset, more positive outcomes will happen in your life. If you make it a habit, your positive thinking will be so strong that you can make something good out of a negative outcome! Its all about perspective in this life. There are things i do on a daily basis or occasionally that help my mental health. 1. Breathing I know it sounds really simple... But just quick and simple breathing exercises can help slow down your anxious thoughts. Closing your eyes and breath in and out slowly. Counting 1 to 3 as you breath in, and count back 3 to 1 as you breath out. I like to listen to ocean waves. I breath in as the wave is coming in and then breath out as you hear the wave crash on the shore. It is so soothing! 2. Journaling Writing down your thoughts and emotions can leave you feeling relieved. Getting those thoughts off your mind and onto paper makes you feel like you can organize your feelings somewhat. It can also allow you to revisit what you wrote and contemplate what you are going to do, or help, about how your feeling. 3.Excersize Physical activity is a very effective relief for anxiety or stress. Exerting energy helps slow down the mind. Its been proven scientifically that the more a person exercises, the happier they are. This can be 3-5 times a week doing any physical activity such as walking, running, yoga, body weight workouts, biking, hiking, etc. Anything that gets your heart rate up for an extensive amount of time is important for your overall health. And when you exercise, you in turn sleep better at night. And that brings me to my next topic... 4. Sleep Your mind needs rest just like the rest of your body does. Not getting enough sleep can be a host to a variety of health issues. Sleeping is the time for physical and mental restoration. How much sleep you get is vital to your energy, your mood, your memory etc. If you get more sleep at night you will be an overall happier person! 5. Meditation it takes some practice, but meditation is so amazing for you. Now a days, we get so wrapped up in life and our mind can become one big mess. Taking time to get comfortable, put on some relaxing music, maybe get outside to some fresh air, sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes. As you breath in imagine you are taking in positivity and as you breath out, you are releasing the negativity away from your body. There are also a lot of free guided meditations you can find on the internet and YouTube. Check one out below, it's one of my favorites. Please make sure you make it your best interest to take care of yourself and your health! Your body will thank you, and your life will improve because of it. Make sure you love yourself before anybody or anything! To be able to think is to be alive. Use your thoughts and your mind for the better. This life is too short to be worried or stressed. Strive to be the happiest you can be and embrace every emotion and thought as a positive one.
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All about and how to find cruelty-free products that you use everyday. It can be hard to know what brands and companies you can trust that do not test on animals and use potential harmful chemicals and substances in their products. I personally have been on the hunt for the past couple years to make sure all products I use for my beauty regimen, cleaning, pet food,etc are all cruelty free and environmentally friendly. I KNOW RIGHT!.... even cleaning products and pet food is tested on animals?! It's true guys... If you have a passion for animals and spreading to love to all living beings, I suggest you start doing your research to see that if the products you use supported the harming of an innocent animal. And you should also make sure that the products you use are not harming the environment, but most importantly products you use everyday could be harming you!! There are many alternatives that do not test on animals and are are more natural and safe. There are the technologies now a days to test products in a non cruel way. So stop supporting the animal testers! Also companies that use animal testing and complex chemicals in their products tend to be more expensive. But companies spend a lot of money on animal testing and that in turn goes into inflation of the price of their product. Some companies that use all natural and organic ingredients can sometimes be pricey as well, but that is because ingredients they use can be hard to get a hold of. Even though saving an animals life, and helping the environment is priceless to me. I am here to inform you and let you know of brands that are cruelty free and use great all natural, organic, good quality ingredients. Versus brands that are not cruelty free and are more commonly used, and you might be suprised of what you see! Brands that test on animals... & alternatives.1. Dental care: -Crest toothpaste -Listerine mouthwash -Aquafresh toothpaste It sucks that the most common brands of dental care are tested on animals! :/ Keep on the look out for these Cruelty free and all natural alternatives... 1. Dr. Bronner's peppermint all-one toothpaste 5oz (you can find at target or your local drug store) 2. Jason Healthy mouth toothpaste. 3. Tom's of Maine Wicked Fresh! mouthwash, 2. Cleaning products -Clorox -Windex -Comet -Arm & Hammer -Tide laundry soap It was a shock to me too when I found out that companies even test their cleaning products on animals, which is very dissapointing. There are many alternatives to glass cleaners and disinfectants that have all natural an eco friendly ingredients and that are cruelty free. 1.Seventh generation All-purpose natural cleaner. 2. Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Lavender glass cleaner. 3. Bar Keepers Friend Powdered household cleaner. 4. Ecos liquid laundry detergent by Earth Friendly. All these alternatives you can find at your local grocery store or target. There are many more brands that are cruelty free and that would give you similar results! Just make sure you do your research. You can also check out my DIY All natural cleaning products post!! 3.Air fresheners -Glade - Lysol -Air wick Lysol also makes cleaning products too so look out for that. But yes these air freshener brands do test on animals. Alternatives- -Citra Solv Air Sense -Essential oil diffuser ( you can find one on amazon or pretty much any store) Or check out my DIY all- natural air freshener recipe. 4. Pet food These are all the brands that have their parent brand that test on animals. Below are listed the parent brand and then their third party brands following. -Big Heart Pet – Natures Recipe, Meow Mix, 9 Lives, Natural Balance, & Kibbles & Bits. -Colgate – Hills Science Diet, Hills Prescription Diet, & Hills Ideal Balance. -Mars – Nutro, Pedigree, Iams, Whiskas, Royal Canin, Eukanuba, Sheba, Evo, & California Natural. -Nestle – Merrick, Castor & Pollux, and all Purina foods (Alpo, Beneful, Chef Makers, Dog Chow, Fancy Feast, Felix, Friskies, Gourmet, Purina One, & Purina ProPlan). It sounds crazy but it makes sense too. Don't they have to test the food to make sure it is okay for pets? There are other ways this can be done. Not in cruel ways that causes an animal harm or discomfort. Here are some pet food brands that are free from guilt. 1. Almo nature 2. The Honest Kitchen 3. Halo, Purely for pets. There are many other options too. So just do your research and find out the best type of pet food that will fit your budget and your pet's needs. 5. Beauty Products- This is a wide range that include all different types of products. There are many many beauty brands that test on animals, but also quite a few that don't. And because there are so many to mention I am going to insert a table below... As you can see this was as of 2016. Some brands may have changed or switched parent companies. So again, just do your research on trusted sources. And be sure you consult with your stylist, nail technician, or beauty professional to make sure you are comfortable with the products they are using. A lot of beauty professionals are not even aware of what is in the products they use and where they come from. Make sure you are paying one who is knowledgeable in what they are using. That is why at my salon, I use all cruelty free mostly plant based ingredients so I know that my client will always walk out guilt- free and healthier than before! And i'll be sure to give you some info on some day to day products that you use or that you should purchase! There are also many other product companies that weren't mentioned in this post that are used commonly among people that are not cruelty free. So make sure you are checking labels! Everyone who is passionate about the animals and the environment, we have to stand up for what we believe in and quit supporting the people that disagree with us or who don't care. My goal is spreading awareness about this issue, because it is not an issue that most people pay attention to or that comes up in the media very much. Changes you make on a day to day basis will have a great impact eliminating the problem. When we stop supporting the problem, it will slowly fade away. So spread your newfound or already found knowledge on animal testing and company ethics an lets make this world a better place! I know it may not seem like it, but the choices you make do matter and they do have that ripple effect. So we must stand together and fight for the animals and the earth that we love. FOR THE ANIMALS. FOR THE EARTH. FOR MYSELF. Sources: https://www.peta.org The reason I am such a tree hugger is because I am my happiest and most content when I am at peace in the middle of the wilderness. And I know many other people feel this way too. Have you been wanting to make a change that could have a positive impact on the environment? Start to look at ways you can minimize your waste. We need to stop corrupting our land and waters with our waste. One step at a time is a good way of approaching on minimizing your waste, it is a better way to develop habits. I myself is still on this journey to becoming almost zero waste. There is no way I am close to being there. But I have taken a true look at how much waste I do produce and I have been making small changes everyday to try and reduce that. It is definitely hard to do in this day and age, but there are many ways you can make it work. It will end up saving you money too!! Look up "zero-waste" or "minimalism" on YouTube. And you will learn all about this concept!
Psst.... Another way you can help the environment in a huge way...... GO VEGAN!! Another video to watch on YouTube is "The greatest speech you'll ever hear" by David Yourofsky ( if you're a health nerd you will definitely enjoy this) |