Hey Girlfriend! You Smell Pretty Freakin’ Good!

 

So I took this pic of myself on Saturday and posted it to Instagram. I was feelin’ all “non-yoga clothes” sassy. Anytime I decide to take a pic of myself, I am reminded of a Facebook post I saw a while back…it was something to the effect of “Hey Girls! When you take a selfie, why don’t you ever notice the huge mess of shit in the background?” Point taken, Josh. I am ALWAYS mindful now. I move the mess out of the way, but yeah in this pic, you can see my trashcan and recyclables there. And Gunnar’s mat for his water bowl. Good enough though, right? I am still human. I don’t live in a museum.

 

Take two – Background shit covered up! 🙂

 

But then I thought of this pic from my last post…

 

 

Woman, LOOK at all your “products” on those shelves! No wonder we are restricted to 1 quart size bag o’ stuff when we travel! We’re the ones weighing down the plane! But in all seriousness, if you zoom in, most of that stuff is actually essential oils. I use oils every day for my chakras and for various other things: lavender on my bug bites, clove on my feet to keep me grounded, ylang ylang to help me sleep better, balsam fir on my injured knee…It’s all such good stuff!!! They have increasingly become a part of my daily health and wellness regimen.

So fast forward to yesterday afternoon. I was on way to a yummy Yin Yoga class, and I stopped at (What’s that!?!) 7-11 to get a snack. Being a Yankee, I never thought I’d see the day these would show up in Charlotte! I searched for the healthiest thing I could find (NOT a Slurpee 😉 ), and went to pay. The first thing the cashier said to me was “WOW! You smell good!” While it always surprises me when someone says this, over the years I have gotten over being embarrassed about it. It actually starts some cool conversations. (It reminded him of the Renaissance Festival. Hmmm… interesting. I’ve never heard that one before, but I’ll take it! I HAVE been reborn recently!) I am also sooo glad to hear that I smell good, rather than bad! (Because I am a little paranoid about it.)

AND, coolly enough, even after a hot yoga class, when I’m drenched and my hair is sticking up everywhere, people will STILL tell me that I smell good. Whew! Because I always feel like I STINK! After class you will probably catch me sniffing myself and spritzing my Frankincense and Myrrh body spray under my arms. I used to be discreet, but I’ve gotten over that. Whatever! We are all human and we all stink sometimes, right?

So why the body spray, you ask? About 10 years ago, I took the plunge and stopped wearing deodorant/antiperspirant. It never really worked for me anyway. To be quite honest with you, I really think it made things worse. Although my degree is ONLY in Geology (Sheldon “Geology isn’t a real science” Cooper!) I found that it caused me to sweat even more. Your body has to work even harder to do what it’s naturally supposed to do. That’s why all these “clinical strength” products STILL don’t work! We all know they turn your shirts yellow and make them stinky. Also, the chemicals get absorbed into your pores, and get into your bloodstream and lymph glands. My sentiment is if I wouldn’t actually eat it, why I would I put it into my body some other way?

So this was a huge leap of faith for me because I had always had so many sweating problems. I honestly didn’t think that it would be a good idea or even work. I tried out a bunch of different products and made the best choice for me. What I came up with was: crystal salt spray to dry myself out a bit, and then Zum Mist body spray to keep me smelling ok. I typically need to reapply throughout the day and I always carry one in my bag, but it works!!!

 

 

I also started to work on switching to more natural alternatives to EVERYTHING I use. It was process and a bit overwhelming, but it has made a profound effect on my life. I still have a few things that probably don’t qualify as natural, but it’s ok. I feel like I am doing pretty darn good.

Reason being…..I am a firm believer that we actually create most of the disease that affects the human population. Through my research, I have come to learn that our environment (physical, mental, spiritual) creates so many problems for us. Many of the chemicals that we are exposed to 24/7 have either been labeled as carcinogens, or even worse, have NEVER been studied to determine their safety. These things affect how our bodies work on all levels. And if they haven’t been studied individually, they sure as heck have not been studied in COMBINATION with each other! That’s a whole other ball of wax!

But back to the deodorant/antiperspirant… While there’s lots of stuff in them, the common concern is mostly about the aluminum. Heavy metals enter your body and can cause toxicity, and you may not even realize it. In addition, some researchers have linked deodorant to breast cancer. Since the body can’t metabolize some of these chemicals entering it, they tend to collect and stay there. The cells of your body are naturally going to want to defend themselves against this. There’s lots of people on the internet who will brush this whole thing off, but I know a little microbiology and can clearly see that my breast tissue (how little of it I may have LOL!) is very close to my armpits. It’s a connection that I am willing to make, and therefore, I have decided that I want to do what I can to reduce my risk. I know breast cancer affects everyone, whether personally or through friends and family, and I believe it is important that we take back our Goddess-given right to live a happy and healthy life.

 

My friend took this pic of me back in the summer. I was embarrassed by it, but I don’t care now!  My body is what it is. Live like a yummy-smelling, yoga Warrior (1) Goddess! 

 

So since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought I’d share one of my solutions to decreasing my risk. While we can’t control or predict the future, I believe that we can make informed choices about the actions that we take in the present. I know many people that don’t wear deodorant/antiperspirant and some that have recently taken the plunge. Give it a shot! We can all smell freakin’ good TOGETHER!!!

 

 

 

LOVE this song!

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