Healthy Living Archives - Page 7 of 19

Aromatherapy: What You Need To Know Before You Start Your Own Practice

Written by Enlightened Recovery on March 14, 2018. Posted in Alternative Therapy, Healthy Living. No Comments on Aromatherapy: What You Need To Know Before You Start Your Own Practice

Aromatherapy is all the craze in 2018 for a good reason. Essential oils have healing properties powerful enough to adjust mood and heal wounds. Here are three things you need to know about essential oils before you start your own aromatherapy practice.

Not all aromatherapy oils are created equal:

Hidden beneath a labyrinth of layers from the products you see on the shelf is an entire industry and science dedicate to smell. Smells can be created from synthetic chemicals and mirror the real thing almost identically. Many ‘aromatherapy’ companies use synthetic smells and advertise them as essential oils. Rubbing these chemical laden oils into your skin or breathing in the vapor after using them in a diffuser can be dangerous for your health and certainly has none of the healing properties essential oils has. Do your research before you make your purchase. Aromatherapy is popular these days and many companies are trying to profit. Google their name, check reviews, and be willing to spend a little more for real essential oils.

Essential oils aren’t regulated by the FDA:

One of the ways you can sort out the fake essential oils from the real ones is by the way they are marketed. You might see terminology like “medical grade” or “therapeutic quality”. These are nonsense claims. All essential oils, in their natural state, can act as medicine and they are therapeutic. The reason essential oils are so popular and have been relied upon for so many years is due to their medicinal and therapeutic properties. Lavender oil, for example, is considered a “wonder drug” of nature. Essential oils can be antiviral, antifungal, antiseptic, and much more. However, the FDA does not currently have a say on essential oils. Any terminology which infers the contrary should be a product well avoided.

Aromatherapy is not a replacement for other medical or psychological therapies:

In an anxious situation, lavender oil can help instantaneously calm your nerves. Does that mean you should cease to see your therapist who is helping you work on your anxiety? No. When you are congested in your sinuses, eucalyptus oil can help clear your nasal passageway and help you breath. Should you avoid seeing your doctor to make sure you don’t have a sinus infection? No. Aromatherapy is not a replacement for professional therapies. Aromatherapy can act as a supplement to these treatments and aid the therapeutic process. For example, lavender oil can help with a therapy session which brings up a lot of anxiety. Eucalyptus oil can help soothe the symptoms of a cold while other remedies help remove a virus.

Enlightened Recovery offers a clinical, holistic and 12-step approach to the road to recovery. If you’re struggling with addiction and/or mental illness, our program is specialized in dual-diagnosis treatments. Don’t hesitate and call today: 844-234-LIVE.

A individual therapy session during Partial hospitalization program in New Jersey.

Bathing In Sound For Transformational Meditation

Written by Enlightened Recovery on March 13, 2018. Posted in Alternative Therapy, Healthy Living. No Comments on Bathing In Sound For Transformational Meditation

Sound bathing is a practice more than 2,000 years old and is regaining popularity in the holistic health movement of the new age. Bathing in sound is something we actually do all the time. At the beginning of every Headspace meditation, Andy, your mindfulness guide, encourages you to take a moment to listen to the sounds around you. He asks you how much you can hear and how far away. You quickly realize that there are sounds happening all around you all day that you don’t notice because you aren’t mindful of them. Sometimes we are unintentionally bathing in sound. Too often, that sound is cacophonous rather than harmonious.

The battling sounds of everyday life provide a certain ambience, but can confuse and excite our energy. There is a distinct difference between listening to the noises outside during traffic and listening to the intentionally tuned hum of a Tibetan Singing bowl. Sound bathing is the practice of using intentional sound like singing bowls, gongs, tuning forks, and more, to bathe the body in harmonized, balancing, invigorating energy. The wavelengths created by the vibrations of sound bathing penetrate the body and restore a flow to the body. Participants in sound bathing simply lie on the floor or on a massage table and let the sound bath practitioner wash over them with sounds and vibrations. Recipients of sound bathing have reported feeling less anxiety, reduced stress, improved mental clarity, more energy, deeper sleep, and a greater sense of wellness.

You can go to a yoga studio or a sound bathing event to participate in sound bathing or you can set up a sound bathing session yourself. Many sound bathing sessions or musics are recorded. Online, you can find a wealth of recordings that are just the sounds of Tibetan singing bowls, crystal bowls, “Om” chants, gongs, and more. You can also find recordings created with specific binaural beats, curated to tune into the wavelengths of your brain and promote calm.

Create a quiet, comfortable space for yourself and find a laying down position. To set the mood, light some incense or put a calming essential oil, like lavender, into a diffuser. Turn off the lights and choose ambient lighting like candles or Himalayan salt lamps. Turn on the music and start focusing on your breath taking deep inhales then releasing deep exhales. Don’t worry if you fall asleep The sounds are still creating the vibrations your body needs to heal.

Reiki: Everything You Wanted To Know About Energy Healing

Written by Enlightened Recovery on March 12, 2018. Posted in Alternative Therapy, Healthy Living. No Comments on Reiki: Everything You Wanted To Know About Energy Healing

Reiki is becoming a buzzword in 2018 and it seems everyone is becoming a reiki practitioner or master. The holistic practice of creating healing energy was developed by Mikao Usui in 1922 in Japan. Since the 1920s the practice has expanded around the globe. People everywhere are trained in the ability to tune into their own energy and provide energy healing to others. A survey from 2007 found that at the time over one million adults in the United States had tried a reiki session. Today, reiki healing is being used in rehabilitation for addiction, to treat patients undergoing chemo, and many other medical as well as psychological settings.

Eastern philosophy believes that we have channels in our bodies, called meridians, through which energy flows. When our channels get clogged up our blocked, our mental and physical health suffers. We might have something blocking the flow of energy through our chakras, our meridians, or other parts of our body. Reiki healers can tune in and find out where our energy is blocked. They won’t necessarily be able to tell us why. However, each meridian and each chakra relates to components of our life, as holistic theory would suggest. We can take a hint from these metaphors and find awareness in how we can open ourselves up to more energy flow.

Though healers are moving energy, they are creating a wealth of benefits. Reiki has been shown to reduce pain and inflammation, cravings and difficult emotions, and symptoms of many other diseases. By moving and releasing energy, reiki healers can conduct their healing.

People who receive reiki healing report feeling different sensations during their sessions. Feelings of warmth or coolness in the body are common. Some are able to visualize the energy moving through their body and can see exactly where the reiki practitioner is releasing blocked energy.

For men and women who are in treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, reiki healing is especially helpful. Addiction tears apart the mind/body relationship and disconnects a person from themselves. Being in such heightened states caused by stimulant substances or depressed states caused by depressant substances, alters the energy flow of the body. Releasing old energy helps those in treatment release emotions which they have held onto for some time. Reiki directly encourages the therapeutic process for healing mind, body, and spirit.

Does Pain Cultivate Empathy?

Written by Enlightened Recovery on March 9, 2018. Posted in Healthy Living, QA. No Comments on Does Pain Cultivate Empathy?

“We are not a glum lot,” the authors of Alcoholics Anonymous wrote. They described the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous as a group of people who would “normally not mix.” “We are average Americans. All sections of this country and many of its occupations are represented, as well as many political, economic, social, and religious backgrounds.” Despite the differences among the members, the authors emphasize, “…there exists among us a fellowship, a friendliness and an understanding which is indescribably wonderful.”

The authors explain that the fellows of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and by metaphor meaning anyone who is in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, are like passengers on a ship being rescued from a shipwreck. “The feeling of having shared in a common peril is one element in the powerful cement which binds us. But that in itself would never have held us together as we are now joined.” Few people can understand the suffering, pain, and plight of living in active addiction to drugs and alcohol the way that an addict or alcoholic can. That “common peril” is what creates an innate and unique sense of empathy among individuals in recovery. Without that painful experience, addicts and alcoholics might not know how to support one another.

Empathy can be defined as “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another”. Humans experience pain. We all experience some kind of pain in our lives whether it is physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual. Every human being can humble themselves to realize that their experience of pain is no different from anyone else’s experience of pain. However, it helps when two people have suffered a very similar pain, like addiction. Out of that pain, empathy is born.

Can we be empathetic without pain? We have to be able to recognize our own pain first. We also have to be willing to recognize the pain of others. As addicts and alcoholics we turned a blind eye of denial to our own suffering and as a result ignored the suffering we caused others as a result of our addiction. Coming out on the other side of pain gives us the perspective we need to confront and resolve our pain. When we see others suffering we are no longer suffering, but have suffered. We can offer them our empathy because, due to our pain, we have the ability to understand and share their feelings of suffering.

Suffering And Impermanence In Addiction

Written by Enlightened Recovery on March 7, 2018. Posted in Addiction, Healthy Living. No Comments on Suffering And Impermanence In Addiction

All of life is suffering, said the great Buddha in his teachings. All of life is pain. There is freedom from pain and suffering, he offered, and that is enlightenment. Dukkha is the pali word for suffering and translates directly to suffering. Suffering isn’t always pain, however. Dukkha can mean a variety of emotional states and the suffering which comes from them.

“Dukkha refers to the psychological experience- sometimes conscious, sometimes not conscious- of the profound fact that everything is impermanent, ungraspable, and not really knowable” writes author Norman Fischer in Suffering Opens the Real Path. Fischer explains that we all know on some level that we are suffering. We know at our core the true nature of things, but we try to know something else. As a result we live in samsara, the cycle of existence and suffering we face when we tightly hold onto everything which is passing and impermanent- like our addictions.

Our phases of intoxication are impermanent. Only addicts and alcoholics know the true depth of this. We suffer in angst as we await the next time we are to be intoxicated. Even when we are relishing the euphoric effects of our drugs of choice, we subtly suffer, anticipating the moment when the euphoria ends. As we enter a stage of detox and withdrawal we suffer even more. We cannot hold onto the high and we cannot bear the come down. The cycle is relentless.

To anyone who has not suffered from addiction to drugs and alcohol, the cycle seems silly and self-imposed. Why would anyone choose to do that to themselves? Yet as human beings we are all prone to various “addictions” which keep us in the same cycle. We hold onto hopes that are unrealistic, pleasures which are passing, and expectations which only lead to disappointments. Why would we choose to do that? It is not until we become aware of the fact that we are choosing our suffering that we can find enlightenment and release from our suffering.

Through treatment and therapy we start the path to enlightenment by releasing our addictions to drugs and alcohol. Evolving on the course of our journey we confront other addictions in our life like our addiction to thoughts, feelings, actions, beliefs, and behaviors. We realize that our addictions were merely one manifestation of our suffering, one dukkha in our life of samsara but that enlightenment is possible in all of these areas. We slowly detach and find our way to healing, each moment of liberation a living nirvana.

group therapy during addiction treatment in New Jersey

You Only Need 3 Things To Set Boundaries In Your Life

Written by Enlightened Recovery on March 5, 2018. Posted in Healthy Living, Recovery. No Comments on You Only Need 3 Things To Set Boundaries In Your Life

Being in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction is being in recovery of the self. We tend to lose ourselves in addiction. Slowly but surely, we let go of the most core components of who we are. We do things we said we would never do. We act in ways we could never have fathomed acting. We go against morals, values, and ethics we are both aware of and unaware of. The consequences are exponential. Patterns of energy and habit are set forth which tell us that we have no boundaries within ourselves. By going against who we are and identifying ourselves only through our addiction, we lose sight of where our rights and our wrongs both end and begin.

You need to know who you are, mostly, at least:

Through the treatment process, we find ourselves again. Therapy, energy healing, spiritual experiences, and trauma resolution help us determine what our values, morals, ethics, and beliefs are. Empowered, we find ownership in who we are. Knowing exactly what we believe is right or wrong takes time because our brains, deeply affected by addiction, need time to heal. As we continue through our healing journey, we can set boundaries for what we are willing to accept, willing to tolerate, or what we are not willing to accept and tolerate.

Boundaries are set when we know who we are. Some of our boundaries are flexible while others are rigid. Either way, we know who we are in our highest vibrational being and we honor who that person is by respecting their boundaries.

You need to be able to communicate your boundaries:

Ask someone in the early months of their recovery how they are feeling and be met with a face of contemplation. Addiction deeply changes the brain. People in recovery use “feeling charts” to help them identify how they feel. Communication is a key part of life for interacting with any other being. Those who are in recovery have to first learn to communicate with and for themselves, starting with the very basics of “How do I feel?” From there, the communication can evolve.

We set boundaries within ourselves which apply to others. Though we know what our boundaries for others are, others cannot know our boundaries for them until we tell them what they are. Communication is the way that we effectively inform others of who we are and what we are accepting of- something we have to do with ourselves first.

You need to be mindful:

You build a fence to keep in a herd of sheep. These boundaries are meant to confine the sheep to one area. While you look away, trusting in your boundaries, a sheep somehow escapes. This can happen in our lives. Our boundaries aren’t flashing around us in neon lights. We have to tenderly and compassionately mind our boundaries and check on them in all situations. It can be expected that our boundaries will need maintenance and checking up on.

How to Create a Healing Garden

Written by Enlightened Recovery on February 21, 2018. Posted in Alternative Therapy, Healthy Living. No Comments on How to Create a Healing Garden

When people are sick there are ways to encourage happiness and hope. Having a garden is proven to help people in times of distress. The natural beauty of the garden can bring a little light to the darkest day. The bright colors of a garden can stimulate the brain. Keeping it green and lush is a great way to start off. Then there should be walkways into the garden and places to sit taking it all in.

Keeping the garden authentic and real is calming. While in a sickened state, it is not recommended to contemplate pieces of art that could affect feelings any more than what might be going on, already has. Try to keep things flowing with the harmonious way that nature presents itself.

Growing different trees can attract birds. Allowing for the sounds and the simple beauty of these creatures can also be soothing. Hearing the chirping of birds can give patients the sense of being in a happy place. This can be beneficial for those who find mindful meditation helpful. In fact, those who don’t might want to try it.

It’s important to avoid any flowers that let off a strong scent. Also, try to avoid those that might consist of common allergies. The garden should be a healing place, not risk anyone’s health. With this in mind, always tend to the garden so that it doesn’t overgrown with algae or mold. Safe plants only.

Walkways and benches must be free from danger. This is important to keep in mind when it comes to people in wheelchairs or who might be unstable. This might want to be taken into consideration when designing the walking space. Rocks, dirt, or concrete.

Everyone is different and when it comes to water fountains it’s whatever you might prefer. Some find fountains relaxing, some might find them triggering. Beauty is really in the eye of the beholder. As humans though, nature is apart of who we are. The earth and every living thing on it have a real connection as a whole. Being able to appreciate what a higher power had created can give anyone the feeling of gratitude for their own lives as well.

If you are looking to find the beauty within, look no further. Here at Enlightened Recovery, we have designed our program towards healing those with alcoholism, addiction, and/or mental health. Take back your life today and call 833-801-5483.

Being Restless, Irritable and Discontent

Written by Enlightened Recovery on February 19, 2018. Posted in Healthy Living, Mental Health. No Comments on Being Restless, Irritable and Discontent

Being restless, irritable and discontent is a recipe for disaster for a person with addiction or alcoholism. The term “dry drunk” refers to a person who isn’t working a spiritual program but also not abusing any substances. For example, Alcoholics Anonymous is a program that its members work on a daily basis to find peace and serenity without numbing their feelings. Taking away the substance is only the first step to living a happy, fulfilling life. To quit drinking and using will able the person with an addiction to find out who the person really is within.

In order to become less restless, irritable and discontent, there are few suggestions to take on the path to recovery. When a person comes into the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous and willingly decides to keep coming back, it’s likely that there had been others who had given them a new found hope. Beginning the steps is part of the program that must be followed or else there will not be any real promises. By doing the 12 steps people can begin to see with clarity.

Dropping expectations and resentments will benefit those lacking a healthy perspective of past life events with people, places, and things. When people who are living with the disease of addiction let others get into an untamed mind, it will almost always find reasons to self-destruct. When people decide they don’t want to deal with the madness going on inside the mind, alcohol and drugs begin to seem like a good idea. Having the courage to deal with the pain inside, is the transformation into a healthy mindset.

Putting the mind’s energy towards something positive will always give someone in recovery a better shot at staying sober. It’s crucial to begin shifting the mind to see the beauty in life instead of the ugly. Having optimism and brighter energy will attract the same. Some people call it the ripple effect. When you put out good energy into the world, it will come back to you. Over time when people in recovery begin to use these suggestions in everyday life, it will become easier to deal with everyday stressors without picking up a drink or drug. By following the 12 steps of AA as a guide, there will be progress, but not perfection.

Enlightened Recovery clinical, holistic, and 12 step partial program is designed to help you transform your life into the life of your dreams. Let go of the past and begin to heal with us in New Jersey. Call today: 844-234-LOVE.

Mindful Breathing

Written by Enlightened Recovery on February 9, 2018. Posted in Alternative Therapy, Healthy Living. No Comments on Mindful Breathing

Some of the most simple things people forget to do make the biggest impacts of how we live our day to day lives. From day one all life on earth begins this one survival method; breath in and breath out. There are many things in life you can live without for quite a while, but the breath does not fall in line. As stress builds it is easy to hold the breath or begin to take quick, shallow breaths. This is when the mind will begin to make questionable decisions because of the lack of oxygen going to the brain. Often times, while engaging in harmful substances it becomes difficult to take deep breaths which can also show how the bodies chakras have been clogged with unhealthy energy.

Mindful meditation is an easy way for anyone to recenter at any moment that feels unmanageable. All people have trauma, which can get triggered by at any point in the day. When this happens the body tenses up and can feel as if it’s become heavier. This would be considered post-traumatic stress disorder. There are simple ways to get past this point without becoming so lost that a wrong turn can be made to instead, to numb these painful memories.

What is recommended is to lay or sit down where it is possible to feel grounded to the earth. Begin to think about a happy, calm place such as the beach. Imagine the waves crashing over the sand and the way the water calmly settles thereafter. Begin to gather the sounds of the wind, the touch of the sand and proceed to focus on the breath. While breathing consciously try to slowly inhale for a few seconds, and exhale for a few seconds. Now begin to let it all out in the exhale with any sounds of relief. Continue doing this and add in a mantra or affirmation. Say this over and over again until you can regather. At this point, the body should feel more at peace and calm. The body and breath are all human beings really have for survival at its core. At some point, it might be smart to listen to what’s going on from the part of the body that’s been there the whole time.

If you are struggling with addiction and mental health, please don’t hesitate to get help today. Enlightened Recovery will take you down a spiritual path to recovery and you never have to look back. Call today for more information: 833-801-5483.

Reasons to go on a Yoga Retreat

Written by Enlightened Recovery on February 8, 2018. Posted in Alternative Therapy, Healthy Living. No Comments on Reasons to go on a Yoga Retreat

When a person sobers up, there can sometimes be the conception that there won’t be anything fun to do anymore. While in the disease, there were many reasons to use and that meant every situation and every excuse one can think of. This is just how the mind had been set to function, if you can really call that functioning. Once sobering up, there are many sober things to do including a good spiritual retreat.

There are many reasons why these getaways can be life-changing. There will be lots of yoga and meditation on the schedule. Some might find this tedious at first, but once the person can begin to quiet the mind, serenity and peace will become evident. Without the distractions of daily life, it’s a good opportunity to take it all in and get spiritual. Finding who it is on the inside will give people more self-esteem and guidance from a higher power.

Retreats are great places to detoxify the body from toxins we might ingest through foods and other sources. Retreats will often have food supplied for its guest and this means it will probably be healthy. This is fantastic because there are chefs doing all of the cooking! It’s also an opportunity to learn about healthy foods that could become a staple back home.

Retreats are also an opportunity to detoxify from the digital world. Signing onto facebook and other social media outlets can almost become second nature at times. Making it a point to put the smartphone away can be stressful at first, but it’s amazing how the mind will recover from its annoying cellular friend.

Lastly, being around likeminded people is a nice way to connect. Many people make lifelong friends while in retreats. There are options to travel to beautiful islands and countries around the world. It’s a once in a lifetime experience and one of the best gifts someone in recovery could be given. Once people can live in gratitude, life’s troubles will slip away. Life will never be perfect for anyone, but becoming in tune with the body mind and soul in such an amazing environment, will forever give life a new meaning. Now go get your zen on!

If you need help in becoming sober and spiritually fit, don’t waste any more time. Reenergize the body, mind, and soul at Enlightened Recovery in New Jersey. Don’t wait and call today for more information: 833-801-5483.