Essential oils are obtained by using several methods from the petals, leaves, stalks, roots, seeds, nuts, and bark of plants.  It is based on the belief that the inhalation of scents released from essential oils affects the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls the glands and hormones which alters moods and stress.  When used in massage, baths, and compresses, the oils are absorbed through the blood stream and carried to various oils and glands which benefit from their healing effects.  Since fibromyalgia flare-ups can be linked to stress, aromatherapy may be a good alternate therapy.

Chamomile
The two main types used in aromatherapy are Roman chamomile and German chamomile. Both types are soothing, calming, and anti-inflammatory which are good for relieving muscular aches and pains.  A warm bath containing chamomile oil before bed can help promote deep sleep.

Lavender
Lavender oil is especially beneficial for fibromyalgia because it not only relieves pain, but also promotes relaxation and sound sleep.  Japanese researchers recently reported that it reduces the stress hormone cortisol.  Inhaling lavender oil at bedtime has been shown to improve sleep quality by 20%.

Marjoram
Marjoram has a warm, spicy scent.  When used in massage, marjoram oil has a warming effect that eases pain and stiffness.

Meadowsweet
Meadowsweet oil contains salicylic acid, often know as natures's own aspirin.  It derived from aspirin making it an excellent muscular pain reliever.  It is also anti-inflammatory and mildly sedative, making it helpful for insomnia. Product pictured is an extract and must be mixed with oil such as coconut. 

Rosemary
Rosemary oil relieves muscular pain when used in massage, added to a warm bath, or applied on a hot compress.  It also is a brain stimulant, so it helps boost concentration and has long been used to improve memory making it ideal for fighting 'fibro fog'.  Don't use rosemary at bedtime due to its stimulant effects, and it should not be used by anyone who has epilepsy.

Techniques
These oils are effective for pain relief when used in a warm bath, as a hot compress, or in a massage.

Bath
Fill the bath comfortably with hot water.  When you are ready to immerse yourself, add six drops of your chosen essential oil.  Stir the water with your hand to spread the oil.  The warmth from the water both aids absorption through the skin and releases aromatic vapors which are inhaled.

Hot Compress
Add four of five drops of essential oils to a basin of hot water and soak a facecloth or small towel in it.  Wring out the excess moisture and place on the affected area.  

  Another adorable holiday movie that will restore you weary bones.

Thirty-something Hillary Burns has spent her life trying to get the approval of her parents (most specifically her judgmental mother, Meredith Burns) thus far without success. Part of that approval for Hillary is to marry the right man. That's why Hillary is so happy she is engaged to successful lawyer Jason King, whom she will bring home to meet the family for the first time at their Thanksgiving get-together weekend in a week's time; however, Hillary's life starts to fall apart when simultaneously she loses her part-time newspaper writing job (when the newspaper itself folds) and Jason dumps her to focus on his career (which is seemingly more important to him than Hillary). On the advice of her best friend Sophie, Hillary - who feels she can't go home without Jason (especially as her two sisters' lives seem to meet their mother's approval) - decides reluctantly to go to an online dating site to find someone to pose as Jason for the upcoming family weekend. She finds David, an actor who seems to be struggling with his own life; but, as an actor, she figures he can at least treat it like a real acting job (which he hasn't had in a while). It may be a struggle for David to pretend to be Jason for four days, especially as Hillary's politician father, Roy Burns, always seems to be seeking legal advice. Those problems may be compounded by Hillary herself, who treats David like the real Jason in the hopes that all the wedding planning she goes through with Meredith will end up not going to waste in the possibility that Jason may come back to her. By the end of the weekend, Hillary may finally come to some realizations about her mother and her sisters (the latter whose lives aren't as perfect as on first glance) and what - and perhaps who - she herself really wants in life, especially as an unexpected person also shows up for the weekend. - IMDb

If you're still in Christmas mode happily soaking up the last days of the season, then this one will be a hit on your list!

Leaving her seemingly glamorous Hollywood life on hold, Evie Lee is forced to return to her small hometown of Balsam Falls, Tennessee and her family's once-thriving Christmas tree farm to attend her father's unexpected funeral. As the eldest sibling, she finds herself executor of an estate that owes a massive inheritance tax, much to her younger brother's dismay. Torn between pursuing her music career and saving her family's legacy, she must decide what it really means to find her place in the world. Charleene Closshey stars amidst a colorful cast including Robert Loggia, Tyler Ritter, Booboo Stewart and Naomi Judd in this heart-warming musical holiday tale about facing your past, rediscovering your voice, and fulfilling your dreams. -IMDb

Thoughts on complementary therapies is controversial.  Some argue that any benefits of such therapies are due to a placebo effect.  That is, when a treatment improves symptoms, it is usually due to the person actually expecting it. However, it could be argued that, unlike comparative new drug treatments that offer so many side effects, alternate therapies have stood the test of time.  They have been used to treat aliments and promote well-being for thousands of years.  The use of complementary therapies alongside conventional medicine received an unexpected boost recently when NICE recommended acupuncture and chiropractic treatments along with exercise therapy for treatment of pain.

Another alternate therapy is the Alexander technique. It helps fibromyalgia sufferers improve posture and enable the body to function with the minimum amount of strain on the joints and muscles, helping to relieve muscular tension and pain.  A study in the British Medical Journal in 2008 reported that practicing the Alexander technique provided significant long-term benefits for people with chronic pain.

The technique was devised in the 1890's by Australian actor Frederick Matthias Alexander, after he realized he was tensing his muscles and adopting an unnatural posture in response to physical and emotional stress before a show.  This simple process was having a negative effect on his performance.  We can all identify with this.  How do you feel when you are stuck in a traffic jam?  Do you tighten your shoulder and neck muscles?  Even brushing your teeth can cause unnecessary strain if you grab the toothbrush too tightly.  This can cause tension in the arm, shoulder, and neck muscles.  The Alexander technique teaches you to become aware of tension in your body, as well as your posture, movement, and thinking.  This helps remove unhelpful habits and encourages you to focus on living in the present.  

According to practitioners, poor posture affects bone alignment, puts unnecessary stress on the joints, ligaments and muscles, and leads to pain.  This technique focuses on restoring the correct positioning of the head, neck, and back - the core of the body - and the areas where the pain and tenderness of fibromyalgia are frequently felt.  This involves learn how to free up the spine, neck, and head, by imagining the spine and neck lengthening and softening, and allowing the head to rise up.  

To ensure you are practicing correctly it is best to learn the Alexander technique from a qualified teacher.  A teacher will assess your posture and movement then show you how to rectify any bad habits so that you can move more freely and naturally.  You will learn how to perform everyday tasks such as turning on a tap with minimum force to reduce strain on the muscles.  Check out the videos below that offer a brief glimpse into how you may be inviting pain into your body each moment.  

Complementary therapy practitioners view illness as a sign that physical and mental well-being have been disrupted, and attempt to restore good health by stimulating the body's own self-healing and self-regulating abilities.  They claim that total well-being comes from the mind and body being in a state of of balance called homeostasis.  Homeostasis can be achieved by following the type of lifestyle advocated on this blog: a health diet, plenty of fresh air, proper exercise, sleep and relaxation, combined with stress management and a good solid positive mental attitude. 

The theory behind reflexology is similar to acupressure.  Reflexology is based on the theory that points to the feet, hands, and face known as the reflexes.  These correspond to specific parts of the body including bones, glands, organs, and muscles.  They are linked through ten vertical zones in which energy flows.  These begin in the feet and hands and continue up to the head.  If the energy flow withing any of these zones becomes blocked, illness may occur.  Stimulating the reflexes using the fingers and thumbs is claimed to produce physiological changes that remove these blockages and encourage the mind an body to self-heal.   

Complementary therapy practitioners view illness as a  sign that physical and mental well-being have been disrupted, and attempt to restore good health by stimulating the body's own self-healing and self-regulating abilities.  They claim that total well-being comes from the mind and body being in a state of of balance called homeostasis.  Homeostasis can be achieved by following the type of lifestyle advocated on this blog: a health diet, plenty of fresh air, proper exercise, sleep and relaxation, combined with stress management and a good solid positive mental attitude.  

Tap into a bit of personal enjoyment over the holiday season. This one is sure to take any underlying blues away.

Anxious to help his struggling, widowed mom SARA, 10 year old JESSIE enters a national video contest. But Jessie's winning entry, "All I Want for Christmas is a Husband for my Mom," has unforeseen consequences as Sara is vaulted into the national spotlight and dazzled into accepting a proposal from a wealthy man she may not love. -IMDb

Take a load off and slip into a great holiday movie for some much needed rest and recuperation.  

Melody, high powered corporate workaholic for a retail conglomerate, is happy to spend the holidays jet-setting with her girlfriends. However, she's in for an unpleasant surprise when her boss sends her to her sleepy hometown to convince the reluctant townspeople to allow them to build a new discount store. Now, forced to reconnect with her family and her childhood sweetheart Carter, her task is not so simple, as all are vehemently opposed to everything Melody's company stands for. Desperate to get out of town and back to her real life, Melody takes a spill and wakes up in an alternate universe where she never left home and is married to Carter! Once determined to leave her small town life behind, Melody must make sense of her new life and decide if you truly can go home again. -IMDb

Recently I came upon a great sale at Publix featuring Green Giant's new vegetable medleys.  Offered in a clear case were BOGO steamer bags with a $1.10 off two coupon.  Who could pass up such a deal?  I quickly loaded my cart in a hurry with six bags of delightful new vegetable concoctions that would make dinner making a breeze.  

That night, approximately 30 minutes past the dinner hour, I noticed some unobtrusive pain beginning in various points of my body.  As the minutes progressed, pangs became more noticeable and lasted approximately two hours.  Since this was the newest addition to my plate, I immediately knew the culprit.  I spent the next morning in an internet frenzy trying to find out a bit more on this preservative.  

Disodium phosphate is used primarily as a food additive for stabilization, emulsification, and phosphate fortification. It can also be used for industrial purposes as a corrosion inhibitor, as a pesticide ingredient and in industrial and other cleaning products. Although it's safe in the form in which it's added to food products, disodium phosphate in its pure form can sometimes be toxic on contact or if ingested.

Disodium phosphate prevents or slows down the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms on foods. It also acts as a protein coagulate, helping form semi-soft foods such as pudding, and an emulsifier, helping compounds mix. In addition, it provides phosphate fortification and decreases the cooking time of products such as pastas and hot cereals.

Listed under names like "sodium phosphate," "calcium phosphate" and "phosphoric acid," there are 45 different phosphate-containing food additives used in hundreds of processed foods, and unless you're a dedicated ingredient-list reader, you'd have no idea they're there. Food companies aren't required to list phosphate levels on the "Nutrition Facts" panel on packaged foods—they're not even required to analyze foods for phosphate levels at all.

Usage has been scientifically linked to chronic kidney disease and increased mortality rates.  Phosphate additives have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, they're thought to accelerate the aging process, and they interfere with the way your body activates vitamin D. Too much phosphorous can also lead to weakened bones. 

Need advice? We all need to eat less phosphorous, especially inorganic compounds such as disodium phosphate. The best way to avoid it is to read labels. Read your labels for any words containing 'phos-,' and limit your fast-food consumption.

Every so often you need a good book that is succinct in each reading choices.  This makes an excellent page turner that can be devoured in a few sittings.

Every so often a love story so captures our hearts that it becomes more than a story-it becomes an experience to remember forever. 
The Notebook is such a book. It is a celebration of how passion can be ageless and timeless, a tale that moves us to laughter and tears and makes us believe in true love all over again... 

At thirty-one, Noah Calhoun, back in coastal North Carolina after World War II, is haunted by images of the girl he lost more than a decade earlier. At twenty-nine, socialite Allie Nelson is about to marry a wealthy lawyer, but she cannot stop thinking about the boy who long ago stole her heart. Thus begins the story of a love so enduring and deep it can turn tragedy into triumph, and may even have the power to create a miracle... - amazon.com

"One good thing about music, is when it hits you, you feel no pain."

Judging from the quote above, Bob Marley was part poet, part scientist. That’s because there’s truth to the soothing sound of holiday lyrics. Research suggests that music not only helps us cope with pain it can also benefit our physical and mental health in numerous other ways. Read on to learn how listening to this season's tunes can  boost your overall well-being and reduce pain.

1.  Music can ease pain!  So set your radio dial to that music station that plays all those holiday favorites as you go to and fro this holiday season. Did you know that music can meaningfully reduce the perceived intensity of pain, especially in CFS and fibromyalgia patients?  The simple sense of pleasure that is evoked from the melody can set your world into a reminiscing mode of years gone past. This simple task takes your mind away from pain and fatigue for the moment by uplifting your spirits.
2. Listening to your favorite seasonal tunes can improve motivation and performance. By tackling the "must do list" this holiday season, your mind will be soothing itself as you belt out a few of your favorite tunes being played.  
3. Get improved sleep quality. Listening to slow beat Christmas music has been shown to effectively treat insomnia in college students, making it a safe, cheap alternative to sleep-inducing medication. The palliative act it has on your body, soothes over-active nerves placing you in a better frame of mind as you go about your daily responsibilities.  
4. Can relieve symptoms of depression. When you’re feeling down in the dumps, holiday music can help pick you up (much like exercise) . Research suggests the kind of music matters: Classical and meditative sounds seem to be particularly uplifting, whereas heavy metal and techno can actually make depressive symptoms worse.
5. Reduce anxiety as much as a massage. One study found that music’s effect on anxiety levels is similar to the effect of getting a massage . Here’s an idea: Treat yourself to a massage and bring your favorite chilled out tunes to play during the session. Double the relaxation!
6. Elevate mood while driving. Listening to music while driving can positively impact mood . So when you’re feeling cranky in the car, try cranking some of your favorite holiday tunes. 
7. Improve cognitive performance. Favorite Christmas music may enhance performance on cognitive tasks . One older study found that listening to music allowed test takers to complete more questions in the time allotted, and get more answers right . More recent research suggests that whether or not music improves cognitive function depends on whether the music first improves a person’s emotional state.