Issue  No.  1   March  2015  

Holistic Health and Wellness for Children, Adults and Families

Your outer journey may contain a million steps; your inner journey only has one: the step you are taking right now. Eckhart Tolle

In this issue:

Page  2   Help  for  Spring  allergies  

Benefits  of  Stinging  Nettle  

Page  3  

Page  4  

Page    5   EWG’s  Dirty  Dozen    

Removing  Toxins  from  the  Home  

 Page  6   Reiki  for  Physical,  

Emotional,  and  Spiritual  Healing  

The Farmer’s Almanac says March 14 & 15 are the best days to build or fix fences and garden beds.

Spring arrives March 20 with the new Moon.

Spring arrives this month with the promise of new beginnings, new growth; setting roots that will sustain us through Summer and Fall. It is a time for planting the seeds of creativity that we dreamt about over the Winter, and setting intentions. How fitting that the first issue of Just Be’s newsletter is launching this month. I am so excited, honored and grateful to share with you many seasons of dreaming, nurturing, and growth. It is my intention to provide you with educational information, helpful hints and tips, workshops and events, and current news on holistic health, healing and wellness that support a balanced, sustainable lifestyle of positive change and growth. Topics can include physical, mental, emotional and spiritual self-care, nutrition, exercise, stress management and healthy relationships. It is my hope that you will find this information helpful, inspirational, and will motivate you to take action to awaken to your unlimited potential. If at any time you feel this information is not for you, you can “unsubscribe” by sending me an email at Karen.JustBeLLC@gmail.com.

Springtime is ruled by the liver and gallbladder, these organs process and cleanse your body of toxins. After the long, cold, winter, cooped up indoors with heavy, comfort foods and sweets, your body and space could use a good detoxification. This month will be all about “cleansing”, the body, the mind, the spirit and the home. I will also share some helpful tips on dealing with allergies. This is the time to get up, get moving, and get outdoors, where we connect with Mother Earth and nurture our connection to the plants. The Native Americans said Spring is the time to be one with the plants and acknowledge how they enhance our health and spirit. My teacher suggested we choose one plant to follow through the Spring, spend time with it each day, as little or as long as you choose, and notice how it changes, notice how you feel in it’s presence. I encourage you to do the same. Lao Tzu says, “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” I wonder how much we can accomplish when we follow the rhythms of nature? I would love to hear your feedback. You can email me at Karen.JustBeLLC@gmail.com or connect at Facebook.com/JustBeLLC.

Happy Spring!! Karen

Happy  Liver—Happy  Life  

Emotional  Detox  Journaling  

 

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Issue  No.  1   March  2015        

Help for Spring allergies… Begin boosting your immune system now, don’t wait for the pollen to start flying or reach for the over the counter anti-histamines and nasal sprays. These simple tips will not only assist you in alleviating allergy symptoms, but will improve your overall health.

Stay hydrated, drink ½ your body weight in ounces daily. Be aware, coffee, caffeine, soda, alcohol, some juices and some medications are dehydrating. Adding a pinch of a high quality sea salt will boost your electrolytes, this aids in maintaining the cells electrical properties and improves communication between the cells.

Eat a diet rich in fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables, organic is best. Avoid processed foods that cause inflammation. Onions and garlic help relieve watery, itchy eyes, and hayfever symptoms as well as aid the body in detoxifying the liver and removing parasites.

Take a good Vitamin C supplement, it is known to prevent the formation of histamine in the cells, which is responsible for teary eyes, excess mucous and runny nose. Better yet, include plenty of cabbage, broccoli, and parsley in your diet and drink rose hip tea, all excellent sources of natural Vitamin C, as are cranberries.

Improve your gut health with a good, daily probiotic or eat fermented foods like sauerkraut.

Cranberry Nettle Tea 1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice 1 cup dried nettle 4 tsp dried spearmint Place nettle and spearmint in a 2- quart mason jar, pour 4 cups boiling water over the herbs, cover and steep for 30 minutes. Strain the herbs and compost. Add cranberry juice and sweetener of choice, agave, honey or stevia. Can enjoy hot or cold. Makes 2 quarts. Safe for kids, caffeine free.

Stinging  Nettle  One of the most nutritious plants on Earth, nettle contains many important minerals and compounds, and reduces inflammation, making it one of those go to herbs for all around use. Nettle grows fairly easily and abundantly in the right soil. The leaves are harvested in Spring right before it flowers. They can be eaten fresh, cooked like spinach, or dried for use in pesto, soups, teas or tinctures. The plants are great in compost piles to help mineralize the soil and can be used in foliar sprays. Dr. Andrew Weil says there is nothing more effective for allergies, with no side effects. Nettle is also used for joint pain, exhaustion, anemia, growing pains, reproductive and prostate issues, and is great for the liver. Topically, it is used as a hair rinse, to promote growth and a healthy shine.

Use gloves when harvesting Nettle, the stems and underside of leaves contain formic acid that causes a stinging sensation, which is destroyed

by heating, drying or mashing. I know individuals who can harvest the leaves from the plants just so and eat them. I have yet to learn

this technique.

 

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Issue  No.  1   March  2015  

Happy Liver—Happy Life

Spring is the time of new beginning, plant life is beginning to bloom, delicate new shoots of green dot the landscape. It is time to rise with the sun, get outdoors, take brisk walks in nature and notice the earth come alive after a long, winter hibernation. Getting outdoors in the sunshine will naturally improve your mood, noticing the vivid colors and new birth will nourish your soul and you will be open to all the new possibilities. Eating what is growing abundantly at this time will nourish and naturally cleanse your body. You will want to include plenty of young plants, fresh baby greens, arugula, dandelion greens, sprouts, young beets, and carrots in your diet. Avoid salty foods at this time of the year. Start moving away from the heavy foods of winter. Onions and garlic are particularly helpful at this time, it is said to rid the body of parasites, also good for Spring colds and coughs. Herbs helpful for this time of year are milk thistle, basil, fennel, marjoram, rosemary, caraway, dill and bay leaf. Lemon helps flush out toxins and ginger is good for digestion, adding these to tea is very beneficial, especially dandelion tea, which is best known for detoxifying the liver. Grains, legumes and seeds, especially sprouted, are best to round out the diet for this time of the year.

If you are experiencing digestive problems, poor vision, feelings of anger or aggression, impulsivity, explosive personality, mood swings, menstrual problems, dry skin, acne, eczema, allergies, muscle spasms, headaches, dizziness, or high blood pressure, it could be related to blocked or stagnant liver energy, according to traditional Chinese medicine. Alcohol, processed foods, junk foods, and toxic chemical residue congest the liver and the blood cannot flow optimally.

The second largest organ, the liver, is the internal cleanser that naturally rids the body of toxins while you sleep, or when you are sick. The liver is responsible for filtering the blood, circulating the quality nutrients through the system and eliminating the wastes. The liver is also responsible for smooth digestion, your vision, nails, and controls your tendons.

Change your eating habits, rid your environment of chemicals and the liver will naturally detox the body.

I am not a lover of lawns. Rather would I see daisies in their thousands, ground ivy, hawkweed, and even the hated plantain with tall stems, and dandelions with splendid flowers and fairy-down, than the too-well-tended-lawn.

W. H. Hudson, The Book of A Naturalist, 1919

 

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Issue  No.  1   March  2015  

Emotional Detox

When emotions are expressed…all systems are united and made whole. When emotions are repressed, denied, not allowed to be whatever they may be, our network pathways get clogged, stopping the flow of the vital feel-good, unifying chemicals that run both our biology and our behavior. Dr. Candance B. Pert

Your emotional state manifests in the body in many different ways. Negative emotions can effect the immune system by lowering your bodies ability to fight off disease and illness, cause inflammation, muscle tightness, joint pain, stomach and digestive issues, headaches, fatigue, insomnia, eating disorders, and addiction to name a few. In the frantic paced, technology driven, stress-laden world you live, it may be difficult to notice what your body is telling you.

A mindfulness or meditation practice can help you to quiet the mind and get in touch with your feelings. With mindfulness you pay attention to what is present (the feeling) with curiosity and compassion, without judgment (feels good/bad) and just allow it to be. You may find that the feeling will naturally fall away or you may find it build and another feeling arise behind it. Just stay with it, continuing to breathe, and notice where in your body you are feeling any sensations, notice whether they increase, decrease or stay the same. Send thoughts of loving kindness to that area, resist the urge to judge, yourself or others. In time, all the answers will be revealed.

You may want to ask yourself some of the following questions:

Where else in your life does this show up? Who else in your family has these behaviors? What emotional patterns are repeating generation after generation? What family secrets or conflicts have been unresolved? What emotions have been stuck? If you need help defining or working through any emotional concerns, please contact me at Karen.JustBeLLC@gmail.com, www.JustBeLLC.co or (203) 627-6050 to set up a complimentary phone consultation to discuss how you can best achieve healing and wellness.

Release emotions with journaling…

One of the things I found most helpful when I began my healing journey was the practice of journaling. Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages”, free flow writing of three pages each morning immediately upon awakening, from her book, The Artist’s Way, is a great tool if you have never journaled before.

Or, you can use these ideas as a guide and notice the patterns:

How you feel physically and emotionally, don’t hold back, don’t sensor, just let it flow.

Identify those things you would like to eliminate from your life and how you will feel when they are eliminated.

What will you bring into your life and how will it make you feel?

Write 5 things you are grateful for, do your best to find different things each day.

What one action can you take today to move you closer to your purpose? Write it down and each day notice if you accomplish it, if not, what got in your way?

 

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Issue  No.  1   March  2015  

Dirty Dozen

Apples Peaches Celery Potatoes Cherry Tomatoes Snap peas Cucumbers Spinach Grapes Strawberries Nectarines Sweet Bell Pepper

+Hot Peppers & Kale/Collard Greens

Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce Best to buy organic if you use any of the items in the dirty dozen, they tested highest for pesticide residue. The clean fifteen are better choices, for the time being. You can read the entire report as well as other interesting things about our food and environment at http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php

Clean Fifteen

Asparagus Mangoes Avocados Onions Cabbage Papayas Cantaloupe Pineapples Cauliflower Sweet corn Eggplant Sweet peas Grapefruit Sweet potatoes Kiwi

While you are making positive changes regarding your health and wellbeing by removing all the toxins from your body, mind and soul, why not give your home a good Spring Cleaning too. If your living space is cluttered and full of toxic chemicals and products, you will remain stuck in that energy, so here are some helpful tips to de-clutter, organize and detoxify your home. Taking even on small action to rid your living space of those things that weigh you down will move the energy in a positive direction and align you with your spirit. Three simple rules of organization are: one home and only one home for everything, put things in their home or keep them in your hand; like goes with like, all like items always live together; and one-in-one out, do not accumulate things only replace things. In the kitchen--Replace your chemical-laden, non-stick pans with cast iron or porcelain-enameled cast iron pans. Your food will taste better and your family will not be ingesting toxic chemicals with every meal. Clean out the plastic container cabinet and use glass or stainless steel for storage. Avoid microwaving in plastic, the chemicals will leach into your food. Best to drink from glass too. If your plasticware is scratched or hazy looking, throw it away, any food stored in these containers is leaching toxins that you are then ingesting. Clean out all the expired foods, spices and condiments and replace with fresh or organic products in glass containers. Get rid of or use up the cleaning products under your sink and replace with nontoxic cleaning products or make your own, vinegar, water, baking soda and essentials oils go a long way and are healthier for your family. Tea Tree oil in water is a great all-purpose cleaner, great for mold and mildew in the bathroom, use only in well-ventilated areas. Use unscented laundry detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets, the fragrances are very toxic.

Removing toxins from your home….

 

 

  Issue  No.  1   March  2015  

Reiki for Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Healing…

Are you feeling stuck, stressed or tense?

Do you find yourself falling short of your goals in spite of all your efforts?

Are you experiencing physical, mental or emotional pain or suffering?

If so, Reiki can be an alternative means for clearing out old, stuck or stagnant energy. The greatest benefits of Reiki are deep relaxation and the release of stress and tension, thereby allowing your body to naturally heal itself. When you reduce stress, restful sleep returns and your immune system functions optimally, toxins are cleansed from your body. Reiki also brings about inner peace and harmony, balancing the mind, body and emotions.

Every answer you ever need, lies within your own silence. Ian Tucker

If  you  would  like  more  information  or  to  schedule  an  appointment  for  a  Reiki  session  or  any  other  service,  please  Contact Karen at:  Karen.JustBeLLC@gmail.com,  www.JustBeLLC.co  or  (203)  627-­‐6050.      

Mention  this  newsletter  and  receive  $20  off  your  first  1  Hour  Reiki  session.  

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you choose to use any of the natural remedies or advice, you will be taking responsibility for your own health and wellness.

Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. Just Be LLC Karen Ferranti, MA

Just Be LLC is grounded in a philosophy that your overall well-being is dependent on a delicate balance of self-care on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level, maintaining healthy eating habits, exercising regularly, managing stress and interacting with others in a healthy fashion. The services provided by Just Be LLC offer natural, non-invasive solutions to health, healing and wellness and support a sustainable lifestyle of positive change and growth. Contact Karen today if you are interested in having a compassionate, supportive partner to assist you in awakening to your unlimited potential and living an authentic life with purpose and ease. Any small or subtle action can make a difference.