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Chromotherapy/Color Therapy

How appealing does this Infrared Sauna look right now in this cold April New York weather? Have you ever heard of Color Therapy or Chromotherapy? Chromotherapy is used in NAO Wellness’s Infrared Saunas in order for users to reap benefits of both the sauna and chromotherapy at the same time. NAO Wellness is a wellness sanctuary located on a beautiful street in the West Village. They offer nutrition counseling and food intolerance testing, reiki, chiropractic care, host wellness workshops and events, have infrared saunas and are currently working on a room for sound healing and other holistic services. IMG-2851

There are so many benefits of using an Infrared Sauna alone including detoxification, muscle and joint pain relief, increase of circulation, reduce inflammation, lowering of blood pressure, weight loss and skin purification. If you would like to learn more about the benefits of Infrared Saunas  you can check out my previous post here.

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Chromotherapy is a method of treatment that uses the colors of electromagnetic radiation to cure diseases. It has health, emotional and cosmetic benefits.

Ancient observation chromotherapy is a centuries-old concept. It was practiced in ancient Egypt, Greece, China and by the Mayans. The Egyptians utilized sunlight as well as color for healing. Color has been investigated as medicine since 2000 BC.

Color psychology and medicine were substantially tested by Robert Gerard, Ph.D., of UCLA in the 1950’s. He analyzed the area of light, color and their psychophysiological imprints. He tested the reactions of the entire body with colored light beamed onto the skin of the subject. Gerard’s data showed that all colors affect the human both psychologically and physiologically.

Warm colors: Warm colors showed a consistently pronounced pattern of stimulation. Warm colors helped those with reactive depression or neurasthenia. They increased muscle tone or blood pressure in hypertensive individuals.  Exposure to warm colors increased respiratory movements, frequency of eye blinks, cortical activation and palmar conductance (arousal of the autonomic nervous system).

Cool colors:  Cool colors showed a consistent pattern of relaxation.  Anxious subjects were calmed by these cooler colors, lowering blood pressure, providing relief from tension, alleviating muscle spasms and reducing eye blink frequency. They also proved to be an aid for insomnia.

If you are interested in reading more about the specific light color benefits, check out the image below. In the sauna, you have the choice to choose a color to stick with or you can have the light system rotating automatically through each color during your session.

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For more, check out my Instagram @dshamptonorganics


References:

Azeemi, Samina T. Yousuf, and Mohsin Raza. “A Critical Analysis of Chromotherapy and Its Scientific Evolution.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2, no. 4, 2 Dec. 2005, pp. 481–488., doi:10.1093/ecam/neh137.

NAO Wellness. “Infrared Sauna.” NAO Wellness, naowellness.com/.

 

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Essential Oil Perfume

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I made my own personalized perfume with essential oils from Soapology located in the West Village, NYC.

Soapology has natural products including scrubs, soaps, candles, lotions, perfumes and a few more options are available. I also have their Walnut Polisher and find it to be a great light body exfoliant.

I decided to make my own perfume after finding out 95% of chemicals used in fragrances are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum. They include benzene derivatives, aldehydes, and many other known toxins and sensitizers- capable of causing cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders and allergic reactions. Its been a 5 months since I have been using essential oils instead of perfume. Now, when someone has too much perfume on, I am sensitive to the toxic smell.

It took me about an hour to come up with my own blend. I started smelling all of the different essential oils (they have about 50) and placed the ones that I liked on a side table. The two women working at the boutique store were very helpful in assisting me. The essential oils that I liked are shown in the photo. I finally narrowed it down to a Ginger, Yuzu, White Tea and Vetiver Blend. After choosing your blend, Soapology writes down the exact recipe saves it for future reference.

I made this blend two months ago in February and it still smells great! I have gotten compliments on it and use it often. This is a great light and sweet summer scent. Soapology also has pre-blended essential oil perfume options if you do not want to create your own. I bought the “Seductive” blend but the scent seems to have changed since I bought it two months ago.

After buying both perfumes, I learned that when making a essential oil blend perfume, you are supposed to use alcohol to preserve and meld the scents. A good alcohol option to use is a non-GMO spiced rum. Now that I have a blend I know I like, I might decide to buy these essential oils from a well trusted brand like doTERRA  and make it on my own.

Below are some benefits of each essential oil I used in my perfume:

  • Vetiver– A plant oil. Heave, earthy fragrance that is grounding, calming and stabilizing. An aphrodisiac.
  • Yuzu– a Japanese fruit with a citrus smell. Yuzu helps with anxiety, depression and nervousness.
  • Ginger oil– when smelt or when applied directly to skin, can help relieve aches and pains, as well as promote normal blood circulation and help with digestive problems.

There is a boutique store only a few blocks away from Soapology called Enfleurage in the West Village, NYC with many essential oils. This is a great place to buy essential oils if you wanted to make your own perfume at home. They do not blend essential oils here for you.

*With essential oils it is important to be buying them from a reliable brand to avoid a company including any type of fillers in the essential oils to lower their costs. It is also important to remember that “natural” and “organic” do not have any official meaning in the beauty industry when placed on products or verbally stated. To find out more about this see FDA on Organic Cosmetic Labeling. Also the term “therapeutic grade” is commonly used within the essential oil industry but also has no meaning and is also used for marketing purposes. It is important to ask questions to find out how the product is made and with what ingredients.  After doing my own research, doTERRA seems like a reliable brand. They have a lot of information available on their essential oils, where they come from and how they are made.  “Scientia Potentia Est.”

For more check out my instagram @nychamptonshealth

References:

“U.S. Food and Drug Administration.” “Organic” Cosmetics. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.