My Five

Published on December 18, 2008

Travel size tissue holder in Michael Miller ironworks by aprils originals

The wise and wonderful Elana from Lunar Musing tagged me for the 5-a-day meme. She also tagged the equally wise and wonderful Sweet Mango. The request is to list five things I do to stay mentally healthy. Because I believe that Elana, Sweet Mango, and I are kindred souls–my list is a combination of the two. So, I’m going to go out on an independent limb here and switch things up a bit.

My job as an Art Teacher in a K-8 school requires me to be in direct contact with approximately 250 students a day. I’m not one of those teachers that sits comfortably behind my desk and gives orders—I’m always walking around, sitting with the students, sometimes helping by hand-over-hand, and always giving out loving hugs left and right! So you can imagine what germs and koodies I’m constantly in battle with!! Staying healthy is a full time endeavor! So, for my 5-a-day, I will list five things I do EVERYDAY that I believe is keeping me healthy–while students and teachers around me are sniffling, sneezing, and singing the sicky blues!!

NETI POT

That is NOT me in the video above for those of you that may be wondering. I don’t have one of those store made rhino neti pots…I simply use an adorable, little ceramic tea pot I purchased long time ago in San Francisco…but never used….until now. I believe that the neti pot, with the warm salt water rinse, plays a HUGE factor in keeping my immunity top notch! I use the neti pot every morning and evening before brushing my teeth . The neti pot is awesome in help keeping your sinuses, ears, and throat feeling fresh and healthy! I highly recommend trying it. Dr. Oz who stars on Oprah recommends it also! You can buy the neti pot in your local pharmacy.

Echinacea by moore megan

ECHINACEA TEA

I drink a cup of echinacea tea with honey every night before bed. Not only is it delicious—but it is a herbal supplement proven to help fight off the common cold. Echinacea comes from the root of the purple cone flower and has been used in many native cultures for hundreds of years. I buy the Traditional Medicinals brand that they sell at my local health food market. You can also visit their website HERE. If tea is not your thing, you can purchase echinacea in pill form.

Legs Up The Wall Pose

This is my all time favorite Yoga pose and I swear by it!!! You can read more about how to get yourself into it and what the benefits and effects are of doing this pose on my recent blog post HERE. I do this pose every morning and evening for at least 10 to 15 minutes—at night, definitely more!!! This pose is the perfect remedy for insomnia too…but, I believe that it flushes out all your internal organs by having gravity work on you!!! Plus, relaxation is a great key to staying healthy…this is an easy trick anyone can do anywhere!

Oranges on the Tree – ORIGINAL Painting by TraceyGurley

FRESH JUICE

It is not a secret that I have an on-going love affair with my power juicer! Now, during flu and cold season, more then ever do I show some lovin’ to my power juicer….carrot, orange, and pineapple is my favorite combination….grapefruit, orange and pear is another goodie too! Sweet, delicious, and full of antioxidants–little soldiers that you need in boosting immunity!!! Investing in a power juicer is one of the smartest and happiest things I’ve ever done! I love drinking fresh juice—I love the taste, the colors, the smells, and the way it makes me feel. I juice every day!

VITAMIN C Box Recycled into Handmade Spiral-Bound 50 Blank Page Journal by AlienBacon

Vitamin C.

The stuff in capsules–not a cool recycled journal!! I take 2000 mg in the morning and 2000 mg in the evening…and if I had a real stressful day I will take another 2000 mid day. I prefer Nature’s Way Vitamin C-1000 with bioflavonoids in vegetarian vcaps. I buy them at my health food market but you can also purchase them on their website HERE. When I first began teaching I was sick constantly until my doctor suggested I really pump up the vitamin c supplements. It really helps, and I haven’t stopped since.

I am tagging five blog ladies that I love to tell us what they do to stay healthy either physically or mentally:

Sandy from Shared Balance

Sydney from A New Yorker in Houston

Barb from Craft Therapy

Linda from Linda’s Yoga Journey

Katie from Miz Katie’s Blog

Peace & Love.