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Wellness

Living, Wellness

a return to growth + renewal {april 2018}

April 6, 2018

Springtime represents rebirth and renewal — in our surroundings and in ourselves. So, we’re embracing this notion of a season-in-bloom to focus on our love for the earth, practice everyday sustainability, clear out the literal and metaphorical clutter, and to grow our foundational product ingredient knowledge so we can make smart, educated decisions about the daily impact we make on others and on the environment.

Food • for • Thought

What is one thing you can do every day to minimize your environmental footprint?
How can you clean up your beauty routine — one product at a time?
In your home: where do you feel most calm? Where do you feel most chaotic? Why?
What is one small kindness you can do for another person daily? Weekly? Monthly?

 

 

Life, Living, Wellness

seven ways to stay grounded

February 26, 2018

Staying grounded is easier said than done. From small, daily stressors to bigger, fast-paced events, it’s necessary to be mindful of staying grounded. On The Partisan, we focus a great deal on reconnecting — in relationships, with yourself, and with the space around you. Today, we’re breaking down seven simple milk + honey recommended ways to keep your cool.

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Living, Wellness

The Best Morning Routines for a (Much) Better Day

June 15, 2017

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There’s no time like the present to address some hard-wired morning habits we all are guilty of — reaching for our phones to check email/Instagram/more email/SportsCenter/you get the picture the moment our eyes open, grabbing the first caffeinated thing we can get our hands on, and never giving the day ahead a “big-picture review” before jumping into our 9 a.m. meeting. To avoid the proverbial, waking up on the wrong side of the bed, we must take matters into our own hands (and minds!). And that’s exactly what were doing right here.

1. Lemon Water Is Your New Favorite Drink. More specifically, a cup of warm purified water infused with fresh lemon is the perfect AM wake-up call. Drink it first thing — yes, before breakfast (which you should also be eating – it is the most important meal of the day after all!) — and reap the benefits of a natural miracle worker. Seriously. Warm lemon water helps to flush out toxins, purges the body of unwanted substances, helps to boost your immune system, aids in digestion, and improves your mood. Like we said, miracle. worker.

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2. Avoid Your Phone (and Get Your Head in the Game). If you’re one of those people (guilty as charged) that reaches for their phone as soon as you’ve reentered waking life, try avoiding the home screen — at least, for the first 10 to 15 minutes of your morning. Instead, take these initial moments to review the day ahead. Mentally align your priorities, assign goals for both the short term and long term, and give yourself breathing room. If avoiding your phone isn’t in the cards, then we say, “embrace it and open the Headspace app instead.” This app acts like a personal trainer for meditation, with exercises ranging from 10 minutes a day to lengthier sessions. Cellular clarity, if you will.

3. Make Stretching a Priority. Stretch before you even get out of bed. It feels so good and the actual health benefits are numerous. Let us count the ways. Stretching helps increase the blood flow to the muscles, which in turn, helps you to feel more energized and refreshed. It also helps to prevent future injury from muscle stiffness.

4. Get Movin’ and Sweat It Out. Stretching is one thing — and it’s important — but really getting your body into motion is equally important. Yes, this means you should probably invest in an earlier wake-up time, but it also means that you should create a time and space for something as simple as 10 minutes of mat yoga, a 25-minute jog around your neighborhood, or a 30-minute at-home barre workout. Many people find that working out in the morning jumpstarts their day (and metabolism), regulates their appetite, and provides a built-in rhythm and routine to the work week.

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5.  Nourish Your Body. There are so many ways to do this, but we’ll give you two excellent tips to set you on the right path for the day. First, in a more literal sense, try dry body brushing before showering. You’ll need a dry loofah or brush. With it, you’ll brush your body in circular motions toward your heart, working your way outward in. This action not only sloughs off dead skin cells, it also promotes better circulation and reduces cellulite. Second, make yourself a green smoothie. Remember to incorporate superfood ingredients like kale, spinach, and chard, but mix it with more palatable (but also nutritious) items like apple, ginger, mint, pineapple, mango, blueberries, and lemon. Need more smoothie inspiration? Go here.

Wellness

Minimize Your Allergies With These Eight Natural Remedies

March 27, 2017

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The American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology found that 50 million Americans suffer from seasonal allergies (yikes!). If you fall into that staggering statistic, perhaps you too are experiencing symptoms such as congestion, a stuffy nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, and headaches — all of which can affect your day-to-day routine. To help battle seasonal allergies, here are eight natural remedies to try.

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Products

Relieve Soreness and Pain With RAD

March 17, 2017

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Post-workout soreness is uncomfortable and can make it tough to move “normally” throughout the day. Muscle soreness occurs due to a build-up of lactic acid and this accumulation of lactic acid occurs when your muscles swell and are utilized in an intense workout. While our Sports Massage is a great way to alleviate this soreness, our newest retailer, RAD, offers innovative and functional massage and muscle release tools.

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News

Today is National Relaxation Day

August 15, 2016

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Busy schedules, meetings, rush hour traffic are part of the daily grind. But today, let’s make a concerted effort to treat ourselves with kindness — it’s National Relaxation Day. This “holiday” is all about taking some time for yourself and, in our opinion, you definitely deserve a massage, facial, body treatment, or anything that screams (quietly), “relaxation.” To help you get into the spirit, we took a poll and asked our Spa Partisans how they like to unwind.

The results are in!

 

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In 1st place, our Spa Partisans plan to end the day enjoying a nice glass of wine.

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After a day of providing amazing customer service, many of us enjoy watching Netflix or surfing the web.

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As you might have noticed from our #WellnessWendesday Facebook post, we love practicing yoga. Today, take some time to meditate with our 2nd Street District massage therapist, Lala, who provided us with this relaxing yoga sequence.

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Last, but certainly not least, our Spa Partisans love to unwind with good book at the end of the day.

 

 

Photo Credit:

Wine and a book | Netflix | Reading

Wellness

milk + honey Wellness: Summer Yoga Routine

June 23, 2016

Whether you prefer the challenge of the one-legged crow pose or opt for something more restorative like child’s pose, yoga is an excellent way to exercise, meditate, and relax all in one. To help us find our zen, we asked two of our 2nd Street District massage therapists, Lala K. and Kelly M., to show us some of their favorite yoga sequences, which everyone can do, too. Grab your mat and follow along.

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Wellness

Do: Sanctuary and Refuge

January 20, 2014

Written by guest editor and milk + honey licensed massage therapist, Matt W.
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With the holiday season behind us and February in our sights, let’s review our efforts and the fruits of our labors.

Consider taking a moment of refuge and asking for sanctuary.

Where does the idea of “sanctuary” come from?
Sanctuary as a Western concept arose from an older (ancient Greek and Roman) recognition of sacred spaces, and the right to use these spaces to make contact with the divine, or at least to seek refuge within that holiness. They chose places of natural beauty, quietude, and awe to represent their sanctuaries. The Catholic church later adopted the notion of sanctuary, the dominant characteristic of which was protection from civic and criminal persecution. It was meant as an opportunity to repent, and to take refuge in the higher laws of God, thusly enjoying a reprieve from the sometimes unjust lower laws of society. A similar concept of higher law pervaded serious Buddhist concepts. To take refuge in Buddhism ultimately means making a commitment to practices of wakefulness, thereby taking refuge in ultimate truth.

What does sanctuary or refuge mean now?
When I turn the words, “sanctuary” or “refuge,” over in my mind, notions of security, protection, but also humility and sacredness arise. This doesn’t have to have religious connotations my scientific friends. The sick day is a perfect example of taking refuge from ordinary life. To take refuge is to remove oneself from outside influences, and sometimes to remove oneself as an influence to others. It is to temporarily escape the laws of noise by taking refuge in the laws of quiet.

So, how do we do it?

For many of us, the refuge we enter must be a place whereby we can drop off our preoccupations before entering. We must access provisions that separate us from the storm. A powerful refuge, one worthy of being called a sanctuary, will take this to the next level. It will provide refuge from the the more aggressive aspects of our own personalities.

You need to recognize the need to step back. Set aside time to do so. Find a place to go, and go alone. Don’t make demands on any sanctuary or refuge, but give thanks and be respectful to it. Make agreements and allowances. If you seek refuge in nature — say, on the Green Belt in Austin — take water and put your phone on airplane mode. Refuge can be portable. A yogini takes refuge in her breath. A child takes refuge in play and imagination, or in the arms of a parent. We all need refuge, and the good news is that most of us can access it somehow.

We need pauses and rests, and we do so by taking refuge.

Source: zug55/Flickr

Living, News

How to Keep Calm and Carry On This Holiday Season

December 21, 2013

three stooges turkey edit useWritten by guest editor and milk + honey licensed massage therapist, Matt Walker

I love the holidays, but let’s face it, they can be pretty overwhelming. With the trifecta of Thanksgiving, Yuletide festivities, and New Year’s Eve in our midst, it’s inevitable that we get sucked in, overrun, depleted, lifted, and celebrated. Regardless of where you’re at in this spirited procession, you’ll want to take care of the “basics,” as in, first and foremost, take care of yourself. This also means that it’s a really good idea to keep things in perspective, and when all else fails, take refuge (or you know, a night off).

Here are some other life reminders — trust me, we all need a little call to action, and this is mine to you.

Have a self-care plan, one that embraces moderation:

  • Try hard to get in about eight hours of sleep — here’s what’s in it for you.
  • Daily movement is key. Or if an everyday schedule doesn’t work, try for 30 minutes of intense exercise a couple times a week.
  • Whole, nutritiously dense foods with a minimum of ingredients, such as vegetables and meats present the most reliable pre-prescription for health.
  • Be merry. That’s a given.
  • Always get home safely.

And when you know “moderation” might not be in the cards for your night out, be honest with yourself.

  • Know when you intend on pushing past your limits, and under which conditions.
  • Avoid sugary treats and alcohol until sundown.
  • Try to clear part of your day after the company party.
  • Carpool or take a cab home on the nights you plan on over-indulging.

We can all lose a grip on things, especially when the holiday energy is high. Remember: a little perspective goes a long way. No holiday — no day, for that matter — has to be perfect. So, be thankful for the time you’re spending with family and friends. Count your blessings.

When all else fails, it’s time to take refuge:

  • Move a little slower.
  • Savor quiet time.
  • Go outside.
  • Cross something off your list without doing it, and go do something for yourself instead.
  • Stay home.
  • Schedule a massage.
  • Visit a sauna.
  • Meditate.
  • Pray.

In the grand scheme of things, the holidays punctuate our daily lives, helping us to reaffirm those very things we would cherish everyday if the ideal were actual. It’s the best time of year to reflect, rejoice, and recharge for the year ahead.

Happy holidays, everyone!

 

Image: ABC Studios

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