October in Pictures

Fall has officially hit SoCal. I had to paint my toes to match the season. 

Look at that birthday love! People sure know what I like. I had to teach yoga that night, so we didn't celebrate until that weekend. 

And we celebrated by going to a "pumpkin patch." It was our first in SoCal, and basically it was a county fair carnival that scared Greg out of having kids anytime soon. It was quite the experience, but we miss Curtis Orchard, the pumpkin patch from back home. 

And my birthday celebration continued with carving pumpkins.

Spike LOVES pumpkins. He seriously devours them. I think he would eat an entire pumpkin if I let him.

I met this sweet mama and her precious baby for lunch, and Lyndi and Chelsea happened to be having coffee next door. The crazy part is, none of us live remotely close to each other at all. We both were meeting half way. Divine intervention. Jesus is such a God of detail! Our lunch for three turned into a lunch for five.

I attended a women's retreat this past weekend at Lake Arrowhead. This was the view outside of my room. It's the first fall colors I've seen this year and I couldn't get enough. It made me miss home.

Did I mention that I couldn't get enough of the fall colors?

Wishing you all Health, Hope, & Happiness

Abby

October's Oil of the Month is Lavender

Lavender is one of the oldest oils, dating back to Medieval times, where it was used as perfume, and believed to be an aphrodisiac.

Today, Lavender is known as a universal oil, which means that it balances and repairs the cells in the body and generally works wherever there is a need. When in doubt, use Lavender Oil. This makes Lavender Oil a great essential oil to start with. If you've been interested in using essential oils, give Lavender Oil a try.

Some of the things that the Shroka household uses Lavender Oil for:
- Sunburns. In the last year, I've been sunburned twice. Both times, using Lavender Oil on the burn made a big difference. It helped to minimize pain, and prevented me from peeling. (I usually always peel when I get a sunburn). It had a cooling/ numbing effect that provided immediate relief. I applied lotion to my sunburn first, and then put 2-3 drops of Lavender Oil on my fingers and spread the oil across the sunburn.
- Headaches. My hubby has been super stressed at work lately. He has been coming home with tension headaches in the back of his neck at least once a week. A few months ago, I suggested he try Lavender Oil. I applied it directly to the area of pain on the back of his neck, and up into his hair line. Within minutes, he was feeling 90% better. He kept telling me how amazing the oil had worked. Now he uses it every time he gets a headache, and he has continued to get relief each time.
- Razor Burn. I've been getting razor burn when I shave my legs for a couple of months now. At first it was annoying, but after awhile it really started hurting, to the point that I dreaded shaving my legs. The only relief I found was using some of my hubby's face cream that he puts on after shaving. While it does work to dull the pain of razor burn, it makes me smell like a man, and let's face it, no girl wants that. It occurred to me to try lavender oil just last week after shaving, because I knew lavender was supposed to help "burns." It worked so well, within 30 seconds of applying the oil, the pain and redness was gone! I'm so relieved that I found something that not only works, but smells like flowers, instead of men's cologne.
- Insomnia. Lavender Oil is widely known to help with insomnia because it has a naturally calming/ anti-anxiety effect. I struggle with insomnia randomly, and I've tried using Lavender Oil twice for this issue. I will admit that it did not help me either time. I applied a drop on my pillow each time, and the only thing it did was make my sheets smell great. However, I want to encourage you to try Lavender Oil for insomnia because I have talked to so many people who have had great success with using it.
- Acne. This oil is also widely used for clearing up skin, whether that is in the form of scarring, rashes, hives, acne, or wrinkles. I've only used it for acne, and I have had great results. It works for me in removing redness, swelling, and pain from the pimples that are big, sore, and ugly. It doesn't necessarily clear them up faster (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't), but it really helps to shrink them down and return normal skin color, so that I can easily cover them up with a little make up and no one knows they are there.

If you have had success using Lavender Oil for something else, share your story! I love hearing success stories from using essential oils. I believe so strongly in their medicinal properties!

If you are interested in purchasing Lavender Oil for yourself, you can order it here: www.mydoterra.com/abbyshroka 
- Click on "shop for products" in the top right hand corner.
- After entering the country of shipping, click on "single oils" to find Lavender.
- Experiment to find the many ways that Lavender Oil works to improve your health and wellness.

Wishing you all Health, Hope, & Happiness
Abby

If you missed last month's essential oil, click here, to read all about On Guard and how I use it to make all natural cleaning supplies.

October Newsletter - Food as Medicine

"Possible side effects include: serious allergic reactions, difficulty breathing or swallowing, nausea, itching, dry mouth, vomiting, swelling of the hands and feet, excessive bleeding, headaches, weight gain, dizziness, drowsiness, fainting, diarrhea..." The list of possible side effects from standard medications is endless. It's no wonder more and more people are searching for a natural approach.

Instead of these standard side effects, how would you feel about the side effects that you can get from using food as your medicine: Increased energy levels, awareness, painless and easy digestion, sound sleep, less sugar cravings, lower cholesterol, feeling rested upon waking up, less joint pain, etc.

Below is a list of common ailments, and the foods that can be used as natural forms of medication.

Asthma: Eat onions. They help to ease constriction of the bronchial tubes.
Arthritis: Eat fish and tart cherries. Both have natural anti-inflammatory properties.
Blood Sugar Imbalance: Eat broccoli and peanuts. This helps to regulate insulin and blood sugar.
Bone Issues: Eat pineapples. The manganese in pineapples helps to prevent osteoporosis and bone fractures.
Coughing: Eat red peppers. The first cough syrup was made from ground red peppers.
Fever: Eat yogurt.
Headaches: Eat fish, ginger, and drink water to reduce pain.

High Blood Pressure: Eat celery and olive oil. Both have proven to lower blood pressure.
High Cholesterol: Eat garlic and white veggies, such as cauliflower and mushrooms.
Insomnia: Eat honey. It is a natural sedative and stress reliever.
Morning Sickness: Eat ginger. It settles the stomach and reduces feelings of nausea.
Stroke Prevention: Drink tea. It helps to prevent fat build up in your arteries.
Ulcers: Eat cabbage. It contains a chemical that helps to heal gastric and duodenal ulcers.


The key to using food as medicine is consistency. You can't expect to lower your blood pressure by eating celery dipped in olive oil, the day before you get your blood pressure checked. Instead, try
adding celery and olive oil to your diet between 2-5 times per week for a couple of months. If you are consistent, you will see results!

If you want to try using food as medicine, but aren't sure where to start, click here, to receive a "food as medicine" health questionnaire. Why settle for dizziness, drowsiness, vomiting, or any other painful side effect if you don't have to.

Holy Yoga

"I was having continuous shoulder issues and pain and it has decreased dramatically since I started practicing, not to mention I have greater flexibility, peace of mind, and less stress! Good for your mind, spirit, AND body." - Katy

After just a few months, Katy's health and wellness has increased! If you're new to Holy Yoga, or even yoga in general, I encourage you to give it a try. Come just as you are, do what you feel comfortable with, and let God take care of the rest.

There is an update to the Holy Yoga schedule in Long Beach. There will be no more Wednesday evening classes! Classes on Tuesday morning and Thursday evening will remain the same. For more information about Holy Yoga, class locations, pricing, and private lessons, please visit my website by clicking here.

God gave us food, not only to nourish our bodies, but also to heal us from ailments. Food was the first form of medicine, and if it is applied regularly, can be quite effective at healing our ailments.

Wishing you all Health, Hope, & Happiness
Abby

Doing the Splits - My Mount Everest

We all have "Mount Everests" in our lives. The things that we think are impossible. The things we think we absolutely cannot do. The things that we think would literally kill us if we attempted them. One of my Mt. Everest moments was when I started my business. Another was when I made the decision to quit drinking alcohol. Both of these were things I thought were impossible. There was a point that I actually thought quitting drinking might kill me. Not peacefully in my sleep, but a long, slow, and painful death. Tackling Mount Everest isn't for the faint of heart. It takes guts, determination, and perseverance. That is why people train for months, even years, with a professional, before taking on the climb.

In the same way, I believe that it's necessary to train ourselves in our personal life, so that when we are faced with a Mount Everest, we are fully equipped for the journey. This is why I've decided to attempt to master the splits. Since starting yoga, I have found incredible physical healing, and I have been able to do poses that I thought I'd never do in this life. I used to have an entire laundry list of "heaven poses." Now that list has shrunk to just a few, and splits is one of them.

To some of you, this may sound like a waste of time. Whether or not I can do the splits has absolutely no baring on my life. And I completely agree with that. However, it's the journey that will have a significant impact on my life. The mental up's and down's, the confidence that comes with accomplishing something that I never thought I would do, and hopefully I will inspire some people along the way. I will be posting weekly pictures of my progress on Instragram (abbyshroka) and Twitter (@Abby_Shroka). Feel free to follow along with me. (This will also serve to keep me accountable to this goal.) I will also continue to give updates here on my blog.

Why is this so important to me? Without conquering these "Mount Everests" in seemingly insignificant areas of my life, like yoga and the splits, I never would have had the courage to quit drinking. Instead I would have bought into all the lies that Satan was trying to tell me back then. I would have believed that my Mount Everest was unclimbable. But I didn't, and it wasn't. It will be a year this month since I quit drinking, and I am still very much alive. I'm healthier, happier, stronger, more bold, and incredibly thankful that I had the courage to follow through with that decision I made a year ago.