Yvonne Hough Better Life Essentials

12/31/2025

12/08/2025

12/08/2025

12/08/2025

Book yourself some private NIA classes by calling Penny Lee at 613 296-4078

12/08/2025

The first week of December is often when the to-do lists start to snowball.

Take a moment to ground yourself - breathe in, roll your shoulders back, and reset.

A few deep breaths with total de-stress can calm the nervous system and clear the mind.

11/21/2025

🌿 Do Essential Oils Stop Working If You Use Them Too Much?
Let’s clear this up once and for all… 💛

If you’ve ever used the same essential oil every day and suddenly felt like it “does nothing” anymore — you’re not imagining it.
But the oil isn’t the problem… your brain is. 😉

Important: This applies to inhalation only — things like diffusing, breathing oils from your hands, inhaling from the bottle, pillow scents, room mists, aromatherapy jewelry, car diffusers, etc.

Topical and internal use work differently and are not affected by this adaptation.

🧠 1. Your nose gets used to the smell

This is olfactory fatigue — when your brain stops noticing a smell you’ve been exposed to for too long.

💛 2. Your emotional system adapts

Oils work through your limbic system (your emotional HQ).
Smell the same oil constantly and your nervous system becomes less responsive to that aroma.

🌬️ 3. Rotating oils keeps inhaled oils effective

Switching oils every few days keeps your emotional pathways engaged — just like changing up your workouts keeps your body responsive.

Try rotating by mood + purpose:

🌙 SLEEP

For calming the mind + dropping into deeper rest
• Lavender Peace
• Ylang Ylang
• Vetiver

🔥 MOTIVATION

For energy, focus + get-up-and-go
• Peppermint
• Wild Orange
• Motivate

💛 STRESS

For grounding, soothing overwhelm + emotional balance
• Frankincense
• Balance
• Bergamot

🌸 Bottom line

Your oils don’t lose power —
your brain just adapts to aromas when you breathe in the same scent too often.
Rotate your inhaled oils to keep the benefits strong.

(Topical and internal use are not affected.)

🧠 The Short + Fun Science Behind It

Here’s why rotating inhaled oils works:

1️⃣ Olfactory Fatigue: Your nose gets bored and stops paying attention.
2️⃣ Limbic Habituation: Your emotional brain reacts less to the same repeated smell.
3️⃣ Sensory Satiety: Your nervous system loves novelty — new scent = new spark.
4️⃣ Diffusion Science: Varied or intermittent aromas have stronger effects than constant sameness.

Rotate inhaled oils every 3–5 days, or whenever you notice the effect wearing off.
Topical + ingesting? Use as normal — no rotation needed. 🌿✨

11/17/2025

It’s not unusual to feel sleepy, heavy, or even emotionally drained after a reflexology session, and it’s actually a good sign that your body is responding.

Reflexology activates the parasympathetic nervous system - the “rest and digest” branch responsible for slowing the heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and triggering recovery processes. When the body shifts out of a chronic stress state (sympathetic dominance), it finally has permission to relax, repair, and rebalance.

That deep relaxation can sometimes feel like fatigue, especially if your system has been running on adrenaline or stress hormones for a long time. The tiredness isn’t a side effect. It’s a signal that your body is resetting its internal balance.

📚 Research supports this response:

Studies, including McVicar et al. (Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 2007), show measurable reductions in heart rate, blood pressure, and anxiety levels following reflexology - clear indicators of parasympathetic activation.

A 2011 pilot study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that reflexology sessions produced significant decreases in salivary cortisol (the body’s main stress hormone), reinforcing the link between reflexology and stress reduction.

Improvements in sleep quality and relaxation have been documented across multiple clinical settings, from cancer care to maternity wards, all pointing to the same physiological mechanism of rest and regulation.

💧 How to support your body afterward:

Drink water to help the body process metabolic by-products released during deep relaxation.

Avoid caffeine or alcohol immediately after your session to prolong the calm.

Rest if you can, even a short nap or quiet time helps integrate the benefits.

Feeling tired after reflexology is simply your body exhaling and catching up on the rest it’s been asking for. 😴

11/08/2025

Bergamot