Body Mechanics Massage Therapy

02/18/2026

02/17/2026

Accepting The Differences

Your spiritual life may be your number one concern today as you move through the various spheres of your existence. Though you will likely encounter a great many people whose ideologies differ widely from your own, you may feel no compunction to attempt to change their minds. Your outlook on life and the universe can occupy your mind, causing you to pay little attention to what others are doing with their time and energy. Yet even if you do find a spare moment today to consider the beliefs of your loved ones and peers, your response to divergent beliefs will no doubt be one of acceptance and curiosity.

We can devote more time to our own spiritual endeavors when we recognize and accept that it is not our place to win over those who believe differently. However much we feel compelled to encourage loved ones or colleagues to adopt our ideals, principles, and beliefs, we should remember that what has added value to our lives will not necessarily benefit others in a similar way. Furthermore, it is likely that our individual philosophies will oblige us to be accepting of the choices the people around us make, even when we would not have made the same decisions. When we are tolerant of the spiritual needs of others, we do so much to ensure that they will be similarly broadminded when confronted with our own. Your inclusive system of belief will help you interact peacefully with people today by helping you to accept the differences that exist between you with poise.

02/15/2026

Take Action The Laboratory of Life

In order to make our dreams come true, we must take action rather than simply wishing for what we want.

There is a popular misconception that we might be able to just wish our dreams into being. Maybe on some other level of consciousness this is the case, but here on earth what we need to do is take action in our lives. Vision is an important companion to our efforts, but it can't accomplish anything all by itself. When we focus on what we want and ask for what we want, we are initiating a conversation with the universe. Our desires, passionately defined and expressed, bring about valuable and relevant opportunities, which we then respond to by either taking or leaving them.

Many of us are afraid to step out into the world and make things happen, and so we hang back, dreaming and waiting and watching. There are times in life when this is the right thing to do, but this phase of inaction must eventually give way to its opposite if we are to build our dreams into a reality. This can be really scary, and we may fail and struggle, but that's okay because that's what we're supposed to do. Waiting for everything to be perfect before we act, or waiting for what we want to be handed to us, leaves us waiting forever. No one expects us to be perfect, so the best thing we can do for ourselves is to get out there and take action on our dreams.

One of the hardest parts about having a vision is that when we test it in the laboratory of life, it often comes out looking completely different than what we had in mind or, worse, it doesn't come out at all. If you read the life stories of people who have brought their dreams into reality, you will hear many stories about this experience. But you will also hear about hard work, taking action, perseverance, and, finally, the successful birthing of a dream.

02/14/2026

Develop Unconditional Love

You may be more accepting of others and find that it is easier to be more tolerant of their actions today. Your desire to acknowledge other people for who they are could be the result of your ability to accept yourself as well, for giving yourself unconditional love makes it possible to extend compassion to those around you. Perhaps today you can do a loving-kindness meditation to further develop your loving nature. In loving-kindness meditation, you take a few minutes to first focus on yourself by wishing yourself love, peace, and happiness. Picturing your body becoming filled with love each time you inhale may increase your feelings of self-acceptance and well-being. As your love for yourself expands, you can then repeat the same process for the people in your life. Through this form of meditation you may notice that your ability to understand and love others grows.

Being able to extend full unconditional love to others is only possible when we already love ourselves. If we don’t have the same love for ourselves, we are simply projecting our need and desire to love onto the people in our lives and our love then becomes filled with restrictions. Loving-kindness meditation, however, is a way in which we can cultivate compassion, love, and tolerance for our own imperfections first, which makes it easier to then broaden our range of self-love to encompass others. By learning how to give yourself love first today, your love for others will be pure, honest, and unconditional.

02/13/2026

Inflammation is a two-sided natural response.

It’s great when immune cells show up to help heal an infection or injury by ridding the area of damaged tissue and starting tissue repair. But when inflammation becomes chronic, it is a one-way train ride to nothing-good-can-happen. In fact, chronic inflammation in the body is linked to a lot of major health issues, among them cancer and heart disease.

Wisest, then, is to actively tame chronic inflammation. A good and simple way to do that is through your diet. You can do this easily by removing processed foods and inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, and soy, but also by adding fruits and veggies. Some of the strongest soldiers in the battle against inflammation may surprise you—they’re the spices and herbs we add to flavor foods! And boy, are they powerful.

Here are six herbs and spices that are especially good as anti-inflammatories and for contributing to health in general. And it doesn’t take a lot to make a big difference. Routine use of a teaspoon or so added to foods in most cases is sufficient!

Turmeric

A bright yellow spice, turmeric is the base of curry and has a long history in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for helping to treat digestive problems. Among them are indigestion, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease. The component, curcumin, in turmeric is a strong anti-oxidant, which makes it an inflammation fighter as well. Powerful medicine indeed!

Clove

A recent study showed that clove, with its bounty of phytonutrients, is a leader among the most potent 24 herbs and spices people commonly use. Not only does it fight inflammation, it also helps relieve upset stomach, nausea, and specific inflammation of the mouth and throat.

Ginger

It’s a strong anti-inflammatory, including battling inflammation in the colon. Not surprisingly, then, ginger is well known for helping reduce many kinds of gastrointestinal distress, including nausea caused by motion sickness. If you’re prone to it, put some candied or crystallized ginger in your pocket before heading out. Add fresh grated ginger to a smoothie, sautéed vegetables, or fish dishes, and make ginger tea to soothe an aching tummy. It is a great help for digestive discomfort.

Cinnamon

This spice’s high number of anti-oxidants make it a powerful anti-inflammatory. Other health pluses: it helps fight infections, viruses, and bacteria including those that cause digestive issues. Cinnamon is so versatile and easy to use—try it in coffee, applesauce, or Moroccan vegetable dishes. Get creative! Plus, this one is especially delicious.

Cayenne

A member of the capsicum family, cayenne pepper helps relieve digestion problems such as diarrhea, gas, upset stomachs, and cramping. Filled with anti-oxidants, cayenne pepper is a useful anti-inflammatory as well. The hotter the pepper, the more healing capsicum it contains. Kick it up a notch.

Sage

This is an anti-inflammatory, but sage is helpful for a wide range of additional health issues: gas, stomach pain, heartburn, and bloating. Other problems sage helps address include relief from hot flashes. And yet more! Sage is known to help with memory loss and sharpen other cognitive skills. Use it on foods or make a soothing sage tea.

Rosemary

Sometimes called a cousin of sage, rosemary has similar antioxidants that help fight cancer as well as inflammation. It helps protect against bacterial infections, especially in the stomach. As a gentle diuretic, it flushes out toxins and pathogens. Even just a sniff of the strong smell of rosemary is said to help relieve migraine pain. This herb maxes its health properties when it’s cooked—add it to chicken, roasted vegetables and other dishes in which its potent fragrance also enhances taste.

Using spices and herbs for their anti-inflammatory properties and to aid digestion can also lead to more fun in the kitchen. They give your recipes a special taste that will have your taste buds wanting to explore healthier options. Here is to your healthiest you! Spice up your life!

02/11/2026

Hey There!

You look Good!

02/10/2026

Let's talk cardamom...

Although not as common in kitchens here in the US, cardamom is an everyday spice in many corners of the world, including India and the Middle East, where it's revered for both its culinary flavor and medicinal properties.

Cardamom is composed of a small pod with black seeds inside. Both the seeds and the pod share the same distinct aroma and taste that's a bit hard to describe.

Is it citrusy, woodsy, lemony, peppery, spicy, sweet, or some combination of them all? (Perhaps only your nose knows what it smells and tastes like to you!)

You might find a few different forms of cardamom if you sleuth around your local spice shop or ethnic market. The small and light green pods are called Elettaria and often called true cardamom while the larger pods are referred to as Amomum and may be black, white or red.

Either type of cardamom is excellent and I encourage you to try them all.

Interestingly, cardamom is from the same family of plants as ginger (Zingiberaceae) which may be why the two taste so terrific together and share many of the same medicinal qualities

While the taste alone is enough for me to include more cardamom, it's also a super spice when it comes to its medicinal properties, making it a favorite in both Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicines.

The most common use of cardamom is as a remedy for gastrointestinal disorders. Clinical trials have shown that the volatile oil present in cardamom (called methanolic extract) helps reduce flatulence, ease stomach cramps and supports proper digestion. Much like its plant partner, ginger, cardamom can also help combat nausea, heartburn, bloating, and loss of appetite.

Throughout history, cardamom has been utilized for its infection-fighting properties. Clinical trials now support this ancient wisdom with research showing that the volatile extracts contain antimicrobial properties that can inhibit the growth of microbes that often cause food poisoning, in addition to pathogenic viruses, bacteria, fungus and mold.

Similar to turmeric, cardamom is known to be anti-inflammatory. This makes it a powerful partner to help decrease inflammation and reduce pain and swelling, especially in mucus membranes and the throat.

If those reasons aren't enough, know that cardamom is rich in various vitamins and micronutrients, especially manganese which plays a role in bone strength, healthy skin, balanced blood sugar and blood pressure. It also packs a punch with B-vitamins, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, sodium, potassium, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and zinc.

Just like some of our other favorite spices, you may get a bit zesty in the bedroom with a sprinkle of this condiment too. Cardamom has long been accepted as an aphrodisiac and was once even considered as a cure for impotency.

02/08/2026

Fog
We can all fall into a fog once in a while, but know it will soon lift and the sun will shine upon you again.

When we feel muddled and unfocused, unsure of which way to turn, we say we are in a fog. Similar to when we are in a fog in nature, we may feel like we can't see where we're going or where we've come from, and we're afraid if we move too quickly we might run into something hidden in the mists that seem to surround us. Being in a fog necessarily slows us down by limiting our visibility. The best choice may be to pull over and wait for the murkiness to clear. If we move at all, we must go slowly, feeling our way and keeping our eyes open for shapes emerging from the haze, perhaps relying on the taillights of someone in front of us as we make our way along the road.

By and large, most of us prefer to be able to see where we are going and move steadfastly in that direction, but there are gifts that come from being in a fog. Sometimes it takes an obstacle like fog to get us to stop and be still in the moment, doing nothing. In this moment of involuntary inactivity, we may look within and find that the source of our fogginess is inside us; it could be some emotional issue that needs tending before we can safely go full steam ahead. Being in a fog reminds us that when we cannot see outside ourselves, we can always make progress by looking within. Then again, the fog may simply be teaching us important lessons about how to continue moving forward with extreme caution, harnessing our attention, watching closely for new information, and being ready to stop on a dime.

We cannot predict when a fog will come, nor can we know for certain when it will lift, but we can center ourselves in the haze and wait for guidance. We may find it inside ourselves or in a pair of barely visible taillights just ahead. Whether we follow the lights out of the fog, wait for a gentle breeze to lift it, or allow the sun to burn it away, we can rest certain that one way or another, we will move forward with clarity once again.

02/06/2026

Working through Transitions and the Permission to Simply Be
by Madisyn Taylor

During the pause between achievements, many people begin to question what their life is about.

The elation we feel when we have learned an important lesson, achieved a goal, or had a big breakthrough can sometimes be met with a period of downtime afterward. During this period of transition, we may feel unsure and not know where to turn next. Many people, during the pause between achievements, begin to wonder what their life is about. These feelings are common and strike everyone from time to time. Human beings are active creatures—we feel best when we are working on a project or vigorously pursuing a goal. But there is nothing inherently wrong with spending a day, a week, or even a month simply existing and not having a plan. Just be. It won’t be long before you embark upon your next voyage of growth and discovery.

The quiet lull into which we fall between ideas, projects, and goals can make life seem empty. After accomplishing one objective, you may want to move immediately on to the next. However, when your next step is unclear, you may feel frustrated, disconnected, or even a mild depression. You may even perceive your lack of forward momentum as an indicator of imminent stagnation. To calm these distressing thoughts, try to accept that if your intent is personal growth, you will continue to grow as an individual whether striving for a specific objective or not. Spending time immersed in life’s rigors and pleasures can be a cathartic experience that gives you the time you need to think about what you have recently gone through and leisurely contemplate what you wish to do next. You may also find that in simply being and going through the motions of everyday life, you reconnect with your priorities in a very organic, unforced way.

The mindful transitional pause can take many forms. For some, it can be a period of reflection that helps them understand how their life has unfolded. For others, it can be a period of adjustment, where new values based on recent changes are integrated into daily life. Just because you’re not headed swiftly to a final destination doesn’t mean you should assume that you have lost your drive. The stage between journeys can become a wonderful period of relaxation that prepares you for the path that will soon be revealed to you.

02/03/2026

Upping Your Efficiency

An enterprising mood can inspire you to examine the way you deal with the routine duties that make up your day-to-day agenda. You may discover that you spend a great deal of time ruminating upon subjects unrelated to the tasks before you and that these take longer than they should as a result. This can be a good time to learn to pursue your objectives with a single-minded focus that keeps you grounded in the activity before you. To do this, you may need to begin by tackling small, easy-to-complete tasks and then work your way up to more complex duties. As you increase your attention span today, you will likely be pleased to note that you feel both ambitious and highly motivated.

When we fix our focus on the tasks before us rather than allowing our attention to wander, we are able to address our obligations both more efficiently and with a greater degree of meticulousness. Our lives are for the most part rich and full, which means we are never at a loss as to what to think about when we grant our thoughts free reign to meander in all directions. But our labors tend to be most effective when we devote our mental powers to a single purpose. When we are focused in our efforts, we are more likely to notice those miniscule details that can contribute so much to our ability to attain the objects of our desire. Make today be, your ability to focus intently which will help you pursue your objectives with a single-mindedness that can practically guarantee success.

02/01/2026

Clove
A recent study showed that clove, with its bounty of phytonutrients, is a leader among the most potent 24 herbs and spices people commonly use. Not only does it fight inflammation, it also helps relieve upset stomach, nausea, and specific inflammation of the mouth and throat.