WP_Query Object
(
[query] => Array
(
[category__in] => Array
(
[0] => 39
[1] => 21
)
[post__not_in] => Array
(
[0] => 4001
)
[posts_per_page] => 50
[ignore_sticky_posts] => 1
[orderby] => desc
[_shuffle_and_pick] => 3
)
[query_vars] => Array
(
[category__in] => Array
(
[0] => 39
[1] => 21
)
[post__not_in] => Array
(
[0] => 4001
)
[posts_per_page] => 50
[ignore_sticky_posts] => 1
[orderby] => desc
[_shuffle_and_pick] => 3
[error] =>
[m] =>
[p] => 0
[post_parent] =>
[subpost] =>
[subpost_id] =>
[attachment] =>
[attachment_id] => 0
[name] =>
[pagename] =>
[page_id] => 0
[second] =>
[minute] =>
[hour] =>
[day] => 0
[monthnum] => 0
[year] => 0
[w] => 0
[category_name] => ayurveda
[tag] =>
[cat] => 39
[tag_id] =>
[author] =>
[author_name] =>
[feed] =>
[tb] =>
[paged] => 0
[meta_key] =>
[meta_value] =>
[preview] =>
[s] =>
[sentence] =>
[title] =>
[fields] =>
[menu_order] =>
[embed] =>
[category__not_in] => Array
(
)
[category__and] => Array
(
)
[post__in] => Array
(
)
[post_name__in] => Array
(
)
[tag__in] => Array
(
)
[tag__not_in] => Array
(
)
[tag__and] => Array
(
)
[tag_slug__in] => Array
(
)
[tag_slug__and] => Array
(
)
[post_parent__in] => Array
(
)
[post_parent__not_in] => Array
(
)
[author__in] => Array
(
)
[author__not_in] => Array
(
)
[suppress_filters] =>
[cache_results] => 1
[update_post_term_cache] => 1
[lazy_load_term_meta] => 1
[update_post_meta_cache] => 1
[post_type] =>
[nopaging] =>
[comments_per_page] => 50
[no_found_rows] =>
[order] => DESC
)
[tax_query] => WP_Tax_Query Object
(
[queries] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[taxonomy] => category
[terms] => Array
(
[0] => 39
[1] => 21
)
[field] => term_id
[operator] => IN
[include_children] =>
)
)
[relation] => AND
[table_aliases:protected] => Array
(
[0] => wp_term_relationships
)
[queried_terms] => Array
(
[category] => Array
(
[terms] => Array
(
[0] => 39
[1] => 21
)
[field] => term_id
)
)
[primary_table] => wp_posts
[primary_id_column] => ID
)
[meta_query] => WP_Meta_Query Object
(
[queries] => Array
(
)
[relation] =>
[meta_table] =>
[meta_id_column] =>
[primary_table] =>
[primary_id_column] =>
[table_aliases:protected] => Array
(
)
[clauses:protected] => Array
(
)
[has_or_relation:protected] =>
)
[date_query] =>
[request] => SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS wp_posts.ID FROM wp_posts LEFT JOIN wp_term_relationships ON (wp_posts.ID = wp_term_relationships.object_id) WHERE 1=1 AND wp_posts.ID NOT IN (4001) AND (
wp_term_relationships.term_taxonomy_id IN (21,39)
) AND wp_posts.post_type = 'post' AND (wp_posts.post_status = 'publish' OR wp_posts.post_status = 'acf-disabled')
AND ID NOT IN
(SELECT `post_id` FROM wp_postmeta
WHERE `meta_key` = '_pilotpress_level'
AND `meta_value` IN ('','employee')
AND `post_id` NOT IN
(SELECT `post_id` FROM wp_postmeta
WHERE `meta_key` = '_pilotpress_level'
AND `meta_value` IN ('' ))) GROUP BY wp_posts.ID ORDER BY wp_posts.post_date DESC LIMIT 0, 50
[posts] => Array
(
[0] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 4490
[post_author] => 5
[post_date] => 2014-09-30 12:27:43
[post_date_gmt] => 2014-09-30 19:27:43
[post_content] =>
I was first introduced to Ayurveda by a girlfriend while attending massage school. She was super excited about Ayurvedic nutrition and aromatherapy, but the way she presented it was not appealing to me at all. She begged me to go to college in Ayurveda with her in California, and I continuously declined. I had no interest; it seemed like just another typing system.
After I graduated massage school I started working in my own practice as well as working at a local spa. My co-workers at the spa expanded my thinking around massage, acupuncture, herbs, and . . . Ayurveda. It was one little tidbit from a book I was lent that made me fall in love. It said something to the extent of, “The underlying fundamental principle in Ayurveda is that we’re all perfect and complete. All ailments, mental, physical, and emotional, are additions to our perfection, not reductions of it.”
This spoke deeply to me because I loved the idea that we are all whole, perfect beings and that when we are experiencing illness of any sort, we are having something more, but that that something isn’t us and doesn’t define us.
Considering that most of us struggle with deep rooted thoughts that hinder our ability to really shine, like “I’m not good enough,” or “There’s something wrong with me,” and in a world where having a physical sickness is seen as being weak or broken, a system of medicine that holds the certainty of our wholeness, of our enough-ness, of our perfection, is a special thing. And it feels true to me.
In a clinical setting, this has informed everything I do with my patients. When I have someone that is suffering from depression, we look at this as something to be cleared away so their true essence can be lived. When someone with insomnia comes to see me, I try to understand what has been taken on, and then use herbs, food, and lifestyle changes to melt away these factors. If I have a client who wants to reach the next level in their business, but is struggling to do so, we investigate to find what the underlying thoughts are that are blocking the ability to fully express their greatness, and we uproot them.
In your daily life, consider all the areas where you feel “less than” or “broken” and see if you can shift your perspective to being curious what about what you might be carrying around that isn’t actually part of the authentic You.
In some cases it’s very straightforward. When you are sick in bed with a cold, you likely feel weak and horrible, and if you’re anything like me you may find it hard to remember what it feels like to be healthy. The addition here is obviously the bacteria or virus that’s in your system, and removing that – while bolstering your intrinsic wellness – will allow your naturally healthy state to reappear.
But what if you’re feeling chronically tired? In this state it is so easy to feel like there is something fundamentally wrong with you, something is broken or missing. Explore the idea, or just entertain the notion, that in fact, underneath that exhaustion, your sparkle and zest exist – still intact. From this perspective, rather than needing to figure out and add what is missing, or to fix what is broken, one’s task becomes to clear away the elements that are obscuring the expression of this fundamental zest. It opens up possibilities way outside the box of our lack-based thinking and mainstream medical approaches.
I encourage you to always come back to this: you are perfect. And remember that those around us are perfect beings as well. The more that we model this perspective for each other, the more we will be able to release what isn’t serving us and shine as a species.
Love,
Briana and Everyone At The Dragontree
[post_title] => Don’t resist your own perfection.
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => dont-resist-perfection
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2014-09-30 12:27:43
[post_modified_gmt] => 2014-09-30 19:27:43
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://www.thedragontree.com/?p=4490
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 7
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[1] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 4518
[post_author] => 5
[post_date] => 2014-10-14 05:41:54
[post_date_gmt] => 2014-10-14 12:41:54
[post_content] =>
Through my teens and twenties I spent a huge amount of my time devoted to taking care of my skin. My acne was a constant issue and trying to figure out how to get my skin to be presentable was a huge frustration. I tried dozens of different products and treatments. My sister, on the other hand, never washed her face with anything but shampoo or soap (please don’t do this!) and her skin was always glowing and perfect.
Now, as we get older and we’re dealing with a whole new set of skin concerns, I finally have skin care habits that work, and she . . . well . . . she’s still using Dove soap unless I keep her fully stocked on her skin care products. We spent this past weekend together laughing our faces off, and I discovered that she honestly just doesn’t know why she should exfoliate or moisturize. I guess this happens when you’ve been blessed with naturally beautiful skin your whole life. Or when you’re sister has completely failed you. My bad.
As I explained to her the importance of taking care of her skin, not just for graceful aging, but for her overall health, I decided that I would make sure our lovely Dragontree clients also have this information so that at least I’m not failing you.
Even if your skin has been picture perfect your whole life, with no more than soap and water to care for it, the act of exfoliating is good for your health, and it helps you maintain a youthful glow as you age. And whenever we strip, cleanse, or remove a protective surface of the body - inside or out - we must always do a little repair or nourishment, which is why we moisturize afterwards.
When we hear the word “exfoliation,” we usually think of something that is done to remove the surface of our skin. But it’s also a natural process that the skin undergoes on its own to eliminate waste, dead cells, and microorganisms. Our outermost layer of skin, the stratum corneum, is shed as cells move upward from deeper layers of the epidermis. This happens because these cells are being held together in a matrix of desmosomes - basically a skin cell “glue” - and as they move to the surface, this “glue” becomes weaker. Enzymes in the skin and hair follicles accelerate this weakness and break the bonds of the desmosomes, freeing the cells to slough off.
As we age, this cellular “glue” becomes denser, kind of like old Elmer’s glue, and the sloughing off process becomes slower and less efficient. The resulting build-up of cell layers presents as dull, thick, poorly toned skin. Meanwhile, because the body isn’t shedding our old damaged cells efficiently, there’s limited room for new cells to develop. Also, since we rely on this process for detoxification, its impairment translates to a greater toxic burden for our whole system.
Luckily, we have the power to intervene with an exfoliation regimen. This is important not only for our facial skin, but our whole body, especially as it concerns the release of toxins.
There are two ways to exfoliate: mechanically or chemically. Mechanical exfoliation is the process of using a tool, like a brush or a sponge, or an abrasive substance, like salt, sugar, or oatmeal, to remove this layer of skin by scrubbing. There are also more intense mechanical exfoliators, like microdermabrasion, which is incredibly effective, but can cause skin irritation. This method uses suction to lift the skin while it is simultaneously buffed with tiny crystals to loosen and remove surface cells.
Chemical exfoliation employs enzymes and acids to break down the outermost skin and stimulate cell renewal. The enzymes “digest” proteins and are often derived from plants, such as papain from papaya and bromelain from pineapple. Some of the acids used include alpha hydroxy acids (AHA), like lactic acid or glycolic acid, and beta hydroxy acids (BHA) like salicylic acid, or retinol (vitamin A). They vary in terms of their qualities and strength.
Choosing an exfoliant for your face and body - which will be different, by the way - depends greatly on your skin type and sensitivity level. Consult with an esthetician for best results. My favorite body exfoliant is our Dragontree Exfoliating Spa Bar, because it is super easy to use and leaves my skin feeling baby soft. For my face I use Shankara’s Microcrystal Exfoliator, which is so effective that Peter and I both use it, and sometimes fight over it the last of it when we’re running low.
Make sure to exfoliate in a way that renews your skin and increases circulation without causing damage. If you over-exfoliate or use a product that is too harsh for your skin, you can cause micro-tears or chemical burns of your epidermis, which is obviously not what we’re going for. That’s why we don’t recommend nut or shell exfoliants that aren’t highly super refined so that they have an even, non-tearing edge.
When you exfoliate regularly you improve your skin’s appearance, feel, and texture as well as enhancing your circulation and detoxification processes - it’s a win, win, win, win, win. After removing this outer layer, it’s important to nourish your skin with a layer of high quality moisturizer. For your body we suggest our Dragontree Lotions, which have tons of herbs and nutrients to heal and replenish, or our Dragontree Massage Oil. For your face, the selection of moisturizer is more individual, so definitely see an esthetician to get the best recommendation for your unique skin.
Whether you’ve had perfect skin your whole life, like my sister, or you’ve struggled to keep your glow on, like me; and whether you’re a woman or a man (yes, you men need to exfoliate, too, if you want to age like George Clooney rather than Mickey Rourke), exfoliating needs to be part of your weekly routine. Two to three times a week should do you well.
In our Rituals for Living Challenge last week, we challenged people to try out skin brushing, which is an incredible option for body exfoliation. If you want the details on that - just sign up for our Challenge here and you’ll have access to all the past challenges and information, along with the next couple weeks of goodies.
In skin and in life, if it’s not serving you, remember to brush it off.
With love,
Briana and Everyone at The Dragontree
[post_title] => Why Exfoliation?
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => exfoliation
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2014-10-14 05:41:54
[post_modified_gmt] => 2014-10-14 12:41:54
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://www.thedragontree.com/?p=4518
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[2] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 4828
[post_author] => 3
[post_date] => 2015-04-14 07:55:09
[post_date_gmt] => 2015-04-14 14:55:09
[post_content] =>
I’m a big proponent of creative expression. Even if your life’s work centers around buying and selling, interpreting, communicating, or destroying, I think it’s worthwhile to make time for creating. Create music, or art, or gardens, or recipes, or whatever feels good. There’s something about tapping into our source of creative inspiration that is good for us in a way that’s different from other activities.
I consider myself lucky to have so many opportunities to get creative in my work. Along with the collection of tinctures, liniments, creams, and patches I created for The Dragontree, Briana and I have developed some really cool body scrubs, and we recently decide to get creative and develop three new scrubs to promote radiant skin.
This process always begins in the kitchen with dozens of bags of raw herbs, salts, sugar crystals, seeds, oils, and bottles of aromatic plant extracts. It’s messy, it smells wonderful, it takes a lot of trial and error, and above all, it’s fun.
First, we wanted to make a scrub that utilized activated charcoal. Activated charcoal is fascinating stuff. When you look at it under a microscope, there are so many minuscule nooks and crannies all over each particle that it has a tremendous surface area. A teaspoon of activated charcoal has the surface area of about half a football field! And all this surface area amount to many binding sites for whatever gunk it comes into contact with – including stinky odors and toxins. Drinking a slurry of activated charcoal in water is a first intervention for many kinds of poisoning, and it’s often taken in capsules for intestinal gas. Once in the Sky Mall catalog, I saw a comforter that was filled with activated charcoal for the purpose of preserving matrimonial harmony when one member of the couple has bad gas.
We combined the charcoal with raw sugar crystals for exfoliating power; coconut oil for a thicker consistency, deep moisturizing, and some antimicrobial activity; vitamin E as an antioxidant and skin conditioner; and our Transcend essential oil blend of amber, vetiver, ginger, and other oils. At first we used way too much charcoal and our skin was stained black. After adjusting proportions, we arrived at a great new blend (that won’t stain your skin).
Next, we wanted to make a scrub incorporating clay and honey. Clay draws toxins from the skin. When it’s hydrated, it becomes like a highly porous sponge. Clay poultices have a long history of topical use for treating acne, boils, venomous bites and stings, as well as certain itchy rashes. In this scrub, the clay particles are so minuscule that they act kind of like the absolute finest grade sandpaper, to “polish” the skin a bit. We decided the clay alone wasn’t scrubby enough, though, so we added some fine sea salt as well, for a combination of “fine grit” and “ultra fine grit” polishing.
The honey was included as a nice soothing agent to promote skin healing and enhance skin moisture (as a “humectant”). We again utilized coconut oil as a thick, moist base and vitamin E as an antioxidant and skin supporter. Due to the finer nature of these scrub ingredients, we decided this blend would be well suited to our Peace essential oil blend, which contains rose, chamomile, sweet orange, and other bright, calming oils.
Third, we wanted to craft a scrub with mother of pearl and pumice powder, since this combination has long been a favorite at our spas. Pearls and mother of pearl are made of a substance called nacre, composed of a calcium rich crystal known as aragonite. This substance is legendary in Asian skin care for smoothing skin and clearing blemishes. Almost as fine as the clay in the previous scrub, mother of pearl powder acts as a finishing “polish” in this exfoliant.
For additional grit to clear dead skin, we used pumice powder that’s just a bit coarser than the pearl. Pumice is a pitted volcanic glass which is widely used as an abrasive for smoothing the skin. Finally, we wanted a third grade of grit, coarser still, but gentle, so we added sea salt. The nice thing about sea salt crystals for exfoliation is that when combined with water in a shower or bath, the water takes off any sharp edges so it’s not too rough. Along with coconut oil and vitamin E, we added our Relax essential oil blend to this scrub, which features, lavender, lime, and ylang ylang. Ylang ylang (pronounced “EE-lahng EE-lahng”) is a delicate flower oil with relaxing properties. In Indonesia, it’s sprinkled on the bed of new married couples.
After lots of experimentation we had our formulatrix, Meredith, make numerous batches and tinker with proportions, and the result was three great new scrubs. We’re proud of them. And you’ll be relieved to know that we’ve been bathing more than ever. If you or a friend are in need of a subtle incentive to get cleaner, smoother, and brighter skin, please give them a try and share your feedback with us.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
[post_title] => Getting Creative With Skin Care
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => getting-creative-with-skin-care
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2015-04-14 07:55:09
[post_modified_gmt] => 2015-04-14 14:55:09
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://www.thedragontree.com/?p=4828
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
)
[post_count] => 3
[current_post] => -1
[in_the_loop] =>
[post] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 4490
[post_author] => 5
[post_date] => 2014-09-30 12:27:43
[post_date_gmt] => 2014-09-30 19:27:43
[post_content] =>
I was first introduced to Ayurveda by a girlfriend while attending massage school. She was super excited about Ayurvedic nutrition and aromatherapy, but the way she presented it was not appealing to me at all. She begged me to go to college in Ayurveda with her in California, and I continuously declined. I had no interest; it seemed like just another typing system.
After I graduated massage school I started working in my own practice as well as working at a local spa. My co-workers at the spa expanded my thinking around massage, acupuncture, herbs, and . . . Ayurveda. It was one little tidbit from a book I was lent that made me fall in love. It said something to the extent of, “The underlying fundamental principle in Ayurveda is that we’re all perfect and complete. All ailments, mental, physical, and emotional, are additions to our perfection, not reductions of it.”
This spoke deeply to me because I loved the idea that we are all whole, perfect beings and that when we are experiencing illness of any sort, we are having something more, but that that something isn’t us and doesn’t define us.
Considering that most of us struggle with deep rooted thoughts that hinder our ability to really shine, like “I’m not good enough,” or “There’s something wrong with me,” and in a world where having a physical sickness is seen as being weak or broken, a system of medicine that holds the certainty of our wholeness, of our enough-ness, of our perfection, is a special thing. And it feels true to me.
In a clinical setting, this has informed everything I do with my patients. When I have someone that is suffering from depression, we look at this as something to be cleared away so their true essence can be lived. When someone with insomnia comes to see me, I try to understand what has been taken on, and then use herbs, food, and lifestyle changes to melt away these factors. If I have a client who wants to reach the next level in their business, but is struggling to do so, we investigate to find what the underlying thoughts are that are blocking the ability to fully express their greatness, and we uproot them.
In your daily life, consider all the areas where you feel “less than” or “broken” and see if you can shift your perspective to being curious what about what you might be carrying around that isn’t actually part of the authentic You.
In some cases it’s very straightforward. When you are sick in bed with a cold, you likely feel weak and horrible, and if you’re anything like me you may find it hard to remember what it feels like to be healthy. The addition here is obviously the bacteria or virus that’s in your system, and removing that – while bolstering your intrinsic wellness – will allow your naturally healthy state to reappear.
But what if you’re feeling chronically tired? In this state it is so easy to feel like there is something fundamentally wrong with you, something is broken or missing. Explore the idea, or just entertain the notion, that in fact, underneath that exhaustion, your sparkle and zest exist – still intact. From this perspective, rather than needing to figure out and add what is missing, or to fix what is broken, one’s task becomes to clear away the elements that are obscuring the expression of this fundamental zest. It opens up possibilities way outside the box of our lack-based thinking and mainstream medical approaches.
I encourage you to always come back to this: you are perfect. And remember that those around us are perfect beings as well. The more that we model this perspective for each other, the more we will be able to release what isn’t serving us and shine as a species.
Love,
Briana and Everyone At The Dragontree
[post_title] => Don’t resist your own perfection.
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => dont-resist-perfection
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2014-09-30 12:27:43
[post_modified_gmt] => 2014-09-30 19:27:43
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://www.thedragontree.com/?p=4490
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 7
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[comment_count] => 0
[current_comment] => -1
[found_posts] => 21
[max_num_pages] => 1
[max_num_comment_pages] => 0
[is_single] =>
[is_preview] =>
[is_page] =>
[is_archive] => 1
[is_date] =>
[is_year] =>
[is_month] =>
[is_day] =>
[is_time] =>
[is_author] =>
[is_category] => 1
[is_tag] =>
[is_tax] =>
[is_search] =>
[is_feed] =>
[is_comment_feed] =>
[is_trackback] =>
[is_home] =>
[is_privacy_policy] =>
[is_404] =>
[is_embed] =>
[is_paged] =>
[is_admin] =>
[is_attachment] =>
[is_singular] =>
[is_robots] =>
[is_favicon] =>
[is_posts_page] =>
[is_post_type_archive] =>
[query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => c5ffce11047d6a3d6032b216a43b1762
[query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] =>
[thumbnails_cached] =>
[stopwords:WP_Query:private] =>
[compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => query_vars_hash
[1] => query_vars_changed
)
[compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => init_query_flags
[1] => parse_tax_query
)
)
Cart