Sandra's Blog

Welcome To The Dog Days Of Summer - August!

This is the first week of August and here in Eugene, Oregon we are expected to hit triple digits on the thermometer!  Not to mention that August 21st will bring the Solar Eclipse with prime views from our little town.  These are momentous events for Eugenians.  What do I suggest for such events?  Keeping a record by journaling! 

Which brings me to the big announcement:  I have created a companion journal which works as a complement to the online Be The Healer wellness program or can be used stand-alone.  For those who have watched the 4x20 Magic Morning you will see I suggest journaling for 20 minutes every morning, but I also journal every evening.  So, the new Be The Healer Journal has space for both.

If you are in Eugene you can stop by the office and pick one up in person.  They make wonderful and thoughtful gifts too.  So if you or anyone you know would like a new journal you can click...

Summer is synonymous with vacation.  This is the time of year when many Americans start their travels.  Where will you go?  Do your travel choices follow destinations, family or friends?  

According to the U.S. Travel Association:

• Top leisure travel activities for U.S. domestic travelers:
  • (1) visiting relatives;
  • (2) shopping;
  • (3) visiting friends;
  • (4) fine dining; and
  • (5) rural sightseeing.

For those who want to stay healthy during travel, there are a few tips and tricks I like to practice.  As you can see from above, visiting relatives is the number one top leisure travel activity for Americans.  This can be a tricky thing.  Relatives are not always on board with healthy lifestyle choices and the biggest issue I hear about is FOOD.

For my body and lifestyle I choose to eat low carb, high fat and moderate protein with most of my carbs coming from berries and a wide variety of vegetables.  This works for me, but doesn't always work when...

How do you recharge?  If you are like most Americans you work hard, play hard and most of the time you have to schedule "me-time".  However, this is my birthday month and it's a big one (cough- fifty- gulp).  So I decided to try the whole vacation thing.

I wrote this as you see me in the picture above - relaxed in Mykonos, Greece at a garden taverna with sunshine dancing through the trees and birdsong all around.  

Now I am definitely not one to slow down.  Vacationing usually revolves around a business trip as if I have to justify it.  Alright full disclosure after vacation I AM teaching for two days in New Jersey and meeting with practitioners.  But that is a week away.  For now I am trying to remember why I don't do this more often.  

Americans tend to have the most unused vacation time in the world.  What is wrong with us?  I teach holistic health and in doing so I have found myself coming up short in living a holistically...

Healthy Herbal Garden - Welcome May!

May is finally here with warmer weather and everything is coming up GREEN!  I love this time of year because the song birds are singing and the weather is beautiful.  This is a picture of one of my container herb gardens this year.  Fresh herbs can be simply grown no matter how much gardening space you have.  I love to cook with fresh organic herbs so I hope you are are planting your own to enjoy.

This is also the time to remember to support your local farmers' market and/or sign up for your local CSA.  You can go here: CSA DIRECTORY and find out what Community Supported Agriculture (farms) you have around you.  If you have a Biodynamic farm around you all the better.  These special farms are based on the teaching of Rudolf Steiner and I feel blessed we have this availability in Eugene, Oregon.

Right now, what is in season at the Farmers' Market is everything GREEN.  Green onions, green lettuces...

Those who know me, know I was a sugar addict.  What is the difference between someone who enjoys a little sweet now and then and an addict? 

First, you can't eat just a little sugar.  If you do, you simply want more - which creates a whole cycle of addiction. 

You know that little voice in your head?  The one that says, "One bite won't hurt".  Well for a sugar addict that voice is heard and heeded even if you know you shouldn't.

Last September, after comparing 4 quarterly cbc blood tests side-by-side, I noticed my glucose levels (while not at diabetic level) were consistently rising.  Not only that, I had a hypoglycemic event that led to an ER visit.  That is when I decided my addiction had to end and I went on a keto diet. 

In my consulting office we have a few simple screenings we can do.  One is to look at a few drops of urine through a sugar refactometer.  This screening does not diagnose diabetes (only your doctor can do...

 Season For Sneezing

It is no April Fools joke to wake up with a sore throat, stuffy nose and thick head.  However, this is the season for sneezing.  

Many times clients are surprised to see or hear me with a stuffy head.  Once they get to know me, they understand that I am not one to SUPPRESS symptoms but to EXPRESS them.  That's why I clear them faster.  

Spring allergens/colds/flus should not last more than 7 days.  If so, you may be suppressing or have compromised health.

Many will want to gravitate to antihistamines and anti-inflammatories when suffering.  Instead, I hope you'll try the following tips to get things flowing again:

1) STEAM  - When?  Anytime even in your cubicle at work.  Steam helps to keep the mucus passageways moist.  So steaming as much as possible is great.  After all, we don't want to suppress the mucus we want it to do it's job (have allergens stick to it) and get them out!...

Spring Equinox is here!

Welcome spring!  The time of blooming and birdsong is here and I, for one, am very happy.  This vernal equinox is said to be a time to celebrate rebirth, new hope, starting over and other beginnings.  It is a perfect time for me to launch my new 6 week online class, BE THE HEALER^TM program.  

In the hopes of sharing my own journey of wellness with more people than I can personally consult with, I've created this class to give everyone interested in raising the bar on their wellness, a chance to do so.  An initial consultation as a health coach with me is $250 for 90 min.  But there is so much work you can do on your own to get going and this class at $97 is a bargain.

Your class will include six weeks of videos, tips and hints, webinars and more.  Simply click on the bottom of the page under BE THE HEALER or click HERE to sign up today.  

I am really proud of this class.  It feels good to have something out in...

Every heart that has beat strong and cheerfully has left a hopeful impulse behind it in the world, and bettered the tradition of mankind. 

       - Robert Louis Stevenson

The month of February is also the month of healthy heart awareness.  We use expressions that include the heart when we say things like, "I love you" and "You hold my heart in your hands".  It is the limit of our language that doesn't allow us to fully express the heart-centered feelings we hold for who and what we treasure and cherish in our lives.  

The heart chakra is positioned in the center of the chest and is associated with compassion, friendship, empathy and the ability to give and receive love. There are many ways to strengthen the heart chakra including light, sound and entrainment.  In Traditional Chinese Medicine the most active time for the heart energy is between 11am and 1pm of the time zone you live in.  This is a great time to bring...

January has been a fickle month in the weather department here in Oregon.  This has caused all sorts of calls to the office to support sniffles and coughs.  One moment it is a warm 50 degrees and the next it drops below freezing.  One thing is for certain, change is in the air.  Here at Life-Thyme Solutions, we have changed our website and updated it to better serve our professional and personal coaching clients.  You will find that in the coming months more content will be added regularly and that social media (yikes) will become part of our reality.  

I believe the theme "FLEXIBILITY" will be applicable in 2017.   This is also good for personal health.  Being flexible allows you to bend and move with the changes instead of breaking with them.  It is a true sign of growth and survival of the fittest.  When we learn to be flexible we also learn to be mindful and in the moment.  

A good exercise is to take a moment to just see...