The Miracle of Myrrh for Radiant More Youthful Ski

Myrrh maintains healthy skin and tissues. A natural outcome of that action is myrrh’s ability to help mitigate visible signs of aging in the skin. For this reason, it's commonly added to many skincare products today, especially those that treat more mature skin. The botanical name for myrrh is Commiphora mukul and its extract is formulated in the facial serum inside PHYTO5’s Ageless La Cure Facial Serum and Cream kit for a 3-week cure.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

Sold Out

Les 5 Secrets Crème et Sérum [Five Secrets facial Serum and Cream kit for a 3-week cure]

$242.00

Add to Bag

Antioxidant rich, myrrh is a natural choice for anti-aging, facial acne, redness, irritation, skin rejuvenation, and wound healing products. It encourages new cell growth and is effective in the prevention and treatment of facial lines. Myrrh offers skin nourishing benefits in hot dry climates.

Myrrh has been shown to improve circulation so vital for combatting signs of aging. Improved circulation creates an overall improved complexion with a healthy glow.

Myrrh essential oil, when added properly to a carrier oil and applied topically, can help ease muscle aches when experiencing a cold or flu or for aching joints not associated with these conditions. When used in a diffuser, it can help break up mucus associated with colds. 

Myrrh resin is a natural gum which seeps from the bark of the Commiphora tree once it is cut.

The word myrrh comes from the Arabic word "murr" which translates to “bitter.” Myrrh is actually one of many bitters that offers all kinds of health benefits from curbing sugar cravings to supporting liver function to encouraging healthy, radiant skin.

Myrrh essential oil is a safe essential oil overall but should be avoided during pregnancy because of its potency.

Myrrh as an essential oil is very powerful, its use dating back many centuries having been traded in the Middle East and North Africa for more than 5,000 years. Myrrh has a long history of medical use along the Silk Road from Arabia into China.

Myrrh essential oil has been part of medical practice in traditional therapies for millennia. It has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. It was so valuable in ancient times that it was, at times, equal in weight value to gold.

Throughout time myrrh has been known to offer all manner of healing benefits for conditions like asthma, athlete’s foot, cough, candida, ringworm, eczema, gingivitis, gum infections, hemorrhoids, mouth ulcers, ringworm, wounds, wrinkles, and chapped or cracked skin.

• The enormously gifted Benedictine abbess and polymath Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179) included myrrh as a healing tool in her book of medicines.

• The Vedas, the large body of knowledge texts originating in the ancient Indian subcontinent from 1500 to 400 BC, prescribed myrrh for healing.

• The ancient Egyptians procured huge boat shipments of myrrh resin from the Phoenicians and used it in incense, insect repellent, salves for wounds and sores, and as a key ingredient in the embalming process. History indicates they also used it to treat hay fever and herpes. Even back then, Egyptian women abhorred wrinkles and aging skin and used myrrh oil as a rejuvenating facial treatment in their cosmetic preparations.

• An ointment of myrrh was carried by Greek soldiers into battle to counter infections.

Alain Touwaide, the Smithsonian’s scientific director of the Institute for the Preservation of Medical Traditions, tells us the Greek physician Hippocrates known for revolutionizing the practice of medicine (c.460–377 BC), wrote about myrrh for healing more than any other plant substance. He relates that myrrh was also used as an antiseptic, antibiotic, and anti-inflammatory agent and calls myrrh one of the “antibiotics of history.”

Today myrrh is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda and aromatherapy. Many natural toothpastes contain myrrh and there’s a reason for that: myrrh benefits dental and gum health and helps keep the mouth clean and gums free of infection. Many Egyptian skeletons have been found with teeth completely intact and archeologists and historians often point to the use of myrrh as a key factor.

Myrrh contains a high content of sesquiterpenes, a class of compounds that have a direct effect on the pituitary,(1) hypothalamus,(2)and amygdala in the brain.(3) Research has shown that sesquiterpenes have the ability to surpass the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain tissue. Research from the Universities of Berlin and Vienna show increased oxygenation around the pineal and pituitary glands when myrrh is used.

(Read more about terpenes and sesquiterpenes in our blog, The Terpene: Most Fundamental Fragrance, Flavor and Healing Component of Essential Oils.)

Myrrh is purifying, restorative, revitalizing, and uplifting and can be a supportive component used in meditation.

The properties of warm and spicy myrrh resin helps to calm stress and help bring us back to our center. 

Myrrh as an extract or essential oil is excellent to use in daily skin and dental care. It rejuvenates damaged skin, soothes skin irritation, supports clear breathing, and promotes emotional peace and tranquility.

#####

Endnotes:

(1)Pituitary: receptor of intuition and vision and the master gland of the body

(2)Hypothalamus: region of the forebrain that coordinates both the autonomic nervous system and the activity of the pituitary, homeostatic systems, and involved in sleep and emotional activity

(3)Amygdala: a roughly almond-shaped mass of gray matter inside each cerebral hemisphere involved with the experiencing of emotions

• Young, Kac. The Healing Art of Essential Oils: A Guide to 50 Oils for Remedy, Ritual, and Everyday Use. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2017. Print.

• Jacknin, Jeanette. Smart Medicine for Your Skin: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Conventional and Alternative Therapies to Heal Common Skin Problems. New York: Avery, 2001. Print.

• Butje, Andrea. The Heart of Aromatherapy: An Easy-to-Use Guide for Essential Oils. United States, Hay House, Incorporated, 2017.

• Photo courtesy of Madeleine Steinbach at Getty Images via Canva Pro

Balance, Health and Wellness: You Really Can't Have One Without the Others

According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), you can’t be ill if your body’s systems are in energetic balance. So the end goal of TCM treatments, including PHYTO5 skincare formulated according to TCM, is vital energy balance. It’s key for balance, health, wellness and quality longevity.

TCM views the human body as a holistic organic system with organs and tissues that interrelate exquisitely when there is a balanced flow of vital energy.

A complex system of meridians or vital energy pathways connects organs and tissues all over the body to nourish the body with vital energy and nutrient-rich blood. This nourishing symbiosis works to maintain balance between yin and yang energies, fluids, our essence and our spirit.

In the TCM system, the same fundamental forces that govern nature and the cosmos influence all parts of the body. The human body system is a microcosmic yet complete reflection of nature and the cosmos (often termed the ‘Heavens’ in contrast to Earth in ancient Chinese texts).

Author Daniel Reid, a leading Western authority on traditional Chinese medicine and Taoist practice uses the following metaphor to explain. He pays attention here not just to telluric energies (from the Earth) affecting balance but cosmic ones as well.

“When the elemental energies within the human system remain in a natural state of dynamic balance and functional harmony, ‘fair weather’ prevails within the body and the garden of human health flourishes,  both mentally and physically. But when balance is upset and aberrant energies invade the system, flood and drought, wind and rain, heat and cold, and other types of ‘stormy weather’ may occur, causing damage to the internal landscape. Because the mircrocosmic energy system of humans (ren) stands midway between the cosmic powers of ‘Heaven’ (tien) and the natural forces of Earth (di), drawing power from both sources, human health depends not only on internal energy balance within the system, but also on harmony with the macrocosmic powers of ‘Heaven’ (the cosmos) and Earth (nature).”

— Daniel Reid in Shambhala Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine

Balance: Fundamental to Health and Wellness

For us at PHYTO5, balance isn’t an arbitrary word we use to describe our skincare products. We formulate our skincare always with the goal of helping you achieve balance in skin, vital energy and even emotions. 

Balance is absolutely fundamental to health and wellness. And it’s a highly vital concept to understand if you want to know why you have a certain skin condition or why you may be sick or unhealthy.

• Anytime you feel sick, you’re out of balance somewhere in your body. 

• Anytime an uncomfortable symptom pops up, it’s a sign of imbalance. Pinpoint the imbalance, do all you can to restore balance and the symptoms should dissipate and with them the potential of a larger sickness or condition.

The balancing principle of TCM is responsive. When applied to your condition early enough, you can restore not just balance but health and wellness too.

Balance brings you health and wellness. Always strive for balance and you’ll feel healthy with an enormous sense of well-being.

Creating Balance, Health and Wellness In Three Important Aspects

Each of the five lines of PHYTO5’s quantum energetic skincare is vital energy balancing. We uniquely formulate them with synergistic blends of natural essential oils, selecting and combining them according to TCM’s Five Element Theory.

 In TCM and PHYTO5 quantum energetic skincare, we work to achieve balance in:

• your skin condition;

• the unseen vital energy that courses through your body (considered one of the body’s five fluids by TCM);

• the energy of your other four major fluids (red blood, lymph, blue blood and water);

• your prevailing state of emotion at any given time.

We’ve created a line of quantum energetic skincare that works to address the conditions of each of the five elements of TCM’s Five Element Theory.

Balance, Health and Wellness in TCM’s Wood Conditions

PHYTO5’s quantum energetic Wood line works to balance the Wood skin condition.

 This line purifies oily skin and blackheads, lightens hyperpigmentation and stimulates vital energy flow.

 One product in this line—the Phyt’Ether serum—helps you find emotional balance too.

The emotion of Wood when out-of-balance according to TCM is anger. The aromatherapeutic experience of energetically heightened Wood Phyt’Ether serum helps bring you to a state of increased confidence.

Balance, Health and Wellness in TCM’s Fire Conditions

PHYTO5’s quantum energetic Fire line works to balance the Fire skin condition.  

The Fire line calms sensitive overheated skin, redness, rosacea, and couperose. It helps regulate the energy flow of red blood circulation.

Just like the Wood Phyt’Ether serum balances the emotion of the Wood element, Fire Phyt’Ether works to help balance the emotion of the Fire element.

The out-of-balance Fire emotion according to TCM is lack of joy. This serum’s energetically heightened aromatherapeutic experience helps bring you to a state of balanced joy.

Balance, Health and Wellness in TCM’s Earth Conditions

PHYTO5’s Earth line works to balance the Earth skin condition. It clarifies blemished skin and acne, stimulates the energy of lymph, detoxifies impurities and reduces enlarged pores. (Lymph is a colorless fluid containing white blood cells which bathes the tissues and drains through the lymphatic system into the bloodstream.)

Earth Phyt’Ether serum zeros in on helping you achieve emotional balance as well. The emotion of out-of-balance Earth according to TCM is a feeling of being stuck caused by overthinking. This being in your head confuses your ability to make decisions. You end up feeling stuck, unable to finish projects.

Energetically heightened Earth skincare brings you an aromatherapeutic experience that helps shift this out-of-balance emotion. It supports you to focus on taking care of yourself, finish unfinished projects and express yourself through creative activities.

Balance, Health and Wellness in TCM’s Metal Conditions

Our Metal line works to balance the Metal skin condition.

Quantum energetic Metal skincare oxygenates and mineralizes skin. It plumps fine lines and brightens skin, decongests puffiness, eliminates impurities and encourages the energy of blue blood circulation.

As with all of the five element serums, Metal Phyt’Ether supports emotional balance too. Metal’s out-of-balance emotions according to TCM are grief and sadness.

The aromatherapeutic benefits of energetically heightened Metal skincare helps balance this emotion so you’re better able to let go.

Balance, Health and Wellness in TCM’s Water Conditions

PHYTO5’s quantum energetic Water line works to balance the Water skin condition.

Hydrate, firm and tone mature, sun damaged skin and improve water circulation with the Water line.

Quantum energetic Water Phyt’Ether serum, in particular, bring balances to Water’s out-of-balance emotion of fear.

We’ve energetically heightened Water skincare to the quantum level too. It works to bring you to serenity and emotional balance.

Flow of Yin and Yang Qi for Balance, Health and Wellness

The most fundamental balance you can achieve is balanced qi (chi) or vital energy flow. This energy flow supports good function of your whole body.

Qi is also called life force. It’s the unseen vital energy that flows through us and all living things. Qi gives us life and animates our being. It’s our foundational ‘fluid’ that needs to flow optimally for total balance, health and wellness.

Our vital energy moves through our bodies in a flow similar to the flow of breath and blood. We need to keep it protected and nourished with healthy diets, adequate sleep and exercise.

Yin and yang chi, the fundamental feminine and masculine energies, respectively, help establish balanced flow of vital energy so crucial for maintaining balance throughout the body.

• Yang (masculine) chi protects.

• Yin (feminine) chi nourishes. 

Yin and yang affect each other.

• When yin is stronger, yang is weaker.

• When yang is stronger, yin grows weaker.

Maintaining balance between yin and yang creates a body in balance. Disturbing the balance between yin and yang chi is how conditions and illness result.

The Body’s Master Directive: Balance, Health and Wellness

A key in traditional Chinese preventive medicine is detecting and correcting abnormal patterns in the human energy system before they have a chance to become somatically rooted in the body. Once they take root they can cause  potentially significant damage.

It’s far easier to maintain balance and prevent sickness than reverse a condition or sickness once it arises.

“Before an omen arises,

It’s easy to take preventive measure…

Deal with things in their formative state; 

Put things in order before they grow confused.”

— A classic verse from the Tao Teh Ching(1)

The body holds a master directive in its DNA. That directive is to always seek balance, thus health and wellness. 

“By promoting and protecting our natural balance and inherent harmony… we can just as easily prevent disease, arrest degeneration, and prolong life as we can destroy health and hasten death through ignorance and violation of the natural laws that govern life on earth. All that life really requires to accomplish the goals of health and longevity is to synchronize its enemies with the natural pulses of the planet and the rhythms of the cosmos from which life springs. Traditional Chinese medicine endeavors to facilitate this harmonic balance on all three levels of body, energy and mind with nutrition, herbs, acupuncture, massage, qi gong, meditation and other holistic methods that restore nature’s patterns to the human energy system and weave it back into its proper position in the great web of life on earth.”

— Daniel Reid in Shambhala Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine

Keeping Symptoms from Arising In the First Place

Symptoms show up in the skin and body whenever our energies lose their internal balance. They fall out of harmony with natural and cosmic environmental forces.

No one goes through life without experiencing symptoms of sickness and imbalance from time to time. But you can respond to these symptoms in ways like Daniel Reid suggests in the quote above to restore balanced patterns in your energy system. Then you reduce the potential of a more serious condition developing.

Strive to create balance in your life every day. Rather than chase after symptoms and treat them on the surface, drill down to the root cause as TCM does. Work to bring alignment and harmony through nutrition, herbs, acupuncture, massage, qi gong, meditation and other holistic methods. Replace chaos and disorder with balance, health and wellness.

The more you learn to embody balance in all aspects of your life, the more you prevent conditions and sickness and the more health and wellness you’ll enjoy.

Learning to create this balance, health and wellness is an enjoyable, exciting and a refreshing way to live.

…

Endnotes:

(1) The Tao The Ching, translated roughly as The Classic of the Way and the Power, is a text central to both philosophical and religious Taoism, and has been highly influential to Chinese philosophy and religious practice in general.

…

Sources:

Stiles, Kg. Chinese Medicine Guidebook to Balance the 5 Elements and Organ Meridians with Essential Oils (Summary Book Version). N.p., Draft2Digital, 2020.

Twicken, David. I Ching Acupuncture - The Balance Method: Clinical Applications of the Ba Gua and I Ching. United Kingdom, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2011.

Zhaoguo, Li, et al. Key Concepts in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Germany, Springer Singapore, 2019.

Healthcare with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). N.p., Glittery Aurora, 2012.

Reid, Daniel. Shambhala Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine. United Kingdom, Shambhala, 1996.

Photo courtesy of Lucas Pezeta at pexels

The Natural Beauty Secret of Shea Butter

Shea butter, also known as karité, is a fatty substance obtained from the nuts and seeds of the small tropical African shea tree. Shea butter is used chiefly in cosmetic skin preparations. An unparalleled moisturizer, natural shea butter is an all natural source of vitamin A excellent for treating all kinds of skin conditions and wounds. For these reasons and many more, PHYTO5 formulates high quality shea butter into at least eight products (Cleansing Milk, biostimulant Face Cream, lightly tinted Face Cream, Eye Cream, Zen Body Exfoliation, Perfection Cream, PHYTO Peel, and Nourishing Cream.)

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

The fat content of the oily nuts and seeds of the shea tree is roughly 50%. Cream is extracted from the nuts and prepared for consumption without the use of chemicals and the best quality shea butter is prepared by cold press methods.

For centuries, shea butter has played an important role in the everyday life for many African tribes and has always played a foundational role in African pharmacology. Because of the large array of healing and restorative benefits shea butter offers the tree is known as the Tree of Life in Africa.

According to sheainstitute.com daily use of shea butter for one month is guaranteed to change and improve the quality and appearance of your skin.

Shea butter mimics the effects the naturally produced moisturizers that the sebaceous glands in the skin itself produces.

Incredibly healing, shea also acts as an antioxidant, increases the skin’s blood microcirculation and helps reactivate collagen synthesis.

The lipid content of unrefined shea butter offers anti-inflammatory support for skin cells and promotes tissue regeneration. It supplies damaged skin with critical nourishing lipids.

Shea butter has been proven to remarkably improve within a few weeks:

• a dull or grayish epidermis aspect: dull skin is replaced by smoother, brighter clearer skin (See Ageless La Cure by PHYTO5 Perfection Cream)

• thinning of the skin: skin texture develops to a richer, more lustrous feel (See PHYTO5’s biostimulant Face Cream with vitamin E)

• wrinkles caused by prolonged sun exposure: a visible diminishment of wrinkles occurs (See PHYTO5’s lightly tinted Face Cream, formerly called Yang OE Extreme Cream)

In addition to vitamin A, shea butter is extremely high in vitamins E and F offering the skin better balance, elasticity and tone. 

Cosmetic chemists all over the world continue to be very intrigued by shea butter. In one study, French dermatologists used shea butter on 35 men and women of various ages and races with all sorts of skin disorders and conditions over periods of ten days to five months. 

In all cases, substantial healing was reported and in some cases the healing was considered to be almost miraculous. These clinical trials are documented by the French Ministry of Health.

It is also important to note that if purchasing shea butter as a single ingredient or in skincare that you know who you are buying from. Shea butter in local stores tends to be of low quality and may contain harmful agents. Low quality produced shea butter could contain lead, mercury, mold, yeast, rancidity, and bacteria.

Shea butter should be tested for purity before it’s packaged and marketed. Be sure to buy from a reputable source with exacting manufacturing standards such as the PHYTO5 skincare products hotlinked in paragraph one above. 

If your product has not undergone proper lab tests, you are taking a chance with your purchase. The incidence of low quality shea butter being sold in stores is so high, shea butter is often called “lotto butter” because you can’t be sure of what you’re getting. You definitely want to purchase certified premium grade A shea butter which has passed rigorous safety and quality testing.

Truly high grade and integrity shea butter needs no added fragrance because it is not rancid. Fragrance tends to be added to shea butter to mask the smell of rancidity.

sheainstitute.com lists the following 21 treatment purposes of shea butter:

1. dry skin

2. skin rash

3. skin peeling after tanning

4. blemishes

5. wrinkles

6. itching skin

7. sunburn

8. during shaving

9. skin wound healing

10. cracking of the skin

11. tough or rough skin especially on feet

12. protection against cold weather

13. frostbite

14. stretch mark prevention

15. insect bites

16. muscle aches, fatigue and tension

17. skin allergies

18. skin poisoning from poison ivy or oak

19. eczema

20. dermatitis

21. burns

#####

Goreja, W. G. Shea Butter: The Nourishing Properties of Africa's Best-Kept Natural Beauty Secret. New York: Amazing Herbs, 2004. Print.

"Benefits of Shea Oil to Mankind." Soliditytrade.com. N.p., 3 Dec. 2010. Web. <http://soliditytrade.com/blog/2010/12/03/benefits-of-shea-oil-to-mankind/>.

The Heart Energy of the Fire Element: How It Oversees Not Just Physical but Emotional Functions As Wel

We instinctively place our hands on our Hearts when we feel love and appreciation. We instinctively know when our Hearts are open and generous. And we have observed that while our Hearts carry out an incredibly vital physical function, there is far more to the function of Heart than this and it involves the emotions of love, peace and equanimity.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the Fire element governs the heart, small intestine, circulatory system, autonomic nervous system (including parasympathetic and sympathetic branches), the small intestine and the triple heater meridian.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

The Heart is considered the home of Shen—the higher consciousness which descends from ‘heaven' and resides within us. The Shen is the universal consciousness that exists in every person.

Chinese medicine believes the various functions of the Fire element exist to protect Heart from injury especially on the levels of mind and spirit.

For example, the master of the Heart which is the pericardium together with the sympathetic nervous system works to protect us against hurts resulting from emotional vulnerability especially in relationships. They work to provide us the circulation of love and consciousness from the heart throughout the entire body and to other people as well.

The element of Fire relates to our desires and passions in life and also to the emotion of joy. If we become overly driven by any of these we may find ourselves with a clumsy Heart/Fire-based emotional issue.

Conversely, expressing heartfelt caring and developing deep connections with others from our humble quiet Heart demonstrates what Chinese medicine calls the art of the Heart.

The quantum energetic Fire element line of skin and hair care by PHYTO5 does more than work at the level of skin. It is also capable of bringing balance to an emotional state of out-of-balance joy. It is formulated in such a way that it penetrates the deepest core of the mind-body system where healing begins—the point where consciousness actually starts to have an effect.

Medical research appears to confirm that the health of our physical Hearts depends on good diet, exercise and a  connection not only to our spirit but with good social interactions. Studies show that the incidence of heart disease increases in situations of social isolation, difficult marital status and depression.

We see that heart attack victims who live alone experience twice the mortality of those who don't.

Depression doubles the mortality rate after bypass surgery.

Coronary atheroscleros is worse the more strained a relationship is.

In a study of 11,000 heart attack patients, those living with high stress levels were more common among that number.

A research team discovered that simply by asking patients with acute heart problems to discuss what and who they loved most in life led to less arrhythmias and lower blood pressure.

The art of the Heart involves quieting, peacefulness and an embracing of relationships. The Small Intestine energy does similarly as it quiets the mind by disallowing excessive or irrelevant thoughts or distractions to overwhelm the heart.

For the Heart to remain strong and healthy or to return to that state, the Heart must be able to maintain this calm and quiet. This is how we become able to adapt to the stresses of life and live long lives of substance and quality.

By being able to live strong with peaceful well functioning Hearts, we are, in turn, able to use these abilities to assist others in need of them.

Discrimination, prioritization, judgment, and simplification come from the Small Intestine in balance.

But confusion, hesitation, anxiety, and insomnia commonly result when the energy of the Small Intestine is out of balance. Shyness, moodiness, and fatigue can also occur when Small Intestine energy is not strong.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the triple heater meridian is responsible for encouraging the circulation of chi (vital energy), blood, fluids, and hormones throughout the body. It is also extremely encouraging as we maneuver our way through our many social and emotional relationships.

The triple heater meridian provides an appropriate milieu for the optimum transformation of food to energy which is needed to support the function of the Heart. When it is obstructed, fatigue and erratic behavior commonly result.

Traditional Chinese medicine calls the Heart the Emperor—the King who serves and reigns over the body with wisdom and equanimity. When people say with conviction, "I am coming from my heart," they are actually expressing an authenticity of belief and knowing that come from the Emperor one heartbeat at a time.

When the Heart chi energy is healthy and free flowing, this chi creates a rhythm in the body that is universal and available to all people whose hearts and triple warmer meridians are in balance.

Symptoms arising when Heart chi is out of balance include insomnia, anxiety and experiencing life as chaotic. This is because a Heart that’s not in control causes the Heart to beat irregularly, blood pressure to fluctuate, and even sometimes causes a loss of consciousness. Ultimately, we experience chaos both within the body and in our external lives.

Essentially, any situation that overstimulates the mind or emotions whether it’s a trauma or we feel overburdened with responsibilities and stress, may create too much Fire in the Heart potentially leading to emotional conditions such as nervousness, anxiety, and in extreme cases, mania.

When Heart energy is weak, holding to our beliefs can be difficult. When Heart is well adapted it grandly reigns with purpose and integrity. Grounding and a sense of self-assured sovereignty are ours.

“The Heart holds the office of lord and sovereign. The radiance of the spirit stems from it.”

— from Chapter 8 of the Neijing Suwen, The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Chinese Medicine

The Heart is the supreme controller. It is partly human physical and partly divine spirit. Heart, residing in its palace, the protective pericardium, houses the spirit and keeps us in contact with love, peace and all that is of spiritual essence.

#####

Endnotes:

Anderson, Sandra K. The Practice of Shiatsu. Malawi, Mosby Elsevier, 2007.

Hicks, Angela, et al. Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture. United Kingdom, Elsevier Health Sciences, 2010.

Moss, Charles A. Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance. United States, North Atlantic Books, 2011.

Photo courtesy of Monica Turlui at pexels (pexels-monica-turlui-8218377.jpg)

The Fire Element and Its Organs—Heart and Small Intestine—And How They Influence Our Joy and Vitality In Lif

Traditional Chinese medicine describes each of the five seasons in the Five Element (or Five Phase) Theory as ‘energetic’ to connote an additional aspect to the seasons—one of energy, vibration and frequency. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is not enough to call a season by its mundane name. It must be qualified as energetic because each season brings with it a host of attributes and conditions that result from energy frequencies coming from both the “heavens and the earth” (meaning the cosmic and telluric energies). In this article, we discuss the element of Fire which traditional Chinese medicine ascribes to energetic Summer (May 5 until July 19).

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

A yin and yang* energy pair of organs align with each of the five elements and these are driven by the energy of its element. This organ pairing is required for balance and vitality according to the extensive observations registered by traditional Chinese medicine over time. Energetic Summer’s and the fire element’s pair of organs is heart and small intestine.

Heart

The yang energy heart is an almost obvious organ for Fire since it pumps blood, the very substance representative of life, vitality and joy which we instinctively associate with the Summer season of explosive life and growth (the peak of yang energy).

In traditional Chinese medicine, blood represents far more than the actual physical substance. To this ancient medical discipline, blood is a liquid form of yin energy with blood following chi or vital energy flow. The Yellow Emporer’s Classic of Internal Medicine** says that chi is the leader of blood and blood is the mother of that chi or vital energy.

Louise Hay’s seminal book on holistic self-healing, You Can Heal Your Life, says that blood represents joy and flow. Hay says that heart represents the center of love and security and that a heart attack is a metaphor for “squeezing all the joy out of the heart in favor of money or position.” Hay associates heart problems with "longstanding emotional problems and lack of joy and hardening of the heart.”

Traditional Chinese medicine tells us that the well adapted emotion for the Fire element is joy-in-balance. By joy-in-balance we mean that if someone is always laughing or giggling, especially at inappropriate times, this indicates joy out-of-balance—an indication of a Fire imbalance. Conversely, if a person almost never laughs, this, too indicates a potential Fire imbalance.

Blood and the heart embody not just physical but emotional and spiritual aspects as well. Joy, the heart and blood flow are a symbiotic trio. Each begets the other. A heart of vitality and balanced flow of blood support a healthy expression of joy and consequently, greater health, love and spiritual strength. If we’re joyful in a balanced way, our hearts will be healthier and our flow of blood encouraged to be healthy, too, showing up as glowing complexion and skin and body that are slower to age.

The condition of the heart and manner of blood flow is very much manifested in our complexion. Our complexion should have a healthy pinkness with eyes that are bright and expressive. This is a sign that blood is indeed nourishing our body tissues and organs. It is cooling, soothing and hydrating the skin and body. If our complexion is either overly red or too pale, this could indicate a Fire imbalance.

Small Intestine

The yin small intestine oversees and controls assimilation of nutrients. Again, the organ applies to concepts and emotions as well as its physical makeup and activity.

In order to learn something new or to be able to process an event that has taken place, we must assimilate what is before us to learn. We must be able to come to a place where we are able to integrate the new information or feeling into our being.

In our blog of December 25, 2020, entitled Cyclical Living Is the Key to a Vitality Filled Life and Our Producing the Frequency of Love, we write that people who lived on this planet from 1 A.D. to 2000 A.D. approximately:

“didn’t just observe these cycles [of the earth and the heavens] with their eyes, they felt the significance of the cycles in their bellies–what some people call today the ‘other brain.’"

Today, the ‘other brain’ or gut/small intestine is called the second brain since scientists have realized there is an enormous number of neurologic connections and neuro-regulatory bodies in the gut microbiome—the largest macro membrane in the body with a surface area of two tennis courts.

For example, 90% of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which modulates everything from mood to focus to creative capacity, is actually produced in the lining of the small intestine. The small intestine makes everything the brain needs and signals all this information to the brain making the brain secondary to the small intestine in so many ways.

Small intestine actually helps us to process information and feelings even long after a traumatic event. So when we are unable to process our traumas or take in new information, it might mean that the health and vitality of our small intestine needs addressing.

Speech impediments like stuttering may indicate a heart imbalance because Fire is associated with communication and the speaking of truth. Fire brings out the courage in us as well as the will to explore deeper issues for clarity and understanding.

Fire relates to connection, both with oneself and others. Connection to and love of oneself is most closely associated with the heart and the blood.

Heart and small intestine are connected to the shen and chi, respectively, thereby linking the spirit with the physical processes of the body.

• Shen is the spirit energy of Fire in the heart, the higher consciousness that descends from ‘heaven’ and dwells within us.

• Chi, as indicated earlier in this article, is another term for the vital energy that flows through our bodies unseen but which is fundamentally essential to have in balanced flow for health and vitality to exist. The purpose of chi is expansive yang. It warms the body and causes the body to move.

#####

Endnotes:

* Yang is active, bold energy, brightly and outwardly expressing. Yin is characterized as inward moving energy, dark, mysterious and quiet.

** Also known as the Neijing Suwen, The Yellow Emporer’s Classic of Internal Medicine is an ancient Chinese medical text or group of texts that has been treated as a fundamental doctrinal source for Chinese medicine for more than two millennia.

Anderson, Sandra K. The Practice of Shiatsu. Malawi, Mosby Elsevier, 2007.

Mayer, Emeran. The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health. Germany, Harper Wave, 2018.

Tucker, Tammy. The Belly Brain Solution: Gut-Brain Axis Connection to Health. N.p., CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018.

Hay, Louise. You Can Heal Your Life. Hay House. 2004.

Image courtesy of Svetlana at pexels. (pexels-svetlanaõ-10457233.jpg)

Describing the Fire Type Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medicin

Traditional Chinese medicine embraces a fivefold concept known as the Five Element or Five Phase Theory to explain a wide variety of phenomena from cosmic cycles to the interaction between the body’s internal organs to personality types. We all tend to be one predominant ‘type’ from among the five elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, however no one is one hundred percent one type alone. In this article we discuss both the in-balance and out-of-balance or maladapted Fire type personality.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

Describing this or any other type is not all black and white. Sometimes we are out of balance in our type which will often stem from childhood occurrences that marked us in an indelible way. But if we find ourselves out-of-balance in our type, we can bring ourselves back into balance simply by understanding our element and adapting ourselves to live harmoniously with it. To understand each of the five element archetypes is to understand the element and appreciate it as metaphor. 

Your Predominant Element Type

This article offers keys for bringing yourself back into balance with Fire if it’s your predominant element.

The outward manifestation of your skin is often a good first indicator of your element type. Our website offers a key to assist you with the five groups of skin condition for the face here.

If you are a Fire type, your skin will tend to redness, sensitivity, irritation, overheating, excessive perspiration, blotchiness and allergic reactions. These conditions are generally related to an active arterial (red blood) circulation due to a rising yang energy.

The Fire Energy

Fire energy in the body is all about expanding and engaging. It corresponds to the peak of yang energy of energetic Summer, high noon, heat, sultriness and freedom. Laughter is Fire’s voice quality, joy-in-balance is the emotion and scorched its smell. 

The capacity for both interpersonal and divine love comes from the Fire element. The Fire energy in traditional Chinese medicine is considered the source of joy, happiness, and emotional protection for the heart.  

Expressiveness and aliveness point to a balanced Fire type person. Concern for the welfare of all is the essence of the loving generosity and wisdom of the well adapted Fire type. On the other hand, a flat aspect, apathy, and lack of enthusiasm point to an out-of-balance Fire type lacking yang energy.

When Fire is in balance within you:

“… this energy leads to open-heartedness, intimacy, generosity of spirit, optimism, joy, and the heartfelt expression of love. These qualities might seem easily accessed by other types but for the Fire type they are a major theme in maintaining adaptation and health.”

— Charles A. Moss, MD in Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance

Conversely, when Fire types are out-of balance, calm, happiness, joy and open-heartedness can be elusive.

The archetypes of Fire are the Lover and the Protector of the Heart. If you are a Fire type you probably can identify with these archetypes. You probably find them alive and well within yourself.

These archetypes embody the immense capacity of the Fire type to develop profoundly deep and intimate connections with others. These archetypes are also the root of erotic love.

Balanced Fire types can be very open-hearted and are willing to take risks with love without fear of being hurt or betrayed by the other. It is this very willingness to dive into love that creates very deep and long lasting relationships for the Fire type whether it’s with friends or lovers. But when Fire is out-of-balance, emotional vulnerability can be a major issue.

Enjoying calling attention to themselves, Fire types can be flamboyant in their appearance or behavior. They are generally excited, flirtatious and enthusiastic people. They can either be the life of the party when feeling their power or terribly shy when feeling emotionally vulnerable.

Out-of-balance (maladapted) Fire types can exhibit manic expressions of over-the-top joy which sometimes swing wildly to its exact opposite—no joy at all and sullenness.

Maladapted Fire types must learn to balance excitement and enthusiasm and their need for intimacy and love by connecting with the spirit energy of Fire in the heart which traditional Chinese medicine calls the shen. Shen is the higher consciousness that descends from ‘heaven’ and dwells within us. The shen, or spirit, it is believed, will only dwell in a heart that is calm and generously in service to others.

Fire types tend to be emotionally fickle with commitments. They lose interest quickly after having initiated a commitment with great enthusiasm. They also can become confused in love and other aspects of life and may have difficulty processing their emotions. While some Fire types can recoil from emotional vulnerability and social engagement with others, other Fire types can be domineering, overpowering and intimidating. These are all signs of a maladapted Fire type.

Personality patterns can vary greatly with all the five element types, however only a very few core issues underly these fluctuations in behavior patterns.

For Fire, a principal issue is the ability to maintain open-heartedness when another shows a lack of interest. Another of Fire’s potential issues and thus, downfalls, can be the inability to draw from the power of their spiritual shen (spirit) as well as the ability to discipline mind chatter so that he or she may become focused, creative, alluring, and engaging. When Fire types are unable to tap into their shen as well as to focus the mind, they can feel confused and victims of chaos, insomnia and anxiety.

From the balanced shen and Fire element stem expressions of love and affection not just for others but also for the Self. Very well adapted Fire types are able to love themselves—not superficially as in admiring themselves when they look good in the mirror—but profoundly, on levels that are subtly revealed to themselves and to others.

Knowing they are lovable can often be a challenge for the Fire type. Many Fire types are lovingly expressive but are challenged to accept that they themselves are lovable. They are often challenged to feel that love for themselves. This is an important practice for such Fire types to engage in—the most fundamental practice of learning to love and appreciate themselves.

Fire types like getting “fired up.” They like taking control and if they feel restrained they do not do very well. Fire types have a perspective that comes from the grandeur of the heart energy and so they expect the best from their efforts. They are optimistic and natural leaders. People love and want to be around their positive and sunny energy because they exude power and energy.

Integral to action and excitement, for Fire types to be in balance, they must find the calm needed to somewhat contain their enthusiasm. Without this two-sided balance, enthusiasm turns into over-the-top expressions of joy which are not healthy.

Being able to modulate Fire energy within them is key for Fire types in order to prevent potential burnout or consuming themselves by their own passion.

When maladapted, the Fire type experiences physical and emotional conditions such as:

• overheated expressing as anxiety, rapid heart rate and mania, and

• burnout expressing as physical coldness, confusion, flatness, aloofness and indifference.

Madapted Fire types are often challenged to be open-hearted and generous with expressions of love because of fear of vulnerability to others or the possibility of being hurt by others in relationship. Fire types want so much to experience intimacy with others but when out-of-balance Fire holds back with hesitation this results in confusion and limitation in the relationship when it is the very opposite they desire.

Fire types typically are all about action. They like getting fired up. They like taking control and if they feel restrained they do not do very well. Fire types have a perspective that comes from the grandeur of the heart energy and so they expect the best from their efforts. They are optimistic and natural leaders. People love and want to be around their positive and sunny energy because they exude power and energy.

Keys for Returning to Fire Balance

• The Fire line of skin and hair care by PHYTO5 can actually assist you to regain balance. It is It is rich in natural essential oils elevated to the quantum energetic level which means that the line is able to begin to penetrate the deepest core of the mind-body system, therefore it has the capability to help balance your emotional state as well as your skin condition. (Read our blog on the quantum energetic breakthrough by PHYTO5 here.)

The antidote for maladaptive five element behaviors is often found in the virtues for each element and type.

• For Fire types the virtues of surrender and open-heartedness are key to balance. This practice begins with honoring and listening to the higher wisdom received from shen. Also embrace that you are both an emotive and a feeling person. Focus on opening your heart without fear and engage with others. It is the act of open-heartedness and recognizing the other in oneself that actually leads to Fire type balance or adaptation, vitality, happiness and joy-in-balance.

• Remember to laugh and smile for balance in Fire energy. Laughter improves oxygen utilization, circulation and relaxes the facial muscles.

• Know that you are lovable. Your first love is to yourself. This is a process of realization but it is not only possible for you, the Fire type, but probable that you will achieve it.

• Keep your life simple. Many out-of-balance Fire types become confused in many aspects of their lives. Keeping it simple will assist your balance.

• Take care of your physical heart and stay fit. Imbalance is never only caused by only one aspect of ourselves (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual).

• When Fire is out-of-balance with stress, chaos and struggle, they can and must consciously tap into and utilize the connection with shen to rise above, create balance, calm and authority of Self.

• By also engaging with other people in a cipher of generosity, love and selflessness, this, too, can assist maladapted Fire to deal with the stress and imbalance they feel in their element.

#####

Endnotes:

Photo courtesy of Евгений Горман at pixels.com (pexels-евгений-горман-10040245.jgp)

Hicks, Angela, et al. Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture. United Kingdom, Elsevier Health Sciences, 2010.

Moss, Charles A. Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance. United States, North Atlantic Books, 2011.

Your Symptoms Point to the Root Cause of Illness or Conditions

Our bodies are constantly giving us feedback on the root cause of illness and the state of health and vitality of all our inner systems. When one of the body’s ten major systems(1) is out of balance, we receive feedback on the root cause of illness in the form of a set of symptoms.

Many energy medicine disciplines see illness as a disruption, an imbalance in or a blockage of the body’s natural energetic flow. They believe and have proven that restoring our internal energetic balance is key to healing the root cause of illness.

Root cause of illness or imbalance is the focus of a traditional Chinese medicine treatment.

While traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) examines the symptoms feedback being provided, it very much focuses on the quality of the patient’s vital energy moving along pathways called acupuncture meridians. It also focuses on the function of the system and how to improve it.

TCM might prescribe herbs and other natural ingredients that have balancing energy properties. Treating the root cause of illness may demand changing a pattern or diet.

TCM often offers treatment at the level of skin where energy flow can be accessed, in particular, when acupuncture is involved. The relatively painless practice of placing small needles into strategically prescribed points on the skin helps balance vital energy flow and put healing into motion.

An imbalance often shows up as a number of symptoms simultaneously. The root cause of illness showing up as surface symptoms is systemic. This means more than one organ or component of the system is affected.

Traditional Chinese medicine understands the symbiotic relationship of all organs with each other, perhaps more than any other medical discipline. Armed with this very holistic and comprehensive understanding, it approaches the root cause of illness usually with a very deliberate multi-pronged approach involving every aspect of the cause.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique beauty tips and offers.

This example points to how TCM addresses the root cause of illness.

For example, traditional Chinese medicine understands gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as a condition involving the pivot mechanism of the digestive system. This mechanism involves stomach, intestines, liver and spleen.

TCM acknowledges the symptoms of heartburn, reflux, bloating, gas and more. But TCM always goes straight to the cause of the condition in order to achieve not just relief but healing for the patient.

In the case of GERD, we can usually trace its causes to the pivot mechanism’s organs. By addressing what causes the root cause of illness in digestive imbalance, symptom alleviation, relief and even a complete non-invasive turnaround can occur.

Even esthetic skin conditions result from either an internal balance or imbalance.

The five elements of TCM classify all possible skin conditions into five groups. Your skin condition as well as your body shape can also point to an energetic lack or excess proceeding from any of the five elemental energies.

Skin manifestations often indicate it’s important to start looking for the root cause of that condition. They’re telling you that certain energies aren’t balanced.

Sometimes conditions stubbornly reoccur after symptoms were first temporarily diminished. This points to a chronic systemic energetic imbalance.

Wellness is a sustained state of well-being—feeling good—consciously experienced. It demonstrates an absence of symptoms of physical, emotional, and mental disease. All of these contribute to a state of peace and contentment.

True wellness can be achieved after experiencing a sickness or a chronic condition only when we get to the root cause of illness having pinpointed them through the lens of symptoms. They provide valuable feedback about our state of health and balance and then utilize that feedback constructively by treating the cause.

…

Endnotes:

(1) The ten major systems include the skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and the reproductive system.

Image credit: china view from Getty Images via Canva

The Virtue of the Five Elements With Specific Exploration Into The Virtue of Wood

While the five elements of traditional Chinese medicine—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—exist as a harmonious collection of energies governing the functions of the human body, they are also manifested in action in the human psyche through what are known as the five Virtues of traditional Chinese medicine.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

The physicians of ancient China treated patients with acupuncture but they also very much examined their patients’ lifestyles and psychological states to assist them to determine the various changes the patient would need to make in order to achieve balance.

They saw embracing the Virtues of the five elements as a way for people to fulfill the potential of their five element ‘type’ and ultimately, achieve emotional health leading to holistic balance and well-being of not just emotions, but mind and body as well.*

Not only does each of the five elements in traditional Chinese medicine embody a Virtue, there exists within the element's energy the potential for its negative emotion, also called a poison.

These five element Virtues and their poisons are:

Wood
Virtue: patience, forgiveness, kindness [poison: anger, frustration, anxiety]

Fire
Virtue: politeness [poison: overbearing exuberance]

Earth
Virtue: integrity [poison: blame, overwhelm or over care-taking]

Metal
Virtue: innate ability to know right from wrong while not passing judgment [poison: grief, sadness, agitation]

Water
Virtue: wisdom and inner peace [poison: annoyance, worry]

Traditional Chinese medicine believes it very valuable to contemplate the presence or absence of these Virtues in our lives, but it’s particularly valuable to first examine our relationship with the Virtue of our constitutional element. Traditional Chinese medicine points out that we all tend to be one predominant constitutional ‘type’ from among the five elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, though no one is one hundred percent one constitutional type alone.

As any given Virtue erodes, an habitually occurring behavior arises depending on the presence of an excessive negatively expressed emotion. Put simply, the Virtues of our constitutional element most exalt us if we cultivate them or they can cause us to be very out of balance and ill if we do not.

According to the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine (the Nei Jing Suwen), if you are ‘sick’ you are not living according to the laws of nature which are the basis of the five elements and types. And if you live with Virtue—correct and authentic conduct—you will be less susceptible, illness will be lessened and you will live a long life of quality.

Virtue and knowing how to live according to your well adapted element type definition include the Virtues of compassion, responsibility, honesty and integrity, among others. The five Virtues can be avenues for personal growth and the unfolding of one’s unique path in life. A Virtue for your type is usually one which seems most difficult to accomplish yet what is very much needed in order to move beyond certain key limitations in your behavior, personality and character. In fact, when persons are maladapted or out-of-balance with their dominant element, the antidote for their maladaptive behavior can often be found in the Virtue for their element and type.

Virtues for Wood

Patience and forgiveness are virtues for the Wood type. These come from the innate and natural vision and insight of the Wood energy. These virtues of patience and forgiveness can neutralize the toxic emotions of the out-of-balance Wood type: frustration, anger, impatience and hostility.

The Wood Virtues can help create a path back to balance so the Wood type may more clearly see how to make necessary life and character changes and adjustments and how to create new plans and more realistic goals.

The practice of forgiveness, especially for the Wood type, can help resolve feelings of anger, resentment, frustration, and hostility. It allows a more positive experience of life by accepting responsibility for one’s perceptions and actions. By doing so, Wood becomes less of a victim of circumstances and the actions of others, because he takes responsibility for the manner in which he has responded to those events. The Virtue of forgiveness can ultimately lead to Wood’s feeling like she has a greater sense of control—the very thing Wood strives for most in life.

The Virtue of patience may actually assist the Wood type to prevent cortisol dysregulation when Woods allow patience to bring balance to their sense of time pressure and competitiveness that is common with this type.

Wood types should practice having patience with themselves first, breathing deeply when feeling any tension of time contraints, stress and resulting impatience. They should adopt an attitude of non-attachment to outcomes and they will tend to find that patience comes more easily. Wood types should be wary of projecting their own needs for things to change or to materialize quickly onto others, always aiming to simply give others a break in the spirit of non-judgment.

#####

Endnotes:

*We have published an article on the following five element types:
Wood Type Personality
Earth Type Personality
Metal Type Personality
Water Type Personality

Kirkwood, John. The Way of the Five Seasons: Living with the Five Elements for Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Harmony. United Kingdom, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2016.

Po-tuan, Chang. The Inner Teachings of Taoism. United Kingdom, Shambhala, 2001.

Image courtesy of Thirdman at Pexels (pexels-thirdman-6599730.jpg)

Scent, Flavor and Healing Are Found In All Plants Because of Terpenes

If you’ve ever cleaned paint brushes from oil-based paints using turpentine, the strong fragrance of the solvent is because of turpentine’s terpene content derived from the sap of pine trees. Terpenes are aromatic metabolites found in the oils of all plants. In fact, scientists originally developed the name terpene from turpentine.

Almost without exception, when a plant produces a scent, that odor comes from the terpenes present in the plant. And terpenes can exist anywhere in the plant: leaves, stems, bark, roots, and flowers, most especially.

Similar to fauna, flora utilizes scent to attract mates or ward off predators which is why some terpenes can sometimes be so potently or almost aggressively pungent.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

Terpenes aren’t only responsible for scent. They create flavor, too. The fragrance and flavor carrying terpene is carried in plant structures called trichomes—tiny scent=bearing hairs, outgrowths or appendages on aromatic plants. Glandular trichomes store and secrete terpenes on the plant’s surface as a first line of defense agains insects, pathogens and herbivores.

Any substance containing plants in any form will contain terpenes. In our previous blog, The Terpene: Most Fundamental Fragrance, Flavor and Healing Component of Essential Oils, we discussed how terpenes abound in essential oils. And by virtue of that fact, terpenes are plentiful in all PHYTO5 skin and hair care.

Our seven chakra oil blends are also rich in terpenes. Each one of these blends are composed of several essential oils which lend qualities and actions specific to the chakra for which it is formulated. (Read more about chakras in our article, 13 Tips for Balancing Your Chakras.)

Since March is the month of Spring and all things green and because the heart chakra (energy center/vortex) emits green light, let’s look at the terpenes found in our Heart Chakra Balancing Essential Oil Blend. Each terpene noted below is responsible for many health benefits however since the chakra oils are synergistically formulated more for etheric/spiritual upliftment, there is no point in listing the physical health benefits in this article. Nevertheless, we have indicated some very interesting facts about many of the oils’ terpenes in the paragraphs below. (Health benefits can be easily found online.)

Heart Chakra Oil

• Rose essential oil: citronellal, geraniol, and nerol. (Geraniol lends a fresh, natural scent.)

• Neroli essential oil: linalool, limonene, farnesol, geraniol and citral. (Farnesol is believed to provide an anti-aging effect. Read about the related topic of Nutrigenomics and Xenohormesis here to understand how this might be possible.)

• Melissa essential oil: citronellal, citral, and geraniol. (Citral is a main component of citrus fruit's peel oil. It is especially found in orange peel and is actually a mixture of neral and geranial.)

• Lavender essential oil: linalool, also found in birch and jasmine, linalool is responsible for lavender’s sedative effect.

• Blue Tansy essential oil (aka Moroccan blue chamomile): pinene, chamzulene (responsible for dark blue pigment)

Terpene Tips

• You can mentally escape to the woods with a whiff of borneol. Borneol has a pine woody camphor balsamic fragrance with a slightly sharp, earthy-peppery note. It is often used in perfumery.

• If you have a citrus craving, you might satisfy it with a whiff of linalool. Linalool has complex odor and flavor properties. Its odor is similar to floral, spicy wood and somewhat resembles French lavender plants, bergamot oil or lily of the valley. It has a light, citrus-like flavor, sweet with a spicy tropical accent.

• You can refresh your tastebuds with a tiny hit of pulegone. Pulegone is a clear colorless oily liquid with a pleasant odor similar to pennyroyal, peppermint and camphor. It’s used in flavoring agents, in perfumery, and in aromatherapy.

• Terpenes and THC* (tetrahydrocannabinol) are complements to each other. Terpenes affect our endocannabinoid system just as much as THC and CBD (cannabidiol). In fact, terpenes interact synergistically with THC to affect the psychoactive area of the brain as well as the blood-brain barrier that moderates chemical outputs.

• Find a plant strain with high levels of caryophyllene for anti-inflammatory and arthritis relief.

• Consider taking in the fragrance of linalool if your skin is breaking out.

• Reach for limonene if you're feeling blue.

• More than 30,000 terpenes are believed to exist on this planet.

• The Terpene Wheel—a multi-colored infographic—allows us to reference which terpenes are contributing to the unique aroma and/or flavor of our edibles or essential oil. The graphic wheel lists:

  • every common terpene;

  • in what plants each terpene can be found;

  • whether the terpene is herbal, flowery or fruity; and

  • whether the terpene is spicy, sweet, earthy or sour.

• Pinene is probably the most utilized terpene in traditional Chinese medicine because of its anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, anticancer and “antibiotic” abilities.

• Alpha-pinene, abundant in pine needles, is alerting.

• Limonene found in lemons is, of course, sunshiney.

• Beta-myrcene, found in hops (cumulus) is sedating.

…

Endnotes:

* THC (tetrahydrocannabinol): a crystalline compound that is the main active ingredient of cannabis

Sources:

Wilson, Cathy. Terpenes, The Healing Connection Between Essential Oils and Cannabis. N.p., CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017.

Image courtesy of Maksym Golovinov from Getty Images via Canva

How the Liver is Directly Involved in Energy Flow, Emotional Balance and Life Planning According to Traditional Chinese Medicine

In traditional Chinese medicine one of the principal roles of the liver, the organ associated with the Wood element and energetic Spring, is to help chi (vital energy) and emotions flow smoothly throughout body and mind. Its physiological function is to dynamically bring smoothness to the flow of chi. If it doesn’t, liver stagnates causing mental, emotional and physical problems.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

In additional to controlling free flow of vital energy, its functions include storing nutrients, governing detoxification and regulating the blood. It is related to vision (both literally and figuratively), the eyes, tendons, energetic and emotional ups and downs as well as the ability to make major decisions.

The liver is our body’s unsung hero. It works very hard to keep us healthy by getting rid of what we don’t need. It’s tasked with filtering everything we eat and drink including any pharmaceuticals we take.

“Liver symbolically represents choice and the execution of one’s life plan, vision, planning and action. In traditional Chinese medicine it gives the capacity for being goal oriented and resolute…” —Sandra K. Anderson in The Practice of Shiatsu

“Because the Wood element is associated with self-expression, assertiveness is a key aspect of healthy Wood. A person who is timid and shy is not able to engage in self-expression. Someone who is overly assertive, to the point of being aggressive, is out of balance to the other extreme.” —Sandra K. Anderson in The Practice of Shiatsu

Liver stores the blood giving us the fortitude to make decisions and feel supported. Liver blood deficiency will often show up as stagnancy in the form of eye problems, fatigue and lack of luster and color in the hair and nails.

Liver’s mission to elegantly flow chi energy throughout the body is actually characteristic of Wood’s tendency to grow and flourish. Wood represents new life and in the body the Wood element is responsible for action and expression of self as well as the smooth flow of chi.

Anger, frustration, anxiety and restlessness are the emotions associated with Wood and an out-of-balance Wood type.

“The color green correlates significantly to the Wood element’s emotional relationship with its main organs, the liver and gallbladder. You may have heard people say, ‘He’s “green with envy,” or ‘She’s “green” with anger!’” —Susan Levy, D.C. in Your Body Can Talk: How to Use Simple Muscle Testing for Health and Well Being

Traditional Chinese Medicine tells us when emotions remain unexpressed, repressed, prolonged and not brought to balance this toxicity of emotion has the very real potential to damage our health.

Excessive irritability, restlessness and anger can negatively impact the liver resulting in conditions like menstrual pain, headache, redness of face and eyes, dizziness, and dry mouth. An out-of-balance liver may also result in stormy moods.

Liver chi stagnation may also lead to overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, elevated cortisol levels and higher stress levels, and these, in turn, compromise the immune system.

Learn how to keep your vital energy balanced. Your vital energy always come first. It’s the fundamental generator of the body and of all your body’s other functions. Read how Wood is the energy of the energy in our blog, “Describing the Wood Type Personality…” here.

Ways to help keep Wood energy, emotions and liver balanced:

• Use the Wood line of skin and hair care by PHYTO5; it’s quantum energetic and works on the level of not just skin, but vital energy and emotions. If you can choose only one product of the line, begin with Wood Phyt’Ether serum which is the most potent in the line. Learn more about Wood Phyt’Ether here.

• Understand traditional Chinese medicine’s Wood element and its characteristics. It can help you to make balanced choices in your life and to live in harmony with Wood.

• Work to keep your chakras balanced. They are powerhouses of vital energy. Balancing the seven chakras is essential to beautiful wellness and vitality.

• Stay active through exercise. Balanced Wood enjoys being physically active.

• To support and respect the liver, refrain from eating two to three hours before sleep. Late night eating causes the liver to stagnate preventing it from doing its detoxifying work and preventing our bodies from repairing themselves at night. 

• Keep in mind that overeating puts undue pressure on both liver and gallbladder. Do your best to stop eating when you feel 80% full.

• You can support the liver by consuming whole grains like brown rice, barley, millet, quinoa, spelt, kamut, oats and wheat berries. Since crackers, bread, bagels, and cereals are baked and dry, they are not conducive to optimum liver function.

• Eat leafy greens,* fresh herbs and berries which help to build liver blood.

• Journal to get your angry emotions out.

• Practice meditation which helps to keep emotions balanced, especially emotions of anger and restlessness.

• Learn to let go, forgive and accept what is. Practice appreciation.

• Learn to be assertive, not angry. Learn to be flexible, not rigid.

“The liver function is considered to be the grand architect for our vision of the future. The liver is the center of strategic planning. The gallbladder is thought to be the center of our ability to make decisions and judge wisely. From the functions of the liver and the gallbladder, we can plan and choose–we combine new future possibilities with the wisdom of the past and, as a result, are able to see the clear and appropriate course to take.” —Jennifer Dubowsky, LAc.

#####

Endnotes:

* bok choy, carrot tops, collards, daikon tops, dandelion greens, kale, leek, lettuces, mustard greens, nappa cabbage, radish greens, turnip tops, watercress

Press, Tsinghua University. Traditional Chinese Medicine: Theory and Principles. Germany, De Gruyter, 2015.Levy, Susan, and Lehr, Carol.

Levy, D.C. Susan. Your Body Can Talk: How to Use Simple Muscle Testing for Health and Well Being. United States, Kalindi Press, 2013.

Anderson, Sandra K. The Practice of Shiatsu. Malawi, Mosby Elsevier, 2007.

Stiles, Kg. Chinese Medicine Guidebook Essential Oils to Balance the Wood Element and Organ Meridians. N.p., Draft2Digital, 2020.

Image courtesy of Dziana Hazanbekeva at Pexels

Why You Should Use the Wood Line of Skincare During Energetic Spring Even If You Don’t Have the Wood Skin Conditi

All five energies according to traditional Chinese medicine—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water—are synergistically at work in the proper function of cells and healthy tissues. In traditional Chinese medicine, Wood is one of the five aspects of vital energy and is fundamental to the optimal function of the other four.

The body is not just matter made up of solids and fluids but unseen energy known as vital energy also courses through it. This vital energy is called prana in yoga and Ayurvedic medicine and chi in traditional Chinese medicine and by practitioners of Asian martial arts. This ancient concept is also a modern one as it is now demonstrated by quantum physics.

The skin is actually a vital organ possessing reflexive properties which correlate to the body’s organs. This is because vital energy connects all parts of the body to each other. PHYTO5 utilizes the reflexiveness of skin to practice facial reflexology demonstrated by the Five Clay Mask quantum energetic facial. 

A Wood imbalance usually manifests as:

• oily skin, blackheads, and hyperpigmentation

• oily scalp and hair

• issues of vital energy circulation meaning the flow of vital energy is either impeded or overactive

• emotions of anger and/or anxiety.*

If you have any of these Wood imbalances, this means your body might be out of balance with its vital energy flow.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

Any skin condition, for that matter, likely has a root cause in vital energy imbalance or blockage of vital energy flow. And your skin condition can actually help to pinpoint where you have that imbalance or blockage.

Traditional Chinese medicine tells us that in addition to five seasons, five elements, five basic emotions and five sets of skin conditions, the body is host to five major fluids, four of which are clearly matter:

• the Fire element’s red blood

• the Metal element’s blue blood

• the Earth element’s lymph, and

• the Water element’s water.

The other fluid of the Wood element is simply energy—vital energy.

You could say it is the energy of the energy because without Wood energy nothing else happens. This is why, in any series of esthetic treatments which follow the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, the Wood treatment is always the first one we do. It ensures that the initiating energy is balanced because it must be before we go on to balancing the other four fluids.

By stimulating vital energy flow we give energy to the cells. If cells aren’t properly nourished, including being nourished with vital energy, the body begins breaking down.

A burst of yang energy occurs during energetic Spring, the season of the Wood element, and it’s important to encourage this expanding and rising of yang whatever element ‘type’** we may be. During energetic Spring the burst of yang energy drives the growth and vitality of the body.

For these reasons, youth is associated with the vital energy of Wood.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the Wood element’s color is green—the color associated with Spring, new life, vitality and growth. PHYTO5’s Wood line labeling features this color. And green is prominent in our naturally colored quantum energetic Wood element green Clay Mask itself.

We want to make sure our vital energy is stimulated when it needs to be and kept in balance since it fundamentally supports the other four vital energies. An energetic deficiency left untreated for any length of time invites others, and problems will then accumulate exponentially.

For example, an imbalance of Wood vital energy causes sluggish Fire (both are part of strong yang with limited yin energies). Insufficient Wood and Fire allows Metal (growing yin energy) to be too strong, keeping Wood weak (since Metal is the break of Wood) while it augments Water which also maintains Fire weakness. But Water, being the peak yin energy, is not likely to strengthen the rising yang energy of Wood and so the original condition is maintained or even worsened.

The cure is a stimulation of yang vital energy and a diffusion of overbearing yin vital energy. And this is the reason why all esthetic treatments addressing a difficult situation should always start with a Wood treatment followed by a Fire treatment, then Earth, Metal and finally by a Water treatment, each treatment taking place two to three days after the previous one.

To support your balance at home of skin, vital energy and emotions, be sure to use the Wood line periodically and especially during the Spring energetic season which runs from February 5 to April 17 every year.

The entire Wood line is quantum energetic*** and will work to support your vital energy balanced flow, but if you have to choose only one product, choose Wood element Phyt’Ether serum, the most potent in the line.

#####

Endnotes:

* In traditional Chinese medicine, there is an ancestral knowledge that each major emotion has a seat within an organ. For example, anger is an emotion linked to liver. Chronically angry people will not, as a result, have healthy livers even if their diet is otherwise perfect. Consequently, they may display the physical symptoms of a Wood energetic imbalance as well as emotions of anger and/or anxiety.

**The five element ‘types’ are well described in a number of our blogs:

• Describing the Wood Type Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medicine

• The Earth Type Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medicine: Understanding Your Archetype for Harmony and Balance

• The Metal Type Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medicine

• The Water Type Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medicine: Understanding Your Archetype for Harmony and Balance

***In fact, all five element lines are quantum energetic.

The Spring Equinox. The Real New Year Is In Spring.

For many ancient cultures the real New Year is in Spring. It happens at or around the time of the Spring Equinox every March 20 or 25. But in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII changed that for followers of the Church moving the start of the New Year back to January 1. He took the very natural rhythmic lunar-based calendar and made it an unnatural calendar misaligned with the moon that affects Earth so much.

Understanding the Spring Equinox Makes Sense that the Real New Year Is In Spring.

The Spring or Vernal Equinox 2022 happens every year on March 20 or 21. This special day, when the sun crosses the celestial equator, marks the middle point between the Winter solstice and the Summer solstice.

On the Spring Equinox day every spot on the entire planet experiences an equal amount of time in the light and in the darkness. From that day on in the Northern hemisphere, each day thereafter we leave behind more of the dark of Winter as we receive a greater amount of the light and warmth of the sun.

Now all of nature begins reviving in earnest after its Winter hibernation.

Although for huge swathes of the global population the New Year begins on the first day of January, some societies and cultures celebrate the real New Year at some point in early Spring.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique beauty tips and offers.

It’s logical that the real New Year is in Spring.

Spring—a season of rebirth and the planting of new crops—is a logical time to start the New Year for many people. It doesn’t make sense to celebrate the New Year in the middle of the dark, cold hostile Winter.

“March tests our faith. It can summon all the bluster of its namesake to convince huddled mortals that the power of winter, like that of any tyrant, is not soon or highly surrendered. On a night in late March the wind can blow with a force unfelt all winter. Fear not. Beneath the angry skies, fragile as parchment but as irresistible as time, crocuses push their shafts up through the damp earth.” —Michael Judge in The Dance of Time: The Origins of the Calendar.

Ancient cultures lived more in harmony with nature. It was logical to align their celebrations with lunar movements.

Somewhere around 2000 BCE, the Babylonian New Year began on March 25. Very many cultures in ancient times regarded their New Year as the traditional fixed date for the Vernal Equinox.

In ancient Persia and now present-day Iran, the new year, called nowruz meaning new day began and still begins on March 21.

For some native tribes the arrival of certain animals for the hunt or the appearance of certain shoals of fish marked the beginning of another year.

In some parts of the ancient Near East, the people celebrated the New Year in the Fall when rains ended the long drought of Summer.

For the ancient Egyptians, Sirius, the dog star, held its place unrivaled as the most important star in the sky. It formed the foundation of the Egyptians’ entire religious system. The Egyptian calendar system was based on the heliacal rising of Sirius that occurred just before the annual flooding of the Nile during Summer, signaling their start of a New Year and new life.

In the more ancient Northern hemisphere New Year celebrations were a way to rejoice in the resurrection of life. The people acted out the seasonal changes ritually—from the symbolic death of the earth in Winter to its resurrection vibrantly enacted through the sprouting and blossoming that came with Spring.

Throughout the ancient world New Year’s Day was quite logically and almost always celebrated in the Spring when the world seemed new once again. After months of long nights and short days, both day and night now lasted an equal amount of time. The people knew that on the Vernal Equinox the cosmic balance would now swing in favor of the sun.

Here’s When the New Year celebration date got changed.

Originally, the ancient Roman calendar had only ten months which we can see reflected in the names of many of our months derived from Roman numerals.

When a New Year began in March as month one of the year, they named the months very logically:

• the seventh month | September meaning seventh (septem from latin meaning seven)

• the eighth month October meaning eighth (octo from latin meaning eight)

• the ninth month they gave the name November meaning ninth (novem from latin meaning nine)

• the last and tenth month, they named December meaning tenth (decem from latin meaning ten).

Back then the calendar year was lunar-based and ten moons long, and the remaining roughly 70 days of Winter occurred without being assigned a month name. This is the time period we now call January and February.

The beginning of a New Year started the calendar afresh and signaled to farmers to trellis their vines, prune the trees, and sow spring wheat. On this auspicious first day of the New Year concurrent with the Vernal Equinox people could expect equal parts day and night. And the New Year observance always took place on the first new moon before the Spring equinox.

The Romans eventually transitioned away from a lunar to a solar calendar. It seemed to them a solar calendar better reflected the seasons. But as before, they still didn’t consider the remaining now roughly 60 Winter days part of the calendar.

Even Following a Solar Calendar, the Real New Year Was Still In Spring.

The calendar began each year with the first day of Spring falling a few days after the Ides(1) of March. This put the New Year at approximately the twentieth of March. The 60-day margin of Winter days which existed in a sort of limbo outside of the calendar is how the early Romans handled not truly knowing the actual length of a year.

In about 715 BCE, the months January and February were added to the Roman calendar.

Over time, many empowers continued to tamper with the calendar. They knocked the calendar out of synchronization with the sun.

In 46 BCE, this precipitated Julius Caesar to decree the start of the New Year the beginning of January. And so January 1 became a day of great festivities for all Roman people. But even though Julius Caesar decreed such a change, for some time Romans of city and country continued to celebrate the New Year with the onset of Spring. They felt nature was telling them more accurately than any calendar could that the Earth was about to be reborn.

But with Christianity taking hold, the Church outlawed their New Year celebrations, banning all Christians from participating in any festivities under threat of excommunication. The Church believed the celebrations were pagan and encouraged idolatry since the day’s festivities evolved from the feast of January’s namesake—the two-faced god Janus.

The Flip-flopping Church Made the Real New Year January 1 to March 25 and back again to January 1.

By 567 CE, the Christian Church’s power was massive and so, at the Council of Tours, they officially moved the start date of the New Year from January 1 back to March 25. They did this to remove potential for too many pagan celebrations. For centuries thereafter all European countries celebrated the new year on March 25.

But in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII was not to be outdone. He introduced our current and rather inaccurate Gregorian calendar. Once again, they officially moved the start of the New Year back to January 1.

Not all European countries adopted January 1 as the official opening of a New Year right away. The Catholic countries did so, but Protestant countries took their time. It’s only been a few hundred years that these northern European countries have observed New Year’s Day as January 1.

…

Endnotes:

(1) Ides: (in the ancient Roman calendar) a day falling roughly in the middle of each month (the 15th day of March, May, July, and October, and the 13th of other months) from which other dates were calculated.

Strange but True: A Historical Background to Popular Beliefs and Traditions. N.p., Crux Publishing Ltd, 2014.

Judge, Michael. The Dance of Time: The Origins of the Calendar. United Kingdom, Arcade, 2012.

photo pexels-pat-whelen-6369229.jpg

How Plants Unlock Longevity: The Science Behind Plant-Based Skincare

What if the secret to a longer, healthier life and radiant skin lies in the plants we eat and apply to skin? Two cutting-edge concepts, nutrigenomics and xenohormesis, reveal how plant-based solutions can transform our bodies inside and out. At PHYTO5, we’ve woven this science into our Swiss-made skincare, proving that anti-aging skincare isn’t just about looking good — it’s about living better.

Nutrigenomics: Food as Medicine for Longevity

Nutrigenomics explores how nutrition interacts with our genes to prevent or treat disease.

It’s a game-changer for aging.

In the U.S., life expectancy hovers around 77 years — 73.6 for men, 79.4 for women — but scientists now say we can push past that. Discoveries in molecular biology show that longevity genes exist, and certain nutrients can switch them on, enhancing health and extending life.

Ronald Klatz, M.D., who coined anti-aging medicine, predicts baby boomers and beyond could reach 120–150 years.

How? By fortifying our diets with plants rich in bioactive molecules — compounds that go beyond fuel to tweak hormones, metabolism, and even cellular repair.

Hippocrates nailed it centuries ago:

Let food be your medicine.

Nutrigenomics just gives us the why and how.

Xenohormesis: Plants Pass On Their Survival Secrets

Here’s where it gets interesting.

Xenohormesis (from the Greek xenos for stranger and hormesis meaning mild stress benefits) explains how stressed plants — like those battered by drought or frost — produce compounds that boost our resilience when we consume them.

Think of it as plants sharing their evolutionary grit.

For eons, plants have adapted to harsh conditions, creating molecules that humans and animals can borrow for survival. These xenohormetic compounds don’t just nourish, they activate our cellular stress responses, potentially outdoing modern drugs for longevity.

And it’s not just about eating them. The skin, the body’s largest organ, absorbs over 60% of what you put on it. This makes plant-based skincare a direct line to these benefits.

PHYTO5: Plant-Based Skincare Meets Science

At PHYTO5, we’ve harnessed nutrigenomics and xenohormesis to craft anti-aging skincare that feeds your skin — and vitality. Our Swiss-made products use high-grade essential oils from plants that have thrived against the odds, passing their resilience to you:

• Lingonberry Seed Oil in Extreme Hydrating Cream: Sourced from Arctic berries surviving -50°C, it super-hydrates and protects skin in harsh winters.

• Edelweiss in Face Gel Mask and Perfection Cream: Grown on treacherous Alpine cliffs, it regenerates and fights hyperpigmentation with centuries of stress-hardened power.

• Ginkgo in Water Element Day and Night Creams: An ancient tree’s longevity secrets plump and firm mature skin.

These aren’t just ingredients — they’re living allies.

Like the “face” of a flower nourishing your own, as aromatherapy expert Erich Keller might say,¹ they deliver vital energy straight to your skin and bloodstream.

It’s plant-based skincare with a purpose:

longevity you can see and feel.

From Diet to Dermatology: A Growing Trend

Plants already shape medicine — 40% of Western drugs, including the top 20 U.S. prescriptions, come from them (USDA–Forest Service).

Meanwhile, over 9.7 million Americans now follow plant-based diets, up 9.4 million in 15 years (thebeet.com). Most don’t know xenohormesis, but they feel the health perks.

Why stop at food? Topical application amplifies the effect.

PHYTO5’s quantum-energy approach ensures every drop of our skincare communicates resilience to your cells, proving nutrigenomics isn’t just for your plate — it’s for your face too.

Rewrite Aging with Plants

Nutrigenomics and xenohormesis aren’t buzzwords. They’re blueprints for a longer, vibrant life.

Plants don’t just survive. They thrive under stress, and through PHYTO5’s plant-based skincare, they share that power with you.

From Lingonberry’s icy endurance to Edelweiss’s cliffside tenacity, our anti-aging skincare turns nature’s lessons into your glow.

Ready to let plants rewrite your aging story? With PHYTO5, quality longevity starts now.

…

Endnotes and Sources.

¹ Erich Keller reference here and link to other article

Hooper, Philip L et al. “Xenohormesis: health benefits from an eon of plant stress response evolution.” Cell stress & chaperones vol. 15,6 (2010): 761–70. doi:10.1007/s12192–010–0206-x

Konrad T. Howitz, David A. Sinclair, Xenohormesis: Sensing the Chemical Cues of Other Species, Cell, Volume 133, Issue 3, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2008.04.019.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867408005114)

Cayuela Sánchez JA, Elamrani A. Nutrigenomics of essential oils and their potential domestic use for improving health. Nat Prod Commun. 2014 Nov;9(11):1641–8. PMID: 25532301.

Dhanjal, Daljeet Singh et al. “Plant Fortification of the Diet for Anti-Ageing Effects: A Review.” Nutrients vol. 12,10 3008. 30 Sep. 2020, doi:10.3390/nu12103008

Phytochemicals of Nutraceutical Importance. United Kingdom, CABI, 2014.

Swann G. The skin is the body’s largest organ. J Vis Commun Med. 2010 Dec;33(4):148–9. doi: 10.3109/17453054.2010.525439. PMID: 21087182.

Describing the Wood Type Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medici

At the time of our birth, the prevailing cosmic and telluric energies have an important effect on our personality. It can be said that at the time of birth these energies give us our own individual rhythms that seem to transcend our genetic makeup and upbringing. Traditional Chinese medicine embraces a fivefold concept known as the Five Element or Five Phase Theory that help explain these rhythms. Traditional Chinese medicine points out that we all tend to be one predominant ‘type’ from among the five elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, though no one is one hundred percent one type alone. In this article we discuss both the in-balance and out-of-balance (maladapted) Wood type personality.

Wood-in-balance types derive an enormous amount of energy and vitality through maintaining a vision of their ideal future and what they can do to make that happen. They have a tendency to create independent lifestyles and to control their own futures.

They are pioneers and visionaries. These are their archetypes.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

Adapted or in-balance Wood type personalities are open to new ideas and trends and they recognize possibilities that others might never see. They make sure they are surrounded by a free environment that will foster their vision and creativity and support their breaking through to do things in their own way.

Balanced Wood type personalities know how to get around obstacles and part of their deft maneuvering includes establishing alternate plans and contingencies. Even when failures occur they usually and flexibly simply take another route or look for another direction—a tactic so supportive of change and transformation.

Balanced Woods know what works for them. They tend to be optimistic as they hold the vision of and hope for a future they’ve already seen.

Wood type personalities are self-directed and structured, organized and deliberate—qualities they find necessary to achieve their lofty goals. List and spreadsheet making are very often integral to their organization and planning although these can sometimes go too far with Wood where the need to plan and organize becomes excessive and annoying.

Seeing life as something to be conquered, instead of cooperating, Wood competes. But what Wood is really trying to do by competing is create a sense of control. Wood’s single most important ambition is to maintain a sense of control over life.

Out-of-balance Wood type personalities need direction and accountability to an authority figure. A mentor, teacher or leader who can provide maladapted Wood with a plan is often more than helpful as it provides this Wood type with much needed structure.

Frustration, anger, impatience, controlling behavior and combative conflicts are the toxic expressed emotions of the maladapted Wood type. Because Wood types are so hooked into their goals, they often abrasively confront or argue with anyone who they perceive is an obstacle on their path.

This personality aspect translates into Wood’s physical makeup which is often well muscled, strong and coordinated since Wood types cannot be swayed as they stand for what is right and just. Taken too far, Wood can be inflexible, sticking to a plan or belief no matter the cost. Trees may appear stiff and unbendable but they’re really quite flexible when they need to be and this is Wood’s challenge.

The Wood personality type is very often critical of everything but themselves. When Wood lacks this self-awareness, they cannot be honest with themselves. Should they feel they’ve been treated unfairly, they will neither forgive nor forget. They tend to hold grudges indefinitely. On the extreme end, this behavior describes a maladapted Wood type.

Wood types are often unable to tolerate injustice whether it is done to them or done to society as a whole. The Wood archetype is the Warrior which leads out-of-balance Wood away from angry outbursts and hostility into championing just causes. This helps Wood regain a sense of control in a world he views as uncertain and hostile. Warrior Wood works to right what is wrong and to forge changes that create hope for the future.

Wood’s virtues are forgiveness and patience. They stem from the innate vision and insight of the Wood type and they neutralize the negative angry emotions Wood can so easily feel.

The Warrior/Pioneer archetype is founded on the flourishing energy of the Wood element and the birth of yang energy in energetic Spring. Like well adapted Wood, yang energy is forceful and vigorous, warming and expansive.

From the new yang energy of Spring comes balanced Wood’s ability to initiate action, take decisive steps, express balanced emotion and to allow creativity to flow with new ideas, change, hope, vitality and optimism.

The Wood type personality is challenged to move from anger to insight and from frustration to patience. In order to do so, Wood must be flexible and honest with himself or herself.

Connect to the power of the Wood element this season of energetic Spring (February 5 to April 17) to rise above the chaos, reclaim your visionary self, see solutions where problems used to be and allow transformation to improve your life.

#####

Endnotes:

Moss, Charles A. Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance. United States, North Atlantic Books, 2011.

Image credit: pexels-ketut-subiyanto-4429136-2.jpg

The Power of Mantra: Utilizing Language to Create and Decree Our Hearts’ Desir

Mantras are a form of empowering spoken word we can utilize as creational incantations. 'Mantra' literally means 'instrument of thought.' And since our thoughts are instrumental in the creation of things, it might make sense to utilize mantras in your daily life for personal upliftment and even to manifest what you desire in life. An example of a mantra is one PHYTO5 would love every person to know and believe: “I am a beautiful person.” (Or in French, it’s “Je suis une belle personne.”) And because balanced emotion creates happiness and thus natural beauty that radiates from within, this mantra is the inspiration behind PHYTO5’s mini five element Phyt’Ether serum kit (right column) for balancing emotion, skin and vital energy.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

Mantras can also be described as decrees, affirmations or incantations we make just once or repetitively. They can be formed in any language and when vocalized from the heart have creative energies embedded within them. It’s best only to recite a mantra if you feel it. Rote chanting and just going through the motions will cancel out what you wish to create.

You may be acquainted with ancient Sanskrit* and Tibetan* mantras that were composed to accomplish healing and protection. These mantras are a very important part of Hindu and Tibetan ritual and practice. They are treated as sacred and prayerful and are spoken, sung or chanted repetitively.

Here are a few examples of simpler yet very potent Sanskrit and Tibetan mantras transliterated into English:

The heart calming Buddhist mantra found at the end of the Heart Sutra**

Gate gate para gate para sam gate bodhi swaha

The Sanskrit looks like this: गते गते पार गते पार संगते बोधि स्वाहा

---

Tibetan mantra for purification

Om benza satto hung

---

Tibetan mantra for prosperity

Om zambala za len drah yeh soha

To learn how to pronounce these, you can easily find them in beautiful audio recordings by various artists, the Gyuto monks as one example. In addition to the words, Tibetan monks like the Gyuto monks chant mantras with deep guttural voices creating a vibration that pushes energy behind the words.

Concerning pronunciation of mantras in such sacred languages as Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese or Aramaic, the key to keep in mind if you’re American is not to use the short ‘a’ vowel sound ever. And an ‘e’ by itself or followed by an ‘h’ is pronounced like the long ‘a’ vowel sound.

---

Even if you don’t speak languages such as Sanskrit or Tibetan, learning to recite the various mantras in the language can be very effective since not knowing the language assists us to bypass the analytical ego mind. With the ‘monkey mind’ out of the way that always needs to analyze and even sabotage our creative effort, pure true thought and the mantra’s frequencies are now free to assist you to create your desire.

Very many Sanskrit mantras are taken from hymns found in the Vedas*** and were viewed since the earliest of times of Vedic recorded history as ‘sacred message' or 'text,' 'charm,' 'spell,' and ‘counsel.’

Perhaps the mantra’s ability to create is best expressed by Yogi Bhajan:

"Mantra moves the elements—all five elements, plus the heavens, plus the earth."

Probably the best known mantra or chant in the world is known as the “Compassionate Buddha Mantra.” The Buddha of Compassion is known by the Chinese as Goddess Quan Yin. Its six-syllable expression is:

Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ

This mantra translates to, "Hail to the jewel in the center of the lotus.”

The mantra is said to calm fears, soothe concerns and heal broken hearts and if you begin to chant this mantra for yourself you will discover this is true. This mantra has also been adapted into Chinese Taoism.

Learn to pronounce the sacred languages correctly if you are going to use them. Vocalizing sacred language mantras for purposes of creation is like placing a key into a lock. The words or mantras are the keys. If the key–the pronunciation–is not 'configured' correctly for the lock, the lock (manifestation desired) will not open.

Mantras are usually recited with feeling repetitively however to decree a mantra only once indicates a type of faith—a knowing that all it takes is to invoke the desire once and it is done.

Even one solitary powerful word, when invoked, can assist in your manifestations.

One word incantations can truly work:

Peace!

Still!

Vitality!

Om

The last one word mantra in the short list above, Om, is known as the primordial sound of the universe, and though generally associated with Buddhism, has been often used by Taoists as part of their chanting practice.

Whether it’s English, French, Sanskrit, Tibetan or any other language, mantras exist and can be crafted by you to accomplish any goal: abundance, protection from dangerous weather conditions, removal of obstacles, liberation and enlightenment, improved digestion, sharper mental clarity, radiant feminine or masculine consciousness, better sleep, lucid dreaming, and the list is endless.

Our words have power but we rarely stop to think about how true this statement is. We actually are constantly creating by our choice of words and emotions behind them as we speak.

"All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down.” —Friedrich Nietzsche

For the ancient spiritual initiates, writing and magic were considered the same thing. They understood the power of the word.

"The Word was in the beginning, and that very Word was with God, and God was that Word.” — John 1:1

Even though English or many other languages are derived and have somewhat degenerated from the ancient ones, there can still be power in our native tongue. This imbued power will happen by virtue of your intention.

May your new year composed of a succession of 365 new days be charged with the power of your consciously invoked word. Hopefully, one of your new mantras will be:

I am a beautiful person. Because you are.

#####

Endnotes:

*one of the five sacred languages and an ancient Indo-European language of India, in which the Hindu; the five sacred languages are Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, Hebrew, and Egyptian

** a set of rules in Hindu philosophy

*** the most ancient Hindu scriptures, written in early Sanskrit and containing hymns, philosophy, and guidance on ritual for the priests of Vedic religion; believed to have been directly revealed to seers among the early Aryans in India and preserved by oral tradition scriptures and classical Indian epic poems are written and from which many northern Indian (Indic) languages are derived

Hurtak, J. J. The Book of Knowledge: The Keys of Enoch. The Academy for Future Science. 1977. Los Gatos, CA.

Image credit: byheaven/Getty Images via Canva

February 1, 2022 Is The Chinese New Year of the Black Water Tiger: Here Are Portents for the Year and Strategies for Resilient Livin

In Chinese astrology, February 1, 2022 will begin the year of not just the Tiger but the Black Water Tiger.(1) A Water Tiger year only occurs every 60 years.

China abounds in myth and legend of the Tiger. Anyone born in the year of the Tiger is believed to possess the traits of unpredictability and color, adventurousness, power and passion.

In China, the Tiger is at once a symbol of darkness/new moon and brightness/full moon.

There are five mythic Tigers in Chinese lore, each one symbolizing direction, season and element:

Blue Tiger: East, Spring and Vegetation
Red Tiger: South, Summer and Fire
White Tiger: West, Autumn and all Metals
Black Tiger: North, Winter and Water
Yellow Tiger is supreme among all five and ruler of the Earth and all energies upon it.

In Chinese astrology, the behavior of the Black Water Tiger is a forewarning for the year 2022 (as is any animal assigned to its year). Going far back to the ancient Chinese and their approach to health, vitality, ‘medicine,’ and life in general, we are able to see their uncanny knack for getting it right. Years and years of careful and astute observation annotated and proven out has coalesced to form a massive body of dependable information and data that repeats itself through the cycles of life.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique beauty tips and offers.

Especially in these turbulent times, we might read what follows as a sort of intriguing “fortune-telling” for the year 2022, though it is based on real-live concepts which have also been lived out 60 years ago. Considering what follows might assist us to live with a proactive stance so that we can be resilient and joyful in life instead of being caught unaware.

The Black Water Tiger is a figure of awe and respect but it is combined with a hint of dread. Tiger indicates that the beginning of the year might be especially volatile and as a result, people will tend to take bold, spontaneous action, moving towards extremes.

Like Tiger, many people will be extra bold and cantankerous, making big life changes and many of them on a whim.

Where last year, people were forced to keep their noses to the grindstone and live life on the sidelines, now the Water Tiger energy springs onto the scene.

Feeling shut in, restricted, and relegated to rule after rule, 2022 will manifest a strong desire for fun and adventure. Many people are more than ready to cut loose and try new things. They may be willing to break perceived rules for the sake of having adventurous experiences just like Tiger.

Tiger’s courage comes into play in 2022 as it will be a risk-taking year with those taking the risks doing so to express themselves fully. Everyone has been through an awful lot since 2019 especially, and while much has not been resolved Tiger indicates a growing feeling that it’s time to let our hair down. But throughout 2022 there will also be quiet periods because like any cat, a Tiger needs his naps. Approaching year’s end things will begin to calm down as 2023 approaches with the energy of the peaceful Water Rabbit approaching.

Tiger is affectionate but with hidden claws and Tiger’s territorial. It could be that in 2022, the issue of national borders will become even more important.

Tiger’s ferocious roar will be reflected in changes in governments, party leadership and parties in power. There will be much roaring at each other with loud voices signaling dominance and shouting warnings of skirmishes and battles.

It could happen that deals and partnerships formed in 2021 become fragile and snap. Tiger jabbers a lot and the sound of squabbling will drown out cooperation as governments and corporations focus more on their own agenda rather than serve the common good. The silver lining is this ferocious, clawing-at-each-other energy has the strong potential to cause people to turn to smaller independent businesses many of whom are struggling to make it.

In your personal life, you may find yourself acutely aware of the need to have boundaries with others established. Chief among those to shut out are the Simi Valley data collectors. Protecting your data, passwords, and accounts becomes enormously important in 2022.

On the same vein as boundaries and territories, there will be many who feel to pick up and move to find the space or region of the world (their personal prairie) that truly speaks to them.

Tiger’s playfulness will be seen in many a get-together and celebration. People will hunt for that which satisfies them. And appropriately, Water will find ways into their lives in more ways than a shower or bath, this Tiger being the Water Tiger and the cat that can swim.

2022 will show more emphasis on parenting and the inherent rights of parents. Fights will ensue over a parent’s right to decide the medical care of their children and not the school system. More people, especially mothers, will either fight the school system or opt to homeschool their children.

Like the Tiger wanders the prairies in search of a good hunt, college-age students may more likely take time off school to go backpacking or become entrepreneurs. Those desiring more education will tend to opt for accelerated programs that end in certificates they need for new jobs and rewarding work.

Water Tiger is talkative and 2022 will be all about communication even if it’s dysfunctional. Battles concerning free speech and political correctness will not only continue into 2022 but become louder than before.

Tiger is known for passion and courage and success will come to those who embrace those traits in 2022. Pick a direction in 2022 and move forward quickly knowing that risk-taking will be rewarded even if your project doesn’t result as you wished it would. In a Tiger year, being active and moving is better than being still. You may not begin 2022 feeling all that strong or confident but the zodiac says you will be by the end of 2022 simply because of the new things you’ve done.

Create a life you are passionate about in 2002 even if it looks unconventional. Tiger loves excitement and the unconventional is exciting.

Colors will seem to be brighter and voices louder in 2022. When periods of intense energy come to you, take advantage and be active. This is the year of the active individual player.

In the year of the Tiger, you may find yourself making money (Water flows) because you are taking more risks. Many people will have more faith in themselves during this time than at any other and this is why they will succeed.

People are more passionate in a Tiger year but can also be less romantic. There may be more shallow relationships than deep and long-term ones established so those looking for long-term relationships need to be patient. Some people will find a lover who had been in their lives one day and vanished the next returns in 2022 as though he or she had never left at all.

A Tiger year makes it easier for you to recognize your anger and begin to deal with it appropriately but expressing problems in a relationship may not fall on friendly ears.

Tiger’s energy is dynamic which can work in everyone’s favor. It inspires more activity and exercise and less sofa-sitting. There will probably be a greater focus on gaining greater health and vitality by changing routines and eating habits.

The Water Tiger year can bring you the courage and sense of adventure you need to make significant changes in your life. And you can come to the end of 2022 feeling proud of what you accomplished and with a renewed sense of confidence.

The Water Tiger patiently stalks and strategizes for its hunt, moving with an easy grace through the jungle of life. We can emulate Tiger for this ease of grace for life and this world certainly seem like a jungle.

Call upon the Black Water Tiger to renew vitality and passion in your life in 2022. Invoke Tiger for a greater awareness of pace and stamina especially as we move through energetic Winter and the Water season.

…

Endnotes:

1. The Chinese astrology cycle follows a pattern of twelve years (an animal assigned to each) for each of the five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) comprising a 60-year pattern. The twelve animals of Chinese astrology are said to hide in the hearts of those born during their year. Chinese New Year always occurs at the time of the second New Moon following the Winter solstice.

…

Sources:

Stellhorn, Donna. Chinese Astrology: 2022 Year of the Water Tiger. N.p., ETC Publishing, 2021.

Theitic, Andrew. The Witches' Almanac 2022-2023 Standard Edition Issue 41: The Moon — Transforming the Inner Spirit. N.p., Witches' Almanac, 2021.

Zakroff, Laura Tempest, et al. Llewellyn's 2022 Sabbats Almanac: Samhain 2021 to Mabon 2022. United States, Llewellyn Worldwide, Limited, 2021.

Andrews, Ted. Animal Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great and Small. United States, Llewellyn Worldwide, Limited, 2010.

The Ancient Ginkgo Tree Passes On Its Knowledge of Survival and Longevity To You: Ginkgo Biloba Extract for Skin and Bo

Native to China, Ginkgo biloba is the oldest living tree species on earth. Since antiquity, the extract of its leaves has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a variety of conditions. Ginkgo biloba extract is extremely beneficial for skin, especially skin in need of strengthening and moisturizing, and is therefore formulated in PHYTO5’s Water element Day Cream and Night Cream.

Ginkgo has a resilient ability to reduce inflammation, skin roughness and lines while increasing moisturization and smoothness of the skin.

Ginkgo biloba is very strengthening to skin because it stimulates collagen and elastin production in the skin by stimulating fibroblast cells(1).

Ginkgo biloba extract synthesizes the neurotransmitter dopamine in the skin.

“Dopamine is also involved in proper skin functioning and a healthy appearance as it supports an appropriate supply to the cells by increasing microcirculation through a noninflammatory mechanism(2) and improves recovery of the skin barrier.(3)” —Creating skin wellbeing by dopamine stimulation, Personal Care Magazine, September 2009

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

As an anti-inflammatory, Gingko biloba is known to mitigate a couperose condition of the skin by exerting a protective effect on blood vessel walls.

Ginkgo is well known for its antioxidant properties as a free radical scavenger and is therefore a highly beneficial anti-aging ingredient in skincare.

As an effective blood vessel dilator, ginkgo acts as a tonic, supports overall body blood circulation, and stimulates oxygen consumption by the tissues.

Gingko’s neuroprotective properties leads to better memory and concentration, even reduced ringing in the ears of the elderly.

Though the gingko tree has existed for approximately three hundred million years, their fossils having been found all over the world, it is one species of the tree—Ginkgo biloba—that has survived the violent climate shifts on the planet at the end of the Paleozoic era.

This long living tree has no known parasites or diseases and it lives a thousand years or more even in polluted areas. It survived the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. It was the first tree to resurface on the barren inhospitable site less than a kilometer from ground zero.

Ginkgo is somewhat of a sexual curiosity.

“While some plants possess both male and female reproductive parts simultaneously, ginkgo do not – individuals are either male or female. The stinky seeds for which the tree is famous develop only on females, appearing in the fall and dousing the ground with offspring.” —Oak Spring Garden Foundation, November 7, 2017

Traditional Chinese medicine makes use of the female tree’s seeds to fight asthma and other respiratory conditions.

Compiled about 206 B.C. to 220 A.D., the Chinese book on agriculture and medicine plants, the Shen Nung Pen T’sao Ching was first to recognize Ginkgo biloba’s positive effect on blood flow.

And the Dian Nan Ben Cao, the Materia Medica of Southern Yunnan, A. D. 1370, compiled by Lan Mao, seems to be the first to discuss the beneficial use of gingko leaves in skincare.

Since the discovery in 1932 of gingkolides, the biologically active terpenic lactones(4) present in Ginkgo biloba, gingko has been utilized in Western medicine—mainly for blood circulation support and memory stimulation—and the trees’ growth proliferated.

It’s no wonder that ginkgo is such a versatile and stalwart holistic ingredient in anti-aging skincare and remedies when you better understand the history and function of the tree. Gingko biloba passes on its eons-long records of survival and longevity information to your body and skin through its extract.

#####

(1) A fibroblast is a type of biological cell that synthesizes the extracellular matrix and collagen, produces the structural framework (stroma) for animal tissues, and plays a critical role in wound healing.[ Fibroblasts are the most common cells of connective tissue in animals.

(2) Shigetomi S., Fukuchi S. Recent aspect of the role of peripheral dopamine and its receptors in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Fukushima J Med Sci n° 40. 69-83, 1994.

(3) Fuziwara S., Suzuki A., Inoue K., Denda M. Dopamine D2-Like Receptor Agonists Accelerate Barrier Repair and Inhibit the Epidermal Hyperplasia Induced by Barrier Disruption. J Invest Dermatol n° 125. 783-789, 2005.

(4) Lactone: an organic compound containing an ester group —OCO— as part of a ring

T. K., Lim. Edible Medicinal And Non Medicinal Plants: Volume 3, Fruits. Netherlands, Springer Netherlands, 2012.

Tammaro A, Cavallotti C, Gaspari AA, Narcisi A, Parisella FR, Cavallotti C. Dopaminergic receptors in the human skin. J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2012 Oct-Dec;26(4):789-95. PMID: 23241131

DiNardo, Joseph C., and Michalun, M. Varinia. Skin Care and Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary. United States, Cengage Learning, 2014.

de Taillac, Victoire, and Touhami, Ramdane. An Atlas of Natural Beauty: Botanical Ingredients for Retaining and Enhancing Beauty. United States, Simon & Schuster, 2018.

Photo by Mieke Campbell at Unsplash

Natural High Tech Compound Easyliance: On Contact Skin Tightener and Smoothe

Easyliance is a smoothing, firming and tightening agent derived from acacia senegal gum(1) and hydrolyzed rhizobian gum. The two ingredients together create a synergistic skin firming action. It offers a smoothing and visible lifting effect within five minutes. For this reason, Easyliance is often used in products dedicated to skin tightening and smoothing like the Five Secrets Cream in PHYTO5’s serum and cream kit duo for a 3-week cure .

The Ageless line of skincare by PHYTO5 reveals the five secrets to Ageless beauty and younger looking skin, one of which is the action of filling lines from within. Easyliance in Ageless Eye Serum not only works to help boost skin’s elasticity, resulting in firmer, younger looking skin, it just as importantly helps tighten skin so that fine lines and wrinkles begin to fade within minutes.(2)

Easyliance is particularly effective around the eyes and mouth since the skin in these regions is thinner, more delicate and more sensitive and therefore tends to be prone to developing crow’s feet, wrinkles and marionette lines around the mouth.

Once the Easyliance powder product is formulated into the Serum, it works by creating an elastic film that covers the surface of the skin. As the product dries, it retracts and tightens the skin so that fine lines and wrinkles seem less noticeable after several minutes, in most cases, five. Its effect leads to a visible and immediate decrease of wrinkle depth, thus causing skin to appear smoother with a fading of fine lines.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

In clinical trials composed of a panel of twelve volunteers, Easyliance was proven to significantly decrease lines around the eyes for 96% of those who participated.(4) Their skin appeared firmer and younger with a noticeable and significant smoothing of the skin after one hour.

Located in Vernier, canton of Geneva, Switzerland, Easyliance’s manfacturer is Givaudan Active Beauty, a company dedicated to innovating sustainable solutions while showing its love for nature. The Easyliance product is created by means of a nature-respecting, innovative, proprietary and patented process.

Rhizobian gum
Rhizobian gum has elastic properties which produce a quickly perceivable lifting effect when applied in the eye contour area. It also improves the smoothness of skin. This hydrolyzed biopolymer is naturally produced by a microorganism living symbiotically in sunflower roots.

Acacia senegal gum
Acacia gum is a dried exudate(3) obtained from the stems and branches of the sub-Saharan African Acacia tree. It has always been sustainably utilized by the local population in a wide range of applications and is vital to the region’s economy. Acacia gum is harvested using good practices for sustainable production alongside educational programs reinforcing respect of the environment while harvesting.

Acacia gum used in Easyliance is naturally purified, preservative-free and is the same gum sustainably harvested from the region mentioned.

Acacia gum is also known as gum arabic, a gum exuded by some kinds of acacia, used in the food industry to thicken soft drinks, frozen desserts and candies. It is also a component in glue, watercolor paints and incense.

#####

Endnotes:

1. Genus Acacia, family Leguminosae: numerous species, including A. senegal, which yields gum arabic

2. Among other unique ingredients, beech tree bud extract is formulated in Ageless Eye Serum—a powerful extract formulated from naturally fallen beech tree buds which occur at a precise point in the more than 200 year old life of the tree; it's anti-aging, anti-wrinkle, moisturizing, revitalizing, firming, and protecting

3. A substance secreted by a plant

4. Clinical trial information detailed above is obtained by a .pdf fact sheet provided by the manufacturer.

Tormentil Extract for Skin and Body: Astringent, Antioxidant, Antibacteri

Tormentil extract, obtained from the root of the tormentil plant (Potentilla tormentilla), is a potent procyanidin considered to be an excellent herbal astringent and for this and other reasons is often used in cosmetic creams, lotions, hair tonics and facial clays. Tormentil extract is formulated in PHYTO5’s Eye Cream.

Procyanidins are polyphenols (plant compounds) and natural antioxidants abundant in fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and grains with a variety of chemopreventive biological effects in treating a variety of degenerative diseases. Within polyphenols, procyanidins are derived from proanthocyanidins, also known as condensed tannins. Procyanidins from tormentil possess potent antioxidant properties towards lipoperoxidation(2) and anti-elastase activity(3).

In other words, 1) tormentil’s procyanidins help prevent the process in which free radicals "steal" electrons from cell membrane lipids resulting in cell damage, and 2) they inhibit elastase activity in the dermis layer to maintain skin elasticity.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural bxeauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

The name tormentil is derived from the Latin tormentum meaning pain because it symbolized the plant’s potential for relieving stomach aches very long ago. But the plant is also known simply as potentilla, the four- and five-petaled golden yellow flowering plant that belongs to the rose family. (The first time it blooms each year have five petals and then four petals bloom thereafter.)

The yellowish-white rootstock of the plant, the rhizome, grows powerfully (the name Potentilla itself means ‘powerful’), irregularly and horizontally with long branching stems underground and the plant sprouts stems above ground in the Spring sunshine. When the rhizome is cut, its yellowish-white color turns to intense red and the fragrance released resembles that of the rose.

In tormentil’s rhizome are more tannins than can be found in almost any other plant and these tannins are very astringent (skin tightening). For this reason, tormentil is a potent anti-hemorrhagic (stops minor bleeding) and is also very smoothing to skin. Tannin rich tormentil also helps reduce enlarged pores. It can also help speed healing of wounds, burns and frostbite.

Because of tormentil’s mild antibacterial properties, its extract is used for dental or oral care.

Tormentil extract is also widely known for its ability to treat hemorrhoids and acute and chronic-inflammatory types of diarrhea like Colitis ulcerosa.

Tormentil was used as a cholera and plague remedy in the Middle Ages and later was very well regarded by the Elizabethans. But tormentil was known even before those times for its healing abilities. Polymath Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) prescribed tormentil quite frequently for healing purposes, writing the following in her renowned tome, Physica:

“Tormentil is cold. Its coldness is good and healthy and prevails against fevers which arise from noxious food. Take tormentil and cook it in wine, with a little honey added. Strain it through a cloth, and drink it frequently at night, on an empty stomach, and you will become well.”

Modern day polymath Alexander McCowan in “Plant of the Week: Common treatment for cholera and plague used for stomach problems” writes this about tormentil in his October 2020 article published by Cyprus Mail (see citation below):

“The plant forms a protective coating over the mucous membranes and has been used by herbalists for centuries to treat diarrhea, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, enteric irritations, vaginal infections, piles, laryngitis, pharyngitis, bleeding gums, mouth ulcers, slow healing wounds and scrofula (swollen lymphatic gland of the neck).”

#####

Endnotes:

(1)Tannins (commonly referred to as tannic acid) are water-soluble polyphenols that are present in many plant foods. Tannins possess an anticarcinogenic and antimutagenic potentials of that may be related to their antioxidative property, which is important in protecting cellular oxidative damage, including lipid peroxidation(2).

(2) Lipid peroxidaton: the process in which free radicals "steal" electrons from the lipids in cell membranes, resulting in cell damage

(3) Elastase is a proteinase enzyme that can reduce elastin by dividing specific peptide bonds. Therefore, the inhibition of elastase activity in the dermis layer can be used to maintain skin elasticity. Materials that can inhibit elastase activity can be a cosmetic ingredient in dealing with skin aging. — N. S. S. Ambarwati et al in “Anti-elastase activity of methanolic and ethyl acetate extract from Garcinia latissima Miq.” (full citation below)

Bos, M A et al. “Procyanidins from tormentil: antioxidant properties towards lipoperoxidation and anti-elastase activity.” Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin vol. 19,1 (1996): 146-8. doi:10.1248/bpb.19.146

Ambarwati, N. S. S. et al. “Anti-elastase activity of methanolic and ethyl acetate extract from Garcinia latissima Miq.” Journal of Physics: Conference Series vol. 1402, issue 5, 055079; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1402/5/055079/meta

McCowan, Alexander. “Plant of the Week: Common treatment for cholera and plague used for stomach problems.” Cyprus Mail. October 16, 2020. https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/10/15/plant-of-the-week-common-treatment-for-cholera-and-plague-used-for-stomach-problems/

Michalun, M.Varinia, and DiNardo, Joseph C.. Skin Care and Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary. United States, Cengage Learning, 2014.

D'Amelio, Sr., Frank S.. Botanicals: A Phytocosmetic Desk Reference. United States, CRC Press, 1998.

Rue, Emily A et al. “Procyanidins: a comprehensive review encompassing structure elucidation via mass spectrometry.” Phytochemistry reviews : proceedings of the Phytochemical Society of Europe vol. 17,1 (2018): 1-16. doi:10.1007/s11101-017-9507-3

Chung, K T et al. “Tannins and human health: a review.” Critical reviews in food science and nutrition vol. 38,6 (1998): 421-64. doi:10.1080/10408699891274273

Von Bingen, Hildegard. Hildegard's Healing Plants: From Her Medieval Classic Physica. United States, Beacon Press, 2002.

Hildegard. Hildegard Von Bingen's Physica: The Complete English Translation of Her Classic Work on Health and Healing. United States, Inner Traditions/Bear, 1998.

Photo of tormentil by Ivonne Wierink through canva.com

Keep Yourself Healthy, Prevent Illness and Age Gracefully: Energetic Winter Is the Perfect Time to Replenish the Function of Your Adrenal Glands–Keys to Preserving Energy Reserves In The Body

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the Water element is associated with the kidneys, bladder and adrenal glands. Considered the source of all energy or qi (chi) found within the body, the kidneys, with the assistance of the adrenal glands, store reserves of qi energy in the body to use later during times of stress and change. It is this balance of chi energy in the body that helps us to heal our bodies, prevent illness and age gracefully.

During the Winter months, we should allow our bodies to follow the cues of nature. These include rest, restoration, storage, conservation, reflection and meditation. One way to support our more mindful restoration practices at this time and to help promote a quantum healing response is to enjoy PHYTO5’s Water element quantum energetic line of skincare. Synergistic formulations comprised of high grade essential oils, plant extracts, minerals and vitamins are all designed to support many aspects of the challenges we face during traditional Chinese medicine’s energetic Winter.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the kidneys serve as the root of health all throughout our lives. They are the foundation of all yin and yang qualities in the body. Each kidney houses millions of tiny filters which diligently work to maintain proper balance of blood, salt and water in the body. The kidneys also produce waste as a by-product of this filtering process which becomes the basis for urine.

The Adrenal Glands

Of utmost importance to the function of the body are the adrenal glands which rest just on top of the kidneys and are only about the size of grapes.When the adrenals are supported, they allow for 1) balanced hormone flow throughout the body, 2) proper utilization of the hormones without over-expenditure, and 3) consequent prevention of depleting the body’s energy reserves.

In response to brain activity, the adrenal glands promote appropriate stress responses when we need them through the hormones cortisol,(1) adrenaline(2) and aldosterone.(3)

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique beauty tips and offers.

We might be depleting our stores of energy and exhausting our adrenal glands without even realizing it. We may find ourselves overreacting to negative occurrences in life, or we may often feel in overwhelm or paralyzed in response to life. Without an effective way to consciously and holistically respond to stress we leave the body on its own, unsupported, to deal with it purely physiologically. After many years of living in a constant state of stress this creates a persistent low-level release of these stress hormones into the body system and we can become exhausted and depleted.

To prevent this many years long activity of adrenal stress-response, it’s important that we periodically allow time for our adrenal glands to rest such as during energetic Winter. This season, of course, follows the many months preceding during which our bodies have had to deploy notable amounts of cortisol and adrenaline just to manage the daily stresses of life.

Women and Adrenal Fatigue

Especially for women who are mothers in the ‘modern age,’ women find they have to burn the candle at both ends to take care of their families. Not only do many women find they must pursue careers, they have to come home and make dinner, clean the house, wash clothes, and take care of children. It is safe to say that most women come in last on the list of who to take care of. There’s little time left for her to rest and restore.

This way of life requires an enormous expenditure of energy and it taxes the adrenal glands. By the time women enter menopause, they’re wrung out. At a time when they should be able to utilize their adrenal glands to help produce that extra estrogen output needed for the remaining years of their lives, they have no extra hormones left to use. And it is this depletion of the adrenal glands that makes the transition from menses to menopause so challenging for so many women.

If you suspect you have adrenal fatigue,

“The first step in optimizing adrenal health is to get to the bottom of how your adrenal glands are currently functioning. The best way to start on this process is to evaluate your symptoms, and if they appear to be related to adrenal function, request that your doctor order tests to measure levels of key adrenal hormones.” —Kathryn Simpson in Overcoming Adrenal Fatigue: How to Restore Hormonal Balance and Feel Renewed, Energized, and Stress Free

In her book mentioned above, Simpson goes on to list some of the ways in which adrenal fatigue might physically and emotionally manifest:

• excessive fatigue, exhaustion, feeling run down, low stamina

• difficulty recovering from exercise, stress, injury or illness

• salty and sweet food cravings

• feeling more energy in the evening

• waking up tired after having slept well

• interruptions in sleep

• difficulty concentrating

• being more highly susceptible to colds, flus and infections

• extreme sensitivity to cold

• consistent low blood pressure

• more severe symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and highly problematic menopause

• feeling unable to cope with stress

• overwhelm

…

Endnotes:

(1) a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex

(2) a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, especially in conditions of stress, increasing rates of blood circulation, breathing, and carbohydrate metabolism and preparing muscles for exertion; also called epinephrine

(3) a corticosteroid hormone which stimulates absorption of sodium by the kidneys and so regulates water and salt balance

…

Sources:

Counts, Mindi K. Everyday Chinese Medicine: Healing Remedies for Immunity, Vitality, and Optimal Health. United States, Shambhala, 2020.

Simpson, Kathryn. Overcoming Adrenal Fatigue: How to Restore Hormonal Balance and Feel Renewed, Energized, and Stress Free. United States, New Harbinger Publications, 2011.

Photo by Yan Krukov at Pexels