Health Hacks without Changing Diet or Exercise

Photograph of Raederle, summer of 2019

As may be evident from my articles over the last decade, I strongly advocate changing your diet if you want to see changes in your health. It is the fastest, most effective, and most important element of your life when it comes to how good you feel, how good you look, and how good every part of your body operates.

Tweet, February 2020

That said, it has been brought to my awareness that I have underestimated the power of many facets of life outside of diet and exercise. These two pillars of good health are not the only pillars, even though they are the most significant, with diet being central. However, even when it comes to improving digestion, changing what you eat isn't the only option, even if it is the most important one. And for someone like me, who has already tweaked and perfected my understanding of food and my relationship with food for nearly fifteen years now, my attention is frequently grabbed by these other restorative techniques. Without further ado, I present to you —

Powerful Health Hacks Without Changes to your Diet or Exercise!

Epsom Salt Baths

I used to highly underestimate epsom salt baths. Sure, you get more magnesium . . . Big deal, right? Just eat your greens and you'll have plenty of magnesium . . . Or so I thought. Epsom salt bathes do so much more for you than boost your magnesium. I don't entirely understand the science of it (and I suspect science at large doesn't either), but I've been astonished at how effective epsom salt baths are for flu symptoms (congestion, ear infection, sinus infection, etc), fatigue (circles under the eyes included), and even mood! I've gone into an epsom salt bath literally feeling so depressed I couldn't think of anything I wanted to do, to coming out of the bath feeling inspired and refreshed. I've got into an epsom salt bath feeling fatigued, aching, sore everywhere, stiff, and congested and come out with all of these cured!

How did I miss these benefits when I'd been taking epsom salt baths on occasion since I was a teenager? The primary reasons why I didn't notice these benefits was because I was using too little epsom salt. The stuff is cheap, so don't skimp! Put two or more cups into that bath! I read this recommendation as part of a protocol for bringing down bromide levels in the body, which I stumbled across when looking at how one could prevent the formation of cherry angiomas (little red blobs on the skin that resemble warts but are actually a ball of burst blood vessels). Taking epsom salt baths immediately after the appearance of these cherry angiomas on my body in addition to applying copiaba balsam essential oil to them was enough to make them go away again within a week. Usually cherry angiomas stick around for life, so I was quite impressed with this result. Unfortunately, I don't know if it would have worked if I had left off either the essential oils or the baths, but I've noticed benefits from either of these alone in other contexts, nonetheless.

The other important trick to getting the most out of your epsom salt bath is being sure to stay in the bath for at least twenty minutes, and ideally, give yourself a full hour and add hot water occasionally to keep yourself toasty. You can also add herbs, ginger slices, or essential oils for other benefits, which leads me to my next tip.

Essential Oils

The benefits of different essential oils vary, from lavender which does a better job at healing burns than aloe vera, to chamomile which has done better at healing my flaky scalp than any anti-dandruff shampoo I ever tried. Essential oils are easy to incorporate into any lifestyle.

Keep an essential oil in a particular place where you use it every time you encounter it in that place; it should be somewhere you go at least once a day, but aren't constantly passing by (and thereby becoming immune to the reminder to use it). For example, you could start a ritual of using copiaba balsam under your eyes whenever you use the bathroom to heal circles under your eyes, reduce wrinkles, and hydrate dry skin. You can keep a favorite blend near your bed to smell right before going to sleep to help you relax, and a stimulating blend — I like to include wintergreen – for waking.

Essential oils can cure asthma, depression, heal scars, and remove warts. I've experience numerous benefits first-hand, and heard many incredible stories second-hand from clients, friends, and family members.

While the initial cost of buying one may be steep for many oils, they last a long time because they are so concentrated. Many can be used just by smelling from the bottle without even pouring a drop out. And, many oils, such as tea tree and peppermint, are highly inexpensive while being highly versatile and potent. If you're currently using chemicals to freshen your clothing or home, just switching to essential oils blended with water in a spray bottle will improve your immune function and everyone who lives with you!

Blue-light Freedom & Red-light Therapy

Increase your restfulness at night, eliminate or reduce insomnia, eliminate or reduce eye-strain, and feel more energized by minimizing the blue light sources and increasing natural light sources in your life. There are so many different ways to do this, so here are two lists – one for reducing blue-light, and one for getting quality light:

5 Tips for Reducing Blue-Light Exposure

• Try blue-light blocking glasses for computer and phone use.
• Get a low blue-light, zero-flicker, computer monitor for your primary computer. I got mine for about $100 and was astonished at the improvement. My headaches abated, I could use my computer more often, I could focus better while using my computer, and I slept easier at night. I loved mine so much that I bought a second one for the household computer.
• If you enjoy e-readers, be sure to get an e-ink device and leave the light off, using ambient, full-spectrum lights in your room instead.
• If you're up late at night, use salt lamps to help you see your way to bathroom, or to socialize with your partner. Salt lamps are also said to increase negative ions in the air, which is a benefit. I loved my first salt lamp so much that I got five more within a few months! At night they keep the entire home eyeball-friendly.
• In addition to helpful gadgets, commit to having a blue-light “off time” every night. Put your phone away, turn off your computer, and stay blue-light free from that time onward. For example, your monitor-off time could be from 8pm to 6am, or from dusk until dawn for a very natural flow. This particular tip will also improve your memory, and self-reflection by giving you a slower, more relaxed pace around bedtime. By taking time to read*, socialize, or write in a physical journal, you'll be improving your health in dozens of different ways at once. (*You can use an e-ink e-reader during this monitor-off time since this is no added strain on your eyes and works almost identically to reading a typical book.)

4 Tips for Increasing Your Beneficial Red-Spectrum Light Exposure

• Practice sunrise observance through an open window, on a balcony, or porch each morning. Stand or sit facing the sunrise and watch for five minutes. This stimulates your pineal gland and helps reduce eye-strain, insomnia, and depression. This particular practice has always been correlated with the best, premium-performance parts of my life.
• Spend twenty minutes each morning and evening with a red-light therapy device. These lights mimic the same benefits as sunlight and have been shown in studies to promote cell repair and collagen production. I have yet to use one of these personally, but I've seen enough to be convinced they work.
• If you have a wood stove, spend time naked in front of the fire, letting the infra-red light (heat) soak deeply into your body. You'll especially notice the benefit if you face any sore muscles toward the fire and stretch these muscles while the light and heat soaks in. I love doing yoga naked in front of our fire for this reason!
• Sun bathe naked, without sunscreen, for short periods of time. Depending on your skin pigmentation, the right amount of sun exposure will vary. For me, being a “white mut” as I laughingly call myself, with 25% Italian in me (which helps a bit, I assure you), the right amount is ten minutes on each side. If I develop a subtle tan or am eating a fruitarian diet at the time, I can easily get up to twenty minutes on back and front each without any burning whatsoever. This brief, non-burning sun exposure produces vitamin D, improves mood, circulation, digestion, and combats depression and insomnia. I've actually had this simple practice fully eliminate serious stomach aches.

Photograph of Raederle and her husbands, summer of 2018

Touch – Especially Oil Massage

Whether it is through massage or cuddling, touching others releases oxytocin, a hormone with a multitude of benefits including improving your mood. If your touch does include massage, then you're also increasing lymphatic drainage. If you add some oil to the massage (such as olive oil or jojoba oil), you get the added benefit of “oil pulling” on your skin. Just like oil-pulling in the mouth, oil-pulling works all over your body, which is why Ayurveda has a multi-thousand-year tradition of full-body oiling for health. To further enhance your benefits, add a little essential oil to the massage. Tea tree can be diluted into oil for aiding troubled skin. Lavender can be added for stress, or sun damage. Peppermint can be added for muscular relaxation.

Water

I know some science-oriented people, and even many natural-path health gurus are dithering about the benefits or necessity of drinking water. It's become somewhat of a controversial topic, but for me the proof is in the pudding. . . . Or, well, actually, the proof is in the drinking of water. Ever had a headache go away from drinking water? If not, try it the next time you have a headache. This common folk-remedy is commonly known and used because it is effective and free. (Or at least, as free as water is for you.)

Water can help with cankersores, constipation, dry skin, headaches, fatigue, excess weight, and much more. In my personal experience I have “face palmed” literally hundreds of times because I was trying all of these fancy changes to my diet, exercise, and overall lifestyle to attempt to fix problems that were ultimately fixed by increasing my water intake. If you've got a health problem that could in any way conceivably be helped by drinking water, then try drinking more water first; you just might save yourself a lot of trouble.

I seem to do best with a minimum of two quarts of water per day, up to four quarts (which is a gallon). If drinking water quickly makes you feel queasy (as it does me), don't fret, just sip slowly over the course of the day. Take a sip of water right now.

Of course, ideally, avoid tap water and water from plastic bottles. I use a reverse osmosis system, and I'm not afraid of "empty water" because my diet and supplements are rich in minerals and electrolytes. However, if you are afraid of empty water, simply add a pinch of natural, unrefined sea salt to your quart of distilled or reverse osmosis water.

Air Quality

Many people experience a dip in their health during the winter and they attribute all of it to eating unhealthy foods during the holidays and lack of outdoor activities providing exercise. However, since I maintain nearly the same level of activity in the winter and I don't binge on unhealthy food during the holidays, I've thought it was remarkable how much my health plummeted in the winter. Most of this plummet I've been able to most effectively address by improving the air quality in my bedroom. Keeping a window open can help a lot, especially if you live in a rural area with plenty of evergreens. If this isn't an option, then my other tips become even more important. Here's my list of tips to improve your air quality even during the most stagnant part of the year:

5 Tips For Improving Poor Air Quality

• Keep a window near your bed open just a little. If possible, have two windows slightly open with your bed between the two windows to create a soft draft. If this is going to result in a significant heat loss, consider investing in a heat-recovery-ventilator. I have one installed beside my bed and I love it. Improving the air you breathe while you sleep will reduce insomnia and promote feeling (and being!) well-rested when you awaken.
• Get a water fountain for your bedroom or office. This will add a small amount of humidity and negative ions to the air. The ambient sound and appearance is also good for improving winter blues. You'll see mine occasionally in my videos; I adore it and run it all year round.
• Get a humidifier and run it on a timer. I run my humidifier for 15-minute bursts four to eight times per day to help with winter dryness. This helps abate itchy eyes, chapped lips, and sore throats. You'll want this both in your work area and in the place you sleep at night for maximum benefit.
• Get large-leaf house plants, or any house plants at all. Large-leaf plants produce more oxygen, however, they also require more frequent watering. In order to reduce my stress level I've opted for plants that require less water in recent years, but in general, having at least ten house plants makes a positive impact on air quality as well as visual appearance. My favorites are orchids and jade. Don't forget to get a plant or three for your workplace too!
• Use an air filter in your bedroom and another in your office (or wherever you spend your day). Everything off-gasses, from yoga mats to stained wood. Every thing you buy and put in your bedroom is putting off a small amount of chemical fumes into the air – unless you're only bringing organic cotton into your bedroom, fresh straw you harvested from the field for your bedding, and so on. When your windows are closed, these fumes build up slowly, creating a toxic environment which can cause acid reflux, indigestion, dizziness, headaches, and many other symptoms. Even your own gasses can build up in your room and give you headaches. Running a filter on low in your bedroom at all times helps mitigate these factors. I recommend placing the air filter far away from any windows that you open so that the filter can work on the air that isn't getting exchanged.

Of course, you can be most efficient about getting good air by going on a daily walk or jog in an area with trees on a daily basis. You'll get some exercise, some quality light from the sun, and good (or at least better) air at the same time. Bring some water with you, too. Then use some lavender essential oil if you got too much sun, or some copiaba balsam if the air was a bit drying. Or, hop into an epsom salt bath. :)

If you learned something from this article, please don't forget to subscribe below.

~ Raederle

The Consciousness Alchemist

Intrinsic Motivation Creates Productivity

People are often surprised by how much I’ve authored, illustrated, and overall published in my thirty-one years. Sometimes it astonishes me too, particularly when I think about how little time I spend “working” in contrast to most people.

One large difference between me and many of my peers is that I have the same understanding that Teal presents in this video, How to be Productive:

You can’t expect good results when you’re fighting with yourself.

If you hate what you’re doing, you’re not going to achieve maximum productivity. Furthermore:

Focus on your area of excellence.

When I was reading First, Break All The Rules, I learned that studies have confirmed something I’ve always intuitively known:

You have a greater capacity for improving the area you already excel in than you do for improving your weak points.

Savvy business professionals today know that they’re better off investing their time, energy, and resources into their strengths and the strengths of their employees. There isn’t much to be gained by investing the same time, energy, and resource into someone’s weaknesses because they simply won’t improve that much. Yet when you invest the same amount into someone’s strengths they rapidly soar far, far, far above average. This increases an individual’s enjoyment of life and their work while simultaneously contributing more to human society at large.

Enhancing Strengths, Managing Weaknesses

Weaknesses can’t be ignored completely, so they have to be managed through awareness and compensating factors. For example, if you’re poor at being polite then you may need to have someone else communicate politely for you, such as a secretary. In contrast, investing two months into improving your “nice-ness” may or may not be particularly valuable, particularly when you can invest those same two months into your primary skill instead. You will struggle to gain ground with your weaknesses, particularly if you’ve already tried before to improve those areas of your life without much fruit. I’m not saying you should entirely abandon anything you aren’t immediately good at – obviously everyone needs the ability to communicate, to receive intimacy, to maintain their health, and so on. But the largest investment should go into your strengths. Your strengths can shine!

Your natural inspiration, motivation, inclinations, and desires will lead you in the direction of your strengths anyway, so you don’t actually have to do much to ensure this happens. Rather, you must simply stop trying so hard to fix your so-called flaws.

Following my inspiration to tie-dye clothing.

A Natural Disposition for Productivity . . . That Disguises Itself as Being Recalcitrant

I’ve always been really resistant to working on my flaws, as well as really resistant to doing things that didn’t intrinsically motivate me. And when I say “really resistant” – I mean that I could hardly bring myself to do these things when it was really vital for me to do so. I’ve struggled terribly with being anyone else’s employee because I need my own internal motivation behind my actions to achieve any level of productivity. Often my intrinsic desires have seemed counter to being productive, but I’ve followed them anyway. For example, sometimes I feel like painting all day and I have no particular intention for how the art will improve my life or my skills. Yet most of the art I've created has ended up going into my board games at some point in time, even as much as ten years after I originally created the art.

Following my inspiration to paint.

Whenever I’ve tried really, really hard to focus on “productive” things that I didn’t feel intrinsically motivated to do, my productivity would briefly spike (for maybe a day), and then plummet to nothing thereafter. In other words, something about my psychological makeup has rendered me incapable of doing anything but what Teal suggests in the aforementioned video. Let me give you the cliff notes from the video in case you don't feel like watching it:

Some of Teal's Productivity Tips

1. Intrinsic motivation. When your behavior is driven by internal rewards, you will be productive.
2. Act on inspiration immediately. One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they don’t ride the wave of intrinsic motivation fast enough.
3. Deal with resistance the minute it arises.
4. Do what you are excellent at.
5. Don’t think in terms of hours; think in terms of results.
6. Focus on the first priority item all the way to completion until moving on to the next.
7. Become aware of where your energy is going.
8. Delegate appropriately.
9. De-clutter.
10. When you feel a lull in productivity happening, stop and re-evaluate.
11. Create systems.
12. Embrace struggles.

Want all of Teal's productivity tips? There are fifteen in this video: How to be Productive, and she expands more on the importance of valuing results over time in this video: Do You Want Success? Don't Value Your Time.

My Personal Production

Because my physiological makeup prevents me from doing anything other than what is outlined above, my creations often astonish people. I have been frequently called a “polymath” which is a term meaning a person with multiple significant talents. In truth, I'm not more capable than other people. In fact, being a highly sensitive person who is also on the autism spectrum has made my weaknesses very pronounced. (I expand some on my personality and its limitations on my post about being an INFJ and HSP.)

In my thirty-one years on this planet – it's now February 2020 as I write this – I’ve authored two recipe books, four nutritionally complete meal plans (which are also, in essence, recipe books), a comprehensive nutritional guide, a travel book on budgeting time and money, two intense strategy games (and two expansions), one party game (and five expansions), one light strategy game (that doubles as a recipe book), one shadow work process called Perspective Alchemy, and one coloring book. Within the next couple years I expect to publish at least one more board game or book, and as many as four if I am particularly inspired.

Editor's Note: Only a couple weeks after first writing this, I released the Alchemy Workbook.

My creations.

I didn’t struggle or suffer to illustrate my books, to photograph my recipes, to write my knowledge, to balance my games, or even to edit my work. I enjoy all of these processes so much that I do them for their own sake. The only tip on Teal’s list I’m failing to follow is delegation. (Well, that, and making lists. That tip actually didn’t work for me in the past; I found that lists robbed me of my internal motivation because I was trying to use the list as external motivation.) If I were to delegate someone else to sales and product management . . . That would be very smart. Are you good at that? Maybe you should apply to me for a job!

So which of these tips have you been following? How are they working for you? Visit my youtube channel to leave me a comment.

Blessings,

Raederle Phoenix

The Consciousness Alchemist

A Lovely “Coincidence”

PS: Within ten minutes of posting this article, facebook decided to show me a photo of me painting that I shared three years ago on this same day.

And, astonishingly, here is the very relevant captain I wrote for the photo:

Painting is a practice in consciousness. Like most presence-enhancing experiences, it feels like a “waste of time” to the part of us that craves significance, productivity, and accomplishment. The trick is getting that part of you on board with your child-like, creative, spontaneous, and present aspects of self.

To achieve this, set being incredibly present as a goal. Make it an achievement to spend time being present. Start viewing meditation as accomplishment, and zen activities as part of what makes you significant. If you can make this shift in perspective, then you can get your activity-addicted aspects on board with your present-playful aspects.

For me, one way I can do this is through painting. The part of me that wants “productivity” can see the paint spreading across the paper and feel that something is being “accomplished.” Meanwhile, my spontaneous, creative side is having a blast with color. While my calculating aspect wants me to be present with the paint-brushes because they were expensive and I don't want to ruin them, my creative side wants me to be present with the brushes because it makes more beautiful artwork.

This “allying process” of internal aspects of self is called integration. This is a key process that is at the heart of Consciousness Alchemy.

Costa Rica Travel Preparations: Linen!

In preparing to go to Costa Rica I read many travel blogs. I was looking for packing list ideas, and of course, safety precautions. Of course, it's going to be hot and humid, which is part of what I love about the tropics. (If you're a student of Ayurveda you may recognize the vata in me needing warmth and moisture!)

In preparation for the weather, I've been looking at linen. Linen is a traditional fiber used by humans for thousands of years. It comes from flax. The lovely flax plant has been used as a source of both food and fiber, using the seeds as meal and oil, and the fiber to make fabric. Flax, unlike cotton, doesn't require the use of massive amounts of pesticides, so I feel comfortable with buying linen that isn't certified organic (which is nearly impossible to find anyhow – why bother certifying something that has such a cleaner process to begin with?).

I've been collecting a few linen items at thrift stores, but a huge problem for me with shopping for linen in this way is the smell. Thrift stores like Salvation Army use a terribly strong chemical detergent. I bought a lovely bag of clothes for around $40 in the summer, mainly consisting of silk and linen items I'd been delighted to find (while wearing my mask!) and then been highly disappointed when a simple run (or seven) through the wash didn't get the clothing wearable. So I resorted to soaking them in bathtub in our solarium for days on end, and then washing them again, and airing them outside. The smell is now mostly gone, so hopefully the linen I found in the summer will be wearable for the trip.

My wedding dress (photoed above, from my marriage to Greg in 2016) is linen, consisting of actually two dresses. I realized this past summer that the cream-colored under-dress actually is a great piece on its own (photo below), particularly when we're having a 100ºF day! So I'm definitely packing that! (The over-dress is a bit heavier, so I'm leaving that at home.)

In addition, I went onto Etsy and shopped for the most economical U.S.-based shops selling linen that I could find and ordered a few more pieces. My favorite finds were Sandara Eco based in California, and Linen Simply based in Massachusetts.

My hope is that my entire bag of clothes (excepting my PACT-brand panties and socks of organic cotton) will be linen, which is lighter, wicks sweat better, and gets less smelly. Equipped with my own home-blended essential-oil clothing freshener, I should be able to lay out my clothes at night, spray them, and have them feel fresh for days.

In my reading of travel blogs I became a bit paranoid about theft for a while, but then I realized I probably don't have to worry since my path is so straight-forward. I'm only going to two locations: Philia Retreat Center, for my Completion Process Practitioner training, and then afterward, La Joya del Sol for some tropical, raw food rejuvenation. And, Lytenian is coming with me! We're finally going to have a honeymoon – in our tenth year of marriage! We'll be enjoying a week together walking paths and enjoying tropical foods! (I have two husbands. Full story here.)

Some of you might be wondering why I need Completion Process training when I already authored my own process, Perspective Alchemy. The answer is that I probably don't need the training, but I expect I will still learn a lot, gain confidence, and of course, gain the certification. I know some of you may also be thinking I don't need more confidence since I already seem so self-assured, but there is a huge difference between putting up a very convincing front and having deep, inner confidence. Beautifully, the Completion Process (and any Consciousness Alchemy, really) helps build that deep, inner confidence for both the facilitator and the participant. Not to mention, the trip is going to be so fun and validating! I will probably experience the most heart-to-heart, mind-to-mind connections of my life during this training, as the other thirty to fifty participants in the training will also be on this same healing path of being and becoming healers of bodies and consciousness itself.

On a different line of travel preparations, I tried to find a eco swimsuit for my journey. I already have some swim gear, but most of it doesn't fit well, or is sagging, or is falling apart, or falls off too easily. (The swimsuit shown above has since stopped being functional.)

I have a single swim shirt that I like but the bottoms I got at the same time (around ten years ago) fell apart. Also, the swim shirt is too short and my back got a sunburn on the lower, exposed part when I wore it to swim on the nude cruise back in February, 2018. Yes, I wore a swim shirt on a nude cruise, as shown below. (I'm photographed with a friend I made on the cruise there. Good-looking guy, huh? He was also very kind and courteous.)

To my delight, a lot of eco-friendly swim options exist now. Some companies actually clean the oceans by collecting plastic from them and then recycle that plastic into swimsuits! Amazing! Many of them offer really sexy, beautiful swimsuits too.

Unfortunately, none of these companies offered the sort of full-cover shirt and bottoms I was looking for. (Well, one offered one that I thought was ugly and difficult to match for $80 and they were sold out of my size anyway.) I was hoping for long-sleeves, a little neck protection, full torso coverage, and matching shorts that went down to about my knees. Ideally, in a fun paisley-purple pattern!

So, after thoroughly stressing out about the issue for a day, I had a small epiphany: I can just wear my cotton sports bra and matching underwear that already look like a swimsuit. (The actual bra and panties I'm referred to are seen in my latest youtube video where I made a trench coat from upcycled jeans. It's kinda like an Easter egg in the video, although you can't miss it if you watch the whole video.) Since the cruise, I have discovered that I can wear Badger sunscreen safely (YES! YES! WOOT!), so I no longer actually have to cover up completely while swimming anyhow, and furthermore, I can throw on a linen dress when I get out of the water which will be quick-drying. So there is a whole solution where I don't have to pay $80-$90 for a swim shirt I don't really like that much and then another $50 for some swim shorts that I also don't like that much. I mean, the thing is, even though eco-polyester is better for the planet, I still hate wearing polyester at all, so I feel really relieved and happy about having come to this solution.

A big digital hug to all my friends, fans, and followers who are a "J" on the J/P axis of Myers-Brigs! (I'm an INFJ.) I already feel like I'm in last-minute pack mode even though my trip is five weeks away! (This may also sound like Enneagram type One, but I've concluded I'm actually a type Four.)

Love & blessings,

Raederle Phoenix