013: Christmas is a time for giving... and aromatherapy!

Merry Christmas! Hi everyone, how are you all? Thank you so much for joining me on another episode of this podcast. Can you believe it's only 2 weeks today until Christmas Eve. What the actual eff is going on? This year has absolutely flown over, hasn't it? Like, I don't know where it's gone. And I mean, let's just hope that we get a normal Christmas this year as well and hope that the government don't try and lock us down again. If you've been watching the news and you're in the UK, you'll know exactly what I'm on about. Bloody hell. Anyway, what have y'all been up to this week? I've had some amazing messages from you fab lot on Instagram and TikTok as per usual, so thank you all so, so much. I'm actually surprising myself that I'm getting through them all and responding to every single one as well. But yeah, it's super nice to be able to connect with you all, and you're all bloody vocal too, like telling me what episodes you love, which ones you weren't so keen on. But keep it coming. I mean, I'm absolutely loving all the feedback that I get. And I know last week in my podcast as well— pardon me, that was my tummy— I know last week in my podcast I spoke about manifesting wealth and abundance And one of the ways that I spoke about was to give to others in need to magnetize the money coming back to you. We all know by this point that you get back everything you give out. So when you give out positivity, you get positivity returned to you. And if you give out negativity, we get negativity back in boatloads. We are magnets in this universe, and I've spoke about that many a time. So when you give out money, you're basically saying to the universe, "I've got more than enough, so much so that I can give some of it away." And then the universe then opens the floodgates and vast amounts of money should come back to you. So this week, my PT Adam put on his Instagram that he and the rest of the gym were going to be supporting a local charity this Christmas, which helped homeless families around the area of Newcastle that we're in. And don't get me started because It pisses me off that the government and the councils barely do anything for these causes, and it's always left to fundraising. But yeah, leave that to one side. But anyway, Adam put on a post stating that for every single £1 donation he received, he would do one burpee. So if you're not into the gym life and you need bringing up to speed, I mean, YouTube it if you really want to, but a burpee is the devil's punishment for being fat, basically. You basically start stood up straight and then as quick as you can drop to the floor to the point that your chest is touching the floor and then you've got to push yourself back up and jump back to your feet before jumping into the air and that counts as 1 rep. So you do that over and over and over again and Adam, Josie, and Ben at the gym usually have us doing these as part of a, a bigger workout so you'll be lifting like really heavy weights and then performing several burpees over the bar when you put it down. They are absolutely rotten. The burpees, not the trainers. And I hate them so much, they're the worst thing ever. Anyway, I'm being sidetracked with explaining what a friggin' burpee is. Where was I at? Oh yeah, so for every £1 raised, Adam is going to do a burpee on Christmas Eve live on Instagram. I'm going to pop the donation link in the show notes just in case anybody else wants to do something glorious this Christmas and donate to a charity. And I would normally give maybe £10, £20 if it was a charity close to home, but taking my own advice from last week's podcast episode and feeling good about it, I talked myself into giving a little more generously. So I thought, why not? I donated £50. And when I did it, I felt really good about what that meant for the charity, what that could buy homeless families, how that money was going to be spent, and that kind of thing. It really like made me feel good about giving, and I didn't feel as though it was a sacrifice because then I'd feel bad about it. I genuinely felt good for having helped a charity and actually being in a position that I could do that and I could donate to them. And sure enough, not even 2 hours had passed and my phone buzzed and a huge order came in on my website for someone in Australia and it amounted to over £320. So that to me is the law of attraction at work. Like, I'm going to have a bit of a house clear out this week as well, because at the gym they're also holding a donation box for clothes, food, toiletries, that kind of thing. So I think if I can donate more stuff that's just sat around my house not doing anything, then why not? And similarly to the wardrobe clear out that I did, I think it was back in episode 5 or episode 6, I think it was Making Space to Manifest More. Like I said, when you make a space in your daily living you are letting the universe know that you're ready to receive more to replace it. And believe me, I'm bloody ready. So if you've listened to past episodes, you'll also know that I've been attempting to manifest a Range Rover. I want a Discovery Sport Urban model, please, universe. Thank you very much. And last weekend, I went with one of my friends to a showroom in Newcastle because they had the model in that I wanted. Anyway, it turns out it wasn't the model that I wanted, but after sitting down with the salesman and going through it all, he said that because of the pandemic, they had to close their factories last year and they are now dealing with a 12 to 16 month wait on certain models. 12 to 16 months. Like, I'm going to be a year and a bit older, um, mine being one of them. So that absolutely won't stop me from still meditating on it and manifesting driving one. You never know, I could win one in a competition or miraculously be made aware of an ex-demo or something at another branch, something like that. I'm not losing hope just yet, although I did visualize me driving to my mom's house on Christmas Day in it and the pride I felt showing her it. But hey ho, maybe I wasn't specific enough. Maybe it's going to be next Christmas, who knows? Anyway, stay tuned for that when it comes. God, I ramble on sometimes, don't I? Anyway, where was I at? This week I wanted to talk a little about aromatherapy. Which I've briefly touched upon in a previous episode. Can't remember which one, but I've been fascinated learning about it in more detail over the last couple of weeks. So when I started Canny Crystals, the candles that I chose to sell were aromatherapy candles, but I had very limited knowledge about aromatherapy. So I asked one of my friends who is trained in aromatherapy, and she went through it with us, and she helped us choose which scents I choose for each outcome. So for example, I sell a peppermint and clove candle, which is called Creativity, because peppermint and clove are two of the scents and oils that are really strongly associated with focusing the mind and being productive, which in turn will feed into and enhance creativity. Ta-da! So like I say, I had very limited background knowledge, and a couple of weeks back, I saw this really pretty aromatherapy diffuser on a friend's story on Instagram. And I messaged him and I asked him where he got it from. So he sent us the link and it was a little on the expensive side and all the oils that you had to buy separately and things like that. So I started looking at alternatives but I just couldn't find one that looked as nice as that or had as good reviews. So I added it to my basket but I didn't get like checked out and off I went into the bath and I sharply just forgot about it. So anyway, the next day I had an email from this website stating, we noticed you didn't check out, here's a 20% off voucher for first purchase. So I went online and I looked at it and I thought, you know what, let's treat myself. Don't often treat myself, so I bought it and it's come and I absolutely love it. I can't explain. If you've got one, you'll know exactly what I mean. So you basically pop a few drops of your oil into about the equivalent of a can of water. I think it's about 300ml of water, and it starts misting and blowing out the oil as mist into the air. Smells absolutely amazing. I've tried a few. I've tried like the peppermint and the clove, and I've been sleeping with like the lavender and the chamomile ones and stuff like that. But oh my God, they make your room smell amazing as well. So even if you don't want them for aromatherapy, they're just nice as like a room diffuser. Anyway, I've not been sleeping too well lately, so I looked up some oils to help you sleep and what the best scents are. And a couple of the ones that came up trumps are lavender, chamomile, ylang-ylang So for a few nights now, I've been putting a few of these drops into my diffuser, and it has this little night mode where it just constantly and gently pumps out the mist overnight without any noise, by the way. It's really, really quiet. And I swear to you, I have never slept so well in my entire life. I just feel so rested at the moment, and I honestly think that might be why. It's been a great little purchase anyway, and I would totally recommend. But anyway, back to aromatherapy in general. You don't need one of these fancy diffusers to experience and practice aromatherapy. It's been around for years, way longer than these diffusers have. So it's just basically plant and natural oils and extracts that, that are used in some way to promote health and well-being within you. Some people will call it essential oil therapy, so you might have heard of that term too. But like I say, I found great benefits in this lately, and I'm going to keep on with it, and I'm going to try other oils as well see what benefit they have too. So the set I got has, I think it's like 22 different oils in it. I think I've used 6, so I'm just over a quarter of the way through them. But yeah, they're really, really, really nice. And I'm going on about these friggin oils, aren't I? For those of you that love a bath, you can just grab yourself some essential oils and whack a couple of drops into the running water as you run your next bath, and the oils basically evaporate into the air and. And then when you breathe them in, your body reaps the benefits. So humans have used like aromatherapy for thousands of years now. It's in loads of old textbooks. In fact, ancient cultures like in China, India, Egypt, they basically incorporate aromatic plant components in things like resin, balms, oils. And these were then used for medicinal purposes and religious purposes. And were known to have both physical and psychological benefits. And now, obviously, as we know, medicine became more established in the 19th century, and then— this isn't a history lesson, by the way, I'm just giving you a bit of background— and then the focus was therefore on using chemical drugs. However, the French and the German doctors still recognized the role of natural botanicals in treating illnesses, and they carried on using it, and that's why we have aromatherapy. So the term aromatherapy was first used by— it was a French perfumer— I don't know his name— and a chemist. And in a book he wrote on the topic that was published, I think it was 1937 off the top of my head, um, and he'd previously discovered this healing potential of lavender in treating burns on the skin. And so his book focused around the use of essential oils in treating medical conditions. Then he found out, I think it was, that tea tree and chamomile could soothe skin conditions So this is when it first started, and it's just gradually built up over the years. So it's been around for— this is quick math— 85 years now, just under 85 years, 84 years. And obviously you can use like oils alone, or you can use them in a combination like I've been doing with the lavender, chamomile, and ylang-ylang at night. Some combinations don't smell particularly nice together, so maybe if you are going to try this put a drop of each in a bowl first and give them a whiff to test. There are nearly 100 types of essential oils available, and generally people use the most popular ones. You can buy them online, in health food stores. I think, like, what's that health food store? Holland and Barrett. I think they sell them, uh, if you're in the UK, that is. And in some supermarkets as well, like, I know Tesco sell them, for example, here in the UK because I've seen them. Um, but each essential oil has an array of unique healing properties, uses, and effects. And it's said to manage pain, improve sleep quality, reduce stress, agitation, anxiety, um, they can soothe sore joints, treat headaches and migraines, improve digestion, boost immunity, amongst other things. For example, like, have you ever had toothpick— toothpick? Toothache, and then you've used clove oil to take away the pain. Clove is used widely to alleviate pain and ease any form of physical hurting across your body. Or if you've had like aching joints, for example, you might have like a muscle soak, like bubble bath or something like that, like the Reodox ones that you can get for quite cheap in supermarkets and stuff. Other brands are available, other supermarkets are available as well. Um, but yeah, like you can get like the Reodox muscle soaks and stuff like that. But they— if you look at the ingredients on the back, they've just got essential oils in them. That's all it is. It's just basically aromatherapy. So as I said, it works through the sense of smell and skin absorption using products such as diffusers like the one I have. Some people use inhalers— make sure you get like proper ones though— bath salts, body oils, creams, clay masks, even lotions for like massages and things like that. And you can use essential oils in any way that you like, but obviously don't sit there and drink them. But for example, like, add them to body lotions and then apply them to your skin. You could try enhancing a facial toner or shampoo or conditioner with essential oils. Like, you've probably seen, like, tea tree oil shampoos, for example. You can get them for things like eczema and psoriasis on your scalp, or even just a dry and flaky scalp, and they'll help out. You could even incorporate them into liquid soap or put something like clove oil in a toothpaste or mouthwash, like I say, for toothache. You can also diffuse or spritz oils around a room, like in a little spray bottle, or just pour them into your bath, like I say. As a general warning, obviously do your own research to see if oil is safe to put on your skin or in your mouth or sprayed around the room. I would hate for someone to be sat there listening to this podcast on their oil-stained bed with a swollen face because they've sprayed neat oil around the room and put some in their eyes thinking it's going to cure them. Anyway, if you're in doubt about anything, you might want to meet with a certified aromatherapist, especially when you're first getting started out with aromatherapy, or if you have any specific issues that you'd like to go through. You can usually find out your own information by using Google, or you can like even Google an aromatherapist in your area, but but most places that do massages will have some background knowledge of aromatherapy, or they'd be at least be able to point you towards someone else to speak about it. Obviously, I'm not a doctor, and since aromatherapy is a complementary therapy, just as a legality, you should talk to your doctor before starting anything like this. Don't just take my word for it. And then that way, at least your essential oil therapy can be tailored to work together with any medical care or treatment that you're currently receiving. There's plenty of information available online or in books if you do want to treat yourself at home, and there are also courses that you can take to learn more about aromatherapy. There's loads of free ones online, I know, uh, but just remember, like any form of medicine, there can always be side effects as well. So you'll find that most essential oils are safe to use, but there are some precautions that you should take when using them. As well as some side effects that you should be aware of, especially if you take any prescription medications. So like I touched on earlier, don't apply them directly to your skin. Always use something to dilute the oils as well. So remember to do a skin patch test before you start using them. So dilute one down and then put a tiny little dot on the inside of your elbow or something like that. Uh, some citrus essential oils, they might make your skin more sensitive to the sun. So obviously these oils should be avoided if you're going to be exposed to sunlight and you're going sunbathing and you go to the beach or something like that. Not that you would right now with it snowing outside. Ugh. Anyway, side effects of using oils can include things like rashes. You can even get headaches. Some people might have allergic reactions. Some people might just get skin irritation, but just keep an eye out for those if you do start using them. They're the main kind of side effects. But overall, the benefits that people experience from using certain essential oils are amazing. So my friend who had the diffuser on his story said that he's been suffering a lot lately from like anxiety and stress and worry, and he started using oils like chamomile and lavender and rose and bergamot in his diffuser, and he said that it's made such a big difference. So he said he'll just sit there in front of it while meditating and he lets the vapors into his body and he just feels a sense of calm wash over him. And I think that's amazing, like all that just from an oil. And you only need a few drops as well. So when I've been putting the lavender in and stuff to help me on a night, I maybe put 3 drops in and I'm out like a light within minutes. And the oils are only a few pounds each too, but they do last you ages. So the one I got, I said like I've got a pack of 22 I think it was about £15, so works out about like 70p a bottle. But anyway, I'll stop blabbing on about aromatherapy now, but give it a little try. You might really, really benefit from it, or at least do a little bit of research on it and have a look, see if it's for you. And what else have I got to talk about today? I haven't really got a lot to talk about today, to be honest. I'm quite kind of like drying up. I'm winding down for Christmas. Um, I do have a bit of new product news for you too as well, something just coming in the new year. Drum roll please, uh, I've created my own— there's 3 of them— uh, Canny Crystal journals. So the— these are basically at the last stage of being designed, but I'm hoping to have them available and on my site in January. Don't hold me to that because they are taking a lot longer than expected, but there's going to be 3 in total. But I'm really excited about them anyway. So they're going to consist of a manifestation journal a well-being journal, and a productivity journal. So the manifestation journal is— that's going to incorporate manifestation techniques in a kind of a diary and journal format with daily affirmations based around your manifestations. It's going to have positive quotes, gratitude logs, that kind of thing. Anything that can basically help you manifest what you want to in life, um, taking your goals, splitting them down into manageable daily tasks tasks, that kind of thing, and to-do lists. And then the Well-Being Journal, that's going to incorporate a mood tracker as well as asking you to list things that you're being grateful for, what was the best thing that happened to you that day, meditation exercises, coloring in, worry and anxiety relief techniques, that kind of thing. And then finally, the last journal is a Productivity Journal, and that's perfect for those of you that live hectic lifestyles but struggle to get shit done, and instead you spend your time sat on your phone scrolling social media or playing games, and that'll help you to focus on the tasks at hand. I mean, talking of hectic lifestyles, I don't think I live a hectic lifestyle at the moment, but I do find that I get to the end of the day and I'm almost like, what have I done today? Or I'll write myself a list of things that I need to get done throughout the day, and then I end up getting sidetracked, or I'll end up speaking to someone a lot longer than I was going to or a lot longer than I planned to, or a task will take us a lot longer. And then I'll probably beat myself up at the end of the day when I haven't got everything done. Or sometimes I'll have to sacrifice like going to the gym by, I don't know, like packing orders or updating the website or recording my podcast or something like that. And I'll beat myself up about that being like, well, the gym is for my own well-being and I've just taken that away from myself. Do you know what I mean? So this productivity journal basically will help you keep on track if You're that kind of person. But yeah, I'm super excited about them and I can't wait to launch them. I've got Johnny working away on them like he's in a Chinese sweatshop. I was wanting to launch them before Christmas, but like I say, I don't want to launch anything that I'm not 100% satisfied with. I'm not saying that they're not amazing, but they're not there yet, if that makes sense. The design and that, the content and that is amazing. I just need them properly designed and that's why I've got Johnny involved. So I didn't want to launch something that I'm not 100% satisfied with. So I'm holding back a little until they're perfect. To go. Also, as well as that, next week will be my last podcast before my 2-week Christmas hiatus. So I'm actually spending Christmas Day alone this year. Get the violins out, please. Normally I go to my mom's and Johnny goes over to Northern Ireland, and then either he comes back on the Boxing Day or I'll fly out there to spend a few days out there as well. But this year my mom got her shifts late So I'd already booked my flights out to Northern Ireland on Boxing Day, and then my mum found out that when she actually got her shifts that they've put her into work on Christmas Day. So a little bit sad, she can't get it off. So what we're going to do is we're going to have our Christmas Day and food and stuff on Christmas Eve, but then it just means that Christmas Day I'll wake up at my mum's, and then once she goes to work, I'll be all on my own. So yeah, so I'm probably just going to come home and to be honest, it'll be nice to just have a day to myself to just chill and pack my case for Northern Ireland and stuff. Watch some trash TV, no doubt, and probably eat God knows how much chocolate. Sorry if anyone from the gym's listening. And then New Year, we're going to a big outdoor celebration down the Quayside in Newcastle at a riverside bar. We went a couple of years ago. Back end of 2019, I think it was, and it was amazing. It was really, really good. So I don't think I'll be in a fit enough condition to record my podcast that week, so the next episode will probably be my last until the 7th of January. I honestly don't know where this year's bloody gone. So yeah, anyway, please, if you have any questions for the podcast and you want to send us a message, get in touch. You can reach me @canny_crystals on TikTok and Instagram. Or you can reach me on my personal, which is @marttweedy. All links are in the show notes. You can drop me a message, let me know what you think about this podcast. I'm always up for hearing your thoughts on how I could improve it. And please, if you haven't done already, don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast and tell all your friends about it. Don't forget to visit my website as well, cannycrystals.co.uk, and I'll see you all next Friday. Thanks guys, bye!