Amethyst Heart Wellness Spa

Emeralds! The birthstone of May! What makes these stones so special? For starters emeralds are one of the rarest stones! These rich, green beauties are most often mined in Brazil, Colombia, Afghanistan, and Zambia. It's beautiful green color has been loved for many years as the embodiment of Spring itself or even as a city completely made of the gemstone. The Wizard of Oz wasn't the only one to appreciate this stone though! These stones were originally mined from Egypt as early as 300 B.C. They even made their appearance as jewelry in ancient Greece! These stones were so popular in the ancient world that they were even brought across the sea when the Spanish came to South America. Being so beloved, these stones were seen as the protection of the Gods to the nobility of India. However they weren't just used for jewelry, these stones are known for their powers of curing disease and protection from evil itself. As a symbol of the Goddess Venus this stone is said to gra

Pros and Cons of flavored water! Is flavored water good for you? Well, it depends. Again like most things about our bodies it's kind of complicated! What does it depend on? What is it flavored with? Is there added sugar? Is it carbonated? What your water is flavored with plays a HUGE part of if it's actually healthy for you or not. There are many people that love putting different fruits, vegetables, or even herbs in their water! Those can be very good for you in terms of getting your vital vitamins and minerals along with some natural sugar to give you that little pick-me-up! However, there are many flavored waters that use artificial ingredients in their flavorings. What does that mean? Chemicals. While if we're speaking technically everything has a chemical make-up, there is a major difference between natural chemicals and those that are artificially created. If your store-bought water is naturally flavored it will be much better for you, but it's good to k

Did you know that it is possible to drink too much water? Did you know that you can get "drunk" off of water? What?! How?! Well, that's not exactly what it is. There's a *very* rare thing that happens when you drink too much water too quickly. It gives you a feeling of intoxication or you may even experience the same symptoms as heat stroke and exhaustion! Sounds crazy, right? It is. This really only happens to those who drink liters upon liters of water in one sitting, so it's really not too easy to do. What's really going on is something called hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is really talking about your sodium levels. When you drink too much water far too quickly your body is basically drowning out any sodium you might have. It's kind of the same concept of when you're bloated, that means that you're retaining too much sodium, so you drink lots of water to even it out. Except much, much more extreme. When there isn't enough sodium in your

Ananda Balasana or more commonly (and easier to pronounce) Happy Baby pose! This pose is not only a personal favorite for the name, but also for how it opens up the hips and provides a deeper stretch. This light-hearted stretch promotes stretching of the lower spine and inner thigh area. It is a wonderful pose for those suffering from cramps, endometriosis, or general lower back pain. This pose, however, should not be done by those with neck or knee problems or those who are pregnant. It can put too much stress on the neck or lower back area and cause more discomfort. This is how the pose is done: First you'll lay on the ground, yoga mat, or even in your bed. Then: You'll inhale and bring your knees to your belly. Then: You'll exhale and grab the sides of your feet. If you're having trouble reaching your feet you can use yoga bands to help you out! After that you'll want to push out with your feet to create resistance. Always remember with every yoga p

Aquamarine! The birthstone of March! This beautiful stone can range from seafoam green to a very pale blue. The name meaning "water of the sea" is the perfect stone for your Pisces friends as it is just as delicate and wonderful as they are. I'm not biased towards Pisces or those who share my birth month of March or anything like that... Let's get started! This stone is a variant of the Beryl stone, sharing its roots with other stones such as Emerald and Morganite. The greenish hues of Aquamarine come from its relation to Emeralds, although that can be removed when exposed to extreme heat. By transforming the stone with heat you get that beautiful baby blue, almost diamond looking color that everyone loves. This stone also has its fair share of healing properties. Being associated with the Throat Chakra, this stone represents verbal self-expression, on the same hand it is also used to enhance your spiritual communication and clearing the blockages in that area.

We all know that drinking water is good for you, but do we really know why? Well I discussed some of that last week in my "Are you drinking enough water" post, but all I really mentioned was that water makes up most of your body's functions. What else is water good for? For starters water is an essential part of weight loss. From replenishing you after workouts to protecting your muscles from aches and pains this magical liquid really is the key factor of losing weight. Did you know that being dehydrated can throw off body fat percentage readings? I didn't until I was taking this "six week challenge" and I was losing weight, but gaining body fat! It made absolutely no sense to me until I took into account that I wasn't even drinking half of my required water intake! Secondly, and this is kind of piggybacking on last week's post again, water helps you focus! Since your brain is roughly 75% water your brain needs it for everything that it has to d