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Friday, December 28, 2007

massage

Massage therapy has gained a lot of ground as a complement to conventional medicine. Research studies conducted in the past decade have shown that massage has medically beneficial effects – such as lowering blood pressure and increasing oxygen absorption – in addition to its ability to relax both the mind and tense muscle tissue.



Massage therapy is the manual manipulation of the body’s soft tissue to prevent or reduce pain and stress, and to promote health and well-being. The success of massage therapy has spawned many methods, systems and types (e.g., Swedish, shiatsu, trigger point therapies).

All massage therapy involves the manipulation of soft tissue – kneading, pressing or stroking – by a practitioner licensed from an accredited school. Associated with relieving stress and anxiety, massage has been used to supplement the treatment or management of soft-tissue injuries, physiological and emotional disorders, and pain.

People with pre-existing conditions or diseases should consult their physician before undergoing massage therapy. Massage may not be appropriate for certain conditions, including high blood pressure (hypertension) and certain skin conditions.

from http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/massage-therapy.html
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Friday, December 21, 2007

lulur recipe

how to make your own javanese lulur:

1 tbs ground rice
1/2 tbs ground temugiring
3 tbs milk or as needed
1 tbs honey
5 drops essential oil (patchouli, vetiver or sandalwood)

if you cant find temugiring, you can substitute this with grated coconut/grated bengkoang/oatmeal/ground coffee or combine 3 ingredients together. well its not like a real javanese lulur, but still you can get the good result from this.

lather the paste to your body, scrub until dries and fell off. wash off with warm water. apply body lotion afterwards.
Do this once a week for best result.
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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Patchouli oil in aromatherapy

Patchouli oil is an essential oil, and is used in today's aromatherapy and has been used through history for it's healing properties.

Patchouli is a bush with furry leaves and purplish white flowers that are known to quickly drain the nutrients from the soil in which it grows. It can grow up to three and half feet tall and it has large fragrant leaves. Patchouli is sought after for it antiseptic, deodorant, and as a tonic for the nervous system. It can be found in India, the Philippines, China, Malaysia, and Paraguay. Patchouli’s essential oil is extracted by steam distillation from its leaves. It is used for its antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antiviral and sedative properties. This essential oil is best used when aged and it has a spicy aroma. Patchouli is often blended with other fine essential oils like bergamot, Clary sage, ginger, lavender and vetiver.




Patchouli has been used throughout the centuries and in different cultures. The word Patchouli originated in Hindustan. It has been used in many cultures to prevent the spread of diseases and infections. With it high quality of anti-viral properties it has been used to diminish nausea, headaches, colds, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Patchouli was introduce to the British culture in the 1820’s here it become a favorite with midwifes for it’s cleansing abilities. In the 1960’s patchouli became in great demand again for use as a body perfume.

In today’s popular aromatherapy it is used to stimulate the appetite, for diarrhea, and it’s balancing effect on the endocrine system. It is great for the skin it reduces inflammations such as acne, eczema, athlete’s foot, fungal infections and dandruff. Patchouli is also good for the emotions, it has an effect of balancing upset emotions and calming the nerves from an upset situation. It helps you remain in control of your emotions instead of emotions controlling you. It is very useful in controlling depression; anxiety and all stress related emotions.

There is a caution when using Patchouli, do not use in large amounts due to it is a powerful sedative.

from essortment
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Saturday, December 8, 2007

scrub it

Body scrubs should be a part of skin care routine. Not only do they slough off dead skin cells, they increase circulation and leave the skin smooth and moisturized. They are used to prevent ingrown hairs before they happen by opening the pores and allowing hair follicles to freely develop new hairs above the skin's surface.


Homemade body scrubs have one advantage: they can be customized so they provide the best effects. You can change the frangrances by changing the essential oils you add to them. Apply a moisturizer (body lotion) for best results.

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Tuesday, December 4, 2007

massage oil

any oil can be used as a massage oil. but the best oil usually comes from plants (as opposite of oil that comes from earth or mineral oil) like corn, coconut, olive, avocado, palm etc.

but this oil usually too thick and heavy and not very comfort for skin so it usually mixed with some thin mineral oil. again, to enchance this oil and to give a nice smell too, we can add a few drops of essential oils in it. since almost all essential oils a good benefit for skin, we can use almost any essential oil, altough some is not recommended such as anything from orange (can cause photosensitivity to the skin). but this is hard to avoid since the smell is soo nice.

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Saturday, December 1, 2007

Essential oils

essential oil is extracted from aromatic plants. it can comes either from flower, leaf, root or other part of the plant. this aromatic oil claimed to have therapeutic qualities. so therapy with this oil called aromatherapy.

to enhance the luluran experience (lulur is the scrub paste, then luluran means scrubbing with lulur paste or...luluring?) essential oil is added to lulur mixture as well as for the massage oil. but this oil is not easy to get and their price is not cheap.
indonesia have a lot of aromatic plants, but only few was extracted comercially. one that is common is patchouli oil that comes from nilam herbs. in jawa barat nilam farm can be found around subang and garut. click here to know more about destillation process and essential oils.




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shop for herbs and spices in bandung

if you live in bandung and looking for jamu (natural medicine) ingredients or rare spices either for food recipes or medication, baba kuya is the place. the store situated in crowded old chinese area behind pasar baru bandung, at jalan pasar selatan (or is it timur?)

i think baba kuya means mister turtle, while baba is like uncle or sir in chinese slang. and the big old turtles still there hanging on the wall. this narrow street crowded with angkot, becak and pedestrians while the sidewalk packed with all kind of stalls. so the best way to go there is to park your car at the train station parking area, and take a walk from there.
this store stocks lots of indonesian spices and herbs in powder or dried form. i think this place is a hundred years old.


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temugiring

This is a picture of dried temugiring. this roots plant gives subtle yellowish color to skin - which is prefered for almost all indonesia ladies - without makes yellow stain in clothes. the substitute for this root is kunyit (turmeric), also gives yellowish color to skin but not clothes friendly. the stain will be there forever.


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