Spark Viva

https://www.noted.co.nz/health/health-health/hormone-replacement-therapy-hrt-help-brain-fog-depression-anxiety

**An important read for women in, or within 10 years of menopause❤️

Why hormone replacement therapy is a boon for brain fog, depression and anxiety A flawed study into the use of HRT for menopausal women led to unjustified fears, but now hormones are being used to help reduce midlife brain fog...

💫How often do we struggle to get what we want, but continue to drag around a bunch of life 💩 that we DON’T want!?
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WHY do we do that? Maybe because it’s not always easy to get rid of the unwanted 💩. It causes anxiety, discomfort, downright pain - so we just keep dragging it around like an anchor tied to our waist. ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
❎Can you think of anything you’ve been dragging around that’s probably hindering your progress? I’ve been spending a lot of time lately facing the💩 and figuring out how to release the anchor. I’m tired of doing things the hard way ( avoidance ) and ready to face it head on and move the f*% # along. You?? Let’s do it 👊🏼

Pilates over 50 | the perfect exercise for middle age Why Pilates is the perfect exercise when you’re over 50  Congratulations! If you’ve celebrated your 50thbirthday and you’re in good health it’s definitely worth lighting a few candles, staying up late and generally partying. Mid-life is also a time when we realise that we

YOU: I really need to make changes, I'm exhausted, cranky and eating crapola.

ALSO YOU: That will just have to wait, I don't have time for myself right now. And you proceed to mainline caffeine and snort powdered sugar to make it through the rest of the day.

We've ALL been there! Just the idea of starting a new health regimen is enough to make us foam at the mouth - cut caffeine and sugar, meal prep, regular workouts and get rid of all household toxins? Oh. HELL. No. We shut down. Head in the sand, ostrich style.

Sometimes all we need is a FRESH START. A jumping off point. Baby steps, people! It doesn't have to be all or nothing - why do we do that to ourselves?!

Girl, I've got you! I created ESSENTIAL SPARK for women to get their fresh start - a SMART start - minus the urge to pull out your own hair in frustration and overwhelm. We need every last hair on the tops of our heads, am I right??

Not long ago, I was struggling with my own health - chronic stress, gut and hormonal imbalance, total exhaustion - and I had tried A LOT of products and systems with little to no improvement. I wasn't asking for a miracle, just wanted to feel SOME improvement. When a best friend of mine mentioned doTerra, I was a little more than weary, but at that, "I'll try anything at this point" place in my life. I'm so thankful I did, because not only did I start feeling an increase in energy, focus, motivation and stress relief, but I fell in love with the daily rituals and that lead to more healthy daily habits, and so on. It was my starting point.

Here's the SIMPLE part:
All you have to do is purchase the Daily Habits Kit (for $70 off, woo hooo!)

Here's the AWESOME part:
I am going to give you 4 weeks of support, guidance and content at no additional cost. Why? Because I want you to experience what I did, and have someone in your corner while you get started.

You will be invited to join the ESSENTIAL SPARK private Facebook group, where I will be available for support, and regularly posting:

** How to get started with your gorgeous, certified pure
therapeutic grade EOs, including daily recipes and uses

** Nutrient dense, yummy and simple recipes

** All things women's health and wellness

** Humor - because we all need to laugh!

The live support begins Monday August 19th! DM me for more details and a link to learn more about each of these beautiful oils and supplements that support your digestion, energy production, nutrient balance, immune function and metabolic health.

Put down that powdered sugar and make this the time for your FRESH START!

Love yourself and find your SPARK.
Michelle xo

💫If you’re gonna move your body today ( and please do, even for 5 mins, breathe in and out, get those good hormones pumping )...do it in a way you ✔️actually like ✔️makes you feel connected ✔️lights you up ✔️floats your boat. K??
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▶️I don’t care if it’s hopscotch ( actually, that sounds great ), double dutch skipping ( no endsies!! ) or dancing in your un**es ( no judgement and I highly recommend). Just do something for yourself and your sweet bod❤️

🌱 Y’ALL! I’m so happy to share this with you. I am a self professed product HO and because of a YEAR AND A HALF bout of ( which I’m convinced was a result of my ), I haven’t been able to use any products but my prescription creams.
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✳️ Now that my gut has healed quite a bit ( 🙌🏼 ) and my skin inflammation is pretty much gone ( 🙌🏼 ), I was ready to start using a product or two again - preferable anti-aging because omg almost 2 years without it in my 40s has not done me any favors!! But I’ve been terrified to take that step ... and then my derm and her sister (both PAs) developed and the heavens opened up and the angels angels sang lol .. Elena has been my go to for skin care for a long time and went OVER and above helping me troubleshoot over these past 2 years. Plus, her face looks like a newborn’s bare butt - I’m talking flawless and wrinkle-free and she’s closer to 50 than 40. If she told me to spread donkey poo all over my face, I wouldn’t even question it😂
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✅ So I started with the tinted spf mineral sunscreen and my skin loved it. It felt like silk and left a gorgeous glow - like, Beyoncé style. And then I tried the Hydrating Retinol Serum and lo and behold, no reaction and I looked instantly brighter. And then I started washing with the oatmeal soap, and forget it, I’ll never use anything else. You get the point. This line is the 💩 🙌🏼 And what makes it even more special?? ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
🌱Their MISSION: to simplify skincare. ✔️Targeted, effective ingredients that give amazing results ✔️Affordable ✔️safe for YOU AND OUR OCEANS by using reef friendly ingredients and environmentally responsible packaging 🌱
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🎉🎉🎉You get to try it at 10% off by using code viva10 at checkout! It’s just the most gorgeous line that you can feel good about using AND care for your skin on a cellular level. Go on girl ... get gorgeous🥰

⚡️I’ve been taking for over 2 years now and have loved it - it’s the only that helped instead of hindered my healing from . But it wasn’t until my awesome RD ( shout out to , she’s the best! ) suggested pairing it with that I REALLY noticed a measurable change in my gut function.

✅WHY?? Because HU58 works synergistically with megasporebiotic to optimize ✔️healthy gut flora balance, ✔️healthy digestion, ✔️healthy response to food and ✔️healthy gut response in conditions with intestinal inflammation.

✅It is a rugged bacterial spore that can withstand extreme pH levels, high temps, dehydration, antibiotics, pressure and radiation. It also PRODUCES over 12 ANTIBIOTICS of its own!

🌱If you’re feeling lost, stuck and frustrated with your current state of health and fitness and you want one on one guidance, DM me. Let’s find your SPARK again⚡️

Loving this❤️

Prescription: More Broccoli, Fewer Carbs. How Some Doctors Are Looking To Food To Treat Illness A McLean Hospital doctor asks patients with obesity and mental illness to try the ketogenic diet. It's part of a growing trend of doctors prescribing certain foods -- or telling patients to eliminate them -- to improve health.

🌱Our bodies ALWAYS know. Lasagna it is!

⚡️HEY. Don’t let anyone else tell you what beautiful or healthy or attractive or normal is. K?? You know. You know when you’re at your best, and you know when things are off. You know YOU. Do they know you? I don’t think so. If I had a dime for how many times complete strangers have told me there’s something wrong with me, or I must have an eating disorder, that I need to eat a burger ( my personal favorite ), I’d be chillaxing on a beach in Hawaii right now. And girl ... if you’re struggling right now, love yourself even more. When I first started noticing stress-related changes in my body - muscle loss, fatigue, gut and hormonal imbalances - I got mad. I resisted. I worked even harder. I was pi**ed that my body was betraying me. 4 years later, I’ve finally realized that the only path to healing is pulling back, self-compassion and learning how to nourish and heal with patience. If you need support, I’m here❤️

I’m opening an Etsy shop that sells only these wearable pillows. Cha. CHING 💰😴😂

....and if you truly want to heal and get to a higher, healthier level of functioning (yes please), ya GOTTA learn to make it a priority. It’s not easy, just necessary❤️🌱🤗

Self-Care Is Not An Indulgence. It's A Discipline. Self-care is not an indulgence. It's the ongoing practice of keeping ourselves physically and emotionally healthy.

Drink water infused with fruit and get your energy from regular sleep and nutrient dense food, Boo❣️

Energy drinks ‘increase stroke risk by 500%’ as 'irregular heartbeats soar' Shocking figures from the British Soft Drinks Association reveal the volume of energy drinks consumed in the UK increased to 679 million litres last year

About a box and a half these days but I’ma keep on truckin’, cuz that’s what I do👊🏼

☀️Flashback to goat yoga right before he regurgitated grass into my hair. It was a cute look. I remember feeling so happy that day that I put my worries and stress aside to try something new with good friends and just experience life. I think we forget to do that when we’re in the midst of acute or chronic stress. I may have walked away with green goat hair, but at least I was happy and refreshed!

🌈What will you do this weekend to reconnect with your happy place? Comment below...

❤️And neither did you. All of the pain, the tears, the fears, the anguish, the stress, the disappointment, the plot twists, the loss and the obstacles. They have happened for a reason. They have shaped us. Mine have turned into my ‘why’. Mine have made me decide to help women who are going through similar life challenges. Mine have turned into my purpose. What have yours done for you? I wanna know❣️

🌱Have green thumbs and sleep problems?! Try placing one ( or all, if you like the jungle look ) in your bedroom and let their natural properties lull you to sleep 😴As for me? I just managed to kill an air plant - one of the most dummy proof of all plants - so, I may stick to my diffused for now!! 🔹Repost from

❤️When you get to reconnect with a childhood bestie AND eat great food, it’s a good day. Thank you for supporting me, believing in me, lighting a fire under my ass and bringing the healing powers of into my life, Ange. I’m so excited to share my triumphs after so many struggles❤️

⚡️Do you ever find yourself avoiding things you usually love to do? For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to create movement sequences and make videos. Between the past few years of struggling with low energy / gut / hormonal imbalance and more recent injuries to two joints, I just haven’t felt like myself. I’ve been self conscious of the muscle loss and looking even thinner than usual. I’ve been pi**ed at my body for breaking down and betraying me.
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▶️I know you feel where I’m coming from, because we’ve all felt a loss of control and betrayal with our bodies one way or the other. I’d love to say that there’s a quick fix, but we all know it’s the long game that creates change. I’m not where I want to be ultimately, but I have experienced healing and a deep shift in my mindset. Here are are few key things that have worked for me:
🔹Reaching out for help. It took a few years to find the right docs, integrative practitioner, RD, etc. And I’m still refining these along the way. But I realized after many stubborn months of struggling on my own that I was too submersed in my own pain and frustration to try and find all my own answers. Doesn’t matter who you are or what you do - you need the right people in your corner supporting your healing.
🔹Pulling back. WAY back. My symptoms were induced by chronic stress and the harder I pushed against the symptoms the worse I got. My body needed to be in a state of calm for more than 5 mins a day! I had to quit the intense exercise sessions/ teaching too many classes and up the Pilates / yoga / walking.
🔹Because of the I had to adopt a - I actually had a very healthy, varied diet with moderation ( treats! ) and it was frustrating to have to cut out so many healthy foods I loved - but one thing I did was increase my HEALTHY FATS to support hormone production and regulation ... think high dose fish oil, walnuts, avocado, salmon, evoo, flax, chia, coconut oil.
🔹Meditation!!! It took me YEARS to get serious about learning and following through with a regular practice ( thank you ! ). I’m still in the early stages and already feeling the positive effects.
❤️Don’t give up❤️

😋Have you tried dark chocolate yet?! If not, RUN, don’t walk, to the closest store that carries it ( or let your fingers do the ordering ) ... it is my 💘FAVORITE of all time and the perfect solution for when you need just a lil’ sweet somethin’ somethin’!

🔹organic house-ground cacao
🔹vegan | paleo
🔹Ingredients: organic cacao,
unrefined organic coconut
sugar, organic fair trade cocoa
butter. THAT’S IT!!
🔹smooth as BUTAH
🔹2gm sugar per square
🔹comes in handy during nervous
breakdowns, PMS rages,
existential life crises...and simple
sweet cravings👌🏼

🌹Do you ever feel like a flower trying to bloom, but the walls of life are closing in on you and suffocating your growth? Yeah, me too. ( I’m like, SO metaphorical today lol )
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✳️I’m here to remind you that you need to slow down. Think about what is contributing to you feeling suffocated, stressed, paralyzed. Find coping tools that help you focus, quiet your mind, see things from a different perspective. I started 10 days ago and it’s already making a difference. And girl, I NEEDED it. Go to a yoga class, take an evening walk with your girlfriends, read a book, or sit with your thoughts ... whatever floats your de-stressing boat. Cuz you deserve to be in full bloom🌸

❤️Almost too pretty to eat. Almost. 🍳

⚡️In his book The Adrenal Reset Diet, explains how by cycling our carb intake throughout each day, we can reset our cortisol output to its proper diurnal cycle.

❓Why would we want to do that? Because our adrenal rhythms can make or break our health. We thrive when they are in harmony - but the STRESSES of daily life can disrupt them.

✅ We know that low blood sugar leads to high cortisol and high blood sugar leads to low cortisol. A HEALTHY CORTISOL CYCLE would show higher levels in the morning upon waking ( to get us up and moving! ) and lower cortisol levels in the evening, when it’s time to chill out and prepare for sleep. Have you ever noticed that when you’re highly stressed over time, you are hella sluggish in the morning - even after a good sleep - and tired but wired in the evening?? Your cortisol cycle is out of whack! When Dr. Christianson developed this diet and prescribed it to his patients with;
🔹erratic blood sugar levels
🔹stubborn weight problems
🔹poor cortisol rhythms ...

They reported:

🔺easier weight loss
🔺fewer starch cravings
🔺better energy levels
🔺deeper and sustained sleep
🔺reductions in blood sugar in
those who were diabetic or
pre-diabetic

▶️ The BASIC TENNET of this diet is that most of the day’s carbs are consumed in the afternoon and evening!! WHAT, you say?!? It seems like it should be the other way around. But this is because ❎ at night, the muscles are more sensitive to insulin and they take the carbs before the fat can. This also promotes relaxation and repair of the cycles leading to better sleep.

✳️ YES, it does matter what type of CARBS you consume - you want to eat the kind that burn the most slowly, like 😋black beans, quinoa, boiled potatoes and brown rice. FAST absorbing carbs like those we see in highly processed foods lead to s sudden drop in blood sugar and a spike in cortisol🚫

Obviously his book goes deep into detail about carbs / fats / proteins, explains why leads to fat loss, and offers examples of meal plans ... The idea that we can influence our cortisol cycle with nutrition gives us the power to heal through change 💪🏼

❤️Rocco and I are sending you kisses today and hope you find at least one reason ( but hopefully many more ) to smile..I mean, how could you not - just look at that face! (his, not mine)😘

🌈SPRING in the South might be pretty, but let me tell you, the will KILL. YOU.🤢

▶️ I don’t love love popping semi-effective OTC allergy meds daily, and I heard about Aller-C, so I decided to check it out. It’s been very effective - enough so that I’m off the Zyrtec...and the bonus? ALLER-C is a combo of:

✅BROMELAIN - a proteolytic enzyme derived from pineapple stems which promotes normal drainage of waste products of inflammation.

✅QUERCITIN - a natural bioflavonoid that supports healthy histamine levels and immune function.

✅VIT C - 900mg

✅No skip lot testing

✅Third party testing

If you’re looking for a safe and effective alternative, give this s try❣️

⚡️SOS-E ( exhaustion ) is described by as the “crash and burn” stage, after going pedal to the metal for so long. Many of us manage to stay in overdrive but some of us (myself included) surpass our coping abilities physically, mentally and/or emotionally - leaving us feeling utterly fried, burned out and sick.

Our brains eventually dial down the overdrive reaction to protect us - resulting in a decrease in cortisol and adrenaline production. Not only do we have LOW energy, but LOW...

🚫metabolism
🚫mood
🚫immunity
🚫hormones
🚫mental focus
🚫memory

Think of it as energy saving mode. I have been there - utterly fried, literally crawling on the floor from one kid’s bedroom to the next at tuck in time. It’s a level of exhaustion I’d never felt. Your body no longer tolerates stress - I could barely make it through a 10 min workout and I couldn’t recover from them. For some, because the immune system stops working FOR and starts working AGAINST - autoimmune conditions develop. ▶️HASHIMOTO’S disease is an example of a common autoimmune condition associatedwith SOS.

A few ( not close to all ) consequences of exhaustion are:

🔹loss of ambition / motivation
🔹low blood sugar symptoms
🔹low blood pressure
🔹excessive need for caffeine
🔹autoimmune disease
🔹feelings of fear, apprehension
🔹slow recovery from illness &
exercise
🔹sugar / carb cravings
🔹tendency to feel more energy
toward evening

From my own personal experience with this, I can tell you, it is NOT EASY to pull yourself out of it. It requires you to make changes across the board with:

🔺Nutrition
🔺Exercise
🔺Sleep
🔺Stress reduction
🔺Mindset change

The HARDEST part by far, is the lifestyle changes - the need for stress reduction and mindset changes. I wish I’d had someone to guide me through it, I would have improved much faster. The bonus for you, is that this experience resulted in me committing to help other women traverse this bumpy road so they don’t have to feel so frustrated, lost and at times, hopeless. You CAN and WILL feel like YOU again...sometimes you just need someone by your side. DM me if you need support♥️