Sweet gifts for the one(s) you love

Valentines is a holiday that many of us love to hate. It's hard to get wrapped up in the pink hearts and red roses and gushy songs if you're not in a romantic relationship - and it can seem a bit contrived even if you are!

But the concept of celebrating love itself is generative - meaning, the more love you put out into the world, the more it grows and grows. And giving as an act of love can be a very special thing indeed. So whether it's a friend, family member, or significant other, here are a few sweet gift ideas for the ones you love.

Stretch your way into the New Year!

It can be a challenge to transition from the hedonism of the holiday season into healthy habits in the New Year! Many people make resolutions to be healthier, more fit and more energized. Practicing yoga is a great way to ease into a more active lifestyle during these cold, dark months. Jade, our resident graphic designer extraordinaire, is also a talented yoga instructor. She put together a couple of poses that will help to stretch and strengthen your body which in turn helps to manage stress!

Baddha Konasana

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This posture is a great hip opener.

Sitting with your spine straight, bring your feet together so that your heels and little toes are touching. The knees will splay out as you open your feet up like a book. If the knees are high up off the ground, don't use force to push them down. Instead just gently let the weight of your knees come down towards the ground. Continue to sit up tall, keep a neutral facial expression and breathe fully for 5-10 breaths. If your knees are close to or on the floor, after taking the 5-10 breaths sitting straight up, draw in your lower abdomen and reach your chest and chin forward exhaling as you continue to open up your feet and again, take 5-10 breaths. This will bring you deeper into the posture and give your hips more of a stretch. This posture is extremely beneficial for stimulating the abdominal organs, stretching the inner thighs, hips and knees and increasing circulation. Some traditional yoga texts state that Baddha Konasana is one of the most important postures.
 

Purvottanasana

This posture engages the entire body and opens up the heart. 

Sitting on the floor with your legs straight in front of you and feet together, bring your hands behind you about a foot back with your fingers facing in the direction of your feet. As you inhale, press down into your hands and send your hips up as you reach your toes down towards the floor. Again, keep a neutral facial expression as well as an engaged core and let your head come back as you take 5 full breaths. On the last exhale, lower your hips down. If pushing up from the floor is too challenging to start, you can hold on to the back of a chair, again with your fingers facing your feet, knees start off bent and as you inhale, lift your hips and straighten the legs. This posture strengthens the arms, legs and wrists and gives a good stretch to the shoulders, chest and feet. 

I hope you enjoy these postures and that they bring you strengthen and flexibility in the New Year!

Vitamin D - A Superstar for Winter Health Infection-Fighting Abilities For Colds and Flu

This well-known vitamin has recently become a “superstar” among our customers, their MDs and wellness experts alike.  Recent research has pushed the amazing impact that Vitamin D has on our everyday health into the limelight. 

A large and growing body of evidence is showing that this “sunshine vitamin” controls some 30,000 different genes in our bodies all of which play a crucial role in our health and well-being. (1)

This vitamin is naturally produced during the summertime when our skin is exposed to direct sunlight— a good reason not to overuse sunscreen. But in the northern latitudes in winter…well above the equator, where we live in Massachusetts, the rays that produce Vitamin D in our skin are long gone. In fact the sun’s rays are insufficient to produce ANY Vitamin D from October through May here in the Boston area.  We Northeasters have a very short summer 4-month window to utilize Vitamin D rays from the sun….leaving us to consider Vitamin D supplements for our best health solutions!

Staying Hygge This Season

In Denmark, the winter nights are long and cold and very dark (sounds pretty similar to Boston!). Those savvy Danes combat this seasonal dreariness with the art of hygge (pronounced 'hooga') a word that roughly translates to "coziness". This means things like lighting lots of candles, cooking meals and playing games with friends and family, wrapping up in warm blankets and reading good books by the fireplace. 

After the excitement of the holiday season has passed, incorporating hygge into your daily life can help keep that warm, festive spirit alive throughout the winter. Here are some ideas to help you bring the art of hygge into your home!

Five Favorites for Winter Wellness

January is winter wellness month at the store! Our head supplements buyer and Assistant Manager Zach has written up his top five go-to's for staying healthy throughout the season. Whether you like your wellness tonics strong and spicy, or sweet and smooth, there's something for everyone. 

Shire City Herbal’s Fire Cider: Made in Western MA, this immune tonic is one of my favorites for seasonal support.  A delicious infusion of raw apple cider vinegar with warming herbs and foods including turmeric, habanero pepper, horseradish, and garlic as well as flavorful lemons, oranges, and raw honey, Fire Cider is a great food-based way to support overall wellness throughout the winter months.

Not Just Skin Deep: Nate Goes Poo-less!

Finding the perfect low-maintenance but effective body care products can be a lot of tiresome trial and error - especially if you're a man! Our grocery manager Nate recently went "pooless" (more on that below) and has cultivated a selection of products that meet his discerning standards for quality, efficacy and ease.  

Nate says...

No matter what shampoo I used, they all dried my scalp out and left my hair frizzy. For the past few months I have been 'Pooless - that is, I don't shampoo my hair at all anymore. Now, before you wig out in disgust and stop reading, let it be known that going 'pooless has proven quite a revelation for the health of my hair - little to no scalp flakes with a soft, silky 'run your hands through it' feel. Here's a run-down of my all-time favorite low-maintenance body and hair care products that leave me feeling so fresh and so clean.

Ring in the New Year in Style!

Whether you're hosting or heading to a fabulous New Years' Eve house party, we've got all of your festive essentials to ring in 2015! Check out our list of must-haves for the 31st.

Urban Moonshine Maple Bitters: These maple bitters are the perfect addition to any beverage - whether mocktail or cocktail! Bitters aid in healthy digestion (preventing you from feeling sluggish after a big NYE meal) and are a wonderful flavoring agent as well. We recommend adding a dash to your glass of champagne or sparkling cider!

Zach: What I'm Gifting This Year

Assistant Manager Zach is a true connoisseur, seeking out the most interesting, unique and high-quality products to carry at the store. He's developed our now robust Men's Section, added to our line-up of effective herbal remedies for health, and sought out some incredibly delicious honeys to fill our shelves. Here he gives his top gift picks for the holiday season, great ideas for men and women alike!

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Patchouli Shaving Soap by Bower Studio  This is hands down the best shaving soap I have ever used.  Hand-Poured in Boston, it features Activated Charcoal as a mild exfoliant and skin detoxifying agent as well as a beautiful Patchouli scent that I look forward to every time I shave.  The packaging is beautifully printed and has tons of gift appeal.

The Wild Medicine Solution by Guido Mase  This book is a great gift for those in your life who are interested in nature, herbs, and alternative health.   The Wild Medicine Solution is both informative and accessible; leaving the reader feeling more informed and motivated to engage the natural world in their everyday lives.  Guido Mase’ is a well-known and respected herbalist out of Burlington, VT where he teaches and practices integrative medicine.

Cabin Sprays & Resin Colognes by Juniper Ridge  New to Cambridge Naturals,  these amazing room/body sprays and solid-colognes are beautiful, not only in smell but visually as well.  Entirely hand made with wildcrafted resins and oils produced by Juniper Ridge themselves, these are a great example of terroir.  With multiple scents for the discerning noses in your life, these are sure to be a hit.

Salt Lamps by Aloha Bay  Just in time for the short-days of winter, beautiful Himalayan Pink Salt Lamps from Aloha Bay to fill our lives with warm, beautiful, soothing light.  Mined from a single salt mine in Pakistan that has been in operation for over 4,000 years, pink salt lamps

Varietal Honeys by Savannah Bee Company  I am a huge, huge fan of honey.  And not just run of the mill, OK-but-not-great honey, but delicious, subtle, wonderful honey.  With offerings from whipped Winter White Honey to Southeastern Tupelo Honey, the gourmet honeys from Savannah Bee Company out of Savannah, Georgia are one of my go-to gifts this year.  Acacia, Georgia Wildflower, and even a honey whose purchase supports the “Bee Cause Project” to educate future generations on the importance of bees, bring some sweet into your life!

Elderberry: The Queen of Herbs

By Steph Zabel
Herbalist, Ethnobotanist and Educator

Elderberry is one of those herbs that has become wildly popular in recent years. Each winter I find that more and more people are turning to this wonderful plant for its immune strengthening virtues.

In fact, it is not uncommon to find elderberry frequently out of stock in cold and flu season. Those in-the-know get their hands on the dried berry by the time fall rolls around!