Epsom Salts: 15 Uses You Can't Imagine!

Epsom salt is not a salt known by everyone. The mineral mixture is a combination of magnesium and sulfate. This popular salt is touted for its health benefits and many other uses in cleaning and gardening. Epsom salts can be used in so manyl ways for health, beauty and cleaning, and here you can see some of the health and beauty hacks using the mineral.

1. Clean your hair
If your hair is particularly greasy, you can remove the excess oil by adding some Epsom salts to your shampoo and washing your hair as usual.

2. De-Frizz & Improve hair volume
Mix equal parts of hair conditioner and Epsom salts, then heat the mixture in a sautee pan and rub into your hair. After 20 minutes rinse your hair with warm water. This will get rid of frizz and add more volume to your hair.

3. Foot scrub
During winter months our feet can become dry, cracked and look really terrible. But, thanks to a mixture of Epsom salts, olive oil, castile soap and essential oils you can solve your problem quickly and easily! Just scrub your feet with the mixture once or twice a week and you will be thrilled with the results!

4. Exfoliate your face
Mix some Epsom salts with liquid soap or face cream, then rub the mixture on your skin and rinse with water. This will remove all dead skin cells and moisturize your skin.

5. Deflake the lips
Mix a bit of Epsom salt with petroleum jelly and massage it into your lips to remove dead skin.

6. Ease headaches
If you have an aching headache, soak in an Epsom salt bath. This will relieve your tense muscles and soothe your headache.

7. Relieves digestive problems
Epsom salts dissolved in a glass of water can help relieve constipation due to the high magnesium content.

8. Prevents hangovers
Did you drink too much red wine last night? Don`t worry,  just mix a teaspoon of Epsom salts in a glass of water and drink the solution to eliminate the toxins from your body. Drink water throughout the day to stay fully hydrated.

9. Fades bruises
Instead of putting raw meat on your bruises, try applying a mixture of two tablespoons of Epsom salts with a little water on the area. It will solve your problem almost immediately!

10. Get deep sleep
Soak in an Epsom salt bath for 20 minutes before going to bed to relax your body and achy muscles, and get proper rest.

11. Removes splinters
Applying Epsom salts over a splinter can help you pull it out without a problem.

12. Plant & Grass fertilizerAdd a tablespoon of Epsom salts to your garden soil to boost the growth of roses and other plants. Add 2 tablespoons of Epsom salts in a gallon of water and spray the solution on your grass to keep it green.

13. Cleans the bathroom
Mix one part of Epsom salt with one part of liquid soap and scrub your bathroom to clean it spotless.

14. Deter slugs
Sprinkle some Epsom salts around your patio to keep slugs away when it rains.

15. Clean the washer
Fill your washing machine with hot water, then add Epsom salts and run a regular cycle wash to get rid of the plaque inside the machine.

~Thanks to Food & Healthy Life

5 Yoga Poses For Better Digestion

Did you know that according to Ayurveda, your state of health and even longevity are inextricably linked to your agni? This Sanskrit term agni is one of the most vital principles influencing well-being and the aging process. In fact, understanding this concept is really important if we want to avoid disease and look and feel healthy and vibrant.

Agni translates as "digestive fire," and it's related to the strength of our digestion in all aspects of our life—including our overall ability to eliminate what is not needed. On a physical level, we need to digest food to absorb nutrients for energy and release waste products; on a mental level, we digest experiences in order to assimilate them and release what is not needed.

According to Ayurveda, strong agni helps us with all processes of digestion and is essential for our overall health. If our digestive fire is strong, we are able to create healthy tissues and eliminate waste products effectively. We can then produce ojas, which is like our "vital essence," so that we can build strength, immunity, and clarity of mind. If agni is weak in the body, we are left with toxic residue or ama, which leads to the slow deterioration of the body and is seen as the root cause of disease.

Agni may be weakened by poor eating habits and food choices, lack of exercise, and negative thoughts and emotions. These all slow down our digestion, building ama and causing disease. Unresolved emotions such as pent-up anger and unreleased grief are just as likely to cause ill health as physical digestive issues in the gut.

The good news is that we can strengthen the digestive fire in our body using various techniques and yoga exercises. If you have digestive issues, or you'd like to lose weight or have more energy and lustrous-looking skin, then try this short, agni-building practice.

Kapalabhati

Breathing brings prana or life force into the body and cleans the body of toxic materials. Kapalabhati is a breathing technique that helps create heat and build agni. Rest your hands on your abdomen. Take some nice deep breaths in and out through the nose, feeling the movement of the abdomen under the hands. After 10 breaths or so, start to emphasise the exhalation and feel the abdomen draw strongly back toward the spine. Let the inhale be an automatic rebound, and feel the hands move away as the abdomen releases. Repeat using short, sharp exhalations. Practice for about 30 to 60 seconds. When you finish, sit tall and breathe normally for another 10 breaths or so.

Navasana

Navasana acts like a key to powerfully switch on the inner fire of prana. Sit with your feet resting on the floor, knees bent, and try to float your feet off the floor while keeping your chest lifted. Extend your arms away from you. You can keep the legs bent, or if you feel strong, start to extend them so that the toes are eye level. Hold for 5 breaths, keeping the breath smooth, and then rest the feet back down and round the spine as you hug your knees. Repeat as many times as you like.

Side Plank

Side plank helps to generate agni and builds inner fire. From plank pose, swivel the feet, turning your body to the side, raising one arm either up to the ceiling or over the ear to a diagonal. Lift the underneath waist and hold for 5 breaths. Return to plank and either rest the knees on the floor before changing sides or you can swivel straight to the other side without resting. Then finish resting on the knees or in child’s pose.

Udiyana Bandha

Using the bandhas, or locks, generates inner fire. Come up from all fours to down dog and stay for 5 to 10 slow breaths. With each exhalation, feel the movement of the navel drawing back toward the spine. This activates udiyana bandha, igniting the flames, and stimulates the energy around the navel center.

Seated Twist

Twists massage the abdominal organs, bringing more blood and oxygen to the region, helping to remove stagnation and activate the digestive system. From kneeling, sit to the left side of your feet and cross your right foot over the left leg and onto the floor. Wrap your left arm around your right shin and turn to look over your right shoulder. Stay for 5 deep breaths. Change sides.

Other helpful tips for building agni include regular meditation, sipping ginger tea or hot lemon water with raw honey, or taking warming herbs, releasing negative emotions, avoiding overeating or eating when stressed or sad, avoiding cold foods or cooling foods that "dampen the fire," chewing your food thoroughly, and taking regular exercise.

~Thanks to Tara Lee