Winter Body Rituals
What is a body ritual?
If you’re a human being walking around on planet earth, chances are you’ve caught yourself comparing yourself to others. While self-care can easily be dumbed down to just another hashtag, we strongly believe in the substance behind its practice.
The ritual act of caring for your body is not a new product that can be bought. Self-care is a feeling inherent to our character, and as we progress through the winter holiday season, it is especially important now.
The practice of mindful self-care rituals echo in our everyday behaviours and by extent, the virtue we put into the world.
We’re not doing enough. We’re not wealthy. We don’t have the things we desire.
We are not satisfied.
We’re scrolling through media feeds and stories and photos of friends-of-friends. Vacation pics, great makeup, cute cats, the perfect buddha bowl. We feel ashamed because we need to constantly improve ourselves, and sometimes we fall short. We want to smile more, get out more, and we want a bubble bath that looks just like that sponsored post on Instagram.
We wonder, then, if we’re being selfish for the simple act of wanting. In this world of persistent “#selfcare #goals,” we feel worse.
We’re not selfish. We’re not flawed. We are enough.
While this something we can skim in a blog, how can we actually convince our brains to believe it? Life is complicated; the choice to love ourselves is not achieved just by uttering magic words. How can self-love become an intrinsic outlook, a mode of being, rather than a foggy concept and the occasional bubble bath?
Well, this takes practice. Lots, and lots of practice.
Wren, of Kolya’s botanical apothecary, is well-versed in the power of positive affirmations and the journey towards self love. Wren likes to pamper themselves with quality body products they’ve made themselves, and we’ve included special recipes below.
Use these recipes in conjunction with a self-care ritual. Wren uses the Five Flower Body Oil on pulse points at times of low energy, or at the start or end of their day. Kolya’s Whipped Body Butter, similarly, can be used whenever the skin needs an extra dose of attention.
They are paired with a moment of positive affirmation: speak a mantra that echoes your worth as you are right now. It may feel silly at first, so start simply, or do something else that resonates with you and you alone. This is not for “likes” or “re-tweets,” this is for you.
While we don’t need to buy anything from anyone (including us) to practice self-care, we’ve compiled two of our favourite DIY recipes for body care to be used in conjunction with a positive winter body ritual.
Flower Essence Body Oil
| Servings | Prep Time |
| mL glass bottle |
Ingredients
- 20 drops Sweet Tranquility Essential Oil Blend
- 8 drops Five Flower Formula Flower Essence
- 1/4 tsp Vitamin E Oil
- 2 tsp Avocado Oil
- Jojoba Oil to fill the rest of the container
Instructions
- Combine essential oils and the flower essence in a glass container of choice, mixing thoroughly either by swirling the container or tapping the sealed container on the heel of your palm for about 1 minute (or 100 times).
- Add the vitamin E, avocado and jojoba oil to fill, leaving a bit of space at the top of the container (just enough for effective mixing).
- Repeat desired method of succussion for about 1 minute, then pour the oil mixture into a pump-style container (using a funnel if needed).
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Flower Essence Body Oil
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Ingredients
Instructions
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Recipe Notes
Application: Use 2-4 times daily, or as needed.
Can be used on pulse points, acupressure points or anywhere desired (for external use only). Some of the Kolya team likes to repeat positive affirmations as we apply it, especially at the start and end of the day.
Use in conjunction with flower essences internally, or by itself.
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This holiday season, we support winter body rituals for self care. We encourage each other to look for satisfaction in ourselves rather than satisfaction in yet another big purchase. Positive intentions lead to positive behaviour: it re-routes our energy to the here and now. The result is a shift towards more thoughtful, more loving experiences in our everyday lives.
Whipped Body Butter
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 8 oz. jars (+ a bit extra) |
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Mango Butter
- 1/4 cup Shea Butter
- 1/4 cup Coconut Oil
- 1/8 cup Argan Oil
- 1/8 cup Sesame Oil
- 1/2 tsp Vitamin E Oil
- 25 drops Essential Oils optional; be sure to use skin-friendly essential oils *
- Our Essential Oil Blend That We Love
- 8 drops Petitgrain
- 8 drops Bergamot (bergaptene free)
- 3 drops Frankincense
- 2 drops Lemongrass
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Whipped Body Butter
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Instructions
- In a double boiler, melt the mango butter and shea butter. When the butters are almost melted, add the coconut, argan and sesame oil into the mixture.
- When the mixture is completely liquid, remove from heat and dry the bottom of the pot (to ensure NO water gets into the oil).
- Whisk in the vitamin E oil and essential oils.
- Place in the fridge for 2-3 hours, or until the mixture has completely solidified. The whipping process will not work if the mixture is not solid.
- With a mixer, beat solidified oil on medium to high speed for 10 minutes, scraping the sides so it mixes evenly. You know it's ready when it looks like whip cream.
- While the mixture is still warm, use a spatula to spoon the mixture into your jars. Label, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Store at room temperature, otherwise the consistency of the Whipped Body Butter will change.
* Call 780-433-1090 ext.4 if you have any questions about which essential oils we recommend that are safe for the skin.
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How do you practice positive intention and gratitude? Let us know. We’re listening.
My energy is my own.
I honour my own needs.
I am the light.
—Wren
4 Comments
I cannot wait to try out these recipes! But my favourite part of this lovely post is the special and heartfelt affirmations you gifted us all with. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and personal practice 🙂
Hi Joanna,
Thank you so much for your lovely comment! We really appreciate the feedback and your support. We hope you have a beautiful rest of the winter season. 🙂
I’ve been making my own body butter for years and a tip is to add the E Os after all else is whipped and cooled down so none is lost (volatile). I love using cacao butter over coconut with the other 2 butters as I find coconut to be drying over time. Gonna try pettigrain eo too as I haven’t yet but I use your others..we think alike..Nice!
Hi Judy,
Thanks for leaving the comment and we love the way you’re experimenting with the ingredients. Happy DIY’ing! 🙂