I gave myself last weekend off–with July 4 on Sunday, I knew my practice would be slow, so I decided to take Friday and Sunday off. I love being active in the city, so I planned to do a different fun thing for each day.

I did a few hours of paperwork in my office in Davis Square on Friday, which was O.K. because I spent the afternoon biking the Minute Man Bike trail from Somerville to Lexington.

It was a beautiful day, and I hung out for a spell in Lexington.

Saturday’s activity was a walk from Central Square, up Main Street and over the Longfellow bridge into Boston.

My destination was Boston harbor.

Sunday morning was yoga with David at South Boston Yoga. It was super sweaty! We sweat more and more easily in the summer because our body’s energy (or “qi”) is up at the surface so it can open and close the pores and keep us cool. Which is what sweating is–your body keeping you cool.

Since I had spent so much time outside, I decided to give myself an soothing blueberry antioxidant mask to repair my skin from all the sun exposure. Here’s my recipe. The quantities are approximate–the goal is to have a smooth and creamy mask with a medium-thick consistency. It should be easily spreadable but not runny.

You should always patch test any home made beauty products before you smear them all over your face.

Antioxidant blueberry facial mask

1/4 cup blueberries
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp honey
a few drops of Vitamin E (optional)
1-2 tbsp cosmetic clay of your choice (I used Betonite clay).

Combine first three ingredients in a blender and blend well. Pour blueberry/yogurt mixture into a bowl, and stir in clay a little at a time until desired consistency is reached.

To use: Spread thin layer of mask onto clean skin. Relax for 5-10 minutes. Rinse.

I woke up this morning feeling not-so-great. I had a sinus headache, and felt tired an achy despite a good night’s sleep. I decided that I was officially under the weather (sort of inbetween being sick and being well), and decided the best course of action was 2 aspirin, a sinus rinse with my neti pot, and a hot herbal/epsom salt bath.
I like to use a lot of epsom salts in my bath–at least 2 cups. Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate, and they help your muscles relax (magnesium helps the muscles relax, and calcium helps them contract). I also took 2 large handfuls of one of my herbal mixtures, and boiled them for about 5 minutes. As an herbalist, I have bags of herbs around my house, so it’s easy for me to whip up an herbal bath or facial steam (this bath used a blend of jasmine, chamomile, rose, spearmint, passionflower, lavendar and comfrey), but you can use tea bags to make an herbal bath–try 3-4 bags each of chamomile and mint.
I’m happy to report that I’m feeling much better, and ready for my work day!