DIY All Natural Air Fresheners

There are toxic ingredients in the common aerosol and even wax air fresheners that are on the market today. Many of these harsh chemicals can trigger asthma or allergies and can lead to headaches. With the number of toxins in our home environment already, we need a natural alternative that won't break the bank or lead to health problems. I've got the solution so LISTEN UP!

Many of the staples you'd find in your kitchen can be used to brighten your home with delicious scents and even bring a unique blend to any holiday. For this project you'll need some mason jars, variety of herbs, spices, and citrus, and possibly some essential oils to mix for different scents!

Step 1:
To start with you'll need to figure out what scents you think will work best for your home. I've got some suggestions listed below and you can mix and match as much or as little as you want.

       Citrus/Fruits:     Lemon, Lime, Orange, Grapefruit, Cranberry, Strawberry

      Essential Oils/Extracts:     Eucalyptus oil, Almond oil or Almond extract, Vanilla extract, Spearmint oil

     Spices/Herbs:     Basil, Cilantro, Thyme, Rosemary, Pine sprigs, Bay leaves, ground or whole Nutmeg,  
                               ground Cinnamon or Cinnamon sticks, ground or whole Cloves, ground or whole
                               Allspice, Vanilla beans

    Suggested combos:     cilantro lime, lemon basil, lime mint, eucalyptus spearmint, orange cinnamon clove,
                                      pine clove allspice, eucalyptus vanilla, orange vanilla clove

Step 2:
Combine your ingredients. You'll usually want to use approximately 2 cups of citrus/fruit, 2-3 fresh herb sprigs, and 1 tsp of essential oils, extracts, or spices as a guideline but feel free to adjust quantities to mix up the flavor.

Step 3:
Fill the rest of the jar up with water.

Step 4:
Heat it up and let the smell permeate! There are many different ways to heat the mixture up depending on how large of an area you'd like the smell to fill as well as how long you'd like it to stick around. The best and quickest way to fill a large area is with steam from cooking it in a pot on the stove, but you'll really have to be careful that the water doesn't dry up. Some of the slower methods include a crockpot, candle warmer, or a ceramic/glass bowl with a tea light underneath. These are going to release slower smells and won't need constant "babysitting".

You can make them ahead of time and keep them in the fridge for quick use. You can reuse each of these mixtures approximately 2-3 times but you might need to add a few more ingredients to refresh the smell the 2nd or 3rd time around. Make sure to store them in the fridge when not in use.

Jawbreaker Jabber

After reading a blog post from Lisa White about clenching her teeth while lifting weights, I decided to do a quick blog post about jaw pain. Many of us clench our teeth or jaws when stressed or while working out. This causes the muscles in the jaw to clench and load the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) which can lead to dysfunction and even headaches if done chronically.  We have many muscles that work together to help us open and close our jaw as well as move it side to side and even thrust it forward as well. These muscles also help us to chew our food and talk as well. Below find a cutaway picture of the jaw and the main muscles that "run the show". The jaw itself is made up of two main bones the maxilla (the upper jaw) and the mandible (the L shaped lower jaw) that come together in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The TMJ is cushioned by a small disc that's similar to the discs in your spine except that it is shaped like a backslash on your keyboard and its anchored by ligaments. This disc should allow the top of the mandible to glide gently over it without grinding or clicking, but many people that have degeneration or have injured this joint have grinding, clicking, or popping sounds emitted upon opening of the jaw.



Notice the temporalis muscle that runs along your "temple" and the side of your head. Many headache sufferers report having pain in this area and frequently link it to high stress levels. This muscle not only helps to clench your jaw tight but also has blood vessels that run in close proximity to it. Due to this anatomical mapping, many people that report throbbing headaches or a dull ache in the "temple" area after a high stress situation may be experiencing a side effect of temporalis muscle spasm from jaw clenching. Incidentally, there are also a few conditions such as temporal arteritis and polymyaliga rheumatica that may effect that same area and as a result may have similar symptoms. These conditions are more often found in older individuals (over 50) that suffer from immune dysfunction such as autoimmune disorders, frequent infections, and high doses of antibiotics. Consult your doctor for more information on these conditions.

The masseter muscle is the top layer of muscle that helps to pull the jaw shut tightly. I don't frequently find any issues with this muscle as its motion is pretty straight forward and with talking and chewing daily usually gets enough motion and stretching to avoid spasm.

The second layer of muscle underneath the masseter muscle is home to two muscles, the medial and lateral pterygoids. Refer to the picture below for a better understanding of where they attach. Notice the lateral pterygoid muscle attaches at two different points on the maxilla (upper jaw) while the medial is made up on one attachment. The two pterygoid muscles work together to not only lower the jaw but also open and thrust it forward in motions necessary for chewing and talking. Because these muscles are involved in a complex motion process, I frequently find them in spasm and very tender when palpated.

The other muscle shown is the digastric muscle which aids in allowing the jaw to open by pulling the mandible downward. In high stress individuals and jaw clenchers I typically find this muscle to be tender due more to overuse rather than spasm.

So now that we've covered the anatomy a bit more let's talk about what happens in TMJ dysfunction. TMJ dysfunction can be characterized by a number of different things including generalized jaw pain and weakness to jaw tracking variants as well as clicking, popping, and grinding upon opening the jaw. Jaw pain and weakness is usually a combination of issues due to nerve involvement in addition to the mechanical dysfunction caused by muscle imbalance and spasm. Jaw tracking variants can be due to improper muscle balance of the jaw muscles due to muscle spasm. The clicking, popping, and grinding sounds are usually due to degeneration and/or injury to the disc that cushions the mandible and as a result the disc is either not allowing a smooth gliding mandibular motion or the ligaments holding the disc may be injured or torn allowing the disc to "click" during jaw motion.

The nerve involvement associated with jaw pain and weakness may be due to irritation or direct pressure on a nerve from inflammation in the TMJ or from muscle spasms in the surrounding musculature. The muscle involvement can frequently be affected by your misaligned "bite" as well as clenching. Teeth are supposed to overlap and contact at the same time in your bite, however many factors such as a history of braces or tooth extraction can cause these contact points to shift. The shifting can cause high points on the teeth so that one side or one tooth contacts first in your bite. This high point can not only put stress on that tooth (causing loose teeth and a painful gum line due to exposed nerve) but also can cause the jaw muscles to react and contract unevenly which can lead to muscle spasms.

So what can you do about it? Talk to your dentist! Many dentists are now trained in a procedure called occlusal adjustments which reshape the surface of the teeth to eliminate or lessen the high spots in your bite. In addition to your dentist, talk to other health professionals you see such as a chiropractor and/or massage therapist as they can address the muscle spasms and may be able to offer stress management techniques to help prevent teeth clenching. Some chiropractors are also trained in adjustment procedures that are gentle and specific to help realign the TMJ joint using soft tissue and Activator techniques.

So much for a "quick" blog post right???