Rituals of Radiance: How Self-Care Becomes a Sacred Act

After working in the beauty industry for 14 years, I’ve witnessed a profound shift. What was once viewed as a luxury reserved for special occasions has now become an essential part of wellness. Regular facials are as important as regular doctor checkups.

While professional estheticians cannot diagnose medical conditions, we do study skin diseases and disorders extensively in school. This creates an opportunity to notice irregularities, such as changes in moles, and encourage clients to seek medical attention when needed.

Self-care becomes a sacred act the moment you choose to look in the mirror with eyes of love at the reflection staring back. It begins with appreciating what you are giving your attention to. Esoteric, I know—but hear me out.

You’ve probably heard the yogic saying, “Where focus goes, energy flows.” The quality of your energy matters because your ritual matters—and you matter. As humans, we radiate when we are in a state of joy. Being in your natural state of joy requires taking care of yourself. The world naturally tends toward entropy, but your self-care ritual acts like compounding interest in you. It strengthens your capacity to give to others without depletion. Giving without expectation is a great gift—a blessed state that even supports telomere growth.

The definition of “sacred” is something connected to a higher power, something greater than the self. When practicing self-care, express gratitude for what you’ve been given—a beautiful face and body. Your body is the vessel that carries you through the storm—or becomes the storm. Treat your reflection as the blessing it is, in all your glory.

Your skin, the largest organ of the body, functions as both a nutrient absorber and a system for waste removal. It protects your vital organs, regulates temperature, and responds to light through melanogenesis (tanning). Because your skin gives so much, it deserves respect. Speak sweetly to it—not just in words, but in thought.

Thought is not an airy thing. It lives in the fourth layer, weaving through the endocrine system, flowing through hyaluronic rivers, shaping bone. Our perception of a thought becomes the emotion, and that emotion becomes the body. Sweet thoughts carve beauty deeper than skin—they shape how we inhabit ourselves.

A beauty ritual is not vanity. It is devotion. It is prayer in motion. It is the soft, persistent language of love spoken to your own reflection.

Citations

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Zhao C, Zhang Z, Hu X, Zhang L, Liu Y, Wang Y, Guo Y, Zhang T, Li W, Li B. Hyaluronic Acid Correlates With Bone Metastasis and Predicts Poor Prognosis in Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 Jan 26;12:785192. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.785192. PMID: 35154001; PMCID: PMC8826575.

Edwards R, Ibison MC, Jessel-Kenyon J, Taylor RB. Measurements of human bioluminescence. Acupunct Electrother Res. 1990;15(2):85-94. doi: 10.3727/036012990816358243. PMID: 1978506.

Giridharan S. Yoga and Telomeres: A Path to Cellular Longevity? Cureus. 2024 Nov 27;16(11):e74552. doi: 10.7759/cureus.74552. PMID: 39735156; PMCID: PMC11676400.

Natural Healing: The Anti-Aging Power of Green Apples and an Alternative to Gallbladder Surgery

Green apples are anti-aging, bone densifying, and can be an alternative to gallbladder surgery. I was at the post office picking up a package a couple of days ago, and a friend working behind the counter was having a rough time digesting food after her gallbladder had been removed a week prior. My cerebrum sparked as I remembered learning about an alternative to gallbladder surgery involving merely eating green apples. This Green Apple Flush has given people an alternative solution to surgery, and I learned about it in Guatemala during the Chinese Medicine portion of my yoga teacher training.

The gallbladder is located under the stomach and releases bile through ducts in the small intestines to digest consumed fat. When excess bile is produced, the ducts get clogged and don’t function as well. Some symptoms of buildup in the gallbladder include ingestion, flatulence, periodic pain below the right front side of the rib cage, tension in the back of the shoulders near the neck, bitter taste in the mouth, and chest pain. Western medicine says, “Cut it out!”

You have another choice through Chinese Medicine. Gallbladder Renewal is possible.

Eat unrefined grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes. Avoid foods that are high in saturated fat like dairy, egg, and cholesterol-heavy meats. Booster foods include pears, parsnips, seaweeds, lemons, limes, and turmeric.

Traditional 21-Day Cleanse: This is a twenty-one-day commitment. Eat 1-2 radishes a day between meals. Drink three cups of cleaver tea or five cups of chamomile tea a day. Pour 5 teaspoons of cold-pressed flax oil over one of your meals daily. Follow this for two months, 6 days a week.

These ingredients, in this fashion, dissolve the glue that has clogged your ducts.

Gallbladder Flush

One-day commitment. Eat organic green apples all day (at least 4-5). Drink water, herbal teas, and apple juice.

Before you get into bed drink,

2/3 cup warm virgin olive oil (body temperature)

+

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice.

Slowly sip, then go to bed and lie on your right side w the right leg drawn up.