Month: January 2022

CBD Gave Me 4 More Months with My Best Friend

Post author By Richard Bowman
Post date January 17, 2022

Hey all! Richard here. Today, February 9th, is the anniversary of the loss of our beloved family dog, Polar Bear.

This is the true story about my first real encounter with CBD, seeing the benefits of how it can alleviate ailments, help with inflammation and create overall wellbeing.

Polar Bear was 11 and a half years old, and towards the end of her life, she kept getting sick and we couldn’t figure out why.

She was visibly run down when one night during dinner things took a turn for the worst. Myself, Alla and my son Kias knew she needed immediate help, so we took her to the after hours Veterinary ER. What I thought was going to be a few hundred dollars, some tests and maybe medication, ended up with the devastating news that Polar Bear was riddled with cancer.

One of the most dangerous tumors was filling up a pocket in her heart. The tumor would fill with liquid and constrain her heart. We watched helplessly as she would fall down and begin to seize, wondering if and when it would finally stop heart. It was it was horrific watching our best friend go through this.

All of a sudden my partner and I were having the conversation about ‘quality of life’ with the vets. It’s eleven forty five at night, Kias is asleep in the backseat, and I’m not prepared to say goodbye to my best friend. Not Yet. There had to be another option.

Alla, (a twenty year herbalist) and I continued talking about alternative medicine. We talked about starting a CBD regimen, go over everything she knew about it, and any other herbs that could possibly help Polar Bear relax and spend whatever time she had left in a more relaxed state.

I mean this, as sure as I am sitting here now: beginning a CBD regimen bought us four months extra with that dog.

Not only giving us more time together, but her quality of life was similar to that she when she was several years younger! We would catch her often in a puppy-like mood, bouncing up off of the couch and running around outside.

Blown away by the difference in her behavior, I talked to our vet about it as well as the other vets at the facility caring for Polar Bear. I brought it up to everybody!

I mean, when you think about it – A dog’s not gonna lie about something like that… I don’t think they can. We all know cancer doesn’t care.

CBD did something for Polar Bear, I saw it. It took us from a hopeless moment in the ER to more time with my best friend, so yeah – I’m a believer!

This story alone is a big reason why I have been so driven to make RA! an outlet for other people to turn on their own wellness journey. I believe that if we do what we can to reduce suffering for other beings, we can have that much more space to ‘Live Free in Wonder!’

Tags Pet Health, Veterinary

Blog Family Recipes

Boost Your Immune System with Alla’s Homemade Elderberry Syrup

Post author By Alla Tyspin
Post date January 7, 2022

It starts with a tickle in the ears and throat, a headache creeps in slowly as your energy drains and dread sets in. We’ve all been there – a case of the common cold or the flu is likely in your future. As a mother, it can be miserable to carry on when feeling ill, but worse to watch your children suffer without being able to do much to fix it. Of course, there is a time and a place for western medicine and doctors visits. But unfortunately, there isn’t much that your family doctor can do for a common cold or even a mild case of the flu.

When it comes to helping myself and my family keep a strong immune system, I know from experience that natural supplements and a healthy diet can make a big difference when it comes to the number of illnesses in a year. All I have to say is, thank goddess nature provides remedies that can help avoid or shorten the severity of symptoms if you get to them in time.

That’s why one of my favorite immune-boosting tricks is supplementing with Elderberry syrup! As a classically trained herbalist, I absolutely love making homemade remedies. It is a fun way to slow down, get back to my witchy roots and get in touch with what nature provides to stave off severe symptoms and help to keep us healthy year-round.

amazing syrup that you could do a shot of every day just to you know keep that immune system going or if you do get sick you can start taking a teaspoon or a couple of teaspoons of it every hour or so until you start feeling better it’s amazing you can also add things like ginger and cinnamon and other routes to it too really spruce it up otherwise it’s as simple as some elderberry some hot water honey and brandy.

Here’s what you need to boost your immune system with my homemade elderberry syrup:

Ingredients:

1 quart filtered water
1 bag fresh or frozen elderberries
1 cup Brandy
1/2 cup raw honey

Directions:

Pour the water into a saucepan and add the elderberries
Place the pot on the stove over medium heat and bring to a boil
When boiling, cover and reduce to simmer for about an hour or until the liquid is reduced by half.
Add the brandy
Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature
Mash the berries with a flat utensil to release all of the juices
Pour the mixture through a strainer into a glass jar and discard the elderberries.
Lastly, add the honey and stir (or close the jar and shake) until all of the honey is combined.
Store in the refrigerator!

Tags DIY, Homemade

Blog Family

I Used CBD While Recovering from Covid Vaccine

Post author By Alla Tyspin
Post date January 3, 2022

Don’t have time to read? Click here to listen to Alla’s original voice recording.

Hey everyone, Alla here!

Yesterday I decided to get my third covid immunization shot. And you know what, today I’m feeling kind of achy – kind of crappy. My joints ache and my body hurts, but the days don’t stop, so I thought I’d share a few of the things I like to do at home to help reduce my discomfort holistically with the use of all natural hemp products.

1. Healthy Alternatives

I’ve been an herbalist for over 20 years and have never been one to take a lot of over-the-counter meds on a day when I’m feeling ‘off’. I do feel good about taking our RA! Tincture to help with inflammation because I can feel safe taking this formulation.

We’ve worked really hard to create a whole-spectrum distillate because it offers an ‘entourage effect’ without unknown or varying amounts of THC as often found in full-spectrum tinctures. (Our Whole Spectrum™ RA! Products contain the legal amount of .3% THC.)

An article on the National Library of Medicine quotes researchers at PMC Labs stating,

“…it has been suggested that CBD may indirectly improve anti-inflammatory effects.”
“Antioxidative and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Cannabidiol”

I agree with their findings, based on my personal experience with CBD and pain. However, I’m not a doctor, so always do your own research!

2. Invest in Your Downtime

Taking a hot bath is the closest one can get to goddess-ness. Not only a long day, but a long day with aches and pains from a covid vaccine. (Ok let’s be honest, I want a bath even on the best of days!) Since I am feeling achy, I will be slipping into a CBD bath. On high-inflammatory days like today, I like to mix it up with CBD bath bombs and maybe rub some RA! CBD cream to moisturize my body afterwards. Next, slip into bed, and try this last natural remedy for aches and pain…

3. Command You Mental State

I don’t know about you, but a calm mind goes a long way to helping me deal with the pain. That’s why I like to settle into my senses and out of my thoughts to bring a sense of peace and wellbeing. More good news – you don’t have to practice meditation to get the free, all-natural health benefits of quieting your mind and listening inward. I like to spend a couple of moments to focus on breathing and one of my senses. If I notice my mind wondering too much sometimes I repeat a mantra to help me focus. Try whatever sounds right to you. I like to start with,

“I trust the wisdom of my body” or “I am safe in my body”

Bottom line is: feeling icky, and being in pain sucks. Putting something good into my body to help it heal from the vaccination helps me relax knowing that I’m supporting my body to heal naturally.

That’s my two cents on what I’ve done for myself after getting the covid vaccines …or any kind of illness that comes with aches and just feeling kind of gross. Hopefully these tips can help you get through tough painful spots a little bit easier.

Cheers! Peace and love,

Alla

PS: If you want more info like this, sign up to get our emails and I’ll make sure we get in touch.

Tags Flu, Pain

Polar Bear was 11 and a half years old, and towards the end of her life, she kept getting sick and we couldn’t figure out why.

1. Healthy Alternatives

2. Invest in Your Downtime

3. Command You Mental State

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