Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health plus Kat's Travel blog

Hi everyone! I've been quite busy the last month so the natural beauty blogging has been sporadic (I know, excuses, excuses). So I wanted to update you all of the things I’ve been up to. Firstly, last summer I launched a travel blog called Kat's Travel. I've written posts here on Natural Beautee about French and Italian natural beauty products as well as let you what products I'm using when I go on holiday. So you've probably already gathered I'm a keen traveler!

I recently posted on Kat's Travel about my lovely experience at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Western Massachusetts. I was thinking of editing it and posting it here on Natural Beautee but then I figured that I was doing you the reader a discredit. You're all internet savvy and know how links work!
Click here to read about my amazing R&R Retreat at Kripalu.

Now for everything else I've been up to, here's a update in Beauty Schooled Pretty Price Check style (which is now by the way Virginia Sole-Smith’s fabulous all-encompassing blog):

500: the number of hours that I've already put into my Aromatherapy qualification at ITHMA attending classes, massaging, writing assignments, and studying for exams

60: the mark I got my anatomy and physiology exam which coincidently was also the passing mark (I mean why put in any more effort than absolutely necessary? Of course I'm kidding. I was relieved to pass but gosh it was too close!)

44: the number of remaining massages I have to complete to become a qualified aromatherapist.

38: the number of trails in the ski area of Madonna di Campiglio, Italy where I went skiing over New Years

Too many to count - the number of products I have to review but I will review them soon!  Promise.

Aromatherapy Exam

More procrastination!  This time in the form of a video.  More about my aromatherapy studies, watch here, now.

Failing Aromademics

I’ve been a bit MIA on the blogging recently and the truth is that I’m really, really busy failing my aromatherapy course.  I’m being a tad dramatic of course (because that is my style) but I wanted to share some of what I’ve been failing with you.  On a recent pop quiz (which allegedly we knew about only none of us knew about) I got 11 out of 30 questions correct.  Barely one third correct.  At first I thought I’d only gotten 8 out of 30 correct which really disappointed me but luckily my classmate had scored my quick wrong.  So you can imagine how happy I was to get 11 out of 30 correct, relatively.

The portion of my quiz that I’m sharing with you is about traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) diagnosis.  We don’t diagnose conditions in the Western sense but we look at people’s tongues to determine the best way to treat their symptoms but more about that in a future post.  I got number 12 correct and all of the others wrong.  There were questions on the 5 elements, yin and yang, all kinds of phlegm.  It was intense.  When I actually understand it well enough for the exam, I’ll do a follow up post and explain.  Back to the books!

Aromademics is Badass

Sorry to use such colorful language.  I’m sure there’s a blog etiquette guide somewhere that tells you not to use profanity in blog titles.  However, I can’t think of any better word to describe the Aromatherapy course I’m on.  In addition I’ve decided to coin the term “aromademics” to describe the act of studying aromatherapy on a diploma course.  On NadineJolie.com I’ve recently written about how aromatherapy is a serious complementary therapy and not just mixing up some oils to smell nice (although that is a small part of it).  In order to become an accredited aromatherapist by the International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists (IFPA) I have to pass my diploma course (post-graduate diploma comparable to an Associate degree in the US) at the Institute of Traditional Herbal Medicine and Aromatherapy (ITHMA) which is an approved course for full entry into the IFPA.  In order to pass the ITHMA course I have to attend no less than 85% of lessons (i.e. no less than 37 out of the 43 days training) and take 3 exams:

• A written exam in aromatherapy
• A written exam in anatomy and physiology
• A practical exam in aromatherapy and massage

The reason why I think aromademics is badass is because from day 1 the academic material has been very challenging.  Extremely interesting, but challenging.  After 3 days of studying the aromatherapy oils we’ve already been introduced to more than 20 essential oils and started on oriental medicine.  So far on the oriental medicine topic we’ve studied the theories of yin and yang and the 5 elements which aromatherapists can use to treat their clients energetically.  The use of these philosophies is very helpful in treating mental conditions.  After our first day of massage class we’re expected to complete seven 30 min lower leg massages (although only the backs of the legs, we haven’t learned how to massage the front of the legs just yet!)  After 2 days of anatomy and physiology we’ve covered basic chemistry, cells, tissues, and more specifically bone and muscle tissues.

I’m really enjoying my aromatherapy course so I’ll keep blogging about it so you can follow along what we’re learning.  I hope at least from this introduction to aromademics that you have a deeper appreciation for the academic rigours of an aromatherapy diploma!