2012 Black Rock Mud Media Placements

2012Media Placements ~ The Abbi Agency, Inc.

BlackRock Mud Table of Contents

Date Publication Title

12/13/2012 Newsreview Mudslingers

12/13/2012 RN&R Mudslingers

12/3/2012 Elevated Existence Online 2012 Editor's Picks Gift Guide

12/3/2012 Healthy Holistic LivingHealthy Holistic Living's Top 100 Green Products

For 201212/1/2012 Elevated Existence 2012 Editor's Picks Gift Guide

11/29/2012 KOLO 8 Black Rock Mud11/29/2012 KNPR Nevada Mined Mud11/26/2012 Moms Everyday Creating Your Own At Home Spa11/20/2012 Bloomberg TV Black Rock Mud: Selling Mud And Making Money11/19/2012 Newser Hot Nevada Export: Mud11/19/2012 AOL Harvesting Mud From The Nevada Desert11/19/2012 Wall Street Journal Online In Nevada, There's Mud In Them Thar Hills

11/19/2012 Wall Street JournalThere's Mud In Them Thar Hills! In Nevada Goo Is The

New Gold11/18/2012 Reno Gazette-Journal Holiday Gift Guide 201211/1/2012 Nevada Magazine Give The Gift Of Nevada

10/11/2012 Healthy Holistic Living Improve Or Reverse Nearly Any Condition10/11/2012 Facebook: Healthy Holistic Living Black Rock MudPot

10/8/2012 Healthy Holistic LivingBlack Rock Mud Company Product Review And

Giveaway

10/8/2012 Northern Nevada Business Weekly Off-The-Grid Facility Creates Health & Beauty Product

9/19/2012 Good Day Sacramento Show Information9/4/2012 Reno Gazette-Journal Mud Mamas Of Gerlach

8/27/2012 KTVN News 2 Making The Most Of Mud8/19/2012 RGJ My Treat Name Is Mud

For Shelly Egbert and Summer Powelson, creating a sustainable business requires getting dirty. Egbert and Powelson started Black Rock Mud Company, a company that makes a cosmetic cream created from the mud produced by geothermal springs in the Black Rock Desert.

“I’ve always been an entrepreneur,” she says. “I just have ideas that I want to do something about. … People are worried about the economy and looking for jobs and we’re saying, ‘Look, we’ve got mud, let’s be inventive and be creative.’ This has been a dream of mine for about 12 years.” Egbert is also the director of nonprofit organization House Calls, a support system for ailing senior citizens.

Black Rock Mud Company is a Gerlach-based family operation—Egbert and Powelson each have four children, ranging from age 2 to 20, who are home schooled and help with the business as part of their education. Egbert also has three children who attend college.

The mud is harvested on 144 acres bought by Egbert’s father 12 years ago. A hunter green color, it has a creamy consistency that dries quickly on skin, and is essentially odorless. The mud is classified as an illite clay, commonly used in alternative healing because it creates a pulling sensation, stimulating the blood under skin.

“When you see that coming out of the ground it’s just gorgeous, so it was very intriguing,” Egbert says of her first impressions of the substance. “We used to put it all over our bodies and our faces. It just felt wonderful. So for a long time I said, ‘We need to put this in a jar.’”

Egbert and Powelson collect, process and jar the mud themselves. The mud is strained to remove excess moisture and organic material but is packaged as is to retain its natural properties. The owners must work around the natural patterns of the ecosystem, so the mud is only harvested twice a year.

“The hard part is that this is all geothermal activity,” says Egbert. “It’s up to Mother Nature. Sometimes the springs throw the mud out, sometimes they don’t, sometimes they’re dry. So for 12 years I watched it constantly change, and eventually came up with a way to make it available based on harvests.”

While the substance itself is organic, making the company entirely green was the top priority. Black Rock Mud’s facility is all powered by wind turbines, solar panels and geothermal energy. Egbert and Powelson also wanted every piece of the jars, lids, and box packaging to be sustainable.

“We said we wanted it to be green, organic, recyclable, and the big one for me was made in the U.S.,” says Egbert. “That was the hardest for us. We spent two years trying to get it in a package.”

The team eventually found the resources they were seeking, but acknowledge that their overhead costs for packaging is much more expensive “than if we had just gone with materials made in China, but we weren’t going to do that,” says Egbert. Their efforts won them an international green packaging design award.

The small company has received national press, including a front page story in the Wall Street Journal last month. Egbert says they were even offered a reality television show deal, which they turned down.

“We’re just mud farmers from Nevada,” she says, laughing. “Well, we prefer ‘mud whisperers.’ We’re just using what nature has gifted to us.”

2012 Editor's Inspirational Gift Picks Giveaway

Every December, Elevated Existence editors picks some of their favorite inspirational gift ideas – including all-natural products, jewelry, apparel, home goods and more! Last year, we gave away some of our picks to a few lucky winners, and this year we are doing it again!

Below is a list of the products we are giving away! (For the full list of picks, see the December 2012 Issue with Gregg Braden.)

To enter, send an e-mail to [email protected] with the subject line “Gift Picks” and in the body of the e-mail list the products you are interested in by December 31, 2012.

Click on the links below to see each product!

BB Becker “Right Direction” Sterling Silver Pendant www.bbbecker.com

Blee Inara Love Bracelet www.bleeinara.com

Chocoveda Chakra Box Chocolates www.chocoveda.com

Conscious Box 3-Month Subscription www.consciousbox.com

CrystalxPain Pacs www.smartenergetics.com

Davidson’s Organics Tea Sampler www.davidsonstea.com

Good JuJu Prosperity Bracelet www.mialena.com

H2EO Cool Mist Ultrasonic Diffuser www.plantextractsinc.com

Isabella Grace Jewelry “Love Lets You Soar” Necklace www.isabellegracejewelry.com

Klean Spa Scrub Club www.kleanspa.com

Metropolis Floral Soap Gift Set www.metropolissoap.com

Mudpot Natural Mud Mask www.blackrockmud.com

Om Herb Pillow & Herb Satchel www.omherbpillows.com

Panier des Sens Organic Olive Oil for Body & Hair www.panierdessens.us

Priti NYC Nude Nail Polish Kit www.pritinyc.com

SIGG Sun Salutation Water Bottle www.mysigg.com

Yesteryear Soap: Vanilla Honey Soap & Cutting Board www.yesteryearsoap.net

12/3/2012

It's that time of year again when we sift through hundreds of products trying to find the best of

the best. And we found them!

Our Top 100 List consists of some oldies but goodies, as well as some fantastic new comers to

the 'Green' market, and we can't wait to share them with you.

So what exactly do we mean by 'green'? Green can mean a lot of things in today's world but, here

at Healthy Holistic Living, when we talk about 'green' we are talking about the holistic approach.

What that means is that not only is the product healthy for Mother Earth, it also means that it is

good for YOU. And not just the physical you, but also your mind, body and soul. Yep, we are

talking about the whole enchilada!

So how does a company get on our list? Good question. But first let me say that we do not get

paid to review products or are paid any advertising fee. We at Healthy Holistic Living like to

stay impartial during the review process but, of course, if a company feels obliged to send us a

little Christmas gift after the list is posted we certainly will not refuse it.

So how do they get on our list? Well, each company's product goes through a thorough review

process and must meet the following criteria:

Must do what it claims to do

Must be chemical free

The company must be environmentally conscious and socially responsible, and not just in

writing

The product must be all natural or organic

If it is a consumable item it must be GMO free

That's it. We have taken the time to write a thorough review of each product addressing the

above criteria so rest assured you are looking at a great list of products that are good for your

mind, body and soul and that we are sure you are going to love.

Now some of you out there, and you know who you are, are going to count each and every

product on this list to ensure that we have 100 products listed. Well you caught us; that's right,

this year you will only find 91 products on the list. Why, you may ask, simple, we just didn't

know about, sampled or tried any other products that we felt worthy of our list. That simple. But

we still like to call it our Top 100 Green Products list.

12/3/2012

Want to view our list in a PDF? Just click here Healthy Holistic Living's Top 100 Green

Products for 2012

Lifestinks Bottom line, if you are using mainstream deodorant you are putting yourself and your

health at risk. Lifestinks has the solution, they have developed a non-toxic, all natural deodorant

that works; yes, it actually works.

Shea Terra Sweet mother of God, these are some absolutely wonderful skin care products that

smell incredible, work great and are organic. So much to love about Shea Terra.

Beecology makes wonderful all natural products that you are not likely to find anywhere else.

My favorite is the peppermint body wash and lip balm.

Exuberance Skin Care Organic, natural, cruelty-free skin care products that work, need I say

more?

Healing Anthropology is an eco-minded company that creates high end, high quality all natural

skin care products that are truly fantastic.

SEED Skin Care has developed an affordable all natural skin care line that rivals your high end

products.

Golden Path Alchemy Skin Care products are handmade in small batches with all-natural, local

and certified organic ingredients. Their products are like a bit of luxury in a bottle.

eco.kid Organic Skin Care for Kids has a fantastic line of products specifically designed for you

little ones.

Auromere Ayurvedic puts out a wonderful line of ayurvedic personal care products that you are

going to love. Personally, I have been using the toothpaste for years and you couldn't pay me to

give it up.

Organix South Theraneem makes a fantastic line of products from skin care products to pet care

products using organic neem oil. Their mission is to create wholesome and natural products

while taking care of the planet and we think they are doing just that.

Eco Lips Lip Balm This company makes a fantastic lip balm that is not only eco-friendly and all

natural but most of the ingredients are organic. They even make a vegan lip balm. I love this

company.

12/3/2012

Neem Tree Farms makes a great line of organic products out of neem oil. Neem Tree Farms

makes a wonderful line of products that I highly recommend, but be prepared neem oil has a

"different" kind of smell.

Black Rock Mud Company OMG, this company makes and absolutely wonderful mask that

leaves your skin feeling like you just left a spa. To top it off, their commitment to the

environment is stellar.

Alima Pure Hands down one of the best all natural, chemical free cosmetics on the market today.

Inventive Eco Organics has a wonderful line of organic skin care products that leaves your skin

feeling smooth and fresh all day.

Antho is a line of organic, chemical free skin care products that is priced right. Not only do they

work but you can actually afford to buy them.

Colorado Aromatics makes divine all natural skin care products from soaps to serums that you

are sure to love.

Wai Hope Organics has a superior line of organic skin care products that I highly recommend.

Scrubz GoodEarthBeauty.com is a natural and organic beauty shop that carries a specialized line

of face scrubs and butters. Scrubz is an all natural, chemical free product that leaves your skin

feeling soft and luxurious.

Phoenicia has a wonderful line of skin care products. You will not find any chemicals or

additives in these products, just pure natural goodness that leaves your skin feeling and looking

beautiful.

Weleda We love Weleda. They have been around forever and make nothing but the best products

organic skin care products.

Elemental Herbs We love this company. They have a great line of organic skin care products and

are eco-friendly to the nth degree.

Suki has a fantastic line of chemical and synthetic free skin care products that we love.

Zen Society has a wonderful line of organic skin care products that keeps it simple with no added

anything, including scents. Excellent product.

SkinFare remedies and organic skin care all wrapped up in a biodegradable package, what's not

to love.

KYI has a great all natural skin care line that wants you to 'know your ingredients,' which is a big

plus in our book.

Gift GuideElevated Existence editors selected some of their favorite gift ideas

to spread spirituality, love and inspiration to others

Priti NYC Nude KitThis nude kit of nail polish from Priti NYC offers four universaland classic colors of cruelty-free, vegan and non-toxic polish.They are also made without toluene, dibutyl phthalate (DHB)

and formaldehyde. www.pritinyc.com; $39.99.

Organic Olive Oil for Body & HairLooking to moisturize your body and hair? Try this dry,organic, olive oil from Panier des Sens en Provence’snatural skin care line. Ideal for both hair and skin, the

company does not test products on animals.www.panierdessens.us; $30.

Klean Spa Scrub ClubFor three, six or 12 months, you can give someone thegift of a new, 5-ounce sugar body polish from Klean Spavia the “Scrub Club.” These polishes use unrefined canesugar and a blend of moisturizing oils such as coconut,

macadamia nut, sweet almond and shea.www.kleanspa.com; $65-$190.

www.elevatedexistence.com December 2012 Elevated Existence 15

Silver LariatAmethyst NecklaceFrom Conscious Jewelry, this 17-inchchain made from sterling silver over brassfeatures an amethyst stone between 1 and1.5 inches in length. Amethyst is a verymeditative and calming stone, also knownto increase intuition.www.consciousjewelry.com; $71.

Davidson’sOrganics TeaSamplerGive the tea lover in your lifethe ultimate gift with this fullleaf wooden tea samplercase from Davidson’sOrganics. With 144 teasachets and eight varieties,including Fresh Mint Medley,Lavender Earl Grey andRooibos Masala Chai, the teais packed in a natural pinecase from sustainablyplanted forests, and linedwith velvet.www.davidsonstea.com; $85.

Mudpot NaturalMud Mask

Taken from an area of the BlackRock Desert, known as the GreatBoiling Springs, this mineral richillite clay contains more than 50

naturally occurring trace elementsbeneficial for the skin, including

calcium, phosphorus, iron,magnesium, potassium and zinc. It’s

100-percent natural, organic andfree of chemicals, dyes, fillers,preservatives and scents, and

draws toxins and impurities fromthe skin, tones it and revitalizes thecomplexion, while tightening pores.

www.blackrockmud.com; $59.

Gift Guide

Metropolis Floral Soap Gift SetOffering all natural and vegan soaps, bath soaks and lip creams,Metropolis Soap Co. offers this floral gift set featuring four soapsmade from natural butters and essential oils in scents: aloe,chamomile and lavender; rosewood and oatmeal; mint lavenderand citrus; and lavender and tangerine. It also includes a minisoak in rose, jasmine and ylang ylang; and a lavender and mintlip cream. www.metropolissoap.com; $29.99.

18 Elevated Existence December 2012 www.elevatedex istence.com

11/26/2012

Creating Your Own At-Home Spa

Reporter: By Bridget Veltri, lifestyle expert and at home spa treatment enthusiast Parenting can cause both backache and heartache;

sometimes a little “me time” at the spa is all that’s

needed to rejuvenate. Don’t fret if a spa day isn’t in

your budget or you can’t find an afternoon to get

away, there are many great items that can transform

your bathroom into the spa that you deserve. Here are

just a few special items that can make every morning

luxurious!

1. Black Rock Mud. Go ahead… get a little

dirty! This mud is made by moms and the cure for

what ails you. This all natural mud pot bubbled up

out of the Black Rock Desert and promises to tighten

pores remove toxins and revitalize skin. It’s not only good for you, but good for the environment

too! Black Rock Mud packages in a plantable box embedded with wildflower seeds. $59 for a 4

oz jar.

2. WarmPerfect Heated Towel Racks. Whether it’s for your most luxurious towel or your clothes on

the chilliest morning, these heated racks are sleek, chic and will give you that warm pampered

feeling inside. Available at various retailers prices start at $79, check online.

3. Bliss Hot Salt Body Scrub. They don’t call it “bliss” for nothing. This super sofenting scrub will

intoxicate your senses with the scent of rosemary and eucalyptus. This oil-free, self heating

formula gently exfoliates with sea salts. It may be DIY, but you will definitely want to do it all

the time. $36

4. Pacifica Pillar Candles. Finding time to jet set to experience the fabulous spas of the world can be

tough. Pacifica brings the globe’s finest scents to you with their pillar candle collection, no

passport necessary. Breathe in the sents of French Lilac, Hawaiian Ruby Guava, Tahitian

Gardenia, and Thai Lemongrass, among others as you bathe. This “trip” is a bargain for $16.

5. Conair Footbath with Bubble and Heat. Who needs to go out for a pedicure when you can dip

your footsies in this fabulous heated footbath! Before painting your toes, treat yourself to a soak

in bubbles and heat. Starting at $28.99.

11/20/2012

VIDEO DESCRIPTION: Next-door to the site of the yearly Burning Man art festival in the

Black Rock Desert, the Black Rock Mud Company hopes to bring new notoriety to the area by

selling it's geothermal mud for facial masks. WSJ's Jim Carlton reports.

140 Views 11/19/2012

Tags: Harvesting Mud From the Nevada Desert,Beauty Mud Production,beauty

products,Gerlach Nevada,The Wall Street Journal,WSJLive,black rock desert,Burning Man,jim

carlton,the playa

GERLACH, Nev.—Like generations of Nevada prospectors before her, Shelly Egbert plunged her shovel into her mining claim one recent autumn afternoon. She hit a mother lode.

"Look at that," she yelled, nodding at the bounty on the flat of her spade. "Straight from the center of the earth!"

It was earth, as a matter of fact. "Smooth as butter," the 50-year-old mother of seven said as she dug her hand into an oozing greenish pile of warm mud. "This is what God gave us."

There's not much else out here in this sandblasted patch of Nevada desert other than dusty clay soil. But when the volcanically-heated water seeps up from deep underground here, it turns the dust into a goo so sublime that people actually pay to have it slathered over their bodies in spas.

Among the beneficial properties Ms. Egbert touts: more than 50 trace elements that she says promotes healthy skin.

Mud treatments have been around for centuries, and are now popular in spas—including those at Nevada's casino hotels. Until recently, the locals imported all their mud from places as far away as the Dead Sea or Thailand.

Ms. Egbert decided two years ago that Nevada mud could compete. Together with a business partner, Summer Powelson, she incorporated the Black Rock Mud Co. and began digging.

With a work crew on their ranch that includes their home-schooled children aged two to 20, the pair just completed their autumn mud harvest, from which they have 5,000 jars of mud to sell for $59 each as a cosmetic facial mask. They also harvest in the spring.

Their main customers so far are Reno spas and casinos. When one ordered some for its spa a few weeks ago, Ms. Egbert carefully loaded the bottled mud in the back of her Ford Expedition and hauled it herself.

She has given sample jars of the stuff to Reno area spas and expects to sling her mud more broadly via a website.

But she faces the big mud players, including established cosmetic giants like L'Oréal that sell cosmetic mud harvested from exotic locales all over the world—often where geologic attributes like volcanic heating fill the local soil with soothing-to-the-skin minerals.

The advantage of Nevada mud, says Ms. Egbert: It doesn't stink like some of the other stuff, which often has a sulfurous smell. That's one reason Emily Sindlinger, owner of Reno's Lime Spa, has been using Black Rock Mud

for six months. "Most (cosmetic) muds have a smell so it's remarkable this one doesn't," Ms. Sindlinger says.

Competitors defend their smelly mud, arguing that their products have a proven track record while Black Rock Mud does not. Moor Mud, for example, is a slime consisting of an organic substance made from decomposed plants. The mud's "chelatic properties" —which the company claims promote the removal of toxins from the epidermis—preserve the skin so well

that bodies buried in it thousands of years ago have been found intact, says Lou Danes, owner of Torf Spa LLC, a Moor mud supplier in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Mariah Culbertson, marketing manager at Universal Companies, an Abingdon, Va., distributor of Moor and other muds, admits some of her sludge can be a bit malodorous, but adds: "Some people like earthy smells. We don't have anything extremely stinky."

Many spas put in additives like a pumpkin or citrus fragrance to mask foul smells. At Reno's Spa Toscana, director Morgan Brantner says the Black Rock Mud she began carrying a month ago is the first that can be used unaltered.

"What you see is what you get," says Ms. Brantner, whose spa is part of the Peppermill Casino and Resort. So far, Ms, Brantner says her spa has sold 36 jars of the mud and just placed an order for 48 more.

Black Rock's isn't the only mud that claims no smell. In Cordova, Alaska, Lauren Padawer markets an odorless glacial mud she harvests from the nearby Copper River and sells as far away as Sweden. She stumbled across a mother lode while taking a swim along the icy river several years ago, and procured a federal permit to extract the stuff.

"Your feet just sank into the mud," says Ms. Padawer, who went on to found Alaska Glacial Mud Co. in 2006. "It was the most luxurious mud you could imagine, and we ended up just putting it all over ourselves." She adds she sells about 5,000 jars of mud a year, the same as Black Rock Mud. Her chief limitation: She can only harvest mud in the autumn when the river is low and it's not too cold.

In Nevada, Ms. Egbert says she eventually realized she could only harvest mud at certain times of the year. When her father, David Jamieson, bought the 144-acre ranch 12 years ago as a place to train falcons, she says she immediately noticed the high quality of the mud created from hundreds of geothermal springs on the property.

"I said, 'Let's bottle this', because it was so gorgeous," says Ms. Egbert. "But it was too unpredictable when mud would be there, so I came up with the idea of doing a spring and fall harvest."

Warning a visitor to tread carefully, she walked gingerly around the boiling mud pots, pointing to one dried-up hole the size of a bathtub. It had been a regular gusher until it played out a couple years ago. "There's no rhyme or reason why they start or stop, they just do," says Ms. Egbert.

She enlisted Ms. Powelson to be a partner and in

2010 they founded Black Rock Mud, starting out with a "test" harvest of mud. There was a learning curve, like the time Ms. Egbert's husband, Tom Egbert, almost fell into a bubbling pit while shoveling mud.

"The ground around him started collapsing, and he jumped back just in time," Ms. Egbert says. "We started a rule that you have to be harnessed to a four-wheeler after that."

Ms. Egbert heads the harvest and also oversees a production line inside a storage shed where the workforce consists mainly of their children—all wearing white smocks. On a recent afternoon, two-year-old Maggie Powelson stirred the mud in a five-gallon bucket, while brother Brigham, 12, acted as quality control cleaning the edges of filled jars and five other siblings and cousins took care of packaging and other final steps for shipment.

"Heaven on earth," Ms. Egbert said as the sun began to sink behind a mountain.

Product Reviews and Giveaways for this Week:

Black Rock Mud Company - The Mudpot by Black Rock Mud Company is a must have product. This product screams eco-friendly and works wonders.

Funky Monkey - Organic, GMO Free, Nut Free and Vegan, what's not to love.

Andean Dream - Fantastic Gluten Free, Organic and GMO free pasta, soups and cookies made from Quinoa.

Bottle Bright - This is a must have product if you use water bottles. Bottom line there is no faster or easier way to clean your water bottles.

PaperlessKitchen.com - It's not often I get excited about a cloth, but this is one you have to try!

Glass Dharma Straws - Yup, you read it right, glass straws. Who knew you could get glass straws, and once you see them you are going to want one.

Sprout Watches - No giveaway with this one, but if you are looking for an environmentally friendly watch, this is it! I love this company.

Now, let’s talk about the best way to improve your health:

Many of us know what it’s like to schedule an appointment with our doctor, submit to a physical exam and then drive to the nearest pharmacy to collect our medicinal reward. A few weeks later, we wonder why we still have the same symptoms. Or, maybe things have improved but we wonder what’s going to happen when we stop – if we stop – taking the medication. According to one Canadian physician, there is a simple treatment that can significantly improve almost any condition that doesn’t require a prescription.

Michael F. Evans, M.D., CCFP, is an associate professor at the University of Toronto and a physician at St. Michael’s Hospital, a noted teaching and research facility. His calling is family medicine, but his claim to fame resides in a 9-minute video gone viral in which he describes a “magic pill” that can help people with various disorders ranging from anxiety and depression to obesity and cancer. Drawing on clinical evidence from global studies, “Dr. Mike” gives an impressive breakdown of statistical data to demonstrate just how effective this single “medical intervention,” as he calls it, truly is.

Ready? Here we go…

- People with arthritis of the knee who receive one hour of the treatment, three times a week, reduce pain and impaired mobility by 47%.

- Senior citizens reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia by approximately 50%.

- People at risk for diabetes who include the treatment in addition to making dietary and other lifestyle changes reduce this risk by 58%.

- Post-menopausal women receiving this treatment four times a week lower their risk of hip fracture by 41%.

- Feeling anxious? Get the treatment and you’ll feel less anxious nearly half the time.

- 30% of people with depression see marked improvement with low doses of this treatment; 47% see improvement with a larger dose.

- By following more than 10,000 Harvard alumni for 12 years, researchers have found that those using the treatment experienced a 25% lower risk of death compared to those that didn’t.

- The treatment is the number one remedy for fatigue.

Here’s Your Rx

You’d better brace yourself.

The single treatment that can relieve fatigue, anxiety, depression and arthritis pain and reduce the risk of diabetes and age-related cognitive disorders is …exercise. Yep, it’s just that simple; nothing from a test tube, no invasive probing, no pill to swallow, no bullet to bite down on. And we’re not talking about sweating up a storm with high-velocity, booty-firming workouts set to hip-hop music or running marathons either. This miraculous therapy is more like a walk in the park -- literally.

How Much of the Treatment Do I Need?

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Dr. Evans advises “the more, the better.” However – and this should perk up any lingering couch potatoes in the crowd – the ROI, or rate of return, tends to drop off after 20 to 30 minutes of investing your time in physical activity. But, if you can carve out at least 20 minutes out of your day, or what amounts to about 150 minutes a week, the benefit gained might turn out to be as priceless. If you think that assessment sounds dramatic (and it is), consider this: One study involving female nurses found that just one hour of regular activity per week nearly cut their risk of heart disease in half. Numbers like that should get your heart racing before your feet even hit the floor.

Baby Steps

If walking for 30 minutes to an hour every day seems daunting for whatever reason, break your regimen down into mini-sessions. For example, spend three sessions of 10-minute intervals engaged in exercise instead of trying to cram your daily dose in all at once. If you find walking or other exercise boring, grab a friend willing to join you. If you’re lucky enough to be owned by a dog, he’ll be more than happy to buddy up with you for a trip around the block or a rousing game of backyard soccer. There’s a lot to be said for mall walking, too, especially if you live in an area that isn’t conducive to casual strolling or that lacks interesting scenery.

How to Get Moving When You Just Can’t

As Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, once said, “walking is man’s best medicine.” To this bit of wisdom Dr. Mike adds that 30 minutes of exercise each day “is like a magic pill to cure aches and pains.” But if this sounds like a tall order for you to fill because you’re too busy, in too much pain or -- you fill in the blank -- the good doctor recommends shifting your perspective. Instead of worrying about getting those 30 minutes of exercise into your daily routine, ask yourself if and how you can sleep and sit less in each 23 and ½-hour period. Ah-ha! Looked at from this point of view, getting enough physical activity each day can seem effortless, but the health-giving payoff will be just as big.

Stay Well and Healthy, Michelle

Healthy Holistic Living Facebook Give Away 10/11/2012

Black Rock Mud Company Product Review and Giveaway 10/8/2012

OK, so I admit it I am a 45 year old outdoorsy type gal that never thought twice about her skin and is kicking herself now! So now whenever a quality skin care product comes up for review I am first in line.

What's the Product?

MudPot by Black Rock Mud Company

First Impressions

Love the packaging it's absolutely beautiful and the product? well, what's not to love about mineral rich mud that finds its way to the earth's surface through small bubbling mud volcanoes and mudpots. I cannot wait to slather this on my face!

How I used it

I love to play in the mud so this product was right up my alley. First thing I did was read the instructions. Steps 1, apply generously to clean skin avoiding eye area. Leave on for 5 -20 minutes. Spritz as needed to keep moist. Rinse thoroughly with water. Moisturize. Repeat application weekly or as desired. OK, so I washed my face and applied the mud liberally. It felt great going on so silky and smooth. Then I went and set the timer for 15 minutes. I was a bit stumped when it came to the spritzing part because I don't own anything that is called a 'spritzer' but then I remembered that my 5 year old daughter has a spray bottle she uses for her snake tank which would do the job. OK, face spritzed. Then I waited. My face definitely felt tight and a bit tingly. Once the buzzer went off I rinsed my face an applied moisturizer. Wow! the mask certainly decreased the size of my pores as well as tightened my skin. My skin felt smooth and silky all day. I love this product, no two ways about it MudPot is a quality product that works incredibly well.

How does Mother Earth feel about this product?

Mother Earth loves Black Rock Mud Company from their harvesting techniques to packaging. Black Rock Mud Company screams environmentally friendly. Seriously, they actually package their product in a box that can be planted in your back yard and will sprout wildflowers! Yes, wildflowers! On top of that, Mud Pot is packed in a recyclable jar. In order to ensure long- term sustainability, Black Rock Mud Company carefully monitors both the Spring and Fall harvests. The mud is carefully hand harvested to help protect and preserve the precious resource. Once harvested it is then packaged, and the quantity of jars available for that harvest is determined. This company loves Mother Nature and she loves them right back!

Is it a Healthy Product?

All natural organic mineral rich mud from the Earth? You betcha it's healthy.

How does this product impact my wallet?

At $79.00 each for a 4 oz jar it is definitely expensive, no doubt about it, but if it is within your means this is one fabulous product.

Update: I just heard that Black Rock Mud had an abundant fall harvest that enabled them to drop their price to $59.00 a jar. What an amazing deal!

Would I recommend this product to a friend?

Yes, but only to those who I know can afford this product.

Bottom Line:

4 1/2 Stars. Why only 4 1/2 stars? Well, actually the product and company deserves 5 stars but the price is slightly out of reach for the average consumer.

Making the Most of Mud Posted: Aug 27, 2012 5:16 PM PDT

Updated: Sep 05, 2012 6:50 PM PDT

For 16 years Shelly Egbert's father has owned 140 acres of

geothermally active land north of Gerlach. And for 16

years she and her family have enjoyed the hot springs

there and the silky buttery mud that llines the hot springs.

Now, Shelly has figured out how to package it and share it.

That's right, they are putting mud in jars and selling it to

spas across the country.

"It's pure beautiful mud," Egbert says. "It comes from the earth to you and back to the earth.

That's our company motto. We collect it by hand, package it in biodegradable plastic and in

cardboard infused with wildflower seeds. When you're done with it, you plant the box and it

grows wildflowers."

In fact, Black Rock Mud won an international packaging award for that idea. And their plan in

general is a winner. The pure mud, which has no smell at all because the geothermal activity is

from plate movement and not volcanic activity.

"It's as pure as it gets," Egbert says. "We don't use any chemicals or any fillers or even any thing

other than the mud as it comes from Mother Earth."

They harvest twice a year and they never know just how much they'll get. But the buckets of

mud dry out a bit on a rack, are strained to get the rocks out and packaged by eight of the kids in

the two families. And get this, the profits are going in to college funds for the kids.

"We don't expect to make a million on this," Egbert says. "But we hope to make enough to get

these kids through college. And they are home schooled and so they are learning about being

good stewards of the land, and about using your resources to make a living. We have mud so we

are packaging mud."

You can find it all at www.blackrockmud.com.

Written by Erin Breen