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Aromatherapy through the years

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Aromatherapy is something that is used in spas all over the world. It is something that is used to help relax the body and mind, reduce pain and anxiety, and improve one’s own body energy and is something that is very popular today.

It is a complementary therapy, using essential oil blends across a variety of applications and is said to offer the benefits of increased well-being to those who partake of its effects.

Aromatherapy can be as simple as using essential oils in a massage or during a bath or steam. Oils are applied topically or put into water in the case of a bath, and then go to work releasing their aromas and helping you relax.

While going to the spa for a beauty day may be relatively new, aromatherapy has been around for centuries. In fact, ancient civilizations including the Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Indians used essential oils in their practices. They knew the benefits of these oils and used them in the preparation of their medicines, perfumes and cosmetics. Additionally, they realized that certain oils helped in certain situations, while others were better used in other ways, and all of that has seeped into modern aromatherapy thinking today. Of course, we now use essential oils in many different ways than our ancestors did, but the idea is the same.

Essential oils and aromatherapy have also been used in the medical community. During World War II, for example, the French doctor Jean Valnet began using oils as antiseptics to help the wounded soldiers he treated.

Today, those plant-based oils and aromatic scents can be used in aerial diffusion where the entire space is scented, they can be used in direct inhalation to help with respiratory infections, or as a decongestant. We use these essential oils topically as part of a massage or compress, as some oils are known to soften and aid in skin care. You may have your favorite oil, or you may need a specific oil for a specific reason, but the end result will probably be the same. Adding oils and aromatherapy makes people relax, makes them happy and soothes the soul. They are great for helping to calm you down and psychologically they just make you feel better.

So the next time you have a spa day, check out aromatherapy, you’ll be glad you did!

Sports

How to get exalted with Darkspear trolls

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The Darkspear Trolls are one of the Horde factions in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft (WoW). Earning reputation with them is a process much like earning reputation with other WoW races: completing quests, repeatedly delivering clothing, and running the Alterac Valley battlefield.

Missions

Step 1

Create a troll or orc character, if you don’t already have a Horde character. You will enter the game in the Valley of Trials in southern Durotar. If you create an undead, blood elf, tauren, or death knight character, you will need to travel from their starting locations to the Valley of Trials.

Step 2

Find and complete all quests offered by a Horde non-player character (NPC). The vast majority of Horde quests offer some gain in Darkspear Toll reputation, from a few to many points. Following the quest progression will take your character north to the Horde city of Orgrimmar.

Step 3

Travel to the next adjacent Horde area from Orgrimmar and continue the quest. From here, your character can travel overland or take the zeppelins to other locations around Azeroth and find more quests. Some key places to gain a lot of Darkspear Troll reputation are The Barrens, Ashenvale, Malaka’Jin, Stranglethorn Vale, and Zangarmarsh.

fabric delivery

Step 1

Collect a pile of 60 wool and deliver it to the Vehena Horde Fabric Quartermaster, located in Orgrimmar in the Valley of Spirits.

Step 2

Collect a stack of 60 silk and give it to Vehena.

Step 3

Gather a stack of 60 Magical Weaves and deliver it to Vehena.

Step 4

Collect a stack of 60 Runecloths and give it to Vehena.

step 5

Continue collecting runecloths in stacks of 20 and deliver them to Vehena. After turning in the first stack of runecloth, quests become repeatable for that cloth. Runecloth drops from level 51-60 humanoid creatures you defeat in combat. Some key places to find these humanoid creatures are Felwood, Western Plaguelands, Eastern Plaguelands, Azshara, Silithus, and Dire Maul. Another method of collecting runecloth is to buy it from the auction house, although this can be quite expensive. It’s up to you to decide if the cost of the runecloth is worth gaining reputation this way.

Alterac Valley Battlefield

Step 1

Collect armor scraps from Alterac Valley battlefield matches (which you can join once your character is level 51 or higher) and turn them into one of the Horde representatives, either inside or outside the battlefield. The main Horde faction representing Alterac Valley is the Frostwolf Clan, and most of the reputation from these changes will go towards increasing your character’s standing with them. However, with each stack of items turned in, your character will also receive a reduced amount of reputation for all other Horde factions, including the Darkspear Trolls. This method gains reputation a bit slower than the previous two, but it depends on how often your character participates in Alterac Valley matches. The Alterac Valley battlefield can be entered from Orgrimmar by speaking to the orc battlemaster Kartra Bloodsnarl, who meets the other battlemasters in the Hall of the Brave in the Valley of Honor. The actual entrance is in the Alterac Mountains, northeast of the Horde city of Tarren Mill.

Step 2

Collect storm crystals and deliver them here.

Step 3

Collect Stormpike Trooper Blood and deliver it here.

Skill: Moderately Easy

Things you will need:

Internet connection

Active World of Warcraft subscription

A Horde character (troll, blood elf, orc, tauren, undead, or death knight)

Tips:

If you play another character who is already Exalted with the Darkspear Trolls, send any runecloth that character collects to your other characters who have not yet reached Exalted status. If your character belongs to a guild, barter with your guildmates for excess runecloth. Find a guildmate who is also building his Darkspear Troll reputation and team up with him for Alterac Valley matches.

Tours Travel

Guide to Vientiane, Laos

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Vientiane

Unlike other capitals in Southeast Asia, Vientiane is not a 24/7 shopping frenzy. Its laid-back vibe makes it feel like a small town, which makes sense, because that’s exactly what it is.

If there was a ‘Softest Capital in the World’ competition, Vientiane would win hands down. Backpackers head south to get drunk and float down the river that borders the town of Vang Vieng. Sophisticated travelers flock to Laos’ luxurious capital, Vientiane, usually before visiting Luang Prabang. Unusually for a capital, Vientiane is located just across the border from Thailand, across the Friendship Bridge. However, the influence that shines brightest is French. To begin with, the name is galicized. The original name, Viangchan, which means ‘City of the Moon’ in the native Lao language, proved too complicated for the French language.

Expect French food, French flowers (marigolds), even the Arc de Triomphe, well, a monstrous concrete model, known as the Arch of Victory. Nicknamed the Vertical Runway because it was built with cement donated by the United States in 1969 for the construction of the airport, the arch is a bit taller than the original, to spite the French, but unfinished. One sign blames this on Laos’ tumultuous history, which presumably means the punishment inflicted by the French, Japanese, Chinese, Burmese, Vietnamese, Thai and Americans. But all that was a while ago. Even the poster itself acknowledges the monument’s shortcomings, calling it a ‘concrete monster’. There is no twist here. Cynics may wonder why the communist landlocked state still can’t get their act together and finish the job. The decrepitude that the arch epitomizes extends to the streets as well, so be careful not to step on a pothole or manhole.

Also watch out for tuk-tuk drivers, who are as enterprising as you’ll find in Asia. Always set a price and clarify your destination before you jump. Otherwise, expect to be taken to the wrong side of town for more Kip, the currency that has no value, than you’d like to spend. The perfect remedy for a white-knuckle tuk-tuk ride is a session at one of Vientiane’s many excellent and ridiculously cheap spas. For a Kip blast, you can experience a much less brutal massage than the one Thai boxer mimes receive, and in a much more atmospheric setting.

Blessed with Indochinese-style bags and the most cheerful residents, Vientiane combines Gallic style with Asian mystique. This style also influences and permeates the sauces and aromas of the exquisite cuisine available at the world-class French restaurants in Fountain Square. For those travelers who are deeply fed up with the sweet and sickly white wheat products falsely presented as “bread” in almost all of Southeast Asia, the lunch baguettes and breakfast croissants available in most of Laos will mean a very welcome change.

The culinary alternative to Fountain Square is the Mekong. Its nearby shore is lined with dozens of cheaper but equally good Asian restaurants, where diners lounge on mats and watch the sun set over the river while sipping a cold Beer Lao, the delicious default state drink. If you can get away from Vientiane’s culinary attractions, perhaps visit the National Museum of Lao History. Set on the main street, it sounds and looks boring, but is brought to life by its jargon of jingoistic rage against the invader. Check out photos of peasant snipers and displays of thick weapons. “Weapons ordered by US imperialists for their puppets,” a caption screams.

If your spine can handle the bone-shaking 24km journey, then take a trip from Vientiane to perhaps the area’s most memorable attraction: that memory-card-consuming icon, Buddha Park’s sculpture garden. There, tilted at crazy angles, gigantic concrete statues of Buddhist and Hindu gods jostle with fanciful likenesses of beasts real and imagined. The highlight must be the giant, three-story pumpkin representation of Hell, Earth, and Heaven, entered through the jaws of a demon head. More kitsch than religious, but a fun day. Apparently designed by Salvador Dalí while he was drugged beyond his eyes, Buddha Park dates back to 1958 and owes its existence to the mystic seer Luang Pu Bunleua ​​​​Sulilat, who left Laos after the 1975 communist takeover. park contrasts with the golden and beautiful temples of the city center that stick more to the rule book but, like Buddha Park, also have a slightly hallucinatory feel about them.

While these attractions are worth visiting, Vientiane lacks the truly monumental and instead captures the senses with its tranquility and idiosyncratic charm. It’s a place to eat, people watch, relax, get a massage, maybe visit one of the respectable nightclubs. Vientiane lacks vibrancy, but for so many visitors with enough energy to spend in their daily lives, this is just what the doctor ordered.