Merry Christmas..........
>NOVEMBER 2018
Fight A Cold with these fab 3 Herbal Teas
Ginger, Probably the best tea of all, it amuses parts of the body that other herbal teas just can’t. It wakes up the digestive system, warms you up and helps to breathe new life into you. Ginger Tea should be everyone’s “go-to remedy” whenever you feel a chill in the winter months.
To make one cup you'll need:
5g fresh ginger root
Scrub the ginger or lightly peel. If you choose to peel ginger, use a teaspoon to scrape the skin away. Slice the ginger into fine slivers and put in a pot. Add 250ml of freshly boiled filtered water. Leave it to steep for 10–15 minutes. You can then strain it, or you can leave the ginger in.
In Ayurveda, ginger is known as the ‘universal medicine’. Digestion’s best friend, ginger is warming and spicy with thermogenic properties that increase metabolism. Its spiciness is not only delicious but also helps us to absorb more nutrients from our food.
BLOCKED SINUSES
A fresh and uplifting tea to awaken your lungs and help you breathe. Use this if you have a cough, are feeling tight-chested.
To make two to three cups of lung-nourishing tea you'll need:
4g lemongrass leaf
3g thyme leaf
2g ginger root powder
2g aniseed
1 drop of peppermint oil
Honey to taste
Put all of the ingredients (except for the honey) in a pot.
Add 500ml freshly boiled filtered water. Leave to steep for 10–15 minutes, then strain. Add a dash of honey to taste.
Ingredients and their benefit:
Lemongrass leaf-Beautifully aromatic, this fragrant grass showers the senses and encourages them to wake up! Its citrus zing opens your lungs and helps you to breathe.
Thyme leaf -Thyme is magic for the lungs: it brings strength and helps open where there is mucus and obstruction.
Ginger root -Stimulating ginger lends a warming heat that opens up your chest. The pungent essential oils are also good at clearing phlegm.
Aniseed-A specific tonic for the lungs, aniseed helps to remove stuck mucus. A low digestive fire is often the cause of this lung congestion, so by kindling your digestive fire, warming aniseed helps to remove the tendency of getting bunged-up, treating the root of the problem.
Peppermint oil- Peppermint leaf has about one percent essential oil, so when it’s made into a pure oil it is extremely concentrated and far more intense than the fresh leaves. It opens and clears the head and nasal passages.
Honey-Used in Ayurveda as a messenger, honey helps carry the other herbs to where they need to act in the lungs.
LEMON AND GINGER WITH MANUKA HONEY
To make two cups of a herbal classic you'll need:
10g fresh ginger root
4g elderflower
1g turmeric root powder
Lemon juice a twist per cup
Manuka honey 1 tsp per cup
Grate the ginger and put it in a pot with the rest of the ingredients except the lemon and honey.
Add 500ml freshly boiled filtered water. Leave to steep for 5–10 minutes, then strain.
Add the lemon and honey to each cup.
Ingredients and their benefit
Ginger root- The wonderful, digestion-aiding ginger boosts circulation and takes the body’s vitality up a couple of notches. Its stimulating warmth lends a subtle spicy tang.
Elderflower -Light and purifying, these summer blossoms help to cleanse by increasing circulation to the periphery, which induces a very mild sweat, helping to halt the spread of any seasonal viruses.
Turmeric root-A close relative of ginger, the golden super-spice turmeric is relied on in India as a gentle herbal antibiotic useful for infections. It also makes this tea look like liquid gold.
Lemon juice- Pleasingly mouth-watering, lemon juice adds a refreshing tang to the tea and cuts through stuck mucus. Lemons are packed with natural vitamin C and immune-enhancing bioflavonoids that both taste and do good.
Manuka honey-Sweet, soothing and nourishing, manuka honey combines the therapeutic benefits of honey with the antimicrobial qualities of the manuka tree. This is a natural powerhouse in a pot.
>OCTOBER 2018
Meet the new class of super-carbs
There’s so much debate and confusion around carbohydrates these days. Some experts tell us to avoid them and follow other-types of diet programmes while others advise us to ‘carb up!!’.
We all know that refined, processed sugars are lethal for our health and looks. In fact, it is one of the most devastatingly ageing things we can have. Refined sugars make us age rapidly by causing untold damage to us internally as it compromises many of our organs’ ability to function and can even lead to their total failure. They can also affect our skin, causing it to wrinkle as the collagen stiffens, breaks and collapses. So simple, processed, refined carbohydrates such as sugar must be avoided.
Equally, complex carbohydrates found in their natural state in plant-based whole foods have huge benefits in that they are wrapped up in hugely beneficial Phyto-chemicals (including vitamins and minerals) that are intensely health-enhancing.
Resistant starch has many helpful functions and one of these is that it is a prebiotic. Prebiotics are a form of food that our healthy gut bacteria feed on and when we have an abundance of healthy bacteria. When your good bacteria flourish, they can then get on with the job of vitamin production, hormone regulation, toxin excretion and the creation of healing compounds that keep your gut – and you - healthy and functioning properly.
Imbalances of healthy and unhealthy bacteria are implicated in obesity, heart disease, autoimmune illness, diabetes, inflammatory bowel diseases, and many cancers. Resistant starch improves your metabolism and blood sugar levels. It can also improve insulin sensitivity and reduces your blood sugar following meals. This means that it can help reverse type 2 diabetes – if a healthy diet is also followed.
Add resistant starch to your diet:
1) Cook, then cool your starches. This process changes starches and how your body digests them, decreasing insulin spikes and feeding good bacteria. For example, cool pasta or potatoes after cooking, and place in the fridge for a few hours before eating or reheat them for an extra hit.
2) Eat plenty of complex, unrefined carbohydrates. Healthy guts thrive on a wholefood, plant-based diet which provides plenty of nutrient-dense, fibre rich foods. Try to increase your intake of broccoli, aubergine, courgettes, green beans and asparagus.
3) Eat prebiotic-rich foods to feed your gut bacteria. Add raw chicory and dandelion leaves into salads. Try to incorporate bananas, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, garlic and leeks into your diet daily.
Interesting facts
The bacteria in our intestine outnumber our body’s cells 10 to one. In that respect, we are only 10 percent human.
Most foods we eat feed only 10 percent of our cells, and fermentable fibres and resistant starches feed the other 90 percent.
We have over 100 trillion bacteria living inside us and weighing about three pounds.
Intriguingly, resistant starch is made by first cooking and then cooling starches like potatoes or rice but reheating them again after cooling makes them even more resistant.
>SEPTEMBER 2018
QUICK FIX
As women, our bodies are amazing, we are blessed with the biological built to conceive and carry new life, repopulating the earth and guaranteeing the survival of the species. But our anatomy programmes us to some female specific snags too.
Statistically, as a woman we have more than a 50 percent chance of getting a urinary tract infection (UTI) in your lifetime, and the risk is even higher once you are post-menopause. Symptoms include burning and stinging when you pass water, feeling like you need to go all the time, and discoloured or bloody urine.
Action: It is important to eat well to boost your immunity and encourage your body to overcome infection. Acidic foods and drinks, such as tea, coffee, alcohol, sugar, meat and spicy foods, can trigger a urinary tract infection, so if you are prone to them try to avoid these.
Organic, live natural yoghurt contains beneficial bacteria to help your system, especially if you have been taking antibiotics. Or you can take a probiotic supplement.
Endometriosis is a condition in which the lining of the womb (the endometrium) grows outside the womb. Symptoms include pelvic or lower back pain and cramping which extends several days into your period, pain with bowel movements or urination during your period, excessive bleeding and infertility.
Action: Endometriosis is thought to be oestrogen sensitive, so the aim is to control this hormone. Make sure that you are eating a healthy diet and reduce your intake of saturated fat in foods like dairy, as it increases levels of oestrogen. Reduce your intake of caffeine as studies show that women who drink more than two cups of coffee a day have an increased risk of endometriosis.
The B vitamins enable your liver to detoxify oestrogen and can help with the pain. Magnesium can help with this too, and zinc is important for hormone balance. Omega 3 fatty acids in oily fish and flaxseeds can help the body make beneficial prostaglandins that can ease period pains, endometrial cramps, and inflammation.
Incontinence after childbirth can affect up to a third of new mums. If you leak when you sneeze, laugh or cough then this is due to stress incontinence, caused by a weakening of the pelvic floor muscles through the pregnancy and childbirth.
Action: Your muscles and ligaments all need vital nutrients to work efficiently so this means looking at your diet. Certain nutrients can be helpful to improve muscle control and strengthen collagen in your body. These include calcium, beta-carotene and vitamin C. The other important thing you can do for yourself is to tighten up your pelvic floor muscles with specific exercises. Practise these at least once a day and over time you should notice a marked improvement in your symptoms.
Period pain is common and a normal part of your menstrual cycle. Most women experience it at some point in their lives.
Action: An abdominal massage with a blend of essential oils may bring you some relief. To make a pain-relieving blend, add six drops of clary sage and four drops of geranium to 20mls of base vegetable oil.
Clary sage is an anti-spasmodic and can be helpful with the spasms of menstrual cramping. Geranium is considered a hormonal balancing essential oil, it also has a very pleasant aroma.
>AUGUST 2018
Boost Your Emotional Psyche
With over quarter of us reportedly suffering from anxiety, stress or depression, attention is fast turning to the importance of boosting our mental fitness. And it’s not as difficult as it sounds.
BUILD POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS- Our instinct motivates us to move towards other people in order to survive, but an important element of being emotionally fit is to build positive two way relationships and not be dependent.
Pause: focusing on what you want in all your relationships
START: finding out what other people want from you and do everything you can to provide it. If unsure what they want, ask them how you can help them.
CREATE A POSITIVE SENSE OF SELF-If we feel good about ourselves, tackling life’s challenges is easy, but if we don’t it’s not. So building a positive “sense of self” and maintaining it is a key.
Feelings and thoughts are a bi product of our brain’s activity and are NOT always an accurate reflection of who we really are. Positive thoughts can emerge naturally.
PAUSE: thinking self critical or negative thoughts. If you start thinking negatively simply say “No” to your thoughts.
START: focusing on what’s good about you. Write down three things you have achieved in your life, three strengths, skills or talents that you have, three virtues you uphold in your life, three positive things people say about you. Write these down and read them to yourself at the start of the day and least six times throughout the day.
GET IN THE HABIT-When we feel we are doing our best we feel pride, but when we feel that we have no sense of purpose we feel indifferent. In the latter case our thoughts can become negative and we find excuses for not fulfilling our potential.
PAUSE: putting things off, making excuses, moaning about your life and focusing on what you don’t want or haven’t got.
START: setting yourself one positive goal for the day and take action to achieve it. Make it a realistic but meaningful goal that will require some effort on your part and add value to your life for example joining a gym, sorting out something you have been putting off or solving a problem you have not yet solved.
PRACTICE SELF-DISCIPLINE- Our reward instinct conditions us to feel pain when our needs are not satisfied. This can overwhelm our ability to think rationally. Such behaviour can quickly become habitual leading to pleasure-based addictions like alcoholism, over eating, drug abuse etc.
PAUSE: one negative habit that you have for the whole of today. Maybe give up smoking, drinking alcohol, habitual television watching or any other pleasure driven habit to which you have become accustomed.
START: exercising gently for 30 minutes today or spend 20 to 30 minutes in quiet meditation.
LET IT GO- Control allows us to take ownership of our life and make our own decisions, but in excess it can make us compulsive control freaks, obsessed with controlling others and getting our own way.
PAUSE: judging other people today or imposing your views, rules or expectations on others.
START: listening carefully and attentively to other people today. Speak last in your conversations and avoid talking about yourself.
LIVE IN THE PRESENT-A natural process called “homeostasis” allows our body to self regulate, cooling itself when hot, heating itself when cold, and healing itself through the operation of our immune system, which fights off disease.
Homeostasis helps us to restore the natural harmony within our body, but that harmony is seriously undermined when we worry, especially about past events we cannot change and future events we cannot control.
PAUSE: rushing around, telling yourself you are too busy and filling your time with irrelevant “stuff”.
START: taking time to notice what is going on around you rather than rushing past everything. Become aware of details you have never noticed before.
>JULY 2018
The Elixir to looking Youthful
The fountain of youth may be a lot more accessible and easier to tap into than you think, as growing evidence suggests that adding ‘vital beauty boosting’ supplements to our daily routine may help loose decades. Natural dietary supplements help to restore and nourish cells – and some even do it while you sleep!
Here are a few ingredients to look out for on your next visit to a health store:
Astragalus- This authoritative and dominant herb has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine. It’s packed full of antioxidants .
Astaxanthin- This natural marvel and comes from the sea. It’s an algae that is rumoured to have more antioxidant power than vitamin C, beta carotene, CoQ10 and green tea. Keep an eye out for it in products on the shelves.
Grape seed extract- Packed with antioxidants that help clear up free radical cells, grape seed is an oligomeric proanthocyanidin (OPC), a natural antioxidant that is believed to be more powerful than vitamin E and C. it’s a great anti-inflammatory in the fight against ageing.
Ionic mineral electrolytes- play a critical role in almost every metabolic reaction in the body. The minerals ionic and hypotonic aid with the transfer of water through the stomach wall into the blood stream, and help to keep a healthy fluid balance within cells
Pine bark- With over 40 antioxidants to boast of, it’s no wonder that pine bark is a popular youth booster. Research has found that it can reduce the damage caused by UV radiation, a key contributor to the signs of ageing. This ingredient works well with vitamins C and E.
>JUNE 2018
Seasoned Pro
We all know about eating in season, but what about exercising in season too?
Bright ,sunny days are upon us once again, and with it comes the yearning to make some changes to our everyday lives too. The small things are the biggest changes from swapping your lunchtime bowl of soup for a fresh salad packed full of goodness to the urge to go for a run instead of spending an hour on the treadmill in the gym.
We all yearn for change when the weather improves and are renewed with enthusiasm for exercise and self improvement. We often look to join classes, outdoor pursuits or purchase the latest cook book to maximise these lifestyle tweaks to the greatest effect to make us look and feel great.
Seasonal living is all about get-up-and-go and having that oomph to get on with it. If you are looking for the perfect lifestyle programme, you should base it around what feels right for you and your body. With many of us becoming more aware, the more we discover about seasonal living helps us to understand our self and the environment we live in in harmony with the seasons.
Now is the time to put the plans you have been thinking about into action. It is a great time for new starts. This is probably the most important time of year to be aware of seasonal living. It is the time for a new year, when nature’s energy is rising.
We should be eating fresh green sprouts and crunchy green food with new energy- Green food is key.
At this time of year the main emphasis in exercising should be on detoxing your life as well as your mind and body.
SUMMER - In summer days are lighter and longer, and temperatures are warmer. The Summer time is a time for peak energy; a time to really be going at a fast pace.
Summer is the best time for eating fresh produce as the weather is hot.
With exercise, cardiovascular is the key, and you should try to get outside as much as possible - Swimming keeps you cool.
Be creative, and get out as much as possible.
Ashtanga yoga or hot yoga are good to practise in the summer. Try and spend some time being still and should meditate to balance yourself.
> MAY 2018
Get Gorgeous, Live Life
Every time we are feeling jaded and in need of a pick-me up and a quick fix, our primary instinct is to give ourselves a well earned makeover. We book an appointment with our local beautician and get waxed, spray tanned and manicured. we change to the most up-to-date shades in eye make-up and lipstick in search of that elusive glow.
Still not happy with that, we quickly book in at the hairdressers for the latest face-framing look in the hope to look and feel ‘like a million dollars’.
Even when we do look amazing, the inner glow is missing and we occasionally are left feeling hollow and regretful.
The best kind of make-over starts from the inside.
By investing into working on your inner beauty, instead of just your outward appearance can leave you feeling vast, free and completely whole. It has the ability to unlock immense potential; full of confidence.
The following can give you an opportunity to clear some things that may obscure your experience. By internally applying a few simple steps, you’ll notice the real, naturally beautiful you.
Self Appreciation- Often we are so busy, there’s so much to do, to accomplish, to achieve that we overlook our own self. Often we are quick to forgive others, quick to see their talents and their beauty, but much harder on ourselves. Make a list of all that you are proud of and all your accomplishments.
Physical Pride- Your body is sacred in which you’ve been given to experience life, so honour it, cherish it, nourish it. Tune in to your body’s health and wellbeing. Your body is so grateful for any attention you give it.
Perfection- There is an innate perfection that pervades all of life. Many of us are always chasing and striving to get things right. Often we struggle to achieve our own ideal goals and are often let down by the impossible. Life would be much more enjoyable if we only just relax and let things happen.
Just Be - Sometimes we simply don’t have all the answers. Times like these your awareness should be called upon within your body. The body is the barometer of your soul. If your body signals you with a glitch or you feel uneasy… it’s best to not react immediately to a situation that can potentially cause you harm, upset and impact negatively on your being.
> April 2018
SELF ACCEPTANCE
Here’s how to be happy and stay healthy no matter what your body.
Be confident
Smile, assert affirmative energy, stand up straight and start behaving in a more assumed manner. Try starting conversations with a positive declaration or a compliment, even if you’re talking to a complete stranger. Practice being patient, listening to other people.. You’ll find people react to you positively, and your confidence will grow.
Get some perspective
If you hate something about yourself, it becomes an obsession, and your life will be lacking in positive inspiration as a result. Go and have fun, or do something for someone who needs help. This will take you out of your own obsessing and make you feel good about yourself.
Take care of yourself
The fitter you are, the healthier your diet, the more you relax,the happier you’ll be with yourself. It’s being unhealthy that’s unattractive, not individual physical differences. Why not take up dance classes or tai chi, or if your fitness levels are high enough, start training for a 10k run.
Stop obsessing
Remember, celebrities wear loads of make-up, and spend their entire waking hours trying to look good. Could you be that bothered? Or do you want a life instead?
> March 2018
Restore your Mind and Body
Disregard those images of A, B, C & D listed celebs that are on a unrealistic task to be the body beautiful, only to find they have failed to feel real liberation and a sense of being!
It’s all about acceptance. Being truly happy in the body you are in isn’t as difficult as you may think! Holistic healing can help you to love the skin you’re in, embrace life and the confidence to look and feel miraculous.
There is so much demands, from all, including friends, family and colleagues to get the perfect body. With the constant reminders and exposure to what we ought to look like, it seems being slim has become a sign of attractiveness and success.
The reality – by doing so causes us to feel more and more resentful of the body we have.
The excellent news is that you ARE perfection, and a much more positive approach to loving your body is to find, acknowledge and accept health and contentment.
Holistic healing, can help you to feel truly beautiful both inside and out.
MATRIX intelligence WORK
Matrix intelligence work is a form of energy psychology – a series of techniques are performed that engage the mind and body simultaneously to create transformation on both a physical and emotional level.
The keys to making positive changes lie within you, rather than any doctor, drug, or other external source. To make this happen, you simply need to become alert to internal signals of your mind and body.
Your mind and body are connected, so to discover why you may be feeling self-loathing towards your body, you need to first find out what thoughts are creating those feelings,”
Some believe that the media and society create a pathway to the brain that then becomes a core belief. ‘I’m fat or ‘I’m not pretty’ are common thoughts that can stop us from being able to love ourselves.
By sitting and meditating and looking within can give you a greater insight!
So, without distractions, ask yourself where are you feeling these thoughts in your body? How do they make you feel? What are they attached to? All we need to heal ourselves is already within us, so ask questions and open your soul to the answers.
It’s not always comfortable to look inside ourselves, but unless you are aware of your blocks, and work to address them, you won’t be able to ever move forward.
> February 2018
Walt Disney’s Valentine’s day.
We probably have fixed ideas about what makes us in high spirits on Valentine’s day. If you are already coupled up, spending time with your loved one in a romantic setting might be desirable. If you are single, spending time with friends and family might be a ideal way to pass the day or you simply may want to be in your own company. Remember Valentine’s day is for everyone.
However, those of us who are a seasoned majority, many of us can stand up and be counted, when we say…. that what started with excitement has almost always ended in disaster on Valentine’s Day.
Of course there are many reasons but one of the key ones is what is called the Walt Disney Syndrome. In the classic Walt Disney fairy-tales, the princess is waiting to be rescued by the fine-looking prince and is swept of her feet. Whilst this idea is handsome and greatly appreciated it is worth noting, it’s highly unlikely.
With magical gestures of romance and the ever and ever bit, it seems like it’s in a land far far away. Scratch the record! What do you mean it is!!!
So it’s not quite what we expect, never the less LET GO OF PERFECTIONISM and just be you and tell yourself that whatever happens you will make the most of it.
So however your Valentines day celebrations turn out, have fun. Create unique memories for you to look back on. Whether we are in a relationship or are single the paramount desire is to be happy. Choose to be happy now!
> January 2018
Keep fit this Winter
As the wintry weather continues on with dark days, the cold snap of winter can tempt us to go into natural hibernation. So how can we make sure we keep fit over the winter months.
Organising your time is going to be really important during the winter months. Waiting for a break in weather often leaves us lacking in motivation to do something now. Start by scheduling time in your diary and organise times to work-out . However regular you chose to exercise, make a date and stick to it.
Plan and arrange an activity you enjoy – Whether its indoor climbing or joining a zumba Class, make sure you have plenty of fun.
Outdoor Session – if the only time you can do this is at the weekend then stick to it- your body needs it! Try an organised group session for walking excursions or plan a cycling tour with friends and family.
Wired for cardio – Running, cycling, walking outdoors is essential for maintaining fitness throughout the winter.
Running up the Hill –hill running is a great rigorous workout. Start at the bottom and run half way up the hill and walk back down slowly. Run all the way up and walk down slowly. Repeat once and warm down with a 10 minute walk and a stretch.
Stretch and surf – Make sure you stretch whilst your body is still warm- you can do this through moving stretches rather than stationary ones such as stretching your arms whilst.