This is a great example of how chemicals in many household cleaning and personal care products are assumed safe until proven harmful, when perhaps they should be assumed harmful until proven safe.
Read MoreThis is a really simple, nourishing and easy one pot dinner, with plenty of protein and fibre and some healthy fat.
It's the kind of soup where you know you're looking after yourself with every slurp. The spices and ginger have some wonderful anti-inflammatory properties. It's inexpensive, easy, and counts as self-care points for the day.
Read MoreIf you have chronic disordered digestive function, irritable bowel, weight gain, inflammation, low energy, autoimmune or chronic mental illness a thorough investigation into your microbiome can provide a very solid basis upon which to build a treatment plan and resolve your symptoms.
Read More
If you need to be woken up in the morning – either by an alarm clock or by another person, then you’re not getting enough sleep. Many of my naturopath and massage clients report they have trouble sleeping. You can give yourself a better chance of a good night by following your body’s natural rhythms and these guidelines. .
Below I’ve listed nineteen - yes that’s NINETEEN - things you can do to improve your sleep at night.
Have a regular time of getting up out of bed. Regardless of what time you were in bed the night before get up at the same time each day.
Avoid lying in bed for long amounts of time worrying about sleeping. If you’ve been in bed for more than 30 minutes – or what feels like 30 minutes and your worried about sleeping – get up and go do something else in dim light (a few yoga stretches are ideal here) and then go back to bed when you’re sleepy.
Avoid napping during the day – limit to a 20 minute powernap in the afternoon if necessary.
Spend time outside in natural light during the day
Avoid eating foods that may interrupt sleep such as acidic citrus, wine, beer or fatty foods that may cause indigestion.
Avoid Bright light exposure late in the evening, particularly blue light from electronic device screens. Turn off your devices at least half an hour and ideally an hour before bed. Sorry, no more scrolling your phone in the middle of the night.
Avoid big heavy meals or sweaty workouts in the three hours before bed as the can be stimulating for your body and brain.
Make your room as dark as possible – remove all sources of light, such as digital clocks and the little lights that might be admitted from electronic equipment such as stereos or laptop charging plugs. This is because light interrupts your production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.
Use a comfortable mattress and pillow for comfort and support
Reserve your bedroom for sleeping and making love
Avoid thinking about troubling issues before bed. Allocate time earlier in the evening or day to worry and problem solve
Eliminate all stimulants such as caffeine, sugar, soft drinks and nicotine, completely if possible but particularly after 3pm
Reduce or eliminate alcohol – even one glass of wine interferes with healthy sleep and you wake feeling tired.
Avoid illicit drugs – these mess with you and your sleep
Avoid having pets in the bedroom, and children (joke!). This is a tough one, obviously this comes down to personal choice and many of us choose to sacrifice good sleep in order to make our loved ones feel secure. The kids may take a few years to grow up and forgo their midnight cuddles, but if you can at least make a special sleeping space for your pets that’s not on your head, your health will be better for it.
Try drinking a herbal tea before bed. Chamomile is wonderful, so is lavender, passionflower, lemon balm and oat straw. I’ve put all these gorgeous sleepy herbs in a delicious Sleep Tea blend, available in the Wild Grace Tea Shop.
Have a warm bath before bed – extra points for placing Epsom or magnesium salts in the bath, lavender essential oil is wonderful for inducing sleep also.
19 degrees celsius is the optimal temperature for good sleeping.
Create a bedtime routine for yourself: Set aside 30 – 60 minutes for winding down with a bath, self massage, breathwork, yoga, a meditation and listening to sleepy music. Spotify have some great playlists.
Life is full of cycles. I like to think we cycle upwards, each time we come around to the start we know a little more, we’ve become a little wiser. We crush it a little better then before. Ideally we ride a spiral of continual improvement.
But obviously this isn’t always the case. I know personally I’m aware of cycles that come up over and over. I know they don’t serve me but there I am, yet again addicted to sugar, drinking to much coffee, staying up way to late, whatever.
Often there is a deep shame about the things we do that we shouldn’t. Yet we do them because we get something out of it, deep in our brains our reward centres are being triggered.
Repeated often enough the behaviour that gets the reward gently turns from compulsive to impulsive. Suddenly we don’t even recognise we’re about to stuff some carbs into our mouths and we do it without thought. The trick is to override the desire, the cravings. Like we need to learn to tolerate them because the outcome where that desire leads us is not serving us.
That’s the thing, what we desire isn’t necessarily what we want.
I have a hunch that talking about these issues out in the open, sharing out stories, becoming aware of where and why we do them, and practising mindfulness will go a long way towards healing unproductive cycles of desire and distraction.
This is exactly what we’re doing in circle. We’re going to sit and share our stories, whatever they are, what’s good, what’s bad, and what we want to be doing better. We’ll be sharing in a sacred, female only, non-judgemental, supportive environment. The goal is to find more joy through what truly nourishes us, rather then the cheap and easy solution that does you a disservice.
We’re starting on September 8th,
and please send me a message if you have any questions.
naturopath + shiatsu massage
This recipe is a velvety celebration of autumn. Ginger is highly revered as a 'universal medicine' in ayuveda, according to Rosalie de la Foret in her book gorgeous book 'Alchemy of Herbs.' The immune boosting and anti-inflammatory properties inspired this recipe but ginger is quite good in pregnancy nausea and motion sickness, and helps remedy a fever by dilating the blood vessels. The Ras el hanout offers quite a bit of anti-inflammatory and circulatory stimulant properties as well. This is truly a soup to warm, nourish, and revitalise. The coriander has an affinity for toxic heavy metals and will bond to them and carry them right out of your body.
Preheat the oven to about 190℃. Spread the pumpkin out on a baking tray. Add 1 - 2 tbsp olive oil. Stir to smother the pumpkin in oil completely and season with some pink sea salt. Roast for 30 minutes.
Once the pumpkin is in the oven chop your garlic and onion and add some more olive oil to a pot on the stove. Heat to medium and add the onion. The longer you let the onion simmer the more delicious it will be, so brown for a minimum of 5 minutes but for as long as 25. Once you're satisfied with your simmered onions add the ginger, garlic and Ras el hanout and stir until fragrant.
Add the stock and the pear and bring to a strong simmer. Add in the pumpkin hot from the oven, remove your pot from the heat and blend until smooth. I like to use a stick blender because the process of transferring hot liquids into a blender makes me nervous.
Serve with a dollop of Coriander pesto
Coriander Pesto
Add Coriander, almonds, olive oil and a good pinch of salt to a food processor. A mini one will be fine if you have one of those and blend. You could also use a mortar and pestle. Grind or blend into a chunky paste.
There’s a few safety issues I want you to consider before jumping on board any old detox program;
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If there’s one thing I’ve learned it's that if you want to make any real progress you need to push outside your comfort zone.
Resistance had prevented me from properly starting a detox all year. It slings a rope around your neck and hangs weights from your shoulders. Resistance pops it's ugly, time-wasting head in to remind you that going without simple things that bring pleasure and comfort is terrifying. Will life still be enjoyable without coffee, toast, and wine with girlfriends, wine as you cook dinner, wine on a beautiful afternoon…..? Yes there was resistance for sure, but once I pushed through, it’s like I’ve broken free from a murky fog into clarity and a fertile path before me. And it feels AWESOME.
Without a doubt, my detox has been successful because I’ve been gentle with myself. There has been two occasions where I really felt the need to have a coffee, so I had one. Two coffees in four weeks is not such a big deal, especially with all the help I’ve been getting with the detox supplements I’m taking, and lack of alcohol, dairy, gluten and sugar.
Some very happy things have been happening since I've been detoxing.
My skin has cleared, I’ve lost weight, and the bags are gone from under my eyes. I’m loving the gym again. This from a girl who has resisted workouts that span more then 20 minutes and the slightest sweat for a long time.
I haven’t felt like a drink. Not one, zip, zilch. I feel healthier than I have for a long time. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t swigging the bottom of a wine bottle every day or anything, but I’ve always loved a social drink with friends, and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to resist the temptation at an afternoon gathering, but so far it’s been plain easy.
My intuition is speaking louder. I’m seeing synchronicity all over the place. I’ve been fast tracking my happiness and spiritual connection after feeling called to begin Gabrielle Bernstein’s May Cause Miracles, I’m on day 8 and already feeling way more in tune. I’ve started a new blogging course, which is absolutely adorable. I’ve sorted out my finances and set myself up with a retirement plan, Not to mention new inspiration I’m getting from everywhere, my garden, the beach, my clients, internet land.
Everything feels clearer, smoother, cleaner. I love it.
If you need to give a detox a whirl I have some great news. I’m very excited to be presenting MY VERY FIRST SEMINAR! I'm giving a FREE talk on detox coming up on October 7. I’ll release the particulars coming up in the next few weeks.
Of course you don't need to wait until then, you can always come and see me beforehand.
From my heart to yours
Lib
PS. I’m writing this in the George St Bistro, its so French style in here a coffee sounds delightful, But I resist! And this time my resistance feels like the right choice.
PPS Are you stressed? Have a shiatsu! It's divine.
I should be able to put myself on a detox right? After all I’m a fully qualified professional. I have more then enough knowledge to take myself through the ins and outs of a piddly little detox. How can anyone possibly know what I need more then me? I’ve actually been attempting self imposed detox for years and I have a metallic silver detox ‘journal’ to prove it.
Let's revisit some of these detox attempts shall we?
24 January 2010
As I wear these now rather tight pants, the same work pants I’ve owned since I was 21 that are feeling a little pulled across the backside, I contemplate the rather bizarre rocky road craving I just indulged. The remainder of the package is hidden safely at the back of the pantry top shelf, out of sight.
On one hand I’ve just read a book about macrobiotic veganism and am inspired to increase vegan meals, on the other hand since Friday I’ve shamelessly cracked 2 beers, 1 Jim Beam and coke (?!...I never drink that stuff) and about 3 glasses of wine. I also helped Andy through his Myalup service station hot chips and corn chips with salsa and guacamole both Saturday and Sunday. Why this self-destruction I wonder? I’m sure my sugar cravings are directly related to the alcohol consumption
2 Jan 2011
December was like a month of endless pleasure and indulgence. It’s time for detox once more.
21 October 2012
My Detox Intentions: – I will be more beautiful then ever turning 30. I eat well, in small portions of amazing food. My body is strong. I love to exercise. I’m toned. I look great in those Current Elliott skinnies. Other people respect me because I respect myself.
There have been times when I’ve come up detox trumps, with mega energy, sparkly whites in my eyes, looser clothes, soft lustrous hair, glowing radiant skin. It was great, and when I look back on it, those times were helped because I had a support system, I had detox companions to hold me accountable, and we talked about our experiences, our cravings and our successes to cheer each other on.
Back to present day I’m well a truly due once again for a good detox and regeneration. My own rules and plans just havn’t been cutting it. I don’t listen to myself enough. Especially not in the long term. If it’s just me to answer to, I might just let those slip ups slide.
Well I tell you I’m sick of failing, I don’t want to find myself still drinking coffee in three weeks, when I’m supposed to be detoxed by then, like history repeating. Real change starts with the individual, but support and encouragement get results.
Having a professional take you through the detox process and the very act of making a time for appointments as well as a financial exchange is a powerful deed. It cements commitment. And further to this, chatting to a health coach about your goals achieves clarity about what you actually want. With a pro you get measurable results, such as live blood analysis, gut bacteria testing and acid/alkaline balance.
Lets face it, it’s embarrassing to admit failure to anyone, especially after promising them and ourselves from the bottom of our hearts we’ll do otherwise. It’s called social accountability and it goes a long way towards measurable results and long lasting success, especially among women.
This is why I’ve enlisted the support of an experienced naturopath, the wonderful Cassandra Boylen of Cassandra Boylen Naturopathy, for my detox this time round. It’s the real shebang, six weeks of alkaline foods, liver nourishment and gut repair to have me radiating health and rainbows from the inside out, and you know what, I can’t wait. I’m excited about herbal tea in the morning instead of coffee, I’m excited about morning yoga and fab skin.
More then anything else, I’m excited about regular sessions with my naturopath to chat about ins and outs, ups and downs, my emotional detox response, cravings, daily successes and miniature failures. I want encouragement combined with professional health care. I’m forgiving myself for not being little miss perfect naturopath with a goody goody green-ness track record, because I’m not. I’m human and I want to achieve my health goals. I realise my value, and future are totally worth the investment of a pro to help me with my detox commitment.
So there you have it, why evens pro’s need other pros to lean on (cue The Beatles song of the same name). If you want to detox yourself, get rid of hassled sugar cravings, bacterial overgrowth, troubled digestion, regain your energy and feel bliss, give me a call, we’ll book you in for a detox intro sesh.
Green Smoothie Goodness to ya
Love Lib
Naturopath and Shiatsu Massage therapist with a great wellness blog
The part of this story I am thinking about the most though, is the way my hand jumped when writing his name.
When a high-profile case like this becomes news, the language used by the media and the outspoken medical professionals is around holistic medicine being 'alternative' and not effective.
It’s extraordinary that I was present when my father passed suddenly. Mainly because we live on opposite sides of the country, and I’ve only seen my dad for a handful of days in the last 15 months. I have shared the story of our last day here.
Flowers are the fertile expression of plants, they are the nectar, they are creative manifestations of divine love and life force. Flower essences capture the subtle healing properties of flowers in a safe and affordable way. It’s incredibly easy to make your own flower essences, and you can do so safely with any flowers you have in your garden.
This is a great example of how chemicals in many household cleaning and personal care products are assumed safe until proven harmful, when perhaps they should be assumed harmful until proven safe.
Both ultra processed foods and tobacco 'are legal, easily accessible, inexpensive, lack an intoxication syndrome, and are major causes of preventable death."
Some 'to-do's' have significantly more positive impact on your life than others.
This is a really simple, nourishing and easy one pot dinner, with plenty of protein and fibre and some healthy fat.
It's the kind of soup where you know you're looking after yourself with every slurp. The spices and ginger have some wonderful anti-inflammatory properties. It's inexpensive, easy, and counts as self-care points for the day.
A shiatsu at Wild Grace is a spiritual experience. Healing occurs in both physical and spiritual planes. A shiatsu involves breathwork, massage to physically manipulate and stretch muscles, and the use of healing sound to move energy out and through. At times I may guide you through healing imagery, and you may receive guidance from your spiritual support crew.
Here are some of most medicinal foods for your immune system, chosen for the phytochemical properties:
New research with some surprising new information on preventing and treating long covid, with some tips to make it accessible at home.
I’m always on a mission to eat the healthiest foods possible. Here’s twelve of the most nutritionally dense foods in our supermarkets and tips on how to eat them.
Have you noticed that you're gaining weight but don't think you've made any change to diet and lifestyle? Or it used to be easy to drop a couple of kg by cutting out snacks and exercising a little more but now that doesn't seem to be working. In fact, your jeans just keep getting smaller.
If you have chronic disordered digestive function, irritable bowel, weight gain, inflammation, low energy, autoimmune or chronic mental illness a thorough investigation into your microbiome can provide a very solid basis upon which to build a treatment plan and resolve your symptoms.
and maybe it was a missed opportunity to role model healthy self esteem and masterful life skills.
a gentle reminder to bring mindfulness to your dinner table and as an in-depth guide to how you can nourish yourself and your family with ease and joy.
Some herbs, like licorice, can interfere with the attachment of viruses to host cells and prevent their entry into the cell, helping prevent an infection from taking place.
I woke up minus the sore throat albeit with a husky voice, and no snot has overcome me.
Shiatsu is it's a combination of lightwork and deep physical manipulation of musculature. Rhythmic breathing and meditative music means you float out of the massage room feeling like you're walking on a cloud.
We all have a dialogue in our heads with a running commentary about our lives and opportunities. Do you let that voice diminish and debase you? Or do you train that voice to be on your team?
For the sake of better health, I want you to think seriously and honestly about what habits are impacting negatively on your health and what can you can do to avoid those triggers.