Category Archives: Nature’s Rhythms

Nature's Rhythms, Self Care

Autumn Alchemy: Embrace the Season’s Wisdom for Immune Health and Inner Peace

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As the leaves turn golden and the air carries a crispness unique to autumn, it’s a signal for us too, to slow down and shift our focus inward, both metaphorically and physically.

Autumn is a season of transition, a time when nature slows down and prepares for the quietude of winter. It invites us to mirror this natural cycle and embrace practices that nurture self-care and boost our immune health. It encourages us to align with the natural rhythm of letting go, conserving energy, and nurturing inner wisdom.

The gentle energy of autumn reminds us this is the time to prepare both our mind and body to weather the challenges of the dark winter months ahead. Autumn is the perfect time to adopt specific holistic practices that resonate with the season’s energy of release, conservation, and introspection.

Align with Autumn Energy for Optimal Wellness

Here are some holistic health practices to consider incorporating into your autumn wellness routine. By integrating these practices into your day, you will enhance your well-being and align with the natural cycle of the season.

Embrace the Art of Letting Go

The turning colour of the leaves is a beautiful reminder of change and re-growth and the cycles of nature. Just as trees shed their leaves, autumn is the perfect time to release what you no longer need, be it stress, clutter, or negative habits. This can be a therapeutic process, making room for new growth and positive energy.

Slow Down with Gentle Exercise and Ample Rest

Exercise remains important during autumn but keeping it gentle can boost the immune system without depleting energy.

Incorporate gentle, grounding movement into your routine. Yoga, Tai Chi, or Qi Gong can balance your energy and support your immune system. These practices encourage deep breathing, which calms the mind and is vital for maintaining healthy respiratory functions. Focus on poses that encourage deep breathing and relaxation.

As the days grow shorter, allow yourself more time to rest and sleep. Aim for seven to eight hours of quality sleep each night to rejuvenate your body and strengthen your immune system. Aligning with the rhythm of the season can be incredibly restorative.

Nourish With Seasonal Foods

Eating seasonally not only supports local agriculture but also provides your body with the nutrients it needs during this time. Root vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, and pumpkins are rich in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that’s essential for good health.

Savour the flavours of autumn. Embrace the harvest of the season by incorporating foods like apples, pumpkins, squash, pomegranates and hearty greens into your diet. These foods are not only in sync with the season but also packed with vitamins and antioxidants that support immune health.

Warm your soul with soups and stews. There’s nothing quite like a bowl of warm soup or stew to comfort you on a chilly autumn day. Choose seasonal vegetables and spices like turmeric, black ginger, ginger or cinnamon, that not only taste delicious but also offer immune-boosting benefits.

Some foods such as pears, apples, beans, eggs, flaxseed, leeks, mushrooms and root vegetables ‘moisturise’ us from within. These foods help combat the dryness that affects our throat, skin and can lead to constipation.

Tap into Inner Wisdom with Meditation

Autumn is an ideal time for reflection as the contemplative nature of the season invites us to seek inner awareness. As our pastimes grow gentler and more leisurely, we can begin to turn our attention within to our own thoughts and dreams. It allows us to gain clarity before setting plans and goals we want to initiate when the arrival of Spring heralds a new beginning.

Meditation can help you tap into your inner wisdom and find direction, clarity and peace. It’s a practice that can enhance mental resilience and emotional well-being.  There are many different kinds of meditation and dedicating just a few minutes each day to the practice helps reduce stress, improve focus, and maintain a sense of inner peace.

Create calm and reduce stress and anxiety with a mindful walk amongst the autumn foliage. Use the beautiful autumn scenery as a backdrop for mindful walks. Pay attention to the crunch of leaves underfoot, the earthy smell of the air and the array of colors around you to ground yourself in the present moment.

Support Autumn Immunity with Natural Remedies

Protecting the immune system is paramount as we head into cough, cold and flu season. High doses of vitamin C, combined with zinc, magnesium and vitamins D3 and K2 can offer an extra layer of defense as winter approaches.

Consider incorporating herbs like Astragalus and Reishi mushrooms which are known for their immune-boosting properties. Garlic is another herb traditionally used to boost the immune system. Take raw garlic at the first sign of a cold for immediate benefits. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement regimen.

With the drop in humidity, staying hydrated is crucial. What better way to do it than with water and herbal teas?   A hot water concoction with lemon, ginger and manuka honey, serves as an antibacterial flush to soothe the throat and support the body’s natural defenses.

Autumn Self Care Rituals

Autumn invites us to become more introspective and allow for inner reflection, awareness, and planning. This season encourages us to find peace within ourselves and to let go of personal dramas that do not serve our well-being.

Take your self-care cues from nature.  As the trees shed their leaves or drop their seeds and gumnuts, they begin the process of drawing in their life force to conserve their energy. Having extracted all the nutrients from summer-nourished leaves they shed what no longer supports and serves them and turn inward to focus on their centre or heart. With this process they strengthen their reserves and ready themselves for the winter ahead. Strengthen your reserves in mind, body and soul by also turning within.

As autumn settles in it is time to put your self-care practices firmly in place. This is the time to treat yourself with compassion and kindness. Remind yourself autumn is a season of gentleness and wrap yourself in TLC.

Cultivate observation and awareness without engaging.

Autumn encourages us to find peace within ourselves and to let go of personal dramas that do not serve our well-being.

Cultivate a habit of gratitude and reflect daily on what you’re thankful for. Keep a Gratitude Journal where you write down what you’re grateful for at the end of the day. This positive practice can have a profound impact on your overall well-being.

If you’re someone who is always there for other people, now is the time to turn that caring inwards and say ‘no’ to others. You can’t be there for others unless you care for your own needs first.

Make time for yourself. Set aside time to unwind with a good book. This can be a wonderful way to relax and escape into another world, reducing stress and supporting mental health.

Practise deep breathing exercises to improve respiratory health and reduce anxiety. Breathing properly is especially beneficial as we prepare for the winter months ahead.

Make time during this season to reflect on your achievements and areas for personal growth. Setting intentions for the coming months can be a powerful exercise.

Connect with Nature

The gentle golden light and softness in the air invite us to get outside and connect with the natural world. If you have a garden, this is a great time to prepare it for the next season. Engaging with the earth is an excellent way of grounding.

As the trees release their gifts collect fallen leaves, acorns, and pinecones to create nature crafts. This can be a fun and therapeutic way to connect with the natural world.

Autumn Alchemy

The greater cycles of the Universe continually turn and when we turn in harmony with them, we become more balanced. Aligning yourself with the cyclical rhythms of nature allows you to tune into Universal energy to live holistically in a state of harmonious balance.

When you engage with the turning of the seasons and honour your needs on all levels you honour yourself. 

🍂 Honouring the needs of your body strengthens your immune system which responds by staying healthier.

🍂 Honouring the needs of your mind creates more focus and clarity.

🍂 Honouring the needs of your heart creates peace and happiness.

🍂 And when you honour the needs of your soul it responds with deep insight and vision.

Autumn is a beautiful reminder of the cycles of life, of the importance of letting go like the falling leaves, and of embracing the peace that comes with simplicity and self-care. By following these wellness tips, we can ensure a healthier, more balanced transition into winter.

Remember, taking care of yourself is not just a seasonal practice, but a way to maintain health and happiness year-round.

Disclaimer

The Information contained in https://happyholistichealth.com is for your general health information. It is not intended to be used as medical advice and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes. The information is not a substitute for independent professional advice and should not be used as an alternative to professional health care. If you have a particular medical problem, please consult a healthcare professional.

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

Nature's Rhythms

Equinox Balance and Harmony

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“The dance between darkness and light will always remain — the stars and the moon will always need the darkness to be seen, the darkness will just not be worth having without the moon and the stars.” – C. JoyBell C.

The two-day period of Equinox marks a moment of exquisite harmony in the yearly cycle when day and night, light and dark are perfectly balanced.  As our lives and world are experiencing huge shifts Equinox represents a turning point where we can choose to calm any heightened energies we may be experiencing.

Equinox is the midpoint between the polarities of light and dark, feminine and masculine, spirit and matter. Although our experience of this significant point differs according to where we live, the underlying energy is the same for us all – balance. This is the energetic point of the year where we are able to experience conditions not as polarity but merged as one, in perfect harmony and balance.

As we travel through this brief window of balance and unity, of equal day and night, light and dark, we are given a fleeting moment to bring balance and wholeness into our lives. At this turning point we’re reminded to bring our awareness to the trajectory of our earthly experience and apply the energy of the moment to our experience.

Duality

Equinox marks the union of opposites, reminding us of the harmony of the whole.

Lying midway between the solstices, it is the time when night and day, feminine and masculine, action and rest, matter and spirit, are in perfect balance. It is the point of balance when inner feminine and outer masculine energies shift and change to meet in harmony. And it is our reminder that balanced equilibrium is the ideal state for our own lives.

Wholeness

Equinox is a powerful portal into higher consciousness. It’s the time when feminine and masculine energies merge, bringing unification of the duality within ourselves.

“The place where light and dark begin to touch is where miracles arise.”  ~ Robert A Johnson

In order to truly understand the light we must also experience the dark. Our Earthly experience is one of duality. Within our lives we continually swing back and forth from one extreme polarity to the other. From stillness to action, achievement to failure, certainty to irresolution, material to spiritual, we must experience both sides of any polarity in order to fully understand the other. It is through this process, back and forth, we come to understand ourselves.

The midpoint of this swing between duality is the fulcrum, the place of balance. It is the point of harmony between the extremes and the point at which we find unity and wholeness. Equinox marks the midpoint, the energetic position of balance, between the Solstices, the time of extreme light or dark. Equinox highlights the balance we must find and experience in the duality present within ourselves.

Stillness

Equinox is a transition moment of stillness which supports us to expand our awareness. When we slow down, go within, breathe with consciousness and enter the place of stillness, we can gain access to universal consciousness. We create a safe space to tune-in and hear the guidance of our inner voice. As we expand our awareness in this stillness, we open the channel to Source energy that allows us to engage more deeply with deep ancestral wisdom.

Within this vessel of feminine energy, this place of stillness, we can reflect and regroup. By just ‘being’ in this stillness rather than feeling a need for action, we gain awareness of our true needs and what we need to think or do to support our inner growth. With this knowledge we can then formulate a clear intention of the action needed to create change.         

Balance

Balance is the Keyword for Equinox: balance in personal and collective relationships, balance in taking and giving, balance between having and not having, balance between doing and Being.

Many of the crises we experience originate from our demands to have so much of everything. In addition to creating misalignment with our own heart path and purpose, this leads to imbalance with the land and its resources, and to a distortion and lack of mindfulness in human relationships.

Our modern technological world has distracted us from awareness that we are an integral part of an interconnected living network and all of the life within it. But it’s our responsibility to maintain a natural balance and harmony so that all life can flourish and be nurtured.

Celebrate this time of balance and bring your awareness to harmonising your own earth walk with the natural world and all it contains.

Equinox Practice

Equinox is a time to pause and give thanks. In the Southern Hemisphere where we enter Autumn, we give thanks for the harvest and all the bounties of Mother Earth. In the Northern Hemisphere show gratitude for the abundant new growth as Spring bursts forth.

This is a time to reflect on growth in your personal journey. It is a time to acknowledge and enjoy the fruits of your soul growth as well as the sprouting buds of new opportunity. And it is a time to contemplate the path that lies ahead of you.

As the point of perfect balance in the annual cycle, Equinox is a time when the natural energies support us to create greater harmony in our lives. It provides an opportunity for you to really examine and assess whether your life is balanced and harmonious.

Go within and reflect on where you need to bring balance and unity into your life and Earthly experience.  What do you need to change to bring about that balance? 

Ask yourself:

• Does my life flow?

• Is it in balance?

• Am I operating in constant duality, where everything is right or wrong?

• Am I consciously aligned with the greater cycles?

• How can I create more balance and harmony in my life, on all levels?

Equilibrium

Each of us holds the power to consciously bring balance and equilibrium into our lives on all levels – body, emotions, mind, spirit – as well as into the outside world as one soul.

Celebrate this time of balance and bring your awareness to harmonising your own earth walk with the natural world and all it contains.

Disclaimer

All information and opinions presented here are for information only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before trying any of the treatment suggested on this site. 

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2026. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

Nature's Rhythms, Self Care

Stay Well Through Autumn With Natural Remedies

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As the gentle energy of Autumn settles around us, wrapping us in her hazy sunny days and crisp evenings it is time to prepare for the turning inward that naturally occurs as we approach winter.  Autumn is a time of benevolence, when the activity of summer has slowed, when pastimes become gentler and more leisurely, when we turn our attention within to our own thoughts and dreams.

As the energies of Autumn contract and gather inwards, they cause us to also slow down in readiness for the stillness of the coming winter. The contemplative nature of the season allows time for inner reflection and awareness, providing a space to find clarity before setting the plans and goals to initiate in the Spring.

In readiness for increased awareness and understanding, Autumn is a time to embrace peace and avoid engaging in personal dramas. This is the time to step back and distance yourself from conflict, judgement and other triggers in your life. It is the time to take a deep breath and count to ten before responding to potential slights or conflicts.

Autumn Health

April is a time of transition for our whole body. As the evening air takes on a bite after the gentle warmth of the afternoon sun our bodies become more susceptible to health problems. Illnesses that have gone underground over the summer will re-appear and new coughs, colds and other infections appear.

If you don’t use this time to build your health and charge up your immune system, you may find yourself more susceptible to winter illness and less capable of throwing off any illness you develop by June.

Change Your Habits

By adjusting your lifestyle to align with the seasonal energies you can strengthen your whole system.

There are a number of changes you can make which all contribute to building your health.

Most people naturally change their foods when the weather cools and Summer salads make way for heavier meat and root vegetable stews and soups. But also adapting your life practices including exercise, meditation and sleep offers huge support through the colder months.

Sleep, Sleep, Sleep

Sleep autumn pexels

One of the most important lifestyle changes to make for Autumn and Winter health is to recognise that your body needs much more sleep as it turns inward. Getting seven hours sleep every night is one of the best ways to protect yourself against winter illness.

Unfortunately, your body doesn’t recover from a work-induced sleep deprived week by simply sleeping in on the weekend. It’s important to develop routines that make sufficient sleep every night a regular part of your daily health practice.

If you can’t get to sleep or stay asleep, speak to your natural health practitioner now, before Winter, for advice and treatment to help you break this pattern.

Push yourself to rest whenever you need it and take it easy. Develop great bedtime routines to maintain wellness and keep ‘office illness’ away.

These Sure-fire Strategies For Better Sleep will get you started.

Self Care

As Autumn settles in it is time to treat yourself with compassion. Be conscious this is the season to be gentle, and wrap yourself with TLC. If you are someone who is constantly there for everyone else, now is the time to turn that caring inwards and say ‘no’ to others.

It is only by first caring for your own needs that you can adequately care for those around you.

self care sleep

Modify Exercise

Exercise is a great way to boost immune health.

It increases oxygen levels in the blood. A recent study has shown that there is no place on earth that does not have some level of air pollution.  In major cities there’s significantly less oxygen in the air. When you consider that most people also breathe poorly and that many chronic diseases including cancer are associated with low oxygen levels, the importance of boosting oxygen intake becomes obvious.

Exercise makes you feel more alert, boosts your levels of endorphins so you feel positive, as well as improving oxygen levels in every cell of your body. However, during Autumn it is vital to tone down your exercise program to prevent your energy becoming depleted, as that adversely affects your immune system.

Yoga, t’ai chi or Qi Gong are very balancing and present the perfect exercise option for autumn. Deep breathing exercises and yoga stretching both support your immune system as well as your respiratory organs through the Winter. Brisk walking and bike riding are other great ways to exercise in Autumn.

Avoid heavy aerobic exercise outdoors in the cooler autumn months, as it may reduce vital energy and weaken your system.

autumn-colors

Susceptible Organs During Autumn

The lung and the colon are both organs of elimination and relate to your ability to “let go” on all levels. According to the teachings of Traditional Chinese Medicine if your immunity is weak these organs will be affected during Autumn, with respiratory problems including coughs, breathing difficulties and sinus problems, or gut issues like constipation and/or diarrhoea.

These are the organs that are affected when you hold on to grief and sadness. If you are holding on to unresolved grief or sadness the health and function of your lungs or large intestine will eventually be affected. They are sending you the message that it is “time to let go”.

Disclaimer

All information and opinions presented here are for information only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before trying any of the treatments suggested on this site.

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2023. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Nature's Rhythms, Stress & Overwhelm

Quick Tips For Spring Wellness

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Spring has blossomed in all her exuberance, bringing the reminder of youth, and the promise of new beginnings. Spring is the time of transformation and growth; the time to renew your energy and change your life. These top tips for Spring wellness will launch your momentum to rise to your fullest Summer potential.

As the days warm and lengthen in Spring you start to feel lighter, in body, emotions, mind and spirit.

These unexpected practices will help you feel your best and at the peak of Spring wellness.

  

 

Top Spring Wellness Tips…

 

To Awaken

 Get outside. Play, socialise and have fun, just as a child would.

The sun is up earlier and staying around later. Join him and get outside to watch the dawn. Even if you wake grumpy give yourself the opportunity to get out, feel the earth under your feet and soak in all the rebalancing benefits of grounding as you connect with the Earth.

 

Spring Movement

 Instead of letting restlessness irritate you in spring use it to kick-start your exercise program.

Spring is a great time to overhaul – or begin – your exercise routine. Walk, join a dance class, try yoga, qi gong or tai chi, even join a hiking group or cricket team.

Honour your body by not overdoing it, and remember to keep hydrated or you’ll become fatigued very quickly.

 

Spring Foods

As we move out of winter’s chill we need to change our diet. The heavy, salty foods of winter put a big strain on your liver, which is sensitive during spring. Your liver is the main detoxifier in your body so it needs some TLC during spring. Cut back on alcohol, fats, oil and particularly junk food.

Sour foods like vinegar, lemons, limes and grapefruit stimulate your liver. An excellent spring wellness practice is drinking lemon or lime water in the morning.

Bitter foods cleanse the liver and are essential to good health. Some bitter foods are dandelion greens, radicchio, rapini, endive, kale, rocket, rye, chamomile, unsweetened cocoa, daikon, and even nettles. A salad of mixed leaves can easily include many bitter herbs.

Replace heavy winter foods with light, quickly-cooked ingredients.

 

Friend’s Support

 With warmer weather and longer days, Spring is a great time to reconnect with your support network.

Having friends who have your back when the going gets rough, and who really listen to you, is essential for wellness. Having someone you really trust who will hold the space for you to download, discuss, or even rant if you need, helps you stay on top of stress and overwhelm as life gets busier.

 

Better Sleep

 Most people don’t get enough sleep. Many have passed the point where they can recognise that they need sleep.

You need between seven and eight hours sleep every night. Binge sleeping on the weekend doesn’t compensate for lost sleep during the week, or the other way around.

If worry is keeping you awake introduce some strategies to reduce the stress.

If your bedroom does not support good sleep use this guide to make changes

Most importantly, don’t sleep with your cell phone anywhere near you, and stop using it at least thirty minutes before bedtime.

 

Reduce Stress

Spring is the perfect time to set the resolve to manage your stress more effectively.

 As we move through Spring towards the end of the year life gets busier and busier. It’s easy to roll on juggling more and more balls until you succumb to overwhelm without ever realising it’s happening before you . Don’t end up burntout by year end.

While planning plays an important role de-stress techniques are just as important to get on top of your stress and stay there.

Spring Clean Your Mind

When you want to bring the new into your life you have to make space for it. Whether it’s a new Spring wardrobe, new habits or new thought patterns, for it to become a new habit you need to release everything that no longer serves you.

Spring offers a great opportunity to clear the mind and get rid of thoughts that undermine our self-esteem, or are toxic to relationships. Once you’ve cleared out toxic thought patterns you can start planting positivity seeds to create a life you love.

Challenge yourself. When old attitudes and thought patterns rise again, try seeing things from a different perspective.

Start by watching and noticing whenever you run those same old stories about yourself.

Notice whenever you criticise yourself, when you tell yourself you’re stupid, or ugly, or fat, or any other negative put-downs. Then call it out for what it is. Say to yourself “I see you. You’re not really the true me.” Remind yourself of your true value, that you’re smart, lovable, beautiful, or whatever applies.

Imaging the ‘negative voice’ in your head as an actual person or character. I used to think of it as a ‘Control Committee’. Then replace that negative character with a loving, supportive, friendly character or committee who always has your back. Whenever the first negative character spits out criticism say your lines to yourself first, and then turn to the second loving character for positive, encouraging reinforcement.

Once you call out the stories you’ll find they start to run less frequently and hold less potency to undermine you. Reclaim your power with awareness, simply by watching, witnessing and naming.

Uplift Your Spirit

While everyone needs some zone-out time, use the energy of Spring to change HOW you recharge.

Instead of crashing in front of reality TV, get smarter. Use the momentum of this time of new beginnings to read uplifting books, listen to music that benefits your soul, or take an aromatherapy bath. Zone-out for good health and Spring wellness.

With all the new you’re welcoming into your life be sure to maintain balance. Put a spring in your step, not a drive to the fast lane. Be mindful. Listen to your body. Open to new opportunities. Eat slowly. Live in awareness.

 

 

Disclaimer

 

All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation with your health care provider. Do not use this article to diagnose a health condition. Speak to your doctor if you think your condition may be serious or before discontinuing any prescribed medication. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue.

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2024. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Holistic Health, Natural Remedies & Homeopathy, Nature's Rhythms

Natural Remedies For Winter Wellness

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When your mood matches the sky it’s tempting to dive under the doona and tune out from the world.  Winter is naturally a time to close down and go within, so we need to be mindful of honouring our needs during this time. 

Winter is a time when we need to sleep more, eat nourishing foods and tone down the active life we enjoyed over summer, for our inner health and wellness.  It’s also crucial to support our immune system because it can take a beating during the winter months.  So, it’s important to know how to keep your immune system strong and balanced if you want to avoid winter infections and stay healthy.  These natural remedies for winter health provide a simple foundation for wellness.

The chill of Winter brings with it a swag of seasonal diseases which range from chilblains and cold sores through many respiratory illnesses.  The common cold is the most prevalent contagious disease in Australia and the most common reason for people to stay home from work or school.  Coughs, colds and flu are a common part of most household’s winter experience.  Colds are very easily spread from person to person affecting over half of the population in winter

Natural Immune Support

Your immune system protects your body and is your greatest health asset.  But with greater demands and stress placed on it over winter it can suffer. In order to get through winter without any sickness it pays to build your immunity naturally.  Vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc are three of the best nutrients for this. When you add probiotics you have a powerful combination.

Zinc and vitamin C are essential for the healthy function of white blood cells which fight infection.  Vitamin D contributes to a multitude of body functions including fighting infection.  Probiotics support the immune function of the gut.

Vitamin D

As we huddle indoors over Winter and spend less time in the sun, our vitamin D levels can easily fall below our needs. Vitamin D is essential for immune health. When these levels don’t meet the increased demands of our immune system we’re left open to coughs, colds and flu.

Low vitamin D can also lead to Seasonal Affective Disorder or ‘SAD’ which causes seasonal depression and low mood.

Vitamin D is difficult to source from food. While you’ll find some in sardines, salmon, mackerel, cod, and eggs most is produced by your body after exposure to sunlight.

Zinc

Is your diet lacking in zinc?  Zinc is essential for a number of life-sustaining functions, including strong immunity to help prevent coughs, colds and flu.  This important mineral triggers approximately 160 different reactions within the body including immunity.  Unfortunately, many Australians are deficient in zinc.

You need zinc every day in just the right amount.  Too much or too little causes problems.  But your body has no way to store zinc, so it depends on a daily supply through diet.  Although you only need small amounts to build a healthy immune system, almost every Aussie is deficient!

Some natural sources are oysters, crab and lobster; eggs; cashews, almonds; peas, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds; oats; spinach. But even if you eat lots of these foods you may still need to supplement. This is because Australian soils are low in many healthy minerals, including zinc. So food grown in this soil is also low in important nutrients.  Your natural health practitioner can quickly test your levels of zinc.

Vitamin C

Most people know of the value of vitamin C for winter illness. But many don’t get enough through their diet for real protection. Eating lots of fresh foods rich in vitamin C is a good start. Fruits and vegetables high in this valuable vitamin include:

  • red and green capsicum
  • broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts
  • spinach and other leafy greens
  • potatoes – both white and sweet
  • kiwi fruit, black currants, orange, strawberries

While eating vitamin C rich foods supports your immune system generally, if you do feel a cold starting, you’ll also need a supplement to help fight it off effectively. Take as much vitamin C as you need to stay just below the point where it affects your bowels. For some people, such as smokers, this can be a lot.  Powdered vitamin C dissolved in juice or water soothes the inflamed mucous membranes of your throat as it passes over them.

Probiotics

About 80% of your immune system is located in your gut. Probiotics are the friendly bacteria that help build a strong healthy gut.  They help you digest the nutrients that support your immune system.  It makes no difference how healthy your diet is if you can’t absorb the nutrients properly.  Probiotics help you absorb them and reap the immune benefit they provide.

Probiotics are found in whole and fermented foods. Some are:

  • sauerkraut
  • kombucha
  • kimchi
  • kefir
  • miso
  • microalgae like spirulina
  • yoghurt

If you can’t meet your needs with these foods take a probiotic supplement.  Select supplements that contain a range of different bacteria. Many need to be refrigerated although some shelf-stable probiotics are now available. These are great if you’re traveling.

Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD)

Depression is usually worse during the winter months. SAD is a form of depression that occurs in both the northern and southern hemispheres. However it’s more common in areas further away from the equator where there is less sun.  It’s extremely rare in those living within 30 degrees of the equator where daylight hours are long, constant and extremely bright.

It’s possible to be suffering from SAD without realising it.

Some people are strongly affected by long dark evenings and the relative lack of sunshine.  Symptoms can include lethargy, insomnia, overeating (especially carbohydrates and sweet foods) with consequent weight gain, anxiety and loss of libido. Others experience a drop in mood during the darker months of the year.

If you feel ‘blue’ over winter consult your natural health practitioner.  It’s difficult to see yourself objectively when you’re feeling low, so self-prescribing, even with natural remedies like homeopathy or herbs isn’t recommended.  SAD responds well to homoeopathic treatment.  Don’t be shy about seeking help for this common problem

Low vitamin D levels may contribute to the development of SAD, so if you suspect this problem have your vitamin D levels tested with a simple blood test.  While the best source of this essential nutrient is the UV rays of the sun it’s worth taking a supplement through winter and spring if your levels are low.

10 Top Tips for Winter Wellness

  • Onions, garlic and leeks all help eliminate mucus from the lungs
  • To boost immunity stop consuming refined sugar
  • Avoid mucus-forming dairy foods, heavy starches and saturated fats from animal meats to reduce congestion
  • Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables (especially yellow and orange ones). These contain lots of vitamin A to strengthen lung tissue
  • Vitamin C promotes healing and improves resistance to infections
  • Zinc raises your immunity. Most Australians are zinc deficient
  • Drink more water.  The moisture helps make mucous membranes more resistant to bacteria
  • Avoid sugar and extra alcohol because they lower immunity
  • Eat more garlic, especially if it’s raw, it’s natures antibiotic. Use organic if possible as it stresses your immune system less
  • Get plenty of sleep and don’t let yourself get run down. Sleep deprivation decreases immunity
  • Listen to your body. If you get early warning signs that you’re coming down with something begin your immune-boosting strategies straight away, including rest.

Natural Flu-Brew Relief

If you do succumb and are laid low in spite of your precautions, this Flu-Brew should help your immune system quickly recover and soothe those cold and flu symptoms.

To one cup of hot water add:
1 teaspoon manuka honey*
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1/2 – 1 clove crushed garlic
pinch cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Allow it to steep for a few minutes.

* Whilst all honey has traditionally been used for healing purposes, Manuka honey also stimulates immune cells, according to 2007 research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.  Manuka honey is usually graded with a Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) rating on the package which means it has been tested for antibacterial activity.  The higher the UMF the greater the antibacterial effects.

There are many wonderful homeopathic and herbal remedies to support your immune system and help prevent coughs, cold and flu and to weather Winter. Plus, many of these remedies reduce the symptoms of these common winter ailments.

When we’re gripped by mid-winter cold it can be difficult to remember that the days are getting a little longer each day and we are in fact, heading towards Spring.  If you care for yourself and support your immune system you should weather winter in good health.

Disclaimer

All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation with your health care provider. Do not use this article to diagnose a health condition. Speak to your doctor if you think your condition may be serious or before discontinuing any prescribed medication. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue.

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

Ancestral Wisdom, Nature's Rhythms

End Of Year Release Ritual

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END OF YEAR RELEASE RITUAL

 

While this post was written for the close of 2016 the ritual presented here is suitable to use at the end of any year.

2016 is coming to a close and it’s naturally time to reflect back on the year… and start to look forward to 2017. It’s been a heavy year of releasing for many people, a year of endings. As we enter the countdown to 2017 many of us are still holding things that no longer serve us. In order to make the quantum leap into the New Year and the new cycle filled with awakened potential it’s essential to release these in the next few weeks. A 2016 releasing ceremony is the perfect way to weeks to round off the energetic cycle of 2016 and make the transition into 2017.

2016: End Of A Cycle

 2016 is the final year in a nine year cycle of growth. As it winds down take the time to acknowledge how far you’ve come over the last 9 years. Reflect on your lessons and new awareness. Embrace wisdom gained and re-remembered and be GRATEFUL for all the joyous moments in your life.

Many people start off their New Year by making a list of resolutions. Many also don’t reach any of their goals. Often they make the same resolution year after year without achieving it!

Create Strong Foundations

Trying to set achievable goals to reach your dreams without first firming a solid foundation is like building a home over a sink-hole. Without firm footings it will collapse. Therefore you need to get really clear about where you’re starting out from. Only then will you create the footings you need in order to create achievable goals. The 2016  Releasing Ceremony does just that by highlighting both the journey you travelled and the lessons and achievements you encountered along way.

2016 has been a difficult year for many. It was filled with difficult challenges that provided great opportunity for personal development and spiritual growth. Many of these challenges revisited familiar life lessons, lessons that repeat over and over, spiraling back upon themselves. Each revisit brings a variation of the core lesson providing the opportunity to reach a deeper awareness of both the lesson and yourself.

Coming at the end of a nine year cycle the lessons of 2016 are the culmination of this spiraling awareness and deepening consciousness. It’s essential to now finalise them or they will be carried into the new nine year cycle to be repeated yet again.

Bear in mind that the significant aspects of 2016 will be those that bring these nine year long lessons to culmination.

Create Your 2016 Release Ritual

Before you begin your 2016 Releasing Ceremony prepare your space. If you have an altar or space you normally use to meditate or journal it would be ideal, so use that. If not create a special space for this ceremony.

First select a quiet, clear corner. Collect your tools together. You need a pen and paper or a dedicated journal, a pillar candle and matches. Brew a relaxing herbal tea. Close the door behind you and turn off your phone so you won’t be disturbed.

To begin your release ritual take a few deep belly breaths to settle and ground yourself. Once you feel solid and grounded light the candle to mark the start and open the energies. Spend as long as you need to quietly disconnect from outside cares. Focus inward and allow yourself this time and space away from the obligations of your life.

Once you feel calm and centred consider the following and record your thoughts and insights in your journal or paper.

Acknowledge Success

1. List your illuminating insights and the great insights that occurred.

2. What dreams came true for you? It’s important to record any dreams that actually manifested. Dreams, and how dearly you held them, are easy to forget once they come to fruition. Include both large and small dreams as small dreams often evolve into big dreams later

3. Include your 2016 achievements, both the small glories and the big ones. Describe what you learnt. What are you now aware of that you weren’t previously?

Recognise Growth

4.  In what ways have you changed? What brought about the change in you?

5.  What are you now aware of about yourself that you didn’t know before?

6.  What no longer serves you that you have now outgrown?

7.  Were you asked to step up in the past year? Have you finally achieved something you have never managed before? Acknowledge your awesomeness and include everything that swells you with pride.

8.  Have you surprised yourself by achieving something you never dreamed you were capable of?

Release Frustrations

9.  What really jarred with you over the year? Was there anything that caused ongoing disharmony? What can you no longer tolerate at all and can’t wait to ditch? What is it that MUST GO?

10.  Need to rant? The floor is yours – get it off your chest. Cry if it helps you release, relief will flow into the space it creates. Just Let. It. Go.

Express Gratitude

11.  What gifts have you received this year? How have you grown? What insights do you now have? How has your life moved forward? Include everything, even the smallest gift. Include everything that has made your life better.

Once you have finished writing you are ready to release 2016 with a huge sigh of relief. You can now face the year ahead and the next nine year cycle with a fresh, clean page. You can now open yourself to new opportunities and awareness. You’re ready to identify dreams, clarify goals and make resolutions.

After doing the 2016 Releasing Ceremony you will see clearly what the first step you need to take is, and then to take it with purpose. As Lao Tzu said:  

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

Close Your Release Ritual

To finish your ritual put your notes aside. Begin by breathing deeply into your belly. Sense golden light flooding into you and filling your whole body with its sparkling glow. Breathe in this beautiful vibrant light for a few more breaths.

Taking your focus to your exhale, allow every frustration, disappointment and disharmony of the past year that you’ve been holding in the cells of your body, to be carried out on your breath.

Repeat this three times until you feel the negativity shift out of your body. Feel your shoulders drop as the weight you have carried is released. Feel yourself becoming lighter and freer.

Once more breathe deep into your belly drawing in the indigo light of vision and perception with your breath. Sense if flow through your body energising your body and clarifying your mind.

Again focusing your attention on your exhale, slowly release your breath along with the difficult energy of the past year. Allow it to gently leave your body knowing that it leaves within you all the positive energy, self-knowledge and awareness you have gained from the experiences and lessons it offered. Know that the insight and knowledge you gained provide a strength to carry you into the New Year.

Sit with the loving positive energy as long as you need and when you are ready slowly open your eyes and prepare to welcome in the coming year with joy and anticipation in your new cleansed state.

 Disclaimer

The Information contained on this site is for your general health information. It is not intended to be used as medical advice and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes. The information is not a substitute for independent professional advice and should not be used as an alternative to professional healthcare. If you have a particular medical problem, please consult a healthcare professional.

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

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Metaphysics, Nature's Rhythms

New Moon Clarity: Discover Your Personal Insights For Lunar Manifestation

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The New Moon is an especially potent time to birth anything new into your life. Creating a New Moon Ritual is a powerful way to stimulate new beginnings and bring about change.

Often when you live a life of wellness you get focused on the physical, eating healthy food, getting exercise or avoiding toxins. But the physical body is only the starting place. For good health it is equally important to focus on the other levels in addition to the physical. You need to manifest change on each of the levels of mind, body, emotions and spirit.

New Moon Rituals are a great way to address change in all four aspects of yourself, the mind, body, emotions and spirit. Ritual helps you to clarify needs, to form that need or desire into a goal and to set an intention to achieve it.

Harness New Moon Energy for Manifesting

Once every month I remind my social media followers the New Moon is coming up so they can prepare their Lunar Manifestation List. Some always prepare for the New Moon. But for the many who have never done New Moon ritual the response is often confusion.

For years I’ve held space for nurturing and empowering New Moon Red Tent Circles to coincide with the New Moon. They’re a wonderful supportive space for busy women to take a few hours’ time out just for themselves. They provide space to tune into yourself and identify what’s not working in your life, what’s really p*ssing you off, and most importantly, where you need to make changes and exactly what you want to start in your life.

It all happens within a group of women who offer unconditional support for you to gain understanding and clarity. All in the group can share without comment or advice from others and can even vent if they need. Everyone usually gets amazing insights.

Within the circle you also receive some self-care and sometimes a little creative play. Recently we played with finger paint. I had never done this before, and it was So. Much. Fun.

Why Hold New Moon Circles

The simple answer to why Circles are held at the New Moon is it allows us to harness potent energy brought by the New Moon together with Ancestral tradition.

Throughout history indigenous societies always honoured the time of the New Moon because it is the time when our intuition (those gut feelings you get) are at their strongest, especially for women.

Test this out for yourself. Keep track of what messages your subconscious sends to you in the few days around the New Moon. These messages often come through your dreams. Take notice if you wake up suddenly knowing the answer to something that has been troubling you.

This is also the time when many, especially women, feel extra weary. Your body may feel heavy, feeling overcome by sleepiness in the afternoon, craving early nights or you may feel less like going out and socialising.

This is you telling yourself that it is the best time to slow down and go within. This is the best time to access the intuitive and ancestral knowledge you already hold for a better, happier life.

The time of greater awareness varies from one person to the next but usually is for a few days around the New Moon time. Because the actual time of the New Moon varies from one location to another you need to check for the exact time and date in your area. Remember to set your own location in the search.

Lunar Manifestation Lists

Before closing my New Moon Red Tent Sessions each month, I always invite each person to create their own Lunar Manifestation List.

It’s so easy for us to roll along, one week passing to the next until we suddenly notice that another whole year has passed us by. We develop the habit of non-awareness.

Using the New Moon to set a Lunar Manifestation Intention List is simply a form of getting clear on your wishes for the month, like a monthly goal setting. But it is far more than just ‘goal setting’ as this one really comes from our heart and our highest wisdom.

Lunar Intentions for the Highest Good

It’s important to set your intentions for what you really do need in your life. So before starting our list we spend time going within to connect with our Highest Self for guidance. Whatever you decide to include on your list frame it with the intention of stimulating personal growth.

You may wish to change a bad habit, or release a relationship you have outgrown or invite one you are now ready to welcome in. There may be a material possession you would love. You may need more self-nurturing. Perhaps you would like to undertake some form of service to others or to allow others to be of service to you. It may even be to change the way you view a situation.

Whatever it is you wish to create can be added to your list.

Be Precise

When I look back on my own lists I am struck by how often what I wrote down came about.

For about 18 months I kept adding ‘New Car” to my list. But no new car appeared. Then one month I got precise and I wrote down the make, the model, the extra features and even the colour of the car I wanted. Six weeks later that exact car was sitting in my driveway, and I got it for an awesome price too.

When I got really serious and was more specific about my list, my focus and my energy was directed towards achieving that goal, like an arrow flying towards a target.

Take Your Time

Don’t just dive in. The result will most likely be superficial. This is time you need to get real. Spend time before starting to really tune in to your subconscious, your inner knowing. Allow it to guide you to discover deep insights about how to change for the best.

You can simply sit and write your list but if you spend some time beforehand to really tune in to yourself you receive greater clarity about the deeper issues that are holding you back. Also, you may find something you are ready to receive into your life that you were not yet aware of.

If you meditate this is an awesome way to tune in to your intuition.

If you prefer someone else to guide you through a meditation there are many guided visualisations available on Youtube. (I am creating a series of suitable guided meditations for the New Moon which will be available later this year.)

Keep things Simple

You don’t need to meditate, it’s not essential but it does lift your ritual to a higher level.

Simply taking some time to go somewhere quiet, some place where you won’t be disturbed is enough. It may be a special space in your home or somewhere you love in nature. Wherever you choose just make certain you are somewhere you will not be interrupted. (For busy Mums it may even mean locking yourself in the toilet!) Just find somewhere quiet and peaceful.

New Moon Red Tent Ritual

Make sure you have pen (it can be coloured) and paper with you. Your Lunar Manifestation List needs to be written by hand, don’t add it to your notes on your phone. A journal is perfect for keeping your Lunar Manifestation Lists together if you’d like to keep them to look back at later.

If you wish play some uplifting music, light a candle or do anything that has special meaning for you. But make sure it doesn’t intrude and draw your attention away from listening to your intuition.

When you are seated comfortably take a few moments to relax yourself. Start by loosening your toes and work your way up your body. Finally feel your shoulders drop, your jaw relax and your forehead un-crease.

Now take a few deep belly-breaths. As you breathe in imagine the Indigo Light of Intuition entering your body along with your breath and spreading through every cell of your body. As you breathe out feel the stress of your day and any negative thoughts you are holding leave your body along with your breath.

As you breathe in the Indigo Light on each breath feel yourself connect more deeply with your inner knowledge. Allow your breath to relax into a natural rhythm and sit for a while opening yourself to any thoughts or ideas that flow in.

Be creative and open

If thoughts about what you need to do today are blocking out anything else then maybe what you need to manifest right now are some organisational techniques so you can get all that stuff out of your thoughts. Bringing in techniques such as this will free up lots of brain space for other things in your life. So put it on your list.

What you need may come to you as a picture in your mind-eye, you may hear it or have a clear thought or even just a sudden flash of inspiration. Be open to receive.

Write your list in the present tense, as if it is already happening.

You can’t wish for change in others, that it for them to determine themself. However, you can wish for changes to yourself that may then affect them later or that support you in the situation.

Add up to ten things to your list. More than ten becomes too many and lessens their impact. Less is fine, simply putting greater focus on what you do add, but you do need more than just one or two.

Each New Moon of the year is associated with a different part of your life and your list is more potent when you focus your wishes on that area of your life. This New Moon at the start of Aquarius is about BIG Plans and seeking freedom in your life. This Moon also brings a link with the past and might be the perfect time to discover a new way to renovate, restore or revitalise an old problem or relationship.

Just one more step to do, which is to speak the list out loud. Giving a voice to your intentions empowers them and anchors them in the front of your awareness.

Finishing Your Lunar Ritual

When you have finished, thank your Higher Self, your angels, or simply the universe, blow out the candle and you are done.

Lunar Manifestation Lists are not like affirmations. You don’t have to keep repeating them. Once you have done the ritual you can put the list away.

What you do with your list is up to you. Some women burn their list, others put them under their pillow, some even bury them. I keep my Lunar Manifestation Lists in a journal as later I like to have the reminder of the power of positive intent. Sometimes reading through them refocuses me when I feel I’m getting nowhere.

Benefits of a New Moon Ritual

There is no time frame around when the things on your list manifest. If you find you’re including the same thing for month after month your intention may need to be re-phrased (as I did with my car). Or it may simply not be right for you or not what you need at this time.

Often when your intent is strong and focused you will find changes start to occur about two weeks later around the time of the next Full Moon.

I hope you decide to adopt this wonderful practice into your life. It literally only takes a few minutes and by regularly setting yourself this focus you’ll receive great benefits.

Catherine Bullard trained as a Red tent Facilitator with the Moon Woman at Star Of Ishtar.

Disclaimer

All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue.

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

Metaphysics, Nature's Rhythms

Set Successful New Year Resolutions With A Releasing Ritual

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As the year slides to its close the energies of the New Year may already be affecting you. You may already be formulating goals and plans that you would like to birth in the year ahead as New Year resolutions begin to form. You may even be plotting pathways to achieve those goals.

If you are someone who likes to get a jump on the New Year so you to enter the New Year already clear about how you’ll achieve your goals for 2015 it pays to prepare ahead. One way to set the foundation for success with your goals is with a simple New Year Release Ritual.

For the past few weeks I’ve been surprised as I hear myself talking about things that will happen for me in 2015, ideas and plans I hadn’t even noticed were forming in my brain or my heart. But apparently these ideas were solidly there just waiting for me to notice.

Many have already formed plans even if they’re not yet conscious of them and you may find you are doing the same. This year-end you’re being urged to get real about what you want for yourself, to set a considered plan of action, and to get to it now.

It’s way too easy, especially in these fast-paced times to allow your life to slip past. Days flow into weeks, into months, years and suddenly a decade has passed you by. Trying to look back and see the detail of your life pathway becomes more and more difficult as time moves on if you’ve neglected to mark points along the way.

 

Markers for Your Life

In times past traditions and ceremonies provided marking points in people’s lives. They provided moments in people’s consciousness when they paused, finding time to take stock of themselves and their life.

We still hold on to some of these traditions – 18th or 21st birthdays, weddings, funerals – but many milestones are no longer honoured or even remembered. Many traditions we do still hold no longer require us to examine and consider ourselves and how our life to date has evolved.

We no longer have many occasions where we pause and examine our progress in life, acknowledging our achievements and successes, appreciating our blessings, recognizing our lessons, and planning changes.

 

Set Strong Foundations For Goal Success

Trying to establish goals and resolutions to guide you along the pathway to achieving your dreams without first pausing and taking time to appraise the road you have just traveled is like building your home over a sink-hole. Without solid footings the structure of your life will simply collapse.

A Release Ritual is your opportunity to establish a firm base on which to build your future. It doesn’t take long to do and provides you with deep insights and clarity to steer you to better results.

As the energies of 2014 begin to unravel set aside time to draw together the threads of the year just passed. Find the space for yourself to weave them into a strong support that will carry you into 2015. Take time to examine your experience, the rainbow of coloured threads of your life, both the weak strands and the strong, threads of extreme beauty, and threads of fragility.

Once you have examined the weave of your last year the signs that point to the new directions you need to follow next become apparent.

weave basket-228294_640

 

Old Year Releasing Ritual

Begin your reflection by settling down in a quiet corner with a pen, paper or a journal, and a relaxing herbal tea or coffee. Light a candle to signal the start of your ritual if this has meaning for you.

Life has a habit of drawing you back to the same old lessons, over and over, spiraling round, often revisiting them under another guise, until you reach awareness and understanding of that particular lesson for your life. Each time you revisit the lesson gets louder, as if the universe is shouting so you will hear.

turquoise star

To save yourself treading these same old well-worn paths yet again next year, begin your release of the old year by writing down the illuminating life lessons you learnt in 2014. What were those ‘Aha’ moments? What great insights occurred?

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Next add the dreams that came true for you. It’s easy to forget what the dreams you once held even were once they have actually happened, and just as easy to forget how dearly you held them, hoping they would eventuate. Remember to include the small dreams as well as the huge ones. The small dreams of life often grow into the big important ones.

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What did you achieve in 2014? Remember to include the small glories not just the major ones. What did you learn you could do that you didn’t realise before?

You’re now ready to consider how you have grown in the last 365 days.

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How have you changed? What have you learnt about yourself? What changed you? What is it you now know about yourself that you didn’t know before? Write them all down.

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What did you discover you had outgrown? What no longer serves you? What, or who, did you release from your life?

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How did you surprise yourself – what did you do that you didn’t know you capable of? What have you done that swells you with pride? Was there something you were able to do that you have never managed before? Were you called to step up, and you did?

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What was there in this last year that was a source of grating disharmony? What can’t you tolerate any longer? By now you know what it is you just have to change in your life. Write it down.

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If there’s anything you need to get off your chest about this last year, do it now. Rant if you need to. If you feel the urge to cry honour it, it will bring release and relief.

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Now finally, write down what it is you are grateful for, the gifts you received from 2014. Include every little thing. As well as the big stuff in my life, I include small joys in my gratitude lists like my morning cup of tea, or the slightly creepy but endearing smile my gorgeous dog beams at me whenever I arrive home.

Finished?

March 2014 004

 

Closing Ritual

And now dear friend, you are ready to release the Old Year. You are now ready to face the year ahead. You are ready to set your resolutions, to clarify your dreams and your goals, to decide what is achievable for you, and to stride forth with purpose into the New Year.

Take some time now to close down your releasing ritual.

Close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply through your nose, down into your abdomen. Hold briefly and then breathe out slowly through your mouth making a small sound as you do. As you breathe out give thanks for the past year, for all your experiences, your joys and pains, the lessons you have been given and the insights you have received.

Breathe in again, drawing in with your breath the green light of healing, deep into your abdomen. As you hold it briefly allow the green light to flow into every cell of your body until your whole body shines with its emerald green glow. Breathe out again, slowly. Sense any negativity you have been holding in the cells of your body, any disharmonies from your past year, flow from you with your breath. Feel your shoulders relax as the weight is taken off them. Feel your body sink into your chair.

Once more breathe in deep into your abdomen this time drawing in the golden light of possibility. Feel it flow freely through you bringing renewed energy to your body, clarity to your mind, and generosity and fulfillment to your heart.

As you slowly release your breath allow the energy of the past year to ride on it. Allow it to float away, knowing that you hold within you all the loving positive energy you have earned in the last twelve months. You will always have the knowledge and insights you have gained.

Take your time and when you feel ready open your eyes and welcome with joy the new energies of the coming year.

welcome the new year-570883_640
Nature's Rhythms

Living With The Seasons – Summer

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Consciously living in harmony with the world around us supports our body, our emotions and our spirit. Within that consciousness we need to be in harmony with the greater cycles of life. When we tune into the passage of time by living with the seasons our energy synchronises with universal and earth energies to bring balance.

Living with the seasons

I’ve been luxuriating in the relaxing space between work finishing before Christmas and now, the New Year, doing very little and simply enjoying the summer. This two week period included the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and the day when the sun shines the longest and the night is shortest.

I make it a practice to live in sync with the seasons, emotionally as well as in the basics like what I eat or wear. But slowing down over the Summer Solstice flies in the face of this practice. The energy of Summer Solstice is intense, joyous and one for celebration and partying. Taking it slow isn’t what’s called for but this year the seasonal energy called for rest.

The ancient teachings behind Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are perhaps where we see the theories of living with the seasons at its strongest in our modern world. This ancient discipline examines the effects that emotions and foods have on the different organs of our body. It provides guidelines about which organs of the body are most significant in each season and the steps needed to support the appropriate organ and create harmony within.

The steps of TCM are based on many aspects of diet including the quantities of food eaten, time of day, even your state of mind while you eat.

But living with the seasons requires more, it requires an wholistic approach.

Getting sufficient exercise, sleep, and clean water; reducing stress, anxieties and toxin exposure are equally essential to living a balanced life, in tune with the rhythms of the earth and the seasons.

Living With Winter

The natural way for your body as a whole to respond to the seasons is to ‘close down’ over the winter and to ‘open out’ over the summer. During the cold, dark winter months you need and want more sleep, your activities slow and quieten, your body requires external warmth from fire and warm, nourishing foods. Even emotions can close down and it’s not uncommon for depression to surface during the depths of winter, partly due to the lack of sunlight and associated decreased Vitamin D intake.

Living With Summer

During the warmer summer months, when the days are longer, the body requires and benefits from, less nourishment. It doesn’t need extra kilojoules to keep itself warm, you feel more energetic and your natural instinct is to get out, socialize, and be much more active.

Rise early and face the sunrise to benefit from the rays.
During summer rise early and face the sunrise to benefit from the rays.

Take a moment to think about how much easier it is to go out to a party on a warm, balmy summer night than it is on a cold, dark, rainy winter one, when all you want to do is curl up with a book or movie, or simply sleep. Think of how much easier it is to diet and exercise during the warmer months when your requirement is for lighter foods.

As more and more of us grow our own veggies and shop at Farmers Markets we are becoming increasingly aware of which foods are in season at any time, and beginning to direct our food choices towards only those foods that are in season. Obviously we don’t need watermelon in the winter when it doesn’t grow. Instead, we look for stews made from warming meats and root vegetables in season at that time.

Seasonal Wellness Books

Summer holidays are the time when many catch up on their reading. There are a few books I love that you might like to take a look at,  which are useful guides towards living in tune with the seasons.

One is a cookbook appropriately named Eating For The Seasons by Janella Purcell, an Australian Naturopath, Nutritionist and Cook. It’s a great book with tips and recipes carefully selected to benefit and support to your body in each of the four seasons.

Another book I love is Ancient Healing For The Modern Woman by Xiaolan Zhao. This book looks at the ‘seasons’ of a woman’s life, rather than the seasons of the year, and offers wonderful ways to naturally remedy problems like PMS, symptoms of pregnancy, menopause, and breast health. It contains lots of great, simple tips taken from the authors personal experience of Traditional Chinese Medicine used by her family in China. She is a doctor of both TCM and Western Medicine in Canada,  and her advice is very soundly grounded in both modalities.

If you’d like something a little more hefty you may prefer Healing With Whole Foods by teacher and nutrition researcher Paul Pitchford, a very comprehensive guide to Chinese Medicine. This book also contains lots of information about nutrition and diet, as well as a cookbook. There are sections on the Ayurvedic principles of food-combining, treating disease with foods, plus much more. As I say, detailed and comprehensive.

Living In Tune With The Summer Season

Early and Mid Summer

living with the seasonsAccording to Chinese Medicine, summer is the season of Yang (masculine energy), and during early and mid-summer the heart and small intestine come to the fore. The emotions associated with the heart are joy and playfulness. Mental acuity is also associated with the heart in TCM, so memory, thought processes, emotional well-being and consciousness, as well as sleep also belong to this time.

When the heart is balanced the mind is calm.

Early and mid-summer is a time for celebrating and partying, as well as balancing that with enough rest and sleep.

When the fire element is out of harmony, so too is your experience of joy. You feel either depressed with too little fire, or joyous chaos with too much.

When your fire is unbalanced you experience associated symptoms that include agitation, nervousness, high blood pressure, heartburn, irregular heartbeat and insomnia.

Imbalance of the heart, governed by fire, can lead to confusion, crazy or no laughter, a very red or very pale face, stuttering, verbal diarrhoea, memory loss, mental illness or an aversion to external heat.

Late Summer

In the late summer (the fifth season in TCM) it becomes the time of the spleen and stomach. Overworked spleen and stomach is associated with worry and obsessive thoughts. Spleen is associated with damp and problems may kick in if the weather is humid.

The summer season is ruled by fire. Life and energy is at a peak.

 

Align With Summer Energy

The aim during Summer is to let your energy flow ‘out’, to get rid of the heat stored in the body over winter.

  • Eat spicy foods to induce sweat, it helps rid the body of heat
  • Rise early to benefit from the rays of the sun.
  • Go to bed later. Rest at midday if you need more sleep.
  • Drink plenty of clean water (water is the opposing element of fire), take cool baths, seek shade. Watermelon juice, an old remedy for dehydration, cools the body and cleanses the system.
  • Add pungent and strong flavours to your diet
  • Avoid drinks full of sugars and chemicals which don’t actually relieve thirst, but do bring toxins into the body which then have to be cleared out.
  • Refrain from anger, keep calm.
  • Green-vegetablesEat more cooling, hydrating yin foods to balance the fire heat of summer – raw foods, salads, seafood, legumes, sprouts (especially mung-bean), zucchini, cucumbers, kelp, and fruits like watermelons, apples, limes and lemons.  Cooling foods tend towards the green foods – lettuce, cucumbers, watercress. Very few vegetables are warming. Fish and seafoods are cooling but most meats are warming. Be careful not to eat too much raw or cold food though as it may ‘cool’ your digestion too much – you want to achieve balance in all things!
  • Bitter yin foods are associated with the heart and small intestine. They reduce the heat and drain dampness. Foods such as celery, dandelion, endive, watercress, quinoa and rye. But be careful not to overdo bitter foods, unless you have lots of fire in you. Asparagus and lettuce are both bitter and sweet.
  • Later in the summer add the sweet yang flavours of complex carbohydrates, legumes, nuts, oats, rice, peas, peaches, avocado, kiwifruit, cucumber and raw honey. These build and strengthen the spleen and thus the whole body. The spleen is the most important organ of the immune system. They also slow and relax an overactive heart and mind. But don’t have too much!
  • Eat foods that promote energy and activity. Use hot spices such as fresh (not dried) ginger. Black pepper, cayenne and horseradish will induce a sweat. Cardamon is a useful spice as it clears the digestive system of blockage caused by heat.
  • Eat in moderation. Keep your food light and simple. Indigestion, sluggishness and even diarrhoea can easily occur in the summer. It’s healthier for you, and it gives you more time to get outside and enjoy the outdoors.
  • Avoid heavy or salty foods – meat, excess grains, dairy, oil and eggs as they will make you feel sluggish during summer.
  • Avoid cold foods in early summer – iced drinks and ice-cream (they hold in the sweat and heat)
  • Focus on changes in your life related to joy, growth and spiritual awareness. With the predominant nature of Summer being Yang, related to excitement, assertiveness and exuberance, it is the perfect time to take action to make positive change.

 

The Key To Living With The Seasons

If you remember that the human body is simply a microcosm of the universe, the macrocosm, it becomes easier to understand that the same imbalances that occur in the environment are mirrored in the human being. By keeping this relationship with nature in mind we can become more conscious of keeping the rhythms  of life in harmony, of living with the seasons.

living with the seasons summer

Disclaimer.

All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue. 

Source articles:

Purcell, J, Eating For The Seasons, Allen & Unwin, 2011

http://www.chinesemedicineliving.com/blog/nutrition/seasons/summer

https://www.acufinder.com/Acupuncture+Information/Detail/Summertime!+Chinese+Medicine+and+the+Summer+Season

http://www.pacificcollege.edu/acupuncture-massage-news/articles/454-traditional-chinese-medicine-summer-tips.html

http://straightbamboo.com/articles/how-to-stay-healthy-in-summer/

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Nature's Rhythms, Stress & Overwhelm

The Twelve Top Tips For a Happy Healthy Christmas

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With December arriving so quickly the festive season is all around us. Follow these twelve top tips to stay healthy in the holiday season so you can reach New Year in your best state ever, without having to lock yourself away to keep out of temptations reach.

12 Top tips for a happy healthy Christmas

Research shows that the three biggest stresses for most people around Christmas are: weight gain from overindulging, financial strain from overspending, and anxiety from having to spend time with people they prefer to avoid.

According to a recent Australian study by Roy Morgan Research, around 60 per cent of Australians dislike Christmas shopping (I’m one!). But instead of devising a shopping strategy about 20% head out to shop without any plan of action, and most (75%) come home without buying anything at all.

Instead they DO get to stand in queues, hunt-the-parking-spot, surround themselves with crowds of stressed people and ramp up their own stress, frustration and anxiety levels.

12 Top Tips For A Happier Healthier Christmas

Top tips to stay healthy at Christmas

 

Use this list of Twelve Tips to enjoy Christmas this year, instead of simply surviving it.

1.      Stress

Shopping – whether it is standing in long queues, finding space to park, or trying to hunt down a desperately desired gift, many people find Christmas shopping the most stressful part of the season. Wherever you go you will encounter tired, cross irritable people.

It is good to remember that stress and anxiety are quite normal at this time of year. When one family member is under stress, other family members are likely to feel stressed too, aggravating the situation and making life even more difficult for all.

There are many different natural ways to deal with the stress. The simplest of these is without a doubt the flower essence, Bach Rescue Remedy.

Rescue Remedy has been around for over 60 years and was created to help people cope with everyday stressful situations. Its effects are calming and centering. It is suitable for stressed children as well as adults. Carry some with you or keep it in the car so it’s handy when you need to de-stress.

Get it from the Health Food shop or your natural medicine practitioner. Keep one in your bag, your car or your office, so you have it on hand whenever you start to feel stressed. It is available in a number of different forms now – drops, spray, gum, cream, even pastilles and is easy to use. You can take it as often as you need.

2.      Water

This might seem a no-brainer, but it is one that is easy to forget. The reality is that dehydration is a greater problem when you are drinking alcohol. Have two glasses of water before you go to any function. Alternate alcoholic drinks with cool clear water or soda water when you are out socializing. Adding a slice of lemon or lime to the water is even better. Carry a water bottle when you are out shopping.

Remember to keep hydrated.

Photo credit: Evan Courtney
Photo credit: Evan Courtney

3.      Family Conflict

Family tensions seem to surface at this time of year, especially if your relationships are a little strained normally. If you struggle to interact some of the family normally then Christmas is not likely to be any different.

Rather than self-medicating with alcohol, cigarettes or other drugs in order to cope, you can again use the Bach Rescue remedy to help you get through difficult events. If you are able to identify triggers for the conflict, and consciously avoid them you may find it easier to cope.

Christmas gatherings are frequently the place where family dynamics replay just as they existed back decades ago. It can be difficult to be treated as the vague child you once were, when you in your everyday life you are a capable, competent and responsible adult with many skills and abilities.

Involving the family in a group activity after lunch can help keep conflict at bay. Backyard cricket, swimming if you have a pool, or charades if the weather turns nasty, will help lighten the mood.

And if it is still too much, then politely but firmly decline invitations.

4.      Sleep

It is far too easy to lose sleep during December, with busy calendars, lots of socializing, and preparations for the big day. Aim to get seven to eight hours  sleep each night.

We all know that sleep deprivation can cause foggy thinking, slow reactions and irritability. But insomnia can also increase your risk of depression and anxiety, or contribute to obesity. With stress and anxiety already a problem for many people adequate sleep is essential to help keep it at a minimum.

If you are tired, don’t go out. It won’t hurt to miss some parties.

There are a number of herbs that aid sleep. Lavender is very effective and can be used in the form of an essential oil in a burner or diffuser, in your bathwater, or in carrier oil rubbed on the skin. Chamomile, Californian Poppy, Passionflower or Hops are others to help insomnia. Many herbal formulations to aid sleep are available as teas and are simple and lovely in the evening before going to bed. Children can also drink many relaxing herbal teas such as Chamomile.

5.     Avoiding weight blow-out

Going to parties hungry, anticipating lots of yummy Christmas treats is a recipe for disaster. When you are hungry it is difficult to resist eating anything offered to you and you are likely to overindulge.Avoid weight blow out in the holiday season

Finger foods are high in kilojoules, as well as fat and sugar. Opt for low-joule options like vegetable crudités, hommus or fruit. Eating smart when you are out partying is the way to stay on top of excessive weight gain. Limit temptation by eating regular nutritious meals and avoiding Christmas goodies like chocolates, pudding and shortbread throughout the whole season.

Keep up your regular exercise program, and keep in mind it takes many hours of exercise to burn off the extra kilojoules gained at two or three parties.

 6.      Purpose

Finding some ‘purpose’ to Christmas may be a way to help you cope better. There are plenty of ways in which you could volunteer your time. As well as benefiting others, contributing to your community may create feelings in you that make you feel happy. If you find experiencing Christmas Joy difficult this could be a way to get in touch with it again.

7.      Finances.

Credit card blowout in January can be devastating, often taking many months to pay off. Paying for gifts, as well as your celebrations, with cash means you will know whether you can afford the purchase or not, and avoid the financial headache in January.

Rationalize who you will buy gifts for and consider whether you can gift with your time, or something you have made yourself, instead if finances are tight.

If you are hosting the Christmas meal, avoid the temptation to over-cater. You don’t need more food than you would on any other day. You will be thanked when your guests do not feel awful after eating too much.

8.      Breathe

Incorporate the practice of mindful breathing into your daily habits every day through December, if you haven’t already. Simply spend thirty seconds to take slow deep breaths. Do this a few times a day. It is a great way to reduce stress. The simple relaxation technique of focusing on your breath helps to relieve tension and anxiety.

Alternatively you could meditate – there is no need to be scared of this, it is not about becoming a yogi, simply the practice of drawing focus and reducing stress.  Here are some fun, light, easy ways to spend just a few minutes in meditation.

Christmas is about giving, but it is also the time to allow you to receive the gift of relaxation from yourself.

Relax in a bath with hand made natural products to sooth away stress
Relax in a bath with hand made natural products to sooth away stress

9.      Relax

It’s easy to say take some time out for yourself but often we feel there is no time, especially in busy December. However setting aside a relaxing night in to create a home spa experience, followed by a good book or DVD and an early night, could be the answer to getting through Christmas and the New Year and soaring into the New Year.

Run yourself a soothing bath if you have a tub. If not sit yourself in a comfy chair with a relaxing foot bath and a ‘renew you’ herbal brew for about twenty minutes.  Add essential oils to the water to help you relax.  Follow with some nourishing cream on your skin before you curl with your book or movie.

10.      Loss and loneliness

For many people the Christmas Season is one when feelings of loss for a loved one who has passed are magnified, especially as they are surrounded by others celebrating with their families.

For others who are single, whether they are young or elderly, it can be a time of great loneliness. Those far from home can feel overwhelming homesickness. When emotions become overwhelming Homeopathic remedies can be of great assistance. There are a number of excellent ones to help with grief, such as Ignatia, Nat-mur or Causticum. Homeopathic Nat-mur, Capsicum, Phos-ac or Ignatia are just some of dozens of remedies that help relieve homesickness. But Homeopathic Remedies need to be well matched to your own individual experience, or symptoms, of homesickness or loss, and this is best prescribed by a professional Homeopath, who takes many things into consideration before selecting the remedy best suited to you.

If you have decided to add purpose to your Christmas, including someone on their own, far from home in your celebrations is one way to achieve this.

11.  Embrace your inner child

Children look forward to Christmas with enormous excitement. They pour love into cards and gifts made at school. They marvel at the Christmas tree and street lights, rip open presents, pop crackers and join in the Embrace your inner child at Christmas and resolve to have funtraditions with absolute exuberance. They keep going all day because they stop before they have overeaten and don’t need to lie around to recover. They live every moment of the day before falling into bed at night to sleep soundly.

Approach Christmas with the resolve to have fun.

12.  Alcohol

Start the practice of alcohol-free days each week.

Don’t drink on an empty stomach. Limit the number of drinks you consume and alternate them with water or soda water. Be aware that many restaurants use over-sized wine glasses that contain much more than normal serving sizes. Also watch out for top-ups.

Drinking alcohol in the evening interferes with sleep. While you may fall asleep easily, it leads to disturbed sleep later in the night, possible waking you for long periods, or leaving you exhausted in the morning.

If you do overdo it help reduce a hangover with Vitamin C on the day after and Vitamin B Complex both BEFORE and AFTER the big night. It’s a much better combo than Berocca and is minus the aspartame which Berocca contains.

Many people find Homeopathic Nux-vomica, taken in accordance with Homeopathic prescribing guidelines gets rid of the headache and nausea very quickly.

Chlorella has been shown in studies to reduce hangover by 96%. It’s a green sea algae and available from health food shops. Buy a reputable organic brand – very important!

Coconut water is rich in electrolytes to help cleanse and antioxidants. Drink it through the day before you head out as well as before you go to bed to help offset some of the damage caused by the alcohol.

Dandelion root tea helps detoxify the liver and can be drunk before you go out as well as the following day.

Very Important –  What Not To Do

Finally these are some things that you should NOT do if you want to easily sail through into the New Year.

  • Don’t start a new diet, there’s time for that later.
  • Don’t add the expense of sending out cards to people you see all the time.
  • If your kids are scared of Santa, don’t force them onto his lap just to get the cute picture.
  • Remember, you don’t have to find the ‘perfect’ gift. Fundamentally a gift is a token that tells the recipient that you have had them in your thoughts, nothing more. It does NOT have to be big, or expensive, or just what they have always wanted. It is A TOKEN of the feelings from your heart.
  • Do NOT stress about being the ‘perfect’ Mum, partner or friend – most people close to you will understand.

And finally don’t become a slave to any list – gift, card, menu, parties, or even this one. Stay flexible, honour what your body tells you is needed the most, and enjoy the Christmas Season.

keep calm it's only christmas

Disclaimer.

All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue. 

Source articles

http://www.myspringday.com.au/wellness_centre_details/top_5_tips_to_stay_healthy_during_christmas/302?id=302

http://www.drjoe.net.au/dr-joes-diy-health-guide-to-christmas/

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Christmas_tips_to_reduce_the_stress?open&utm_term=Christmas_tips_to_reduce_the_stress&utm_source=&utm_campaign=newsletter

http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-christmas-not-to-do-list/00010228

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