SPRING CLEANSE – WHY CLEANSE WITH THE SEASONS? PART 1
Traditionally, cultures in every corner of the planet have their chosen ways to cleanse and renew. Detoxing with plants that support cleansing and purification, alongside natural healing protocols using water, steam, smoke and fasting have stood the test of time for thousands of years. And people not only focused on cleansing the body, but also the mind to regain a sense of perspective and direction in life.
There was an understanding of the cyclical nature of the seasons and the corresponding cycle of the people.
Traditionally in the Native American tradition, a women menstrual cycle was seen as her time of purification, cleansing and when she was most connected with the universal energies. The men, needing their own purification ceremonies sat together in Inipi lodges (Sweatlodges) where they sweated their prayers, as a way of cleansing and purifying. In the Catholic tradition, we have the Lenten period. The stretch of 40 days and 40 nights, representing Jesus time...
Post-Pandemic Practitioner Fatigue
As we move into the next phase of the pandemic, the awareness of what’s been termed the "tsunami" of mental health challenges is expanding and finding a place. After 2 years of upheaval people are finding themselves in a place of relative "normality" but the cumulative impact of so many months of chaos, uncertainty, loss and anxiety is only now starting to show itself for many.
As a therapist I have supported people through this tumultuous time. Much of the work has been of a fire-fighting nature, responding to the unfolding challenges and tending to the reality of people in a state of shock from the loss of livelihood, loss of family members, loss of freedoms alongside the heightened state of alertness, anxiety and overwhelm.
As a clinical supervisor, I have supported therapists and practitioners with this pivot in focus for client work but also with the building sense of fatigue and burnout that has come for many in the caring professions and those offering...
POST PANDEMIC STRESS DISORDER A NATURAL MIND-BODY APPROACH
This week I'm putting together a presentation for the Irish School of Herbal Medicines Graduation/CPD day as a guest speaker which will be later this month. The topic I'm teaching around is what has become known as Post Pandemic Stress Disorder , understanding how the last couple of years has impacted the mental and emotional wellbeing of people and what we can do from a natural mind-body perspective to support our systems in returning to a place of balance.
Although I'm trained clinically as a therapist, the natural healer in me finds the eagerness to create new labels for "disorders" that can be slapped on peoples symptoms , let’s just say a tad trying. The allopathic model love their disorders, labels and boxes to pop us all into!! From a natural healing perspective these symptoms are not problems to be fixed but signals of imbalance to be understood at a deeper level and our body and psyches best attempt to come back to a place of homeostasis.
So how...
INNER ENERGETICS - Reconnecting & Releasing
As we are moving towards the end of the Live Series Plant + Psychology for Prevention, we are diving deeper into the Inner Energetics of us humans and how we can connect with, resources and rebalance our energy for resilience and wellbeing. There are so many modalities and approaches to health and wellness that it can be totally overwhelming. We can join the gym, take up yoga/swimming/ running etc. we can follow particular diets, we can sing/dance/ snorkle and go fro talk therapy. And all of these are fabulous ways to contribute towards staying well.
But the truth is, without an understanding of our energy and how it infuses and influences the rest of our lives, we are missing the innate key to shift the body and mind with all our efforts. It is alongside of the rest that we need to tend to our energy. Its in conjunction with the health eating plan. Conscious consumption is more than about the food we put in our mouths, its about the energy we take into our systems from our...
The Mind-Body Connection - Diving Deeper
Did you know there is a whole branch of medicine dedicated to the study of the Mind-Body Connection? Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of the interaction between the mind, the nervous system, and the immune system. The PNI paradigm consists of three major components: the psychological component, neurological component, and immunological component. It is a new approach to diseases which involves taking control of the disease by controlling stress and lessening it.
So science is catching up on what the natural healers and traditional wisdom keeper have known since time begun. The real relevance is that as science delves into this understanding and provides the kind of research that hasn't been available before, the understanding of the role and importance of the mind-body connection in health and wellbeing now has a mainstream platform and can reach people in ways that would have been seen as lunatic fringe in the very recent past.
Our mental and...
Mindset Maintenance for Stress Management
When is comes to a preventative approach to our health and wellbeing, there is more to it than just good diet and regular exercise. Of course the base line that we are all aware of is the benefits of things such as regular exercise, good sleep and healthy diet. And while these lifestyle interventions are invaluable, without attention to the mind-body connection and regular practice to maintain a healthy balanced mind, we miss the chance for sustainable wellbeing with ease and flow.
There is much talk these days about mindset and for good reason. But there is more to mindset than a positive mental attitude. The role of mindset maintenance in the Natural Mind-Body Framework is fundamental to navigate between the body and energy and keep the "driver" of the system on point.
There are 3 key aspects to consider when we begin to explore mindset:
- Our Thinking: The thoughts that run our minds.
- Our Patterns: The patterns of behaviour /thinking that arise when...
3 Simple Steps to Sync with Natures Cycles
Here we are once again with the leaves beginning to turn and the light slipping away faster each evening. Its so easy in a society that is always switched to ON to just roll onwards on the hamster wheel without any real awareness of the importance of the cycles of nature and how they reflect our own personal cycles. Nature is both outside of us and inside of us and when we begin to understand the ebb and flow of our cyclical nature, we can harness these curves and live a fuller, more balanced life. But it take a conscious decision to step off the thread mill and a daily commitment to remember we have a choice.
Here are 3 simple steps you can implement today to begin to sync with Natures Cycles.
#1 Observe & Interact with the Natural World around you.
Begin to consciously observe and interact with the Natural World around you. Use you body as an intermediary. What can you see, hear, smell, taste, touch around you in Nature that gives a sensory...
Plant Medicine for Prevention
Over many years of working as a herbalist I have treated a wide range of concerns, symptoms and health issues of both mind and body. It's interesting to me that many people wait until all else has failed and come to alternative or natural practitioners as a last resort or when their back is against the wall. Over the years, many times I have wondered why do people wait so long, why is natural healing a last resort for so many?
Having lived all of my adult life with a way of being that favours a natural approach to mind and body first and foremost, it's taken years to understand that a lot of it comes down to education and a way of being in the world. When we know better we do better most of the time anyway, but information and understanding are two different things. Its the WHY that is often missing, not the WHAT and like anything else, if we don't understand WHY something is beneficial, we often don't pursue it.
Once we understand WHY, we then can begin to learn...
MINDSET MAINTENANCE FOR NATURAL MIND-BODY HEALTH
Did you ever consider not to believe every thought that crosses your mind? For a lot of people, not only have they never considered this, but they have never really considered that there are choices to be made around our thought as they are powerful weapons that will work for us or against us, depending on how we program them.
For many, our thinking is an automatic flow, much of which we are not even conscious of until we make a decision to shine a light on it. But even when it runs on auto pilot, whatever we have programmed in there will have a profound influence on our health, wellbeing and lives in general. And without a conscious decision to audit it and adjust as necessary, it will continue to run on automatic as we sleep at the wheel. And this is why I ask the question above, to prompt you to ask the question of yourself and to bring your attention to your mindset.
We often believe our thoughts to be truths. Many times they are not. They are just random passing...
HAWTHORN - HEART HEALING PLANT MEDICINE WITH THE QUEEN OF MAY
With the arrival of the summer and the hopeful feeling of possibility that has come with it this year, I want to give you guys the heads up on one of the most prolific, accessible and wholesome plant medicines that you can access with ease at the minute.
The plant I'm talking about is the Hawthorn Tree.
One of the most magical and mischievous trees that will always have a special place down my memory lane. I was warned as a child not to mess with these trees as they were fairy trees. This warning came around a time that we would celebrate May Day with a party for the May Queen. This looked like dressing up in communion dresses, drinking red lemonade, eating sweets and putting ribbons on the trees, which to be honest, growing up in a housing estate in North Dublin in the 1980's was an incredible injection of magic, wonder and excitement in some pretty drab and grim times.
The other association for me of this tree, the month of May and general feeling...
