Contribution by freelance writer Sally Writes.
Grief is a natural and often expected reaction to the loss of someone beloved and cherished. This does not, of course, mean to imply that bereavement is any less difficult when it occurs. Having to let go of a loved one is undoubtedly one of the hardest things to do - especially when the loss is sudden. The ones left behind suddenly need to find ways to cope and recover. In the midst of loss, a spiritual retreat can be one of the best ways to reach a healthy goodbye. Solace in Silence A loss is never easy to address and in such times there are several signs or manifestations of grief that may invariably damage you and any relationships you have. Anger is common and an undesired, reaction to grief. A spiritual retreat can help you channel your unfiltered emotions and direct them towards healthy outlets that benefit your overall health in the end. It can help you get started on the path to being able to celebrate the wonderful life that was lived instead of focusing on the pain of loss. The silence that is often coupled with spiritual retreats allows you to listen to the thoughts and feelings that you may have been ignoring all this time. Getting In Touch With Core Beliefs A spiritual retreat enables people to leave distractions for a short time and grant an opportunity to relax and reconnect with one’s long-held beliefs. Meditation and counseling are often part and parcel of spiritual retreats. So not only will you be able to leave the noise behind but you’ll be able to hear words that can truly help you process grief in a healthy and manageable way. Whether you’re religious or more spiritual, a retreat is often successful in helping people find their way toward inner peace. Natural and Healthy Processing Sometimes the loss may be so profound that many choose to use clinical substances like antidepressants to help them along. The trouble with this is as long as the emotions are not processed and settled, the reaction will always be there. Medicine is just a stopgap for the symptoms of loss and not loss itself. A spiritual retreat promotes natural and healthy processing of loss through activities designed to attain emotional and mental liberation. Emotions can be tumultuous at times and you will need a private and safe space to let them wash over you. Grief often comes with pain that is both exquisite and overwhelming but this does not mean that you need to be alone to sort them out. In fact, one of the main things that any psychologist will tell you is to seek help whenever you feel that you are at a loss. Spiritual retreats may just be the thing you need to help you come to terms with the reality of the loss and enable you to be able to say goodbye from a place of authenticity.
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We are born already overburdened with toxins. Tested newborn blood from the umbilical cord already has 200 toxic chemicals in it. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution till now our living environment has become a very dangerous place. The increase in disease and the amount of toxins in the environment rise side by side. Everyday our bodies take in toxins. The air we breathe, filling the car with fuel, pesticides and heavy metals on food, the list and reasons is long. When the body is functioning properly, the organs and lymph system can filter out toxins and keep the body safe. However, this is not the case for most people. Once our bodies get over burdened natural detox systems shut down. The first place to show signs of damage from toxins is the gastrointestinal tract. Minor imbalances such as gas and bloating are common place these days and major states of dis-ease within the body start in the gut and lymphatic system. The body is made up of cells, blood, and lymphatic fluid. All three elements need to be as toxin free as possible for the body to stay disease free and mentally healthy. Detoxification is a great way to remove toxins from the body. Toxins are moved out of the body through the lymph system using the urine, stool and sweat to release them. Removing toxins from the body uses a lot of energy, and to energize the body you need to put fresh whole foods, vitamins and minerals in your body. Everyone is mineral and/or vitamin depleted to an extent and this condition allows damage from toxins to occur. Do you want to stay looking young? Rubbing cream on your face and botox are band aids. Lines and wrinkles on the face are caused by toxic build up, saggy skin is caused by the body not using calcium correctly. Detoxification will make you look young, correct imbalance, eliminate disease and make you feel amazing. Above you can see cells sticking together this is one of the condition a high load of toxins on the body can cause. This condition leads to disease of ALL kinds, mental and physical. Healthy cells make you feel great and stop disease. Healthy cells are toxin free and along with macrophages are constantly working to remove toxins from the body. Macrophages carry toxins out of the body using the lymph system. Above you can see lymph fluid filled with toxins. This acid in your body is one of the root causes of all disease and can be removed using detoxification.
You heal by feeling, facing and releasing. Making small changes that add up at the end of the week or month. This is how to move forward toward the real you. The real you would never do anything to harm itself. The real you is not sick, or depressed or wants to be in a bad relationship. The real you has no negativity or judgment. The real you is a shining white light of compassion with a limitless will to help others. This is how detox can make you feel. Detox removes the shades of gray/toxins blocking the light that is the real you. These shades of gray are removable, and I know that you are worth the effort to remove them. Through 15 years of personally detoxing and helping others detox I have learned that for detoxification to be most effective it needs to be a gentle and gradual process that turns into a lifestyle. Small and large steps can be made at home to yield substantial gains in your health investment. I call it an investment because your health is the only thing you truly own. Changing what you put into your body and understanding why you don’t always make a healthy choice is the first step in regaining your health and starting the detox process. The role of your digestive tract in how you feel about yourself and your surroundings can not be overstated. Rebalancing and repairing the digestive tract is paramount to achieving any and every health goal. Whole leaf aloe vera has more than 150 vital ingredients. Whole leaf aloe smoothies are very effective in healing and rebalancing the GI tract and lay a foundation for the intake of probiotics. Probiotics reset and rebalance the environment in the GI tract, and this process will have a major positive effect on your mental health. Once a rebalancing has occurred you can start to move waste out of the GI tract. I like to use psyllium husk to do this, although not everyone can take psyllium husk due to certain conditions in the GI tract, there are alternatives. Just healing the digestive tract in the comfort of your own home at your pace, can give you a profound change in your health both physical and mentally. After so you can move on to another protocol, each one building on the foundation of the one before it. This creates a healthy and effective whole body detox, a lifestyle. This lifestyle will rid you of many problems and make it easier for you to move forward in life, find your truth and step into your power. It is quite understandable, remove toxins from the body feel great! If you are suffering from a terminal disease or addiction problems please know that detoxification with no side effects is possible. In these cases the protocols are done in a more specific order to facilitate quick results. Jon Damon uses his 15 years of detox experience to help people rid themselves of all forms of disease. As someone that has cured himself of depression and heavy metal poisoning Jon’s knowledge of the power of detox and lifestyle change has allowed him to help many people change their lives. Website: http://www.frequencybyjondamon.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8p6SsmuoxG1c1WA9mVLgXw ![]() Article from guest writer Brad Krause. Practicing self-care can mean many different things, depending on your lifestyle and where you live. For some, it means getting rid of bad habits or removing toxic energy from their lives. For others, it’s simply a way to take care of physical, emotional, and mental health in the best ways possible, such as engaging in a relaxing pastime or learning a new fitness routine. And still others incorporate all of those things, ensuring that their mind and body are in perfect harmony. The way you practice self-care is up to you, but it should have positive effects on the way you feel. You might consider learning to say “no” when someone is asking for too much of your time. You may decide that getting more sleep and eating a more balanced diet is the way to go. Evaluate your lifestyle to figure out what changes you can make that will benefit you the most, and go from there. Here are some tips on getting started and why self-care is so important. Start small Sometimes seemingly small actions can have big, positive consequences. Getting a couple more hours of sleep per night and introducing more water and veggies into your diet can improve the way you feel and help boost your daily productivity. Make it a point to go to bed a little earlier at night and eat a more balanced diet, and see how much better you feel. Make home a place of serenity Making your home a place of serenity and calm is especially important for those with stressful lives. It will help you leave the burdens of your day behind so you can take a deep breath. You can do this by making a pact with yourself about not doing work once you walk through your front door—not even answering emails—and creating a space just for you that allows for your comfort and happiness. Paint the walls a calming blue, light a few candles, take a hot shower, and forget about the stresses of work. Decluttering is also a great way to make your home work for you. Learn to say “no” Those of us with stressful jobs or home lives know that being taken advantage of is one of the worst feelings, in part because it just adds to daily stress. It’s important to learn how to say “no” when someone asks for more time than you can give. Taking on too many responsibilities at once can be a huge factor in your stress level. If it’s happening at work, ask a coworker to shoulder the responsibility if possible, or have a talk with your boss about your workload. Eat well Your diet and exercise routine can have a big impact on how you feel both physically and mentally, so it’s important to find a workout you can stick to as well as a diet plan that boosts your energy. Talk to your doctor about the right diet for you, especially if you’ve had health issues in the past, and think about the best ways to keep your workouts fun. This will keep you motivated. Swimming, gardening, and playing your favorite sport are all great examples. Reducing stress and finding ways to boost your self-confidence are two great examples of practicing self-care; the details are up to you. Tailor your daily goals to meet your specific needs and talk to your friends, family, and doctor about how they can help. Brad Krause graduated from college in 2010 and went straight to the corporate world at the headquarters of a popular retail company. But what started as a dream job soured quickly. After four years of working 15-hour days and neglecting his health, he decided enough was enough. Through aiding a friend during a tough time, Brad discovered his real calling-helping people implement self-care practices that improve their overall wellbeing. He created SelfCaring.info to share his own knowledge and the many great resources he finds on his self-care journey. ![]() My whole life I had always been careful with my health and always aware of my happiness with everything I did. My independence and maturity were by far my stand out qualities growing up; after living out of home from the age of 15 and learning to stand on my own 2 feet. These qualities were projected in both my personal and work life throughout my teens and early 20s. As most, my life was full of challenges and growth with sport, school, friends and family, however none of these challenges could have prepared me for the health challenge I was faced with around 4 years ago. At the age of 22 I was told I needed priority surgery to remove cancerous cells from my cervics. As a sporty, independent and outgoing person this in many ways felt like the end - with an intense period of medication, dietary changes and recovery I begun to notice a whole other level of growth within myself. No more than 8 months after surgery I was back in hospital and diagnosed with Kidney disease (adverse reaction to medication). Another 8 months went by and I was faced with more bad news that my cervical cancer cells had come back and I was into surgery number 2. I had now lost all sense of independence, hunger for growth and resilience to challenges - my mental health had slipped and I went into a period of depression and anxiety. After testing my mental health to the edge that I no longer had a fight for life or need to continue, the only thing I could consider was to help others. From my experiences with depression and my health challenges I felt an overwhelming amount of loneliness and misunderstanding. Not because I didn’t have any friends or family around me but because in most cases they couldn’t relate or know how to support me best. It was then that I thought of B.OKideas and the concept of providing a B.OK Box for people to offer long term support and a means to start a conversation when you are not sure how. My passion to help others was lit by the challenges in my past but it has been fueled by my understanding and experience that tough times do not last and that this hope needs to be shared with everyone. Building a movement on and offline through B.OKideas has allowed me to accept my past and share my story so that others who are also going through a tough time, experiencing periods of depression or anxiety or stress can know they are not alone. After launching B.OKideas in March 2018 I have supported many different men health initiatives such as Lifeline, Mens Health Week, Yoga Australia Ball Event and raising over $600 for our charity partner (10% of sales go to Waves of Wellness Foundation). ![]() Website: https://www.bokideas.com/ The Story of B.OKideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSlz7Yc8IjE&t=4s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bokideas/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BOKideasco/ FacebookB.OKBuddyCommunity: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BOKbuddy/ Article by freelance writer Sally Writes
Finding Asthma Relief Through Yoga For many, difficulty breathing is a way of life. Asthma affects one in nine Australians or around 2.5 million individuals. It can show itself at any point in our lifetime, from childhood well into adulthood, with more and more cases popping up in recent years due in part to outdoor pollution. Asthma can have symptoms that range from mild to severe, including coughing, wheezing, swelling, and even death. While asthma can be challenging to eradicate, there are a number of both medical and holistic ways to help alleviate symptoms. Yoga and meditation are great ways to strengthen the lungs and encourage free airflow, helping to relieve the symptoms of asthma in both children and adults. Here are just some of the ways that taking up a yoga routine can help you to breathe better throughout the day. Meditative Breathing For the most part, breathing is involuntary. When we practice yoga, however, we’re encouraged to think about our breathing practices and how they impact our body. Mindful breathing techniques can help asthmatics to learn how to exercise control over their breathing with deep, steady inhalation and slow exhalation. Not only does this strengthen the lungs in the long-term, but also offers a way to combat an impending asthma attack. Relaxation of the Mind and Body Stress is a common trigger for asthma patients, causing symptoms to manifest or worsen. One of the best ways to keep asthma attacks to a minimum is to maintain a relaxing lifestyle. Yoga can help to calm the mind and soothe the body, making it easier to cope with a hectic home or work life. By maintaining a relaxed state, you lessen the likelihood of your asthma symptoms kicking in at the worst possible moments. The Best Poses for Asthma Relief While all yoga poses can help to free up the lungs, there are several that are better for breathing than others. Poses that straighten the spine and open the airways help to promote a more even airflow through our bodies. Here are some of the best yoga poses for asthmatic individuals: ● Savasana ● Sukhasana ● Forward Bend ● Butterfly ● Straddle Splits ● The Bridge ● Pranayama It can be tough to cope with the symptoms of asthma, but luckily, there are plenty of remedies that help to alleviate the pain. Practising yoga encourages healthy breathing techniques that promote smooth, clean airflow through the lungs. By including the right poses in your routine, you can reduce your risk of asthma attacks and breathe easy. ![]() Our mind is a powerful tool. Most of the time, we tend to believe what our mind is saying. We hear a voice in our head and we tend to identify with it. Yet whatever is being said isn’t always true. But if we believe all that we hear in our head then our happiness will only depend on our positive thinking. It is great if we are a naturally born optimist but challenging if our mind is wired on fear or self-criticism. Also our emotions are strongly linked with our thoughts. If our mind tends to worry about something in the future, we then tend to experience fear in the present moment. It does not mean that this worry will actually happen, it may or it may not. But in the meantime we have created stress for ourselves by listening to those thoughts. Whatever the mind is saying, it will create an emotional response in our body.We have a tendency to spend most of our life reacting and responding to our thoughts without questioning. Yet what if it could be different? We hold the power within ourselves to change our thoughts and even to stop our mind at once. And when we become able to control our mind, we also become in control of how we experience life. The best tool I know that can bring us this new quality of life is the practice of meditation. With regular meditation practice, we slowly start managing our thoughts. We become more aware and conscious of all the incessant chatter inside our head. And then we can learn how to completely stop it. Of course it takes time but the peace and happiness that result are definitely worth it. With meditation regular practice is essential. We can learn different techniques and practice the ones that suit us best. We can also join a meditation class in our neighbourhood or enrol in a meditation retreat for a quantum leap in our practice! Check out our meditation ebook and our meditation retreats, we will help you silence that chattering mind! :) ![]() A to-do list can be such an excellent tool when trying to tackle a big, overwhelming goal. We can use the power of pen and paper to break big goals down into small achievable steps, just as long as we manage to be realistic when finding our first step. I love gaining clarity by doing exactly that but a few weeks ago I realised that my to-do list was not serving me as well as it once had. I had found the first few, very small steps that would help me get closer to an important goal and I had given myself the week to get them done. I stuck a piece of paper on my wall. On it, two very achievable steps I was going to take by the end of the week. Somehow weeks went by and I hadn’t taken either of them. Eventually, after about two months, I took that piece of paper down and threw it out. Together with a lot of enthusiasm about to-do lists. I realised later that what I had written was not actually the first step in getting closer to my big goal. My first instinct after experiencing that disappointment was that maybe instead of only writing to-do lists I also needed an ‘already-done list’: to avoid feeling disappointed with myself for not achieving what I had set out to achieve and to shift my focus on things that I had already achieved instead. This felt like a big realisation. So big, I set out to write a blog post about the importance of looking back at what we have already achieved, to feel proud of how far we have already come and to feel a sense of accomplishment. I took a step back and was ready to feel that great sense of accomplishment. But I never wrote an ‘already-done list’. Something else happened for me. Still feeling some disappointment but also a lot less pressure, I naturally found myself spending less time trying to control the outcome of whatever I was doing. I would go for a walk and instead of planning what I had to do once I got home, I enjoyed the walk. I walked for as long as I wanted to. Sometimes that wasn’t very long at all. I walked through a park but then stopped and sat down in the middle of Federation Square. I watched the rush. I watched the sunset. I just sat and watched. Eventually, I had not only lost track of my all so important to-do list, my genius idea of an ‘already-done list’ seemed just as negligible. All that mattered was this present moment. The idea for my ‘already-done list’ came to me because I spent too much of my time looking into the future. The logical solution to my problem of being too focused on the future was to look into the past. I thought by doing that I would ease the pressure I had created for myself with my to-do list. “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein I will continue to use pen and paper to create clarity for myself. Luckily, when I forgot about my to-do list for a little while, I found something entirely different. Once I spent some time simply being, I realised that what I had written down a few months back were not really the next steps in achieving my big goal. Those steps seemed easy enough when I came up with them. They were definitely achievable which contributed to my frustration. I thought I had done everything right. I thought I should write a blog post on ‘how to write to-do lists’ ☺. It took me a while to figure out why it did not work out for me. If the first step towards a goal isn’t easy enough to take today, it’s not really your first step. Sometimes the very first and most important step is to come back to this very moment. In this moment, there is nothing to achieve. There is no need to look back to feel accomplished. There is just this very moment to enjoy. Sometimes the first step on your to-do list is to simply be present. Hi, I’m Maren. I am an actress and author of the Feel Good Blog, but most of all I am passionate about sharing honest moments. I love moments that remind us that we are capable and connected. I treasure those moments whether they are felt as profound insights or inspirational chuckles, whether we laugh or cry, I believe they help us grow. www.feelgoodblog.org www.instagram.com/maren.whitt Why I Don’t have a Story to Share: How to Drop your Story in a Second! Hello beautiful being, The wonderful soul, Karen, recently invited me to share my ‘story’ with you, and I’m so grateful to be able to share my heart and journey in the hope of inspiring you back to balanced wellbeing. Writing about wellbeing is my passion, you see – and I’m a big believer that you should follow your heart; that’s what got me here… When I set out to share my ‘story’ with you, though, I realised – I don’t have a ‘story’ – I only have truth (as we all do) so what I hope you hear from this is that we can change our stories in any instant and return to the truth of who we really are: even when we think we can’t. Let’s Start at the Beginning: Universal Blessings that Seemed Disastrous! I’ll start, like everyone does – at the beginning (it’s the most sensible place, right?). When I was in my early 20’s, I became ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which was a real sign that I was feeling imbalanced. Like many people, I was career-focused and just followed the routine of getting qualified and working hours-upon-end as the responsible Brand Manager I had become, but it felt so stressful that I ended up expressing illness and disconnection. Suddenly, I found myself overwhelmed, anxious, and unable to physically function because I was just so exhausted. I thought it was a complete disaster. What I didn’t realise was that it was naturally an innate blessing that the universe had in store for me… Journeying to Self-Recovery As it turned out, I set out on a path of self-recovery, naturally. You’re meeting me here, aren’t you? Most people come to the natural route following some kind of inspirational realisation that there is a need for a return to something simpler and innate. For me, this is a return to ‘truth.’ I ended up re-training and specialising in many different natural therapies – from reflexology, aromatherapy and reiki to yoga, meditation and homeopathy; you name it, I journeyed there, searching far and wide. Slowly and surely, I became more balanced. But, there was still something that didn’t quite make sense; I still felt stuck in my past stories. I’d sit and meditate, I’d feel my feelings, but I was still stuck in the past much of the time, re-living traumas over and over; and I’m a believer that you need to feel your feelings, but they were overwhelming me (I thought). Meditation is all about being ‘in the moment’ so I felt I was missing the point at times, and got hung up on how miserably I could fail even though at sometimes, when I felt connected I was meditating ‘well’ – it’s funny how you can be so judgemental of yourself, right? Feeling Disconnected and Searching for the Missing Piece One day, I was following my truth, being authentic and living a natural life, doing what I loved but I still found myself to be anxious, and felt like something was missing. I travelled the world searching for whatever it was; and this didn’t feel like an easy task for someone so anxious – it grew me in ways I couldn’t imagine! I heard yogic philosophy that ‘the answers are within’ and I thought I understood it at times; in Bali, I felt fulfilled, settled, creative, inspired, whole and generally amazing. I was meditating every day, doing yoga every day, and just loving life. Great, right? Yes, until I’d return home, and feel exactly the same way as I did before… Of course, I always looked to the external, to change that in attempts to ‘fix’ the internal. Do you hear me? Then something changed to help me understand why the answer really are within… Profound Insights about What It Is To Be Human Here’s the profound bit: one day, I met a lady who finally explained some amazing insights on how life works, and this was the most inspirational thing I have ever experienced. So inspiring, in fact, that I am now writing a book about because I just have to share it! These insights seem quite simple, but when they sink in, they are really quite profound. We innately know them, so they seem obvious, but once you truly understand (and you don’t have to ‘do anything’ to understand – just hear them and let them sink into your own wisdom – you’ll see how you can let go of anything to return to wellbeing. Three Principles To be human is to live with three principles: 1) Firstly, we are conscious beings, you know that – it’s not new, right? There is something greater than us at play, we are energetic beings existing with the influence of greater powers – like nature, spirit, Gods – or whatever you find meaningful to you to describe this higher power. Life has a plan for us, that we can’t control. 2) Secondly, as humans on this plane, we operate via ‘thought in the moment’ all the time, and this can vary, moment to moment. You’ll notice this when you’re meditating, perhaps. You know those little thoughts that pop in to say ‘hello, what’s for tea?’ just as you’re trying to find space? That happens all the time. Sometimes these thoughts can be good; somethings they can be not-so good. The mistake we make is that in our experience of life, we think we have to believe them all! This is not true. Our thoughts fluctuate moment to moment and we can see even the same thing differently according to how we are thinking and feeling in that second. 3) Thirdly, we have an experience of life as a human being, which completely relies on this thinking, in the moment. Our entire experience of life is made up from our thought. We often think our ‘feelings’ are our experience of life, but these are created from our thinking. The truth - the reality - is what is underneath this thinking: who we really are at our core. And that, my dears, is innately whole, perfect, beautiful, connected conscious beings. Becoming conscious of, and letting go of, our ‘thinking-in the moment’ allows us to experience the truth, and gain clarity on the reality of who we really are underneath and trust in the universe to allow ourselves to flow through life. So often, especially in our busy lives, we forget these simple truths. We get caught up in believing that our experience of life in this moment is exact truth, forever. We think that our ‘stories’ are who we are. We think that our experience in this moment is always reality. We think that how we feel is a direct reflection of our core truth. Let me tell you: it is NOT. The Inside-Out Reality How we feel is actually just a reflection of our inner thinking. We operate from the inside-out, not the outside-in. I realise now that I am always that connected, creative, inspired being from Bali; no matter where I am! All that had happened was I let go of my ‘thinking’ that I ‘wasn’t connected, creative and inspired’ when I thought that the environment was right for me to be all of those! Whatever we think about the outside is a direct reflection of our inner state. For example, we may ‘think’ we are ‘stuck in our stories.’ I could think ‘I am ill, I am unhappy, I am anxious, I need to change the external environment’ and continue down that route, which would make me feel like I needed to change something externally. But, as we understand that the nature of being human is to operate from our thinking, we realise that our discomfort is coming entirely from within – as a reflection of our thinking. Seeing our thinking for what it really is - just thought in the moment – allows us to trust, to just let it flow by, letting the truthful clarity and wisdom emerge. Nothing to Fix: Just Being Aware Returns Us to the Truth This isn’t to say we need to ‘change our thinking;’ there is nothing to ‘fix,’ because we are already whole - but we can become aware of it. That realisation that we are operating from ‘thought,’ moment to moment, just brings us back to our truth. Underneath all our ‘thinking’ is the truth of who we are. When we are born, we are innately whole, perfect and complete – and we are always connected to source. That never changes; the only thing that changes is our ability to add thought into the equation. Right from being a baby, the moment we are given a teddy bear to comfort us, we learn what we ‘think’ to be that the ‘external impacts us,’ but 100% of the comforted, settled feeling in that situation is coming from within; it’s not coming from the inanimate teddy bear. This is the nature of being human. Learning: Our Story is Not Our Story What this means for our stories is that our story is not our truthful reality. Even when it feels like it –our feelings come from our thinking. When we understand that whatever our ‘story’ is comes entirely from thought and that underneath this, we are our truthful, innately whole, perfect self, just operating as a human experiencing life via thought, we see that we can let it go – in an instant. Oh, it might not feel like it’s that easy – because you’re trying to ‘think’ about it and rationalise it, but I promise you that it’s the truth! That’s not to say you suppress it and say ‘oh, it’s just thought’ – we can still experience our feelings, but from an aware perspective that we know underneath our thought we are always ok; we can’t not be. If you could see who you really were, how could you not be ok? You Might Not Hear it Immediately, but It’s a Universal Truth When I first heard this, I didn’t get it immediately, but then one day, I woke up with a profound insight – without even doing anything to change! That’s the beauty of uncovering the truth. Initially, it may even feel uncomfortable, but on some level what I am saying will be resonating. One day, just from this knowledge, you can wake – like I did - with an insight that you weren’t aware of before… I promise; I have felt experience of it. There were things I ‘thought’ I just couldn’t let go of, that I had identified with for years as being my story, and now I just laugh at the little thoughts that pop up about them, and see the clarity of the reality underneath this! Underneath my thinking, I am a perfectly whole, innately resilient, connected being – and you are, too! We are not our stories… We are only ever experiencing our relationship with life through our thoughts about life. You will see more by surrounding yourself with this understanding and continuing the conversation about life – I welcome you to join me to connect… Namaste, Nicole ![]() Nicole Barton is a passionate Holistic Health and Wellbeing Specialist, adoring all things ‘holistic.’ . Holistically healing herself, training at an award-winning college in various weird and wonderful complementary therapies and travelling the world to learn about worldly wellbeing - including her passions for Yoga, Meditation, Homeopathy and Aromatherapy - she established Chalet Holistics – her specialist wellbeing clinic and training centre, based in rural Warwickshire. Nowadays, she specialises as a Wellbeing Mentor, helping people make sense of life and to support themselves back to balance, via natural health coaching. You can find her hopping between specialist clinics in Warwickshire, West Midlands and London. www.wellbeingwriter.co.uk Facebook/ theWellbeingWriter Insta: @ WellbeingWriter Twitter @ WellbeingWriter LinkedIn :/ Wellbeing-Writer ![]() Article written by Georgia Hartmann @wellbeing_naturopathy Naturopathy falls under the umbrella term of Complementary Medicine - a broad domain of healing resources other than that provided by the current dominant health system. Complementary medicine encompasses practices including Naturopathy, Osteopathy, Acupuncture, Chiropractor, Massage, Ayurvedic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine - the list goes on. The idea is that the minds behind these practices work alongside those behind conventional practices, including doctors and nurses, to allow for a holistic approach to health and wellbeing. Naturopathic medicine combines herbal medicine, nutrition and dietary planning, lifestyle modifications, and other modalities including flower essences, iridology, tissue salts and celloids that prevent and treat illness. It is the art and science of medicine that uses traditional forms of healing combined with modern scientific knowledge. As a traditional form of healing, the practice of Naturopathy is based upon 6 principles, including the healing power of nature, identifying the cause, treating the whole person, doing no harm, education, and prevention. 1. The Healing Power of Nature Nature is both perfectly balanced and organized intelligently to create, maintain, repair and destroy matter. The body also has its own intuitive and sophisticated mechanism of healing. Naturopaths use the healing agents provided by nature (air, earth, water and sun), in combination with a clean diet, exercise, adequate sleep, relaxation, meditation, and an optimistic outlook, to promote and support the body’s innate ability to heal. 2. Identify and Treat the Cause Underpinning this principle is the basic understanding that all illness must have a cause. For health to be restored and optimised, the cause or causes of the disease state must be identified and removed. This is an important principle in Naturopathy. Instead of merely placing a ‘bandaid’ on symptoms to achieve a ‘quick fix’, it is the role of the Naturopath to dig deep and treat the cause of illness. 3. Treat the Whole Person Health and disease result from an intricate interplay of physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, social, familial and occupational factors. Failure to address all aspects of health fundamentally ignores the complexity of the human being. As you may be aware, Naturopathy consults are often much longer than those of conventional medicine. This is because Naturopaths take a detailed case history that encompasses all aspects of an individual’s life in order to obtain a holistic understanding of all factors that impact our health. 4. First Do No Harm As it is the Naturopath’s role to facilitate the body’s natural ability to heal, doing so in a harmless manner is an important principle. Naturopathic practice that respects the principle of harm-free treatment is traditionally noninvasive, and avoids the suppression of symptoms and the prescription of harmful doses of medicine. 5. Naturopath as Teacher The word doctor has a Latin origin, meaning ‘teacher’. The power to eliminate disease and optimise health lies within the body. In this sense, the Naturopath assumes the role of teacher so as to educate, inspire, motivate, and encourage self-empowerment to the client. In doing so, the client regains power over their health. 6. Prevention Naturopathy is employed to prevent both the sequel of disease states and the development of new states. In a time where medicine is reactive rather than proactive, it is the Naturopath’s role to facilitate disease prevention. After all, prevention is better than cure! With a holistic approach to health and disease, Naturopathy plays a vital role in modern medicine. By acknowledging and influencing each aspect of an individual’s life, a state of harmony within the body can be achieved; a state that is free of dis-ease. I’m Georgia – You’ll find me by the sea in Sydney, Australia. My love for Naturopathy began when my sister was diagnosed with Stage 4 Endometriosis – a condition of the female reproductive system. After numerous surgeries, the only relief she found was attributed to Naturopathic medicine. Amazing, right! I thought so. I now have a strong love for helping women overcome their reproductive issues. ![]() From advanced yogis to those just starting out their practice, the perfect yoga mat is essential to a productive class experience. But with so many yoga mat options out there, it can be difficult to know what to look for. That’s why the team at Reviews.com spent a month pouring over leading mats to find which performed the very best for yogis of all experience levels. Check out these mats if you’re in the market Best Overall: Liforme Yoga Mat Best No-Frills: Alo Yoga Warrior Mat Best Budget: Hugger Mugger Para Rubber Yoga Mat Best Thick: Jade Fusion Mat Best Travel: Liforme Travel Mat What to look for at the store If you’re browsing your options in-store or can’t get your hands on these top performers, there are a few key factors to look for while you shop: Support Yoga can be tough on the joints and sensitive bones of on the tops of your feet and your back. Look for a model that is the perfect balance between squishy and dense so that it cushions your body while still maintaining stability. Avoid super-squish mats, which may prove difficult to balance on. Thicker mats like the Jade Fusion work well for those who like a little extra cushion. Grip There’s nothing worse than slipping and sliding around during an intense Bikram session, right? The two parts of traction are key here: an ideal mat will grip itself to the floor as well as your hands. If you’re trying a mat out in-store, be very conscious of how sweat and intense movement will change your experience in heated or advanced classes so you don’t slip! Maintenance Yoga mats come in both open and closed-cell styles. Open-cell mats are very grippy, allowing you to stay in place during a sweaty class because of their absorbency. However, they tend to be very hard to clean for that same reason. Closed-cell mats are far easier to clean, but may perform lower in the grip department. A good balance between the two is important: you can have the greatest mat in the world but if it gets dirty and full of germs, that can spell disaster for you. Hype Listen to others, but also listen to your body. There are always mats that everyone in class seems to be talking about, but take these recommendations with a grain of salt. Everyone’s body is different and requires different things in their practice. Read more at https://www.reviews.com/best-yoga-mats/ |
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