Introduction

As a Natural Health Practitioner as well as a full-time Martial Arts Practitioner, Health for me has become a lifestyle.

On my own journey to find health and balance I’ve read widely, learnt a lot by experience (ouch) and have dealt with a heap of people with similar problems. As a result I’ve grown enormously in the process!

If you’re into learning new things, finding things out for yourself and would like to look after yourself in a healthy, no-nonsense way, then you’re in the right place! I believe in doing things naturally, finding reasons for things that have gone wrong or are out of balance and fixing them…the way Nature intended…to Be In Balance with Myself and My Environment.

So, let’s take responsibility for our own health and well-being!

I will hopefully cover here some of the stuff that our Grandmothers knew…that your Mother didn’t teach you, because we lost that link to Nature due to being “modernised”.

I hope you will find here the inspiration to live naturally and in balance, or the answers you’re looking for if you’re not! If I haven’t addressed your questions yet, you can ask them here or in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them, either directly or in a future post!

Other published articles on the Web:

HubPages:     Wholistic Alignment

On the link between Salt and Migraines

                           The Top 6 Things to Do to Stay Healthy

3 Reasons why Mindful Exercise is SO much better

Walking. Calisthenics. Jogging. Running. Aerobics. Weight Training. Swimming. Pilates. Competitive Sports.

Yoga. Tai Chi. Chi Kung. Martial Arts.

What is the difference between these two groups of exercise?

Why Loving Yourself is not Selfish

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been told by someone that you’ve gone to for help with your various health issues that you’ve got to start loving yourself. I don’t know what it was but for some or other reason I understood this on an intellectual level, but just couldn’t get it right to actually do it. And I didn’t know what I needed to do either, because no-one was ever specific about it to me. I just got…”You have to LOVE YOURSELF!!!”

YES, I KNOW!!! So how do I do that?!!!

PHOTO: Marlene McPherson (c)

Feeling Negative or Listless? Find a Tree…

Have you experienced the benefits of doing this? If you have or have questions, please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you!

If you think this might help a friend, please pass it on or share it on Social Media. Let’s spread the word and help each other to become stress free!

Feeling Negative or Listless? Find a Tree… was published originally on Basic Balance. More about Marlene McPherson and her work as a Natural Health Practitioner at Essence of Namo.

3 Cool Benefits of an Evening Scalp Massage

If you have a very tight scalp, too sensitive to touch, or grey hair, then this is just the thing for you to do!

Juicing 101 – Basic Green Recipe for Vibrant Health

There are a lot of reasons to drink your vegetables.
Yes. DRINK.

Juicing is the best way to get the benefits of raw veges in a no nonsense way. It’s easier to digest and absorb, easy to consume and provides live enzymes and antioxidants in one powerful glass full of life! It detoxes and alkalizes and provides nutrients, vitamins and minerals in an absorbable format. The magnesium and chlorophyll in green juices soothes and calms the nervous system and minimizes stress in your body.

You should ideally start your day with a glass of green juice made by using a juice extractor, so to get you started and used to doing this, try the following combination. It is light and gentle on the digestive system.

2 apples – makes it sweeter and more palatable
half a cucumber – good source of potassium
2 celery stalks – excellent source of sodium
half a lemon

It makes about 250 – 300ml of juice. You can add about the same amount of water to dilute it. Drink a glass in the morning and keep the rest in a flask with ice for later in the day to keep it away from light and air…or share!

I will expand on how to juice, why, and more in this series on Juicing 101.

If you’ve experienced the joys and benefits of juicing, please let us know what your favourite combinations are in the comments below!

Source: Rawlicious by Peter and Beryn Daniel

Why you shouldn’t suppress a Cold, and how to Cope Better

A common cold, with all the attendant sniffles, drips and wheezes, is your body’s way to help you to detox if you’ve been under stress and your immune system is a bit under the weather. So if you’re trying to suppress it, you’re only postponing the inevitable and possibly causing your body to overreact later when it simply can’t handle the toxin overload anymore.

Disease Names are Labels – are you Falling for It?

After working on a client the other day that was diagnosed recently with fibromyalgia, I just realised again after listening to her describe her experience of it, that it is so easy to allow the name of a disease to dis-empower you because now you think that you are controlled by it, you ‘HAVE it’!

NO.YOU.DON’T!!!

Anything that is wrong or out of balance in your life or body has a reason, something that caused it, and once you have determined the reason…it can be changed and brought back into balance again.

How to keep your Gut Healthy to Prevent Sinus & Hay fever

Your digestive system does so much more than just digest and eliminate food! It is also the base of your immune system, so if it does not function optimally, your system can be open to attacks by viruses, bacteria and parasites. It also means that, if imbalanced, it will not digest properly, your body will not receive the correct building blocks to function and heal properly and so it will cause a myriad of problems including high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol.

But, more importantly for our purpose regarding sinus and hayfever, it will also not eliminate properly, placing your kidneys and liver under strain to deal with an excess of toxins, and this is the reason why your body now has to use other mechanisms to try and get rid of these toxins, especially in spring and early summer when there is an abundance of pollen in the air, that adds to the load the body already has to deal with. There are various ways your body can eliminate toxins, besides the digestive tract. The mucous membranes are one of them and this is why most people suffer from sinus and hay fever during this time of the year, because their liver and kidneys are already under pressure.

One of the simplest ways to get rid of an excess of toxins is to use the skin, the biggest elimination organ, just by regularly soaking in a warm detox bath, at least twice a week. You can use sea salt, rock salt, Epsom salt or mustard bath salts and soak for 20 minutes, sipping water or herbal teas to replace fluids lost by sweating out the toxins.

The best thing, though, is to improve the function of the digestive tract. A programme to replace the gut flora with a good multibillion strain probiotic, regenerating the gut lining with L-Glutamine and restoring the alkaline balance with the mineral biochemic tissue salt NatPhos will do wonders in this regard. Add to this a liver detox with milk thistle and dandelion and you will soon be back to optimum functioning…and no more allergy reactions and blocked sinuses!

Body Brushing for a Quick & Easy Detox

If you find yourself swelling or rounding out a bit, you might need to detox, as it is usually an indication that your lymphatic system is not functioning properly. The toxins that are supposed to be eliminated via the lymph get stuck in the glands and the balance of fluids in between the tissues will be out of whack too, causing orange peel skin, cellulite and also, for instance, the notorious “love handles” over the hips. As with everything there are other factors contributing as well, but for simplicity’s sake, lets keep to the Toxin Overload.
One of the simplest ways of stimulating the lymphatic system, other than massage and exercise, to get rid of these toxins, is to do Body Brushing. This is something that you can do when you have a shower or a bath as a part of that daily routine. All you need is something that is a bit coarser than your usual cloth, sponge or other soap applicator, that you will use to vigorously rub your skin with. There are lots of different types of body brushes with stiff bristles available, but I suggest that to start off with (because it can be quite painful until you get used to it), you can use one of the following:

• A washing glove with a rough, coarse side (preferably from natural fiber)
• A Rubber Brush, with big knobs on
• A Loofah

Use small to medium circular movements, with pressure, over the following areas:

• Upper Legs & Thighs
• Buttocks & Hips
• Upper Arms
• Upper Shoulders
• Upper Chest (above the breasts for women)
• Around under-arm area as far as you can reach backwards

Eventually you want to be doing dry brushing with a stiff bristle brush or a rubber brush, but to start off with you can do it in the water or on wet skin to eliminate friction.
Body brushing stimulates the lymphatic system and loosens up the toxin buildup in the lymph glands. All the small lymph glands drain into big glands under your arms and in your groin, so you need to work around these areas a lot, preferably working towards them to assist the draining process.
To assist the elimination of the toxins that would have now been released into the bloodstream, you can dissolve 2 tablespoons of rock salt, coarse pure sea salt, or 2 handfuls of Epsom Salts in your warm bath water and lie in it for about 10-20 minutes to allow the toxins to be drawn out through the pores of the skin. Pat dry and stay warm afterwards for a while. If you’re not bathing, but showering, allow the warm water to flow over you for about 5 minutes, totally relaxing your mind and breathing out deeply. You can also have a half an hour detox foot bath afterwards to draw the toxins out. Remember to drink extra water to replace lost liquids due to sweating.
You can soap and wash as normal after body brushing if you’re not having a detox bath. Just drink lots of water then to help to flush out the toxins.
Do Body Brushing at least 2 to 3 times per week for the best results. You’ll see results quicker if you do it every day. Persist for at least 2 to 4 weeks. Even better if you can make it and detox baths a part of your weekly routine. It is not only good for lymph drainage, but also helps to get rid of dead skin cells (exfoliation), and stimulates blood circulation.
To prevent lymph and sweat glands under your arms to block up, it is better to avoid the use of antiperspirants, especially those that contain aluminum. It is one of the biggest causes of breast cancer due to its action of blocking the pores and overloading the glands. Aluminum in the system is also one of the causes of Altzheimer’s. Rather use natural body products that contain essential oils (for instance) to combat and prevent bad odor. Keep in mind that whatever you put on your skin absorbs into your body through the skin’s pores.
Remember, our bodies are built to move, and it is muscle movement that pumps the lymphatic system, so exercise and stretching is still the best way to keep your system going!