Heart of Wellness by Regina

28/07/2023

25/06/2023

Not sure if you know this, but in my spare time I am a singer in a band called Just Swing It (you’re welcome vagus nerve).

Lately, we have been doing quite a few gigs, which requires lots of rehearsals, lots of home practice, lots of vocal coaching and lots of emotional and physical energy!

I love singing with our band so much! I want to continue to do this for a really long time. So, what I do between and after each gig to take care of myself is super important.

Here’s what I do for self care post gig:
- Epsom salt foot soaks and baths infused with essential oils and custom blended flower essences for emotional and physical relaxation.
- Ginger, chamomile, lemon and honey tea to get the blood circulating, soothing and relax the muscles of my throat.
- Diaphramatic breathing to oxygenate my system, send relaxation signals to my body
- sit and soak in all the love and joy I get from my band members, the audience and all of our friends and family who support us!

Self care doesn’t have to take a long time, it doesn’t have to be expensive and it doesn’t have to be all woo woo. It can be super easy, and will quickly become a non-negotiable once you do it a few times because of how good it makes you feel.

What is one small thing you can do for you today? 💚

31/05/2023

Last weekend I had the pleasure of doing a talk at the Healesville Library on the connection between gut health and mental health.

I have insights on the in’s and out’s of mental health, gut health, the gut-brain axis and gave lots of easy and useable at home actions.

To compliment this talk I created a work ebook that each audience member could download for free!

I have had some really great feedback from the library and the attendee’s and so, to celebrate the success of the talk I wanted to share the work ebook with YOU for FREE for the month of June.

You can download your copy here: https://www.heartofwellness.com.au/shop-freebies

I have also decided to do a recording of the talk which will be available as a webinar in the near future, so watch this space!

I want to say a huge thank you to the Healesville library Eastern Regional Libraries for inviting me to do the talk and for all who came far and wide 💚

29/03/2023

What do I keep telling you? Better out than in! Don’t want to say “I told you so” but……😆

23/02/2023

pffffttt, classic teens

15/02/2023

Parents of teens (and pre-teens)!

Bet you thought you had a bit longer before your sweet innocent child turned into a mood swinging, can't do or say anything right for tween or teen 🤯

All those changes, particularly the non obvious puberty changes, can happen as young as 8 years old!

I have written a short article on Understanding the Teen and Their Brain so you can get a better understanding of why they are the way they are along with some tips on what you can do to support them during this time.

🧠 find it here: www.heartofwellness.com.au/articles/understanding-the-teen-amp-their-brain

Coming soon: Food as Medicine; Teens 🥑🥝🥒

Just when you think you have figured this parenting thing out and you feel like you are starting to really understand your child, puberty hits and all of a sudden you have a teen who seems to have changed how they think, talk and behave overnight. Get a better understanding of what is happening ins

03/02/2023

The What, How, Why & Who can be important to know WHEN to take the next step 💚

Here is the What, How, What & Who of Heart of Wellness, does it match yours?

04/01/2023

✨💚 New Year, Old Me! 💚✨

Wait, what? Shouldn't that be 'new year, new me?' I hear you say...

Nope!

If you are wanting to change things in yourself and your life this year it is time to return to SELF!

💚 Reconnect to your true nature
💚 Reframe your thinking and behaviour
💚 Reignite the light within
💚 Remember who your are!

You do not need to be new or different. You just need to RELEASE old stories and patterns that no longer serve you and REEMERGE as your highest self ✨

Say it with me now; New Year, Old Me!!

17/12/2022

The festive season and summer are HERE! Well summer is kind of here in Melbourne… and with it comes lots of fun functions, gatherings and FOOD!

Coming up with healthy and delicious dishes that cater to ALL of the dietary requirements can feel a little overwhelming sometimes.

Never fear! Our FRESH & FESTIVE recipe ebook has you covered for NIBBLES, MAINS, SIDES and DRINKS.

With 25 easy to make GLUTEN FREE, VEGAN, VEGETARIAN and DAIRY FREE options you will ALWAYS have something DELICIOUS to bring to every shin dig in town!

To buy and download your copy see the link in the comments.

Don’t forget to tag us in all your festive food pics so we can share the food envy!

Wishing you a restful and restorative festive season.

Regi & Bree oxo

The Simple Lunchbox
Heart of Wellness by Regina

05/11/2022

Sometimes it just feels like the world is against you!

You feel like you take hit after hit and maybe it’s the universe saying ‘just give up’.

Well I’m here to tell you; even though things feel so hard and your not sure how you will get through, YOU HAVE GOT THIS and what is waiting for you at the end is totally worth it! Even if it doesn’t turn out exactly how you thought it would.

Take this week for me as an example. As some of you know I am a singer and I was all set to do my very first music festival this week (*insert squeals of joy and fear here). And then… I develop a very large, very sore abscess in my jaw!

The pain was unbearable to the point of tears (I gave both to two kids, tooth and jaw pain is a different ball game!) aside from the pain there was swelling, which all made it very hard for me to eat, talk, and sing.

Of course I wanted the healing to happen as quickly as possible, but the naturopath inside of me knew I could trust my body (and the antibiotics, probiotics and rest) to do it’s thing. All I had control over was my mindset.

I know it sounds strange, but mindset has a huge influence on so much of our life’s. Whether it be healing, or getting through other challenging times mindset will determine whether it feels like making your way through the middle of a blackberry bush or a through a thick hedge. Either way it is challenging but it is much easier to make your way through when you are not getting scratched by a million thorns (the thorns are you thoughts by the way 😜)

So this is how I got through my week of horror (ironically straight after halloween, my abscess would have made a great costume!)

1) I rested! Your body can’t heal if it’s putting all its energy into other things.
2) I got professional health advise from those in the know (in this case my dentist and doctor) while supporting with naturopathy.
3) I did some Emotional Freedom Technique (Tapping) around all the negative thoughts, doubts and fears that came up (you know the ones, ‘who was I to think I could do this anyway?’ ‘I am letting everyone down’, ‘I am a failure’ blah blah blah)
4) I listened to my body without judgement and with compassion.
5) I accepted the situation for what it is. If it means I can’t preform then so be it.
6) I connected with the people around me, let my band members know what was happening and rather than being met with disappointment I was met with love and compassion. We came with with plans and took it day by day.

I have learnt so much over the years about pushing myself to get things perfect, to please other people, to not let people down and so on. The problem is, if you are not looking after yourself first then you will only make mistakes and let others down because you are not able to give it your all.

Here is the happy ending. The antibiotics kicked in by Friday, the pain was manageable, the swelling had reduce (not completely but enough), I had energy again and felt that I could go on with the show. I then listened to my body when it said ‘I need rest again’ and I went home and rested.

So, what is the point to this bloody long post?

I just wanted to give you some hope that if you are going a s**t time and the world feels like it is crumbling on top of you, this to shall pass.

Reach out to those around you, get professional help, use the tools you have or find new tools, but most of all take a moment to sit quietly and listen to the whispers of your body. And if you’re still feeling lost, reach out to someone like me who might be able to help you find your path.

The photo on the left is of me 5 days before the show, and the right is me at the show.

Big loves and hugs to those who supported me through this not so fun time.

Remember, you have got this, I am sending so much love to you! 💚💚💚

09/09/2022

We often put our energy & focus into so many different things or people that it is easy for our connection to self to quietly slip away.

Before we know it, questions like:

🤔 What do I want?
🤔 What do I need?
🤔 How do I feel?

Become harder and harder to answer for ourselves.

This disconnection with self can affect us in many different ways within the three pillars of Body, mind & Spirit.

Disconnection with self could look like:
🤍 Under eating or over eating due to not knowing your hunger cues
🤍 Over working and burning out physically or mentally due to not recognising your stress, anxiety or need for restoration cues
🤍 Having ongoing or reoccurring health issues due to not understanding or listening to your health cues
🤍 Having unhealthy relationships with partners, family, friends or yourself due to not creating and implementing boundaries
🤍 Feeling lost in yourself or the in world due being disconnected to self for a long period of time

Ways to reconnect with yourself are:
💚 Tuning into physical & emotional cues through observation, movement, and nurturing yourself
💚 Becoming aware of thought patterns, stories, & beliefs that might subconsciously playing a part in your day-to-day life
💚 Building, growing, & honouring a belief system based on your core values.

I will break some of these down more over the next few weeks, but in the meantime, be gentle with yourself & ask yourself those 3 questions above. Then notice whether they were easy or challenging to answer.

Getting to the heart of your wellness,
Regina oxo

24/08/2022

Did you know that studies show that a 20 second hug released enough oxytocin to reduce stress!

💚 My naturopathic perscription as described by Virginia Satir:

“4 hugs per day for survival, 8 hugs per day for maintenance, and 12 hugs per day for growth.”

✨Special deal: Trade 1 hug, get one free!!
Offer ends never

*Terms and conditions: Hug must be consensual and person hygiene is a bonus!

13/08/2022

When Naturopaths get together for lunch… who am I kidding, I eat this when ever I get the chance!!

What goes on your grazing plate?

25/07/2022

I am learning and reframing everyday 💚💚💚

In therapy, sometimes unlearning is as important as learning 🌈

​(​​Sourced by one of our awesome Transformation Support Community members)

05/07/2022

When you get to choose your office… 💚

22/06/2022

💚How I got through an anxiety attack this weekend and came out smiling.💚

For those of you that don’t know, when I am not being a mum/wife/naturopath I am a singer.

I have done this for a few years now, but it has mostly been in a recording room with minimal people around.
🎤🎶

This weekend however, I was to perform on stage with my duet partner. Enter anxiety!

I had done so much preparation with my vocal coach, rehearsals with the guitarist, and practicing at home over and over (much to my kids disgust 🙄) and although I was nervous, I was mostly excited. That is, until the day before the performance.

The day before the nerves started to build so much that the morning of the performance the anxiety started to overwhelm me. I started to become nauseous, I was sweating like crazy, my heart was racing, the room was spinning and when my husband bounced into our room and said ‘how are you feeling about tonight babe?’ I burst into tears!

All of the thoughts and feelings flooded me: who do you think you are doing this? You are not good enough! You are going to forget the words. You are going to make a fool of yourself and everyone around you!

Thankfully I have been here before. Anxiety is an old frienemy of mine. So I had some tools up my sleeve. Here’s what I did:

💚 First, I reached for some of my favourite ani-anxiety herbs and nutrients.
💚 Then I tapped. I did EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) to redirect and release some of those limiting stories and beliefs. This helped settle things a lot.
💚 After that I breathed. I did some deep diaphragmatic breathing to help slow and calm my nervous system.
💚 Finally, I didn’t ignore or push away the feelings and thoughts as they came up throughout the day (and trust me they came). I just acknowledged them, tapped and breathed as they came up.

Did doing these things totally extinguish the anxiety? No, but it did reduced it so I didn’t have another panic attack and they helped me to clearly figure out what I needed next.

I was still super nervous getting on stage to perform, and I still stuffed up some of the words, but most of all I had fun and I showed my overthinking brain that the world didn’t implode.

Why am I telling you this? Because anxiety will pop up, even when you think you have a hold on it. If you have tools you can use in the moment, you might be able to help stop it getting worse, you may be able to do the things that make you anxious, and you will THRIVE.

💚💚💚

08/06/2022

💚 🤩 ! ! S N E A K P E E K S ! ! 🤩 💚

Want to have a sneak peek at what is in our IMMUNE BOOSTERS ebook?

👇🏽 👇🏽 Here is a cheeky preview of the contents page that shows the different topics covered and some yummy recipe teasers.

I have also snuck in a FREE winter warmer RECIPE that will give your IMMUNE a BOOST and taste waaaaaaaaay to yummy to be good for you!

To download the full your full version ebook follow this link: https://www.heartofwellness.com.au/shop-freebies/immune-boosters-ebook