21/02/2025
Been a long time since I posted over here, but I’ve had so many circumstances and conversations recently about people struggling with anxiety, I decided a few reminders on some things that keep
My own health in check. I shared it with another page, and decided to come over here and share it again. heath and life related-long post- but hope it helps. ❤️
After reading a post last night, about so many of us struggling after these past few years, I thought I’d offer some support. We all deserve to be living happy, healthy lives. Nothing makes me sadder than to know so many of us are finding these past years so difficult.I have a background in Natural Health, (over 30 years). From being a state sales manager of a big health chain to a body worker, my entire career has been spent helping people, so maybe some of what I’m about to write may just help one of you out there. I’m going to write some tips on keeping the body AND the mind healthy. If anything resonates, I’m glad, if it doesn’t scroll on past, I do sometimes sound a bit strange…. I’m ok with putting myself out there. When it comes to our bodies and minds there’s no “one fit all” solution, so I’ll be very broad with what I write❤️ I just want to somehow “help”, because we can all do with someone on our side, and I’ve got this knowledge so I’ll be brave and share it.
A little bit about me- I’m a 59 year old TW, with three grown sons, and I’ve lived my life with a whole lot of trauma. I’ve used all of these methods, at different times, on myself. Nothing I’m sharing is something I haven’t tried, so pick and choose what sounds good to you. I hope it helps. I’m not a dr or a naturopath, but I’ve been lucky enough to be around many that are. This is just general advice, and these are things that help me. I’ve been at rock bottom these past years, so I certainly understand how many are feeling, but I’ve turned it around by making a conscious effort to do all the things on this list more often- I’m worth it!
Firstly let me say I love our amazing bodies- I see mine as its own beautiful universe. It’s home to not just me, but so many microorganisms, and when it’s healthy, we live in beautiful harmony together ,(homeostasis). When it’s not, everything is off balance. When my body is off balance, life just feels so much harder.
The way our bodies should be running, is on our parasympathetic nervous system (our gut and our breath). When we are operating in this system, we are in our heart, operating from love, and our bodies vibrate at a high level (sorry I told you I’d get wierd). When we aren’t healthy, and especially when we are under stress, we operate from our sympathetic nervous system. In this system our brain and adrenal glands are in control, and they pump out the hormone cortisol, which puts our bodies in fight or flight. In this system our bodies struggle to stay in balance (homeostasis) and we are in fear…. Our bodies vibrate at a very low level. Each of our organs has its own vibration, and when they are all in synch, it’s like a beautiful symphony… but when we aren’t in synch, that’s when health issues start.
Today I’d like to share a few things I do to help MY nervous system, I’d love it if others would add to this post, and share your experiences. We all need a little help at this crazy time.
1. I keep my body alkaline. An alkaline body is a healthy body (the saddest part of running on stress is that the hormone cortisol causes the body to become acidic). I start every day with lemon in warm water - I know, lemons are acidic, but they actually have an ability to adjust our body’s alkalinity- they are a little bit of magic.
2. I do cold plunges - if you can’t jump in the sea, even a cold shower will shock the body and reset the nervous system. Basically, you get a shock, and your body quickly adjusts…. So when you have to face something in your day that causes you to go into shock or stress, the body already knows how to recorrect itself. It knows how to calm itself down quickly, because you’ve taught it to.
3. Tapping- we have a beautiful area at our chest bone, which when tapped with our fingers, can help calm the nervous system. Another spot is on the inside of the wrists. Both these points are part of the pericardium meridian, it helps open up the area around the heart, giving it more space to beat.
4. Suppliments- as I mentioned, the gut is the main controller of our calm nervous system. It is also the area where our immunity begins. A healthy gut can do wonders to help heal, so a daily probiotic, and good healthy diet with lots of fibre is a good start to getting your health on track. There are so many ways we can help ourselves nutritionally, if you’re not feeling like your getting the most from your diet, please give yourself the gift of a health professional (naturopath or nutritionist) to get that sorted. It’s paramount to a healthy life
5. Detoxing- basically I eat well. I eat lots of bitter foods and herbs (rocket, dandelion and wormwood) to help my liver and detoxing system, I eat lots of roughage (lettuce is like a broomstick for the bowel), and I am a huge fan of celery juice (look up its benefits). In the same way I spoke about seeking out a professional regarding your diet, detoxing is another thing that you should get professional support for…however I will share my detox bath recipe, for anyone interested. I run a hot bath and add apple cider vinegar, epsom salts, borax, bi carb and some delicious smelling herbs. I soak and skin brush (towards the heart), and sit till the water turns tepid. I’m always amazed at how my skin still sweats for ages afterwards,( our skin is our biggest detoxing organ). If you don’t have a bath, you can use the same mixture in a foot bath. Just soaking your feet can help. (try adding some marbles to stimulate the nerves- and they just feel good!)
6. Sun gazing. I try watch either a sunrise or a sunset every day. As well as reminding myself of what a beautiful thing it is to be alive, and how magical this universe is, it actually helps stimulate the hormones seratonin and melatonin… the hormones that regulate the health of your nervous system. The way I do my sungazing is I watch the sun as it appears or goes down, for as long as possible, and then close my eyes and focus on my pineal area- the area of the third eye, right above the middle of the eyebrows and about an inch in. I know that all sounds strange, but give it a try. I promise you, you’ll be amazed at what happens. (Try it and tell me your experiences). Even my tradie now practices this - and he’s not into my woo woo stuff 😂. If you can’t get to the sun, you can do the same practice using a candle or fire- stare as long as possible at the flame then close your eyes and go within. The pineal gland gets stimulated and the hormones start flowing.
7. Meditation- I know many of you will read that and say “I don’t have time” or “it doesn’t work”, or “it’s not for me”. We’ve all been tricked. You don’t have to sit in a lotus position in the forest to benefit from meditation. Basically meditation is just being “mindful”. You can do walking meditation, where you feel your feet at every step and watch the ground slowly slip by, you can do art, or craft and stay focused, you can meditate even whilst cooking the dinner. As long as you’re feeling your breaths, and feeling your body, and slowing down your thoughts, you’re in meditation.
8. That leads me easily into breath work. Same as meditation, there’s no right or wrong way to breathe, it’s all about being conscious. If you take a breath in , and really feel it, allowing the gut to rise and doing it mindfully, then feel it go out, your doing breath work. It’s proven that three conscious breaths switch off the sympathetic nervous system. It’s that simple- three breaths and the body goes back to using the healthy parasympathetic system. There are so many forms of breath work, but one simple one I tell my clients, is, breath in on four counts but then breath out on six. A longer out breath helps speed up the process to calming the body down.
9. Humming- I know I sound mad, but try this. Start humming right now and you’ll see, the brain will switch off instantly. When you hum, you stop being able to “think”. It’s the fastest way to get out of the thoughts that run around and around in that crazy mind of ours. Chanting is another… and I love it, but it’s probably not for everyone 😂
10. Turn off the outside noise. Now this is probably the hardest, but I believe the most important. Turn off the news, and I mean ALL news. Play music in the car instead of the radio, switch channels when it comes on, limit your SM. I know it’s hard, but if you try it for just one week, you’ll be thanking yourself. Trust me, if it’s something important, you’ll hear about it, but you won’t miss all the fear driven rubbish that bombards your every thought.
11. Sleep- get yourself back into good sleep patterns. Melatonin is produced in the body in the early evening, not middle of the night, so if you can, aim to be asleep by 10pm, it’s a gamechanger. Remember to get off screens a good 30 minutes before, the brain doesn’t need the extra stimulation.
12. Surround yourself with healthy people. There’s a beautiful saying, “bloom where you are planted”. We truely bloom when we surround ourselves with others that are blooming. Surround yourself with negative people, and you’ll feel negative. Surround yours with angry people, you’ll feel angry. Put up your boundaries for a short time and learn to become your own best friend for a little while. They say the five people you surround yourself with the most is who you become- choose wisely.
13. Ask for help. It took me 24 years of running our business to finally ask our accountant to speak to the tax department on my behalf. How crazy is that. I always got myself so stressed out, but refused to let anyone else help me. It may be childcare or a cleaner or an expert in any area of your life- if something stresses you ask people for help.
14. Get out in nature- I know this one seems a no brainer, but when I’m in nature I feel so tiny. I’m reminded of my place in this world, I’m just a little ant, but then I know my power because even as an ant, I have a big roll within my family, friends and community. I’m reminded how we are all connected…. And being in awe of nature just wants me to be a better person.
15. Exercise- yuk! I do it, but I’m not a fan…. And afterwards I know it’s worth the effort. I walk, swim and do yoga. If you are someone that wants to run a marathon, do it. Don’t let anything stop you. We women put the needs of everyone else before ourselves, so I hereby give you permission to do whatever it is that makes you feel good. Take it❤️
16. This last one for me is a BIG one. Alcohol and sugar. Oh how I struggle with my addiction to both. I love sugar for its energy (and taste) and I love alcohol for the way it “softens the edges”…. But I know neither are my friend. Both of them cause issues to my liver and hormones. Both tip me back into “fight or flight”, and basically both are poisons, it’s that simple. I love life, and I want to enjoy it, but I find if I control these substances, my life’s just that bit better. You may not need to restrict them yourself, but I know I’m not alone in this battle.
I’m sure I’ll be back on this post to add to this list, but if it’s starts a conversation, my job here is done. We are on this beautiful earth for such a short time, and it goes like a blink. I’m now at the top of ladder in my own family, and the wonderful thing about aging, is you stop taking this life for granted. There are way too many experiences to be had to be unhealthy. There is way too much good to concentrate on, to focus on the bad. I want to live my healthiest, happiest life ever. If you’ve read this far, I thank you, and thank yourself, you deserve exactly the same thing. You deserve a peaceful life, and no one else can give it to you. I am finally getting to the stage, as I fast approach 60, where the chaos is all going on around me, yet I feel peaceful. It’s taken me so long to get here, and I hope sharing can save some of you the pain I went through, being so unwell for so long. I hope you can also feel in peace. It’s what this world needs, peace, and it starts with us. May you have a beautiful day❤️
