Omanisa

24/11/2025

Windswept flowers, fallen branches… the flowers remind me of that incredible swirling spiral shape of the cyclone itself.

I’ll be working up until the 19th December and then taking a few weeks off 💕🌸

24/11/2025

We weathered the storm beautifully. Today we’ll finish clean up and the clinic will reopen tomorrow for consults and herbal medicine collection.

My thoughts are with everyone affected by power outages, lost or wounded pets, fallen trees, damaged property or being stuck due to closed roads.

(And yes, the passionflower tincture is back in stock)

19/11/2025

🌾 GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN SOURDOUGH

~*(an ode of love to my sourdough baking-teacher Dannie)*~

Gluten-free sourdough is very different from most gluten-free breads on the market. Instead of the process being rushed along with commercial yeast and held together by gums and starches, this bread is naturally fermented, allowing friendly microbes to gently transform the grains before we eat them.

This slow process creates a bread that’s lighter, easier on the belly, and far more nourishing. Fermentation makes gluten-free grains easier to digest... Gluten-free flours (like rice, buckwheat, sorghum, millet, quinoa, etc.) contain complex carbohydrates and components that can be hard on digestion when baked quickly.

Natural sourdough fermentation helps by breaking down some of the complex starches, reducing certain carbohydrate residues that can contribute to bloating and softening the texture so it’s gentler on the gut. Because the microbes do some of the “pre-digestion,” the bread often feels smoother and less reactive.

Many gluten-free grains are naturally high in phytic acid, which binds up minerals like iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium. Sourdough fermentation naturally activates phytase enzymes (both from the grains and the starter culture), which break down phytic acid.

This means more minerals become available to our body, the bread is more nourishing and gentler on digestion because your gut doesn’t have to fight anti-nutrients.

Gluten-free breads are often high GI, resulting in quick blood sugar spikes and crashes. Sourdough fermentation changes the starch structure in the dough, slowing down absorption. This can result in more stable energy levels and fewer cravings/energy-crashes afterwards.

It’s not a “low GI loaf,” but it’s noticeably kinder compared with typical gluten-free bread.

🌿 The Extra Benefits of This Being Homemade

This loaf isn’t industrial, rushed, or mass-produced. I made it myself using clean, whole ingredients... with a little help from my kitchen-goddess friend Dannie.

Most gluten-free breads contain, gums, starches, preservatives, emulsifiers, industrial binders, “texture enhancers” and unnecessary sweeteners

A homemade sourdough doesn’t need any of that. And there are no eggs, no dairy, no gums in my loaf... just whole, plant-based ingredients. This makes it gentler for people with sensitive digestion, allergies, or histamine reactions. It’s also kinder on the microbiome, simply because it avoids the additives commonly found in commercial GF breads.

Many commercial “GF sourdough” products only ferment briefly or use artificial sour flavours. A homemade loaf has, genuine long fermentation, real microbial transformation, and a naturally improved nutritional profile

Home-baked bread is fresher and more vibrant, holds more of its nutritional value, hasn’t sat on a shelf or in a warehouse and carries the energy of care, attention, and presence.

Between the fermentation, the simpler ingredients, and the lack of additives, gluten-free sourdough often results in less bloating, less heaviness, a calmer gut, and a more grounded, sustained energy release.

Even people who normally struggle with gluten-free bread textures find sourdough lighter and more “real food.”

While gluten-free grains are newer in bread-making, fermentation itself is ancient. Humans have been fermenting grains for thousands of years. Gluten-free sourdough uses the same traditional fermentation principles, adapted to non-gluten grains, with the same benefits: breakdown of difficult components, improved texture, better nutrient access...

It brings the wisdom of slow food to modern dietary needs.

19/11/2025

WANTED: Casual Distant Healing students for occasional online pop-up class with Omanisa (30 yrs of practice as of 2026)

Send a message to learn more

18/11/2025

Made gluten free vegan sourdough bread (thanks to some very patient coaching from my friend Dannie) and a roasted vege soup to go with it!

You just throw a heap of veg in roasting dish, don’t worry about peeling or cutting skins off - you can do that just before you blend it. Sprinkle roasted veg with spices (eg paprika, curry powder, herbamare salt) I blended this with soy and coconut milk to make it creamy.

16/11/2025

Each November, Australian Pollinator Week shines a spotlight on the important and unique pollinators in Australia, including native bees, butterflies, beetles, birds, bats and other pollinators. It’s an opportunity for communities across the country to learn more about the diversity of Australian pollinators and to take steps to protect them.
Here's 10 Tucker Bush selections for your garden in the link below.

15/11/2025

Without Empathy, Everyone Loses

Dehumanisation starts subtly – treating others as roles, not souls. History shows it ends in cruelty.

Empathy is not sentimental; it’s civilisation’s immune system. Every time we strengthen it, we build collective safety.

13/11/2025

When one person models empathic behaviour – even in small ways, like making eye contact with a cashier or using a kind tone – it ripples outward. Others mirror it unconsciously.

A single calm, emotionally literate person in a group can shift the whole tone of interaction.

This is a big part of what I teach my healing apprentices. It's a clairsentient (empathic) ability technique where we intentionally evoke within ourselves the mindbody state we are hoping to make stronger in the client. Empathic ability isn't just used in a passive way to sense, scan and gather information... it can be used in a more active, 'radiant' way, where we imprint a way of being into the mindbody of the client via the attuned connection we share.

(Taking apprentices now)

13/11/2025

“The Naturopathic Path: Supporting the Whole Transition”

Menopause isn’t just about declining hormones – it’s a whole-body adjustment. From a naturopathic perspective, we look at the bigger picture: the nervous system, digestion, liver function, bone strength, and emotional wellbeing.

Instead of “replacing” hormones, we help your body adapt to a new rhythm. That can mean fewer (or no) flushes, calmer moods, deeper sleep, and renewed confidence – often with simple, gentle adjustments that work in harmony with your body.

For some women, this approach stands alone beautifully. For others, it complements MHT or other medical treatments. Either way, the goal is the same: to help you feel balanced, grounded, and vibrant again.

12/11/2025

“The Myth of ‘Natural’ or ‘Plant-Based’ HRT”

Many women come to me asking about “natural” or “bio-identical” hormones. It sounds lovely – but most of the time, what’s being sold as "natural" is actually compounded MHT (Menopausal Hormone Therapy) made in a lab.

These creams and lozenges are not TGA-approved, and their doses can vary from batch to batch. Despite the marketing, they are not extracted directly from plants. The plant materials (usually soy or yam) are simply starting points for a chemical synthesis process.

The Australasian Menopause Society and Endocrine Society both recommend using regulated, body-identical MHT through a GP rather than compounded versions from private clinics.

If you prefer to stay as close to nature as possible, we can take a truly natural route – supporting your body with herbal and lifestyle care instead.

Image description:
Close-up of a plant leaf morphing into a chemical formula graphic – blending nature and science in balance.

12/11/2025

🌿 Seeing Through Charm: Reflections for Counsellors, Mediators, and Helping Professionals

Lately, I’ve been supporting families through complex separations and noticing a pattern that many of us in the helping professions still struggle to recognise.

When a relationship ends, and especially when children are involved, the story we hear depends a lot on who tells it.
Charismatic, confident individuals often present as the “reasonable” ones – calm, articulate, charming. Meanwhile, the partner who’s been living under that charm’s shadow may appear angry, anxious, or emotionally frayed. It’s easy to misinterpret composure as credibility and distress as instability.

But charm isn’t proof of sincerity.
Charm can be a form of social camouflage – a survival strategy for the manipulative, an automatic bias trigger for the rest of us.
As professionals, we’re trained to stay objective, yet even the most self-aware practitioner can be disarmed by someone who seems pleasant, cooperative, and well-spoken.

We must remember that abuse doesn’t end when the relationship does.
Many women find themselves re-traumatised through the systems meant to protect them – questioned, doubted, or subtly judged as “over-reactive.” The bias runs deep: centuries of stereotypes about “hysterical women” and “unfairly maligned men” still shape our instincts.

It’s not about vilifying men; many fathers navigate separation with integrity and care.
It’s about staying awake to the power of presentation, especially when privilege, position, or charisma make scrutiny harder.
As one client said to me, “He was the hero in every room except our home.”

We can do better – by pausing, listening, and checking for congruence between words and behaviour.
By remembering that calm isn’t always truth, and distress isn’t always manipulation.
And by extending compassion to those who have already endured enough self-doubt for one lifetime.

Empathy and discernment can coexist.
Let’s make sure both are present in the rooms where decisions about families (and futures) are made.