Hillarys herbal dispensary

13/04/2026

MANDALA WEAVING FAMILY ACTIVITY
$50 PP or $70 per family

Join Irina for mandala weaving on Friday the 17th from 11-1pm to make your own mandala.

All equipment supplied and parents welcome to attend.

Irina will also be offering basket weaving lessons in the near future as well.

Contact Irina on 0426 270 560 for bookings

11/04/2026

MUSHROOM WORKSHOP MAY 26th

Join us an educational evening with Jason from Supreme Shrooms.

Jason is hugely knowledgeable about the uses of medicinal mushrooms and the studies backing them. Mushrooms are not a gimmick, they have been used for centuries throughout Asia but.... only for the nobility, not the villagers....

Sample each individual mushroom tea and walk away with a free 50g bag included in your ticket price.

Photo courtesy of Sebastian Unrau

10/04/2026

We have TWO kinesiologists on this weekend!

Saturday with Tanya from 9 am
Sunday with Kylie from 1pm

Kinesiology is a powerful modality that taps directly into your body and allows your body to speak directly to the kinesiologist about where stress is being stored and how it affects you and where it affects you.

Stress is a word that is commonly strewn about. It is a word that that triggers some and is laughed at by others yet stress is a broad term for that which underpins so many physical ailments from hormone imbalances to heart conditions.

You are not weak - 21st century is fast and furious and I don't think anyone will disagree with me here when I say that time is flying. Trying to stay abreast of all the admin, the relationships, the binge-watching (escapism for a bit, right?), your health challenges and supporting other through theirs, changing work conditions and cost of living.... it is endless and I will wager that most people are struggling to keep up with some aspect of life.

Tanya and Kylie are both adept at their craft of allowing your body to talk to them through muscle testing and reduce the stressors one by one.
- current stress
- past stress
- future stress

Letting go of beliefs, ideas and that which holds you back from being a better human is part of your journey too.

Take time out for yourself and focus your attention inward - where YOU live.

08/04/2026

08/04/2026

Calcium is a team player, not a hero

We get taught calcium for strong bones in primary school and that program stays in our head for life.

Calcium does strengthen bones but where did the rest of the dot points about other minerals that constitute healthy bones get filed?

* Strong bones require many minerals besides calcium.

* Without phosphorous, our bones would be soft.

* WIthout zinc and boron, out bones would not repair

* Without copper, we wouldn't produce enzymes required to crosslink collagen and elastin, may become brittle, weak and poorly structured

* Without potassium and magnesium, metabolic acids may leach minerals from bones e.g. aluminium and lead which displace calcium

* Without manganese, bone matrix wouldn't form and produce cartilage and co-factors for building connective tissue would be missing.

* Without fluoride, (trace amounts found in food, not massive amounts in tap water) bone mineralisation may be weakened.

We have not been given the whole truth, only part-truths. A wide and varied diet of whole foods is the basis for forming strong bones, not dairy alone. Dairy and wheat used to be our primary industries so our supporting our economy prompted its placement in the food pyramid and classroom teachings.

The food pyramid in the 1980's told us that grains should be our staple food. Perhaps before all the hybridisation of wheat and milling of fibre and minerals in the seed casings that might have been okay. We all survived living on sandwiches, after all.

The standard western diet gives us caffeine, sugar, hyper-glutenised bread, seed oils and calcium-laden dairy which can tip the scales of strong bones into brittle and weak bones if this is our standard diet.

Most eateries would not survive if they didn't use cheap foods such as pasta, rice, bread and caffeine. That is, figuratively, their bread and butter. Maintaining a diet without those carbohydrates is challenging when you start relinquishing them.

Teaching nutrient literacy and body literacy is equally important as teaching maths.

If you want to test your minerals, a hair mineral test which shows tissue mineral (+ heavy metal) reserves. Chemistry happens in the tissues, not the blood. The blood carries. Combining testing methods of hair and bloods and you should form a clearer picture of what standing your bones are in.

08/04/2026

Stay strong this Easter when you come home from the holidays 😷Keep your kids safe and healthy with alternative tinctures from Hillarys herbal dispensary 💊Like their Elderberry Glycetract, an alcohol-free alternative for cold and flu medicines!

08/04/2026

Your body's symptoms are not separate from the accumulation of your daily experiences.

Your heart, your mind, your intuition is not separate from your body.

There is always a thought, a feeling, an emotion behind what your body presents. Your body symptoms shout what your heart whispers.

07/04/2026

WHICH ORGAN IS THE 'DISCONNECTOR'?

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the colon (large intestine) is often thought of as the “waste manager” or “disconnector”

If the stomach is the village and the small intestine is the editor, the colon is responsible for final decisions around what must be disconnected and released

Its role is simple, but vital:
• Reabsorb water and electrolytes
• Form and move waste efficiently
• Eliminate what the body no longer needs
• House beneficial bacteria

In TCM, the large intestine is closely linked with the process of letting go — not just physically, but functionally and even emotionally. When this system is working well, elimination is regular, complete, and comfortable.

But when it’s not, we begin to see signs of imbalance — and this is where things can become more complex.

There is a distinction between physically and functionally releasing.

Physical letting go is the most literal:
• Elimination of stool
• Clearing metabolic waste
• The mechanical, tangible process happening in the colon

Emotional letting go relates to the Lung–Large Intestine pairing in TCM:
• Releasing grief, sadness, or attachment
• The ability to move on from experiences
• Not holding onto what is no longer serving

Functional letting go sits in between those two — it’s less tangible than physical, but not as abstract as emotional. It refers to how well the system carries out its role as a process.Think of it as the efficiency and regulation of the mechanism itself:

• Is the timing of elimination appropriate? (not too fast, not too slow)
• Is peristalsis coordinated and effective?
• Is fluid balance being regulated properly (not too dry, not too loose)?
• Is the body signalling and responding to the urge to eliminate?

So someone might:

Be physically eliminating (so technically “letting go”)
But not functionally doing it well (e.g. incomplete evacuation, urgency, alternating bowel patterns)

In that sense: Physical = that it’s happening and Functional = how well it’s happening.

TCM often pays close attention to this functional layer — because it reflects the quality of regulation in the body, not just the presence or absence of symptoms.

This functional layer often bridges the other two: when function is off, physical symptoms appear… and over time, there can also be an emotional “holding” that mirrors it.

DYSBIOSIS

Dysbiosis refers to an imbalance in the gut microbiome — where beneficial bacteria are reduced and less desirable microbes begin to dominate. This can occur due to stress, poor digestion upstream, antibiotics, or dietary factors.

From here, pathogenic overgrowths (including certain bacteria, yeasts, or parasites) may take hold. These organisms can:
• Interfere with normal fermentation processes
• Produce gas and toxins
• Irritate the intestinal lining
• Disrupt bowel regularity

Over time, this can contribute to bloating, irregular stools, inflammation, and reduced resilience in the gut environment.

In iridology, I often observe "ballooning" at the colonic flexures (especially the hepatic/right and splenic/left), where gas commonly becomes trapped.

The colon isn’t a smooth tube — it has sacculations (haustra), the characteristic pouch-like segments. When thick, greasy, or oily chyme lingers in these pockets, it creates a low-oxygen environment that encourages overgrowth of harmful bacteria, known as dysbiosis.

When digestion is compromised or dysbiosis is present:
• Gas production increases
• Movement through the colon may slow
• Pressure can build at these bend points

This can lead to discomfort, distension, and that familiar “stuck” or bloated feeling under the ribs. This is often not just a colon issue — it reflects what has (or hasn’t) happened earlier in digestion. Poor stomach function and incomplete breakdown in the small intestine can feed directly into imbalance here.

What supports the colon:
• Proper digestion upstream (stomach, liver, pancreas & small intestine)
• Adequate hydration
• Fibre appropriate to the individual
• A balanced microbiome
• Regular, unhurried bowel habits

What derails it:
• Chronic stress and holding patterns
• Processed, low-fibre diets
• Repeated antibiotic use
• Poor digestive function higher up
• Ignoring the urge to go

The colon teaches one final lesson in this digestive sequence: Take what is useful. Let go of what is not. True health depends just as much on what we release, as what we take in.

06/04/2026

WHICH ORGAN IS THE 'EDITOR'?

The small intestine does the heavy lifting when it comes to digestion — yet most of us rarely think about it.

Stretching to around 5–7 metres in length, the small intestine is longer than the large intestine ( about 1.5 metres). That extra surface area is no accident — it’s where the majority of nutrient breakdown and absorption takes place.

Once food leaves the stomach, it enters the small intestine where it meets a powerful combination of digestive secretions:

• Bile from the liver (stored in the gallbladder) helps emulsify fats, making them easier to digest
• Enzymes from the pancreas break down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into forms the body can absorb

This process is precise and highly dependent on what happens before food even gets there.

Chewing thoroughly is the first step. When we rush meals or swallow food in large pieces, we place extra strain on the entire digestive system — especially the small intestine, which then has to compensate for poorly prepared food.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the small intestine is described as the 'editor' because of its role in sorting, refining, and deciding what the body keeps versus what it discards.

The small intestine’s primary function is to “separate the pure from the impure.”
• The “pure” — usable nutrients, fluids, and essence — are absorbed and sent onward to nourish the body
• The “impure” — waste material — is passed along to the large intestine and bladder for elimination

The idea of an editor comes from this selective, discerning role. Just like an editor refines content by keeping what’s valuable and removing what isn’t, the small intestine refines what we take in — not just physically, but energetically in TCM philosophy.

Jost Sauer expands on this concept by linking the small intestine to clarity and discernment beyond digestion. In his interpretation, when this system is functioning well, there’s a greater ability to “sort” information, experiences, and even emotions — choosing what to keep and what to let go of. When it’s out of balance, there may be confusion, poor assimilation (physically or mentally), or difficulty processing life experiences.

Think about this for a moment - do we eat in a calm, relaxed setting or loving, lively chatter with friends or family? If we do, we can expect better editing of our own life experiences - clarity and discernment come when eating is not rushed.

Slow down. Chew well.
Your digestion depends on it.

05/04/2026

THE 'VILLAGE'

In the teachings of Jost Sauer and Traditional Chinese Medicine, the stomach is often described as the “village.”

A village is where things gather, are received, and begin their transformation. It’s a place of warmth, activity, and preparation — and this is exactly how the stomach functions within digestion.

Everything we eat and drink arrives here first.

The stomach’s role is to receive, soften, and begin breaking food down into a usable form. This requires warmth, rhythm, and strength — not just physically, but in how we eat and live.

When the “village” is functioning well:
• Food is properly broken down
• Digestive signals are sent clearly to the rest of the system
• Nutrients are prepared for the small intestine (the “editor”) to refine and absorb

But like any village, its function depends on the conditions within it.

What supports the stomach (“the village”):
• Eating in a calm, settled state
• Chewing food thoroughly
• Regular meal timing
• Warm, cooked foods (especially when digestion is weak)
• Appropriate stomach acid levels to initiate proper breakdown

What derails it:
• Eating on the run, rushed or distracted
• Overeating or constant grazing
• Cold foods and drinks in excess (which can dampen digestive “fire” in TCM terms)
• Chronic stress
• Low or impaired stomach acid, leading to incomplete digestion

When the stomach is overwhelmed or under-functioning, food isn’t properly prepared. This places strain downstream — particularly on the small intestine — and can lead to bloating, heaviness, reflux, dysbiosis/ pathogenic dominance or poor nutrient absorption.

In this way, the health of the entire digestive system begins in the village.

Care for it well. Eat with presence. Support its warmth and rhythm.
Because what happens here shapes everything that follows.

02/04/2026

BUTCHER CROWD

Sourcing wild caught seafood is easier with Butcher crowd.

Farmers markets often have a fish van so ask them if their fish is wild caught or farmed.

Fish mongers are far and few in between but Seafresh Innaloo is a fish monger I have shopped at for nearly two decades and quality rarely waivers.

If the reason for local fishing ban to install wind farms off the shores of Perth, then local fishing may be a thing of the past.

Oily fish such as mackerel, herring and sardines are still relatively cheap and superior to farmed salmon, in my opinion.

Recently I bought some frozen imported fish labelled as 'white snapper' from a discount food supply chain. Not only is 'white snapper' a red herring, so to speak, it was actually a type of sea bream when i searched up the taxonomic name. Besides the misleafing name, it was putrid when defrosted and unusable.

Please don't take labelling for honesty in packaged food especially imported food.
Australia exports our best and imports the worst.

We are fortunate that some small grass roots food co-ops are restoring integrity back into our food chain. Hopefully as their popularity grows, the monopoly of corporate food will take a back seat and enable Australian farmers to become a profitable industry once again.

While these grass roots industries grow, they need our support and we need quality food. Win-win!

02/04/2026

MANDALA WEAVING with IRINA QUINN

Irina Quinn is a Reiki and Aromatouch massage therapist and is hosting a mandala weaving event for children and adults during the school holidays.

If you are looking for something to do these holidays and are bored with the rotation of bowling, movies and eating out, this might be for you!

Held at the dispensary on Friday 10 and 17 April, all equipment will be provided and the cost will be $50 per person.

PLEASE TEXT IRINA on 0426 270 560 to register or register at the dispensary with Bridget. Places are limited but extra sessions may be available on the aforementioned dates.