There are plenty of ways to define or describe mediation, some including, to spend time in quiet thought for religious purposes or relaxation, to engage in contemplation or reflection or to concentrate on ones thoughts. 

Whatever your reasons might be for meditating, choose something that works and resonates with you. Make a commitment to include meditation into your daily routine, whether that be for 5 or 15 minutes a day, just do it. 

It may seem contradictory to use technology to help you disconnect from the external world and become more internally connected and mindful but we seem to spend so much time on our phones these days that why not put them to some good use. 

It can actually be quite a good reminder to set on your phone throughout the day to encourage us to stop, take a moment, check in with our breathing and our monkey mind and then reconnect to gain some more quietness and balance. 

Here are some free apps that I recommend to include meditation into your busy day:

• Breathe (Can be found under stop, breathe, think) - this is a great one for kids and teenagers
• Headspace 
• Calm 
• Insight timer 
• Smiling mind 
• Relax melodies 

Is it just me, or is anxiety the (unwanted) ‘flavour of the month’ at the moment?

Everywhere I go I am hearing people talk about anxiety, how it is affecting them, how it is affecting their kids and how they’re always looking for an answer. Talking to other health professionals, most say that the majority of their clients are coming in with anxiety. That and lack of energy, not surprising given the two can be linked.

So what is anxiety?

“A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.”

I am sure we can all relate. It is no doubt that everyone has felt anxious at one time or another. We lead extremely busy lives and this comes with its own set of challenges and stressors.

What happens to your body when you feel anxious?

·      Heart rate increases

·      Breath quickens and becomes more shallow

·      Can get hot and sweaty

·      Can feel overwhelmed and confused

·      Nausea

·      Blurred vision and dizziness

·      Increased muscle tension and alertness

The list goes on and symptoms can certainly vary between individuals.

I can go on talking about why you might feel anxious and what is happening in your body but instead, I want to focus on what YOU can do to combat your anxiety and bring yourself back in to balance.

Here are my top 10 tips and tricks to try when you feel anxious:

1.    My absolute number 1 tip is to hold your forehead. On our forehead we have points called, Emotional Stress Release points or ESR’s.

Holding these points encourages blood flow away from the back of our brain (survival part) towards our frontal lobes, which are in charge of concrete reasoning, logic and clear thinking.

Hold these points for at least 90 seconds to help calm you down.

This week, nutritional biochemist, author and speaker, Dr Libby came to Perth on her Australian tour, "Why are you so tired?" and shared with us some of the reasons why we might be feeling so exhausted all of the time. 

Dr Libby really is a wealth of knowledge and is a true vision of health. I think it is safe to say that everyone there learnt a great deal about their bodies and left feeling motivated and inspired to look after themselves better. 

Lack of energy is one of the biggest complaints I hear with my clients and is consistent throughout most age groups. 

Why is it that so many people are feeling utterly exhausted? 

A lot of it has to do with our busy, chaotic lifestyles that we all lead. There are a lot of external pressures and demands in this current society and our bodies are not used to or equipped for this sort of existence. 

But let's take a look at what else could be going on internally and what changes can we make to amplify our energy. 

It's SPRING here now in the Southern hemisphere and I could not be happier. Spring is one of my favourite times of year. It brings a sense of hope and excitement with it. 

Not only is spring a beautiful time of year, it is also a time of renewal, a time for new beginnings, growth and clear vision. 

I am going to explore a different aspect of Spring in this post. Something many of you might not be aware of but I truly believe is fascinating and extremely relevant in many of our lives. 

Spring time is associated with the WOOD element of the Chinese 5 elements. 

What does that even mean? 

These 5 elements are often used to describe the relationship and movement between different phenomena and elements within nature. 

Knowing this, we can get an understanding of the emotions and patterns of behaviour that we might be likely to experience at this time of year. 

A bit about the Wood element (don't worry if it goes over your head)

Colour - green 

Taste - sour

Odour - rancid 

Sound - shouting or whispering

Sense - eyes (vision)

Tissue - sinews, ligaments and muscles 

Emotion - anger, frustration and indecision 

Pattern - judgemental, over-assertive or timid, no choice, perfectionist

Lesson - Benevolence. Accepting myself for who I am, rather than what I do. Flexibility. 

Yin organ - liver , Yang organ - gall bladder 

Can you relate to any of the above? 

When the wood element is in balance, our life flows easily. We move effortlessly around obstacles in our path, we have a clear vision of what we want in life and we are better able to action our plans. We tend to be more organised but yet still flexible and have the clarity to make good, courageous decisions. 

When the wood element is out of balance, we become irritated, judgemental and inflexible (mentally and physically). We struggle to make decisions and often feel stagnant and stuck in our own lives. Everything can seem like an uphill battle and we may experience a lot of resistance. 

If you have been feeling like this recently, maybe it is time for a spring clean?

How can you spring clean your mind, body and life? 

The African baobab tree

"The tree of life." 

Baobab powder comes from the fruit of the baobab tree. 

What does this baobab fruit look like?

The fruit hangs off the tree upside down. 

Baobab powder is rich in:

• Vitamin C 
• Antioxidants 
• Fibre 
• Calcium 
• Potassium 
• Magnesium 
• Iron 

What is baobab powder good for?

• Healthy, glowing skin
• Ageing, dull skin 
• Your immune system 
• Digestive health 
• Energy levels
• Liver cleanser 
• Mineral powerhouse 

Seasons are quickly changing here in the Southern hemisphere and already I am hearing and seeing a lot of people struggling with a cold or the flu.

It is a common time of year to get sick but this doesn't mean it can't be avoided. After all, prevention is better than cure. The most important thing is to keep our immune system strong so that it can fight off any nasty bugs that come along. Luckily, we have the chance to help out our immune system every time we eat. 

So here are a few things you can do to boost your immunity and keep that cold at bay:

• Prioritise your rest and sleep time 
• Get to bed earlier 
• Stay hydrated - you may not feel like drinking water in the colder months but it is so important to keep up your filtered water intake. 
• Add a squeeze of fresh lemon to your water 
• Put a little extra ginger in your morning juice and even try add a splash of apple cider vinegar 
• Drink more herbal teas (peppermint and rooibos are great). You can even make your own fresh lemon and ginger tea. 
• Avoid mucous forming foods, especially dairy and sugar 
• Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. Citrus fruits are in season during winter so load up on lemons, oranges, mandarins and grape fruits while you can to give your body that vitamin C hit it needs. 
• Maintain a well balanced, healthy diet. Just because it is winter, it doesn't mean you can let go of your normal healthy eating patterns.
• Keep moving. Don't neglect your exercise routine.
• Reduce your alcohol intake
• Increase your vitamin C and zinc intake. These are essential for boosting immunity and fighting that flu. 
• Dark green and red vegetables are high in vitamin C so pile your plate high with spinach, broccoli, tomatoes and all things green. 
• Try adding some raw garlic (high in antioxidants) in to your diet daily. Garlic has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties and keeps our immune system strong. 

INGREDIENTS: 

• 2 sliced lemons 
• 1 sliced cucumber 
• 1 big handful of fresh mint 
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger 
• 6 cups filtered water 

Leave in the fridge over night and drink the whole thing the next day. Use a sieve to pour the water so that it is nice and smooth. 

This vitamin water is incredibly refreshing and full of flavour. Perfect for a hot summers day or to sip at work and stay hydrated. 

Are the herbs in your garden flourishing at the moment?

Herbs have been used medicinally for years as they have so many great health benefits. Most people have no idea about these health benefits and purely use them in their food for the delicious flavours they add. 

These are some pictures of the herbs I grow in my own garden. I have named some of their nutrient properties, health benefits and how I add them in to my diet so next time you use herbs in your cooking, you can appreciate both their unique flavours and their nutrient qualities. 

ROSEMARY

• High in vitamin B6, iron and calcium 
• It is great for memory, muscle pain and boosting your immunity 
• I like to use rosemary when cooking lamb or doing roast vegetables

Christmas is here already. How the year has flown by. So often, we find ourselves busy all year round and we crawl towards christmas just hoping for some 'timeout'. A time to relax at the beach, read a book and catch up with family and friends. 

This is not always how the christmas holidays look though. 

It can be more like rushing to the shops to buy a tonne of food to feed the 20 people coming over for dinner, battling the crowds and trying to find a parking, writing lists of things to do and gifts to buy, feeling anxious about how expensive this time of year can be and going from party to party seeing friends you haven't in a long time. 

That doesn't sound too relaxing to me and is certainly not my ideal holiday. 

Dry brushing has been in the spot light recently and lots of people are talking about it. 

Have you heard about it? 

It is an ancient Indian Ayurvedic technique used on your (dry) skin with a bristle brush that is said to have numerous benefits for your skin and over all health. 

Most of us tend to spend lot of time taking care of our the skin on our face, cleansing, toning and moisturising it, but how often do you pay attention to the rest of your skin? 

Our skin is the largest organ in our body and it plays a huge role in helping us eliminate toxins and waste. That is a pretty important job if you ask me. So we should be doing everything we can to help it out. 

This is the type of brush you'd use for dry skin brushing. It is made to be used on DRY skin (hence why it is called dry skin brushing! Who'd have thought?) so it is best to do it right before your shower first thing in the morning. 

Make sure you use a brush with natural bristles because the synthetic ones will scratch your skin and could irritate it more. 

What are some of the benefits of dry brushing? 

• It is great for your general circulation, helping blood flow around the body
• It is a gentle way to exfoliate your skin and get rid of dead skin cells on the surface 
• It stimulates your lymphatic system (which helps out body detoxify) which is key to detoxifying out body 
• Improves skin muscle tone and texture 
• It's said to also reduce cellulite 
• Helps break down unwanted toxins and fats that sit under the skin 
• Aids in opening up your pores, allowing your body to excrete more efficiently and absorb nutrients more effectively too 
• Feels rejuvenating for you body, down to a cellular level 
• Said to help bloating and digestion problems by massaging the lymphatic system 
• Feels like a whole body massage and in the process it activates your meridians and acupressure points 
• Leaves your skin looking and feeling silky smooth 

How do I use a dry brush? 

Here are a few things to take note of:

• Make sure you brush on DRY skin. I recommend doing it right before your shower in the morning. 
• Aim to do it every morning and make it part of your daily routine. 
• Try brushing for 4-5 minutes. When you first start, you might only do 3 minutes but you can increase this with time. 
• Start off at a comfortable pressure and you can increase this as you get used to the feeling. 
• Always start at your feet and work up towards your heart in circular movements. 
• Drink a glass of water afterwards to keep up your hydration and try adding a squeeze of lemon to this water to give your liver an extra boost. 
• Don't dry brush the skin on your face. 
• Avoid simply scrubbing your skin and do not brush over any wounds or overly sensitive areas where you may have eczema etc. 
• Your skin should be slightly pink afterwards. 
• It's best to not share your dry brush with anyone else in the family. 
• Wash your brush about twice a week with shampoo and then leave it out to dry. 

Give dry brushing a try and notice the difference it makes to your skin. 

What are circadian rhythms? 

"Circadian rhythms are physical, mental and behavioural changes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, responding primarily to light and darkness in an organism's environment."

National Institute of General Medical Sciences. 

How can they affect us? 

If our circadian rhythms are out of balance, we can tend to feel a bit 'jet lagged' and generally just 'off'. 

We might not feel hungry when it is meal times or we might feel exhausted all morning and then our energy picks up and we can't sleep at night. 

It is as if our body thinks it is a different time of day to what it actually is. 

Can you relate to any of the following? 

• Waking up at a certain time every night
• Particular symptoms at similar times during the day
  
• Energy slumps during the day 
• Feeling wide awake at night but exhausted all morning 
• Never hungry at regular meal times 

Each organ in our body is most active over a two hour period during the day. 

Have a look at the Chinese Clock below and notice which organ is most active at the time when you are experiencing your symptoms. 

There may be an emotional or a physical connection as to what is out of balance in your body. 

Have you noticed your hair looking a bit dull and damaged recently? Finding a few more split ends than normal? 

Winter can be really tough on our hair and make it look dry and worn out . It is so important to nourish it from the inside out, starting with what we put in our mouths. 

Include these foods in your diet to help promote healthy, shiny and fabulous looking hair: 

• Walnuts 
• Brazil nuts 
• Avocado 
• Eggs
• Salmon 
• Blueberries 
• Dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, bok choy)
• Sweet potato (and other orange foods - carrots and pumpkin)

Health is about balance and often we can make a few simple changes in our every day life that can have a huge impact on our health. 

Here are some of my best tips to get you started:

• Start drinking filtered water and plenty of it - water from the tap can contain heavy metals and other toxins.
• Start the day with a glass of warm water and a squeeze of lemon - kick starts our digestion.
• Drink water in between meals, rather than with meals. This will make digestion much easier. 
• Cut down on dairy - try alternatives like almond milk or rice milk.
• Swop your afternoon coffee for a herbal tea (rooibos, green tea, peppermint tea).
• Eat breakfast, no matter what, even if it is just a little something - this really is the most important meal.
• Slow down when you're eating, take your time and chew your food properly.
• Have a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a bit of water 15 minutes before your meal - stimulates out digestive enzymes.
• Eat more whole foods - avoid anything from a jar, tin or packet. Nature gets it right every time and it is human intervention that messes things up. Try to eat seasonally and be organised with your food. 
• Make sure you are getting enough good fats in your diet - nuts, seeds, avocado, fish and olive oil. This is important for hormone and skin health. 
• Cut out any extra, unnecessary sugar - there is enough hidden in our food and it depletes our mineral stores and can feed disease. 
• Eat warm foods in winter - soups, stews, bone broth and cooler foods in summer - salads and smoothies. 
• Eat a wide variety of food every day - plenty of different colours and types.
• Keep your blood sugar levels stable - don't allow yourself to get super hungry, this will make you crave sugar and put a lot of pressure on the body. Try having a healthy snack in between meals if this is an issue for you. 

Everyone loves having clear, beautiful, glowing skin but so many people struggle to maintain this. Our skin completely regenerates its outer layer every 28 days. This is good news for us, it means that we have the chance to nourish and feed our bodies with good nutrients (vitamins and minerals) which will in turn promote healthy cell growth. 

"You are what you eat" , right? 

The food that we put in to our body, is what our cells grow on and what they use to repair damage and degeneration. Make sure you're feeding it what it needs. 

What we put inside our bodies is just as important as what we use on our skin externally.

If somebody's got beautiful skin, it invites us to a deeper understanding as to what is going on inside their body." David Wolfe 

Good looking skin and a well functioning gut go hand in hand. If your gut health is poor, your digestion won't be working at an optimal level, which means that your body won't be able to absorb and utilise the nutrients from the food. (Find more information and advice on digestion here.) 

So that is my first and number one tip for you to get great looking skin:

• Take a GOOD probiotic - getting back to the basics is so important, this will restore your gut health and help to replenish all the good bacteria.

There are plenty of other simple, natural and inexpensive things we can try to get our skin glowing again. Some of my favourites are listed below:

Stress, or rather, our perception of stress is such a huge factor in all of our lives these days and i believe it is something we can all relate to.It is so important to understand what stress is, where it is coming from, how it is affecting out bodies and what we can do to take control and balance the stress in our lives. 

What is stress? 

“Physiological or biological stress is an organism’s response to a stressor such as an environmental condition or a stimulus. Stress is the body’s method of reacting to a challenge. In humans, stress typically describes a negative condition or a positive condition that can have an impact on a person’s mental and physical well-being.”

How does stress affect your body? 

·       Heart rate increases

·       Breathing could become quicker

·       Sweaty palms and body

·       Red and flustered – heat builds up

·       Butterflies or a knot in your stomach

·       Dry mouth

·       Pupils dilate

·       Increase in blood pressure and muscle tension

·       Busy mind and over thinking

These are all examples of how a feeling, thought or emotion (stress and nervousness) can affect our body on a physical level.

I hear so many people complaining about digestive issues these days that it has almost become a common and acceptable problem to have. We need to realize that it is most definitely not normal to have these problems and we should be able to digest our food properly and not suffer any pain or discomfort. How we are digesting our food and how often we are going to the bathroom is a great indication as to what is happening inside our body and how in balance or in tune we are.

If our digestion is not working as well as it should be, we can become toxic and malnourished. You might begin to feel fatigued, sluggish or bloated. 

There is so much information out there on what to do and what not to do that it can be very overwhelming. It is important to remember that everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for you.

 So here are a few easy and natural things to try out and see what works for you:

·      Drink plenty of water (filtered if possible). Try to drink in between your meals, rather than with your meal.

·      Get moving, get active and get outside in the fresh air. Mix up your exercise too and try new things.

·      Clean up your diet – cut the processed food and increase the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat every day. Try to     eat fruit in between meals though, they ferment in your stomach and can interfere with digestion if you have other food in your stomach. You can try cut out dairy and/or red meat for a few days and see what happens. 

·      Make sure you have some good fats in your diet – olive oil, avocado, fish oils, nuts and seeds.

·      Include pineapple in your diet – great for digestive enzymes.

·      Don’t throw away your orange pith – the white coating on your orange or mandarin has just as much vitamin C as the actual fruit, plus the pith is very good for your intestinal wall and general digestive health.

·      Consume fiber every day.

·      Practise yoga – all twisting poses are great for rinsing out your digestive system and also taking long deep breaths right down into your belly.

·      Aloe vera water– have this on an empty stomach as it cleanses your digestive system.

·      Probiotics – so important to increase the amount of good bacteria in your gut to promote healthy function and absorption of nutrients. I have been using Usana probiotics and have seen some great results. 

·      Magnesium – this helps muscle tone and muscle contraction, which can improve movement through your bowels.

·      Fish oils – help with all metabolic processes and are generally just good for everything. Be sure you are having a decent brand, I recommend Usana. Contact me if you would like to make an order and purchase Usana products with a discount. (stepheinhorn.usana.com)

·      Chew your food properly and take your time to eat your meal, there is no rush.

·      A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a bit of water about 5 minutes before your meal will send a message to your stomach to release digestive enzymes, which will help break down your food better.  

·      Drink rooibos tea – it is full of antioxidants and minerals so is great after a meal. Also try peppermint and chamomile. 

·      Listen to your body and avoid any food or drinks that cause discomfort, they obviously aren’t agreeing with you right now. This doesn't mean you will never be able to have them again, you might just need a break from them. 

·      Make sure you are getting enough sleep. Try to get to bed by 10pm, every hour you are asleep before midnight counts as 2 hours sleep.

·      Consider an emotional connection to your digestion. It is no secret now that our brain and our gut are in constant communication with each other, in other words, our gut feels our emotions. If you struggle to go to the toilet, is there something in your life that you can’t let go of? A person, a job, a situation, an emotion? What are you holding on to? If you have an upset stomach and unformed stools – are you worrying about something, do you have a busy mind and tend to over think things? 

·      Stress plays a huge factor in our digestion so try to keep it under control as much as possible. Ever notice how when you go on holiday, you don’t have to think about your digestion as much, everything seems to settle down, no matter what you are eating. That’s because you simply aren’t as stressed! Try meditation and mindfulness.

·      Try not over thinking it all and just let it be.

If your symptoms persist, it is important that you see your doctor for blood and stool tests in case you have a virus, bacteria or parasite.  

Contact me on steph@thewellnessweb.com.au if you have any further questions or if you would like to book a kinesiology session.