Instant friendships

*MATERNAL MONDAYS*

“During pregnancy your body is your unborn baby’s universe. You are the rivers, sunlight, earth, atmosphere and sky for this being growing within you. Your baby’s body, mind and soul intimately intertwined with your own.Together you express the creative flow of life”.

-Deepak Chopra
Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives

Emma the Naturopath xx

-16 weeks, the size of an avocado

I actually caught myself thinking “I’m just too stressed to go to meditation class tonight”… I had to laugh at myself!

Even though I’ve practised yoga since a young age and listen to a meditation track on my iPod every night, I had this preconceived idea of what going to an actual meditation class would be like. I envisioned a bunch of gurus sitting around on cushions on the floor, levitating in silence for an hour. Maybe with a bit of chanting thrown in there...

Much to my delight, it involved sitting back in comfy armchairs, drifting off into a blissful state during a guided meditation. (Yes there were times I was thinking about noodles or tomorrow's clients, but it was mostly bliss). Then we sipped delicious organic tea and Georgie chatted to us about practical tools for helping with a “monkey mind” and incorporating a sense of calmness and positivity into our daily lives.

Meditation has countless benefits to our health like lowering blood pressure and easing anxiety, but it’s also just a beautiful self-care ritual –which is generally the first thing to go out the window when we’re stressed!

Georgie Cooke Quantum LifeSkills Coaching & Counselling is a counsellor, psychotherapist, NLP coach, naturopath and full-time ray of sunshine. Georgie runs meditation classes on Mondays 1-2pm as well as an evening class 6-7pm from her gorgeous space on the jetty strip in Coffs, just next to Old John’s. Give her a call 0406 786 395 if you want to check it out. No levitating gurus, just warmth and happiness.

“Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.”
-Hermann Hesse

109. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. My 63 year old Sicilian father writing in a text to me “omg”. Wtf…?
2. A delivery of teddy bear sunflowers from the talented girls at Precious Petals. They are just so beautiful and happy (the flowers AND Nat and Court).
3. Stormy headland walks just on dark with friends.
4. Top knots –on chicks, dudes and kids.
5. Lying in bed half asleep on Wednesday morning and feeling a little tickle in my belly. My eyes opened wide and it happened again. “Oh, good morning” I said aloud as I felt my little baby move inside of me for the first time.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS.
“You have within you more love than you could ever understand”
-Rumi

I believe this is quite literal during pregnancy. But generally speaking, we tend to search for love in external places (in people, places, possessions) to feel loved. Knowing that a LIMITLESS source of love resides within ALL of us leaves me feeling so warm and content. What a beautiful thought to start the week with.

*MATERNAL MONDAYS*

I’ve been really touched by the friendships I’ve formed over the past 4 months. You begin forming connections with people you wouldn’t know from a bar of soap based on the fact that you are both pregnant.

Women who have already had a baby are wonderful to talk with as they provide instant relief and valuable knowledge from their experiences, but talking to another chick that’s also pregnant for the first time turns into an instant friendship.

I find such joy when either myself or a friend or customer sneakily mention that they’re pregnant and it is instantly met with squeals of “I’M PREGNANT TOO”!!! Followed by gushings of “Did you get morning sickness?” and salivating while describing how much you’re craving barbeque chips. Other hot topics include asking what size fruit their baby is, how many times they get up to pee each night and how much you’re turning into a sloth and sleeping all day. These conversations go about one hundred miles an hour and can continue until the cows come home.

I’m mindful of not boring my friends with too many pregnancy related tales as hearing them used to make my ears bleed before I was pregnant and I was bewildered how your whole life could be taken over by something like pregnancy and babies… Haha! So other pregnant chicks are the perfect outlet and support! I love hearing stories like “We’ve been friends for 10 years since we met at prenatal yoga”. I look forward to lots of beautiful new friendships that will blossom as our children grow.

Emma the Naturopath xx
(17 weeks –the size of a pear)

*ATTENTION ALL HIPSTERS & FACIAL GROWTH ENTHUSIASTS*

Had a great chat to a gentleman today who purchased almond oil and jojoba oil, as well as cedar wood, bergamot, patchouli and sandalwood essential oil and informed me that this is the ULTIMATE BEARD TONIC. Can’t argue with a man with a beard.

Like my friend Zac says “If your dad doesn’t have a beard, you’ve got two mums”!

110. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. Sitting in traffic for one hour on Monday morning and absolutely rocking out to Everyday People by Sly and the Family Stone when it came on the radio. The people in the other cars were looking grizzly and my car was practically vibrating from having the tunes up so loud. Go listen to it now, guaranteed instant mood booster!
2. Fresh coconut meat smoothies.
3. Mornings off at home while it absolutely buckets down outside. Snoozing, reading in bed with a chai then having a bath before work. There would be world peace if we all started our days like this.
4. The concerned look I was given by the guy serving me at the bottle shop when I purchased a bottle of brandy for making flower essences.
5. Having the house to myself the last three days =eating all the yummy foods he doesn’t like that I LOVE! Mum’s marinara pizza with extra mushrooms and gluten-free pasta with bacon, broccoli, chili, olive oil and a little cheese. The Sicilian in me comes out!

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. I heard something this week which I LOVED:

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results."
-Albert Einstein

So I approached a few habits and relationships a little differently this week, although my ego and comfort zone tried to seduce me to remain the same.

I found it challenging but refreshing.

*MATERNAL MONDAYS*
~SHOWING~

So here is a 4 month pic of Emma the Naturopath. That's right people... Only 4 months! I was told that I wouldn’t start to “show” until around the 20 week mark. Especially considering it was my first. I was gutted!

However as of week 14 I officially *popped*! Every morning I’d wake up and my muscles felt as though I’d done 1000 sit-ups and my lower abs felt stretched as my tummy moved forward. I began receiving “Nice baby bump!” comments from friends, customers, the lady at the bank and check-out chicks. It was no longer a secret.

I’m so in love with the bump. There is never a moment where it’s not be rubbed by either myself, my husband or a random stranger! It validates why my body has not felt like my own for the last 3-4 months. I caught my reflection in a window yesterday and went “Oh wow, I’m a pregnant lady”. I have felt I’ve also noticed a lot of strangers staring at the bump and then looking up and grinning at me! Haha!

When did you start to show? Are you loving belly rubs off of everyone or do you get a bit freaked out? Do you also stand in front of your wardrobe for 10 mins every morning going "What the hell am I going to wear?!"

"The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting"
-Andy Warhol

Emma the Naturopath xx

Essential Health

0266 514 533

carrots_and_apples@hotmail.com

Facebook: Emma the Naturopath

Cold hands, hot tea

104. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. Smashing through a couple of hours of book work and then taking a blanket, some Pana chocolate and my journal down to the headland to watch whales for an hour before I started work.
2. The traits I inherit from my father: using coloured pencils as bookmarks so I can colour in the good bits.
3. The look on my 5 year old niece's face when I told her that the pink lace underwear she was giggling about on our washing line weren’t mine, but my husband’s. Some sort of mixture between shock and delight.
4. Quinoa croquettes from The Happy Frog. Can someone PLEASE experiment with a recipe and let me know asap!
5. Sunday mornings spent pottering around the house: YouTubing furniture restoration, writing a shopping list for Bunnings and hanging up pictures.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. Every two months since May last year I’ve been seeing a herbalist (because a dentist needs to see a dentist right?). I’ve never met anyone as magical as this woman.

At our last consultation she instructed me to go down to the ocean more often. She said that even if I can’t be bothered going for a walk, to just sit there and breathe in the salt air. It corrects the negative/positive ion ratio in the body, purifies our cells and relieves the urge for us to go nuts. That’s actually how she worded it.

I would like to pass this sage yet simple advice on to you this week. If you are not coastal, head to a park, botanical garden or any sort of patch of nature you can find. Breathe deeply and feel yourself being purified from the inside out.

Some call it “earthing”. Some call it “biophilia”. Or as my herbalist calls it “Stopping yourself from going nuts”.

I don’t believe in “Mondayitis” but I was really struggling to get in the right head space yesterday morning.

So as I was driving to work –through road works which of course pissed me off even further, I asked the Universe to send me exactly who I needed today. I do this from time to time and the coincidences are always quite freakish.

I received phone calls from people I’d been meaning to connect with, people popped in and shared wonderful stories that all had a common theme and I booked a handful of exciting new clients that I’m really excited to work with. By midday I was feeling refreshed and energised on life again.

Maybe give it a try sometime. Invite synchronicity into your life.

“What you seek, seeks you”

-Rumi

105. Top Five Things I LOVED This Week:

1. The Salt n Pepa car ad.
2. Being tucked up in bed listening to the wind trying to blow our roof off.
3. The cute little sparrows that bounce around the sushi place picking up fallen grains of rice. Actually kind of unhygienic now that I read that back.
4. Very slow, very gentle yoga in the winter sunlight.
5. The smell of chocolate beetroot cake baking in the oven.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. One of my gorgeous clients wrote in an email this week and shared a quote she had come across:

"If we do not feel grateful for what we already have,
What makes us think we'd be happy with more?"
-Ritu Ghatourey

Comparing ourselves to others is the easiest way to become unhappy.

To me, CONTENTMENT would have to be the best feeling there is. Just being totally stoked to the brim with exactly what you have and where you’re at right now. It takes away the burden of constant striving, we become less materialistic and it allows us to be happy for others rather than envious. Once all that pressure is off, it allows us to simply live in the moment and align with the flow of life.

The first step to feeling more content, is continually practising GRATITUDE. Every. Single. Day. Although at times I get distracted or stuck in a rut, I remind myself to:
*List a handful of wonderful things going on in my life when I go to bed and wake up every morning
*Repeat positive affirmations
*Surround myself with uplifting people
*Continue to write my Top 5

It amazes me how the simple act of practising gratitude acts as a potent catalyst for even more abundance that you could have ever imagined!

*EMMA THE NATUROPATH’S BEAUTY REGIME*

Over half of my shop is filled with natural skincare. I have meticulously picked every single product out and let me tell you, I am VERY particular!! When customers are browsing our shelves, I constantly get asked which ones I use. So here they are. My FAVE products that I *LOVE* and use all the time:

BUTTER NAILPOLISH: I’ve given away all my other nail polishes and am slowly growing my collection of Butter. Not tested on animals and lacking the 3 main carcinogens. ($17.95)

TAMAUNU OIL: We got this in about a week ago and I’m loving it on my face (at night) and body after a shower. Organically grown in Vanuatu and imported by a local lady in Scotts Head who used to live there. ($19.95)

VRINDAVAN CINNAMON SCRUB SOAP: Anything spicy smelling is my friend. Olive oil based with little poppy seeds in there for exfoliation. Life is too short not to use decadent soap! From the Sunny Coast ($4.95)

WARBOTANICAL ‘NORMAL’ SHAMPOO: Hands up who has tried a million natural shampoos with no success? Me too. Well this shampoo is the ultimate crowd pleaser! It foams perfectly (thanks to coconut and sugar) and my hair is always so soft after I use it. From Warburton in Vic. ($14.95)

MOOGOO CONDITIONER: It’s like a super thick cream. Plus it smells like milky-vanilla goodness. From the Goldy. ($16.95)

MOOGOO MILKY WASH: This is my favourite cleanser in the world!! You only need the size of a pea. Also a beautiful body wash. ($16.95)

KORA PURIFYING DAY AND NIGHT CREAM: My day time moisturiser. I feel like I’m “feeding” my skin with this little organic tonic. From Sydney. ($42)

RED SEAL ‘NATURAL’ TOOTHPASTE: Simple ingredients. From NZ bru ($4.95)

GIOVANNI 2CHIC AVOCADO AND OLIVE OIL HAIR MASK: Usually on a Sunday night I’ll leave this in my hair for 10 mins while I read a book in the bath. One of the few things that tames my thick wavy locks. ($16.95)

As you can see, I’m incredibly mindful about not only WHAT is in my personal care products, but also about WHERE they come from. We have so many fantastic natural brands in Australia that deserve our love.

Far out it’s nippy today!! QUICK! Let’s write a post together about all the things we love about Winter to keep the love alive! I’ll get us started….

What we LOVE about winter:

1. Holding cups of hot tea to warm our hands
2. Flanno pj’s
3. Knitted scarves made by someone you love
4. Opening the front door and smelling the slow cooker which has been bubbling away all day (without burning the house down!)
5. Burying yourself under piping hot laundry that’s fresh out of the dryer
6. Adding more hot water to the bath –for the third time
7. Hot water bottles with fluffy covers
8. Steaming pumpkin soup with a dollop of greek yoghurt
9. Empty beaches
10. Winter produce: mandarins, pears, leeks and pumpkin

Oh hi strangers!

Sorry for the lack of attention and Top 5 action this week but Emma the Naturopath has been in recovery from a nasty cold

Have been smashing down the echinacea, vit D, vit C, zinc, colloidal silver, probiotics, soaking up the sun, sucking on homemade coconut water/mango icy poles (recipe will be posted), eating soup, drinking gallons of water with apple cider vinegar and sleeping like nobody's business!

There will be a *VERY SPECIAL* Top 5 coming to you this Sunday!! That's all I'm saying for now...

HOMEMADE ICY POLES FOR SORE THROATS

There’s nothing like a yummy healthy icy pole to soothe an inflamed throat.

I bought some Lickety-Sip icy pole moulds for a few dollars from Big W and mixed up two different batches. Just blend, pour into moulds and freeze!

MANGO & STRAWBERRY ICY POLES
1 cup frozen mango
Handful of fresh strawberries
2/3 cup coconut water
1 Tbsp fresh mint leaves
(I also added vitamin C powder)

SPICED BANANA & COCONUT ICY POLES
1 banana
1 cup frozen mango
1 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup coconut cream

Get as creative as you like!

Emma the Naturopath xx

Essential Health
Phone: 0266 514 533
Email: carrots_and_apples@hotmail.com

Facebook: Essential Health Coffs

Raise your words

Top Five Things I LOVED This Wk:

1. Listening to two friends speak so passionately about lawn mowing! I feel like I must be missing out on something.
2. The word ‘tempestuous’.
3. Another weekend to myself largely involving Frank coffee scrub and watching Sex in the City on my laptop in the bath. Oh and more star-fishing.
4. Spontaneous sleepovers from friends on their way down the coast. A beautiful way to brighten an otherwise monotonous Monday night. There’s nothing like that mad cleaning spree when you get home from work! Maybe I should clean like this more often…?
5. Restraining myself at Bunnings from buying an apple shaped bird feeder and zebra print gardening gloves. Although a couple of extra seedlings may have snuck into my basket. 

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. 
“There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful, 
than a woman being unapologetically herself; 
comfortable in her perfect imperfection. 
To me, 
that is the true essence of beauty.”

-Steve Maraboli

"Raise your words,

not your voice.

It is rain that grows flowers,

not thunder"

-Rumi

*FREE KORA ORGANICS TINTED DAY CREAM WITH EVERY KORA PURCHASE*

Seriously!! Every customer who buys any Kora Organics product in the next two weeks will receive a FREE full sized Tinted Day Cream valued at $59.95!!

KORA Organics Tinted Day Cream is a healthy alternative to foundation that leaves the complexion radiant with an even skin tone. It has an SPF rating of 15+, is certified organic, not tested on animals and Australian made and owned.

Now let me tell you something about Emma the Naturopath...

I have always had a TERRIBLE morning routine that consisted of waking as late as possible, sitting in front of the computer cramming in book work or scrolling through Insta as I drank a smoothie or vegie juice then rushed out the door to work going "Is that the time!"

Since returning from a very nourishing trip to Hawaii a few weeks ago, I've found myself in a nice little morning ritual. I wake at 7, get a pot of dandelion chai simmering on the stove then wander outside to check on my little garden. When I come back inside, I light my Drishti 'Uplifter' candle (lemongrass and lime) which is like my "coffee" that sends a message to my brain to wake up.

I sit at our wooden dining table with my chai and choose an affirmation card from the deck. I ponder it for a while, maybe write about it in my journal, eat some red papaya (obsessed right now!) then start getting ready. My husband gets up at 5 each morning to surf and watch the sun rise so the house is deliciously silent.

It's taken me 29 years to get my morning routine sorted! I knew all along that I should make the effort but I was full of excuses like "I'm just not a morning person". Now I'm reaping the benefits.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. Here is my affirmation card from this morning that literally jumped out of the deck as I was shuffling!

"GIFT: Within every struggle resides the tremendous potential for growth. Look for the treasure. All is well".

"Risk it, go for it. Life always gives you another chance, another go at it. 

It's very important to take enormous risks"

-Mary Gaunt

Top Five Things I LOVED This Wk:

1. That Seattle has banned the sale of bottled water!!
2. A perfectly juicy white peach.
3. The inspiring energy of Janine Allis –founder of Boost Juice. She gave a beautifully stirring and practical talk at a business seminar I attended this week.
4. Telling my husband about all the delicious recipes I can’t wait to create in my I Quit Sugar for Life cookbook. He then pointed out the fact that I was eating a Tim Tam.
5. How quickly Vanessa and I jumped back on our paddle boards when she felt something slimy brush against her leg.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. “Let go and your world will open up”
-Eileen Hall

Release your grip on jobs you don’t love, ended relationships and belief patterns that do not serve your life in a positive way. Let go of safety nets you have constructed around yourself and put your faith in the possibilities of the future. You’ll never know what opportunities are waiting to meet you!

Oh yeah, and please be mindful that it takes 450 to 1000 years for a single plastic bottle to biodegrade.

“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight.

And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings.

You may not know where you're going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.”
-C. Joybell C.

Have trust and and live in the present moment. 

You are stronger than you realise.

Top Five Things I LOVED This Wk:

1. Sliced banana and shredded coconut on top of Monday night’s yellow curry. My husband knows his way around the kitchen!
2. Mango smoothies on a sunny beach day. Cheers Mac
3. Seeing two beautiful friends become Mr and Mrs Pomroy. Because true love is a big f*%king deal.
4. High five to the person (no doubt a woman) who invented stick on nipple covers. A backless dress’s best friend.
5. Watching people sheepishly snavel our council pick up. So many slow driving cars and neighbours going for walks as the sun sets.

Emma the Naturopath xx

PS. “You never know what’s around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one step in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain” –Tom Hiddlestone

On a drizzly overcast morning I poured myself a mug of dandelion chai and snipped up a pile of my Frankie mags and Lorna Jane catalogues and made myself a pretty little vision board *pictured*.

I don’t physically write specific goals on a piece of paper anymore as I try to adopt a more “effort with grace” approach towards the future. Sometimes the more you chase things, the further they go away. So for me, this is the perfect way to set intentions without getting too caught up in the details. Are you a fellow vision boarder?

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0266 514 533

Boulevard Arcade (opp. Blush), Coffs Mall

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