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

I beg your garden

Gardening to me is not so much of a hobby, as it is a full blown obsession! I blame Indira Naidoo for writing The Edible Balcony.

I kid you not, there have been times where I can’t get to sleep due to the sheer excitement of reading my gardening book then making a list of all the new herbs I want to plant and new tools I feel are completely necessary to own. “Go to sleep Em” my husband will murmur... Surely wondering what has possessed his once sane wife.

My dad like every little Italian man is the ultimate gardening guru. Many a desperate phone call has been made asking emergency questions such as “Do the tomatoes keep potassium or sodium in their soil?”

I discovered that there is nothing more satisfying than eating out of your own garden. Take today for example. Every morning I make a fresh pot of lemon balm tea. Add a bunch of mint to my coconut water smoothie. Pluck out some rocket leaves for my salad wrap. Then for dinner I make THE BEST basil pesto! Bugger that jarred crap.

Anyway I could ramble on for hours about the way the aroma from each herb wafts up to me as I run the watering can over each pot or the sweetness of that first cherry tomato from the vine. But seriously, no matter what your interests are, make sure that they totally consume you because they are what make you uniquely you xx.

Unhook your bra.

Big day. Mentally drained. Achy body. Heavy chest.

To be honest, I used to drop my bag, turn on the computer or TV and zone out...

Now I walk through the door. Drop my bag, kick off my shoes and if it’s hot, pull off my dress. Make a mug of soy chai in my favourite red mug and drag a blanket and all the pillows in the house I can find out to the backyard. I then proceed to lie under the bottlebrush tree and either stare up at the sky, flick through a gardening/cooking book or just close my eyes and exhale.

I can smell the herbs from my garden, I can see natural light, I can hear birds, I can feel the breeze on my skin and my mind is empty. The world stops racing and I am mindfully living in the present moment.

This is MY time. I am being true to myself. I can recharge, decompress, regain balance and CONVALESCE! This time allows me to be me again.

How do you spend your quiet time, doing nothing but being YOU? A morning run on the sand, drinking your cup of tea in the sun on your break at work, soaking in a hot bath once the kids are tucked into their beds. Invest in yourself daily and you will reap the rewards xx.

Mind chatter.

Who should I thank in my wedding speech?
Where should I take the girls for our staff Christmas party?
What do I feel like for lunch today?
What clients am I seeing this week?
Should I get those new Lorna Jane tights?
Maybe I’ll book another reflexology treatment this week?

Many thoughts floated through my head this morning as I strolled over the headland listening to my iPod. Then all of a sudden I saw something purple out of the corner of my eye. I meandered off the track, bent down and to my delight I saw my first Fringed Violet flower.

I’d only seen photos in my Australian Bush Flower Essences book and had always secretly hoped to find one. The flowers are only about the size of a five cent piece and the delicate petals are as soft as a feather.

I was mesmerised for a minute or two then sat down on the grass on the edge of the headland and drank in all the beauty of the crashing waves, playful families, the warm sun on my skin and the salty air. This my dear friends, is called being MINDFUL.

When you focus on the present moment that you are currently in, all mind chatter ceases and you can be truly free from your mind.

Don't miss out on all the natural beauty that is right in front of you because your mind is too busy running amuck. Where are you right now? What can you see/feel/hear/taste/smell? Give it a try. You will feel liberated.

Tree hugger.

I have a deep fetish for biophilia. Sounds creepy right? Well it’s not, you sick puppies.

Biophillia is a term that refers to the healing power we experience from nature. This is due to our innate connection to the outside world. There have been countless studies conducted to reveal the rapid improvement of hospital patients who have a view of a garden or who are able to sit outside in the sun compared to those who did not get the privilege.

My Mr and I went to Bunnings on the weekend and came home with a big bag of organic potting mix as well as coriander, cherry toms, mint and sweet basil seedlings.

After a long day of fluorescent lighting, air-con, a constantly ringing phone and racking my brain with correct products for the appropriate conditions, I felt instantly revitalised and grounded after getting some dirt under my fingernails.

So try to sit in a park on your lunchbreak rather than checking your emails, feel the sand between your toes after work and enjoy a leisurely walk over a headland rather than on the treadmill. You’ll feel better for it.