An alternative way to do simple mindfulness (Part 1)
Most mindfulness techniques have at their heart a simple instruction.
Focus on your breath…
This is supposed to be simple, but what if it isn’t simple for you? What then? For people struggling with anxiety it may increase the feelings of panic.
Mindfulness involves placing our attention on a chosen anchor, noticing when our mind is distracted or wandering and choosing to return it back, with a king and friendly curiosity towards the experience. You should start simple by focusing 1 – 5 minutes or even do short 30 second bursts a couple of times during the day. So, I want to introduce you to a few alternatives to using breathing as the anchor focused around our senses.
1. Look & Focus
Choose an everyday object in the room to look at and become aware of the colour, shape or light reflections. I personally like looking at a light candle as its often flickers so there is movement too.
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One of our biggest bad habits is slouching. In part 1, I discussed how slouching can be linked to higher blood pressure, but that is not the only health issue... It may cause heartburn... Slumping doesn’t just wreak havoc on your spine but also, in turn, on the alignment of the whole body. According to some experts, one of the consequences can be heartburn — where stomach acid travels into the oesophagus, causing chest pain.
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Natural remedies for the winter blues – Part 1
By January I am seriously missing the sun. While I know we have had the shortest day, the grey weather and the snow jsut reminds me we are in deep winter. So with the Brexit impass being deeply demoralising and frustraing, I wanted to share some tips to combat the blues. 1. Vitamin D Most people are short of Vitamin D in the uk. One of the signs of being short of Vitamin D is feeling blue. 2. Spice it up. Earlier today I was planning my meals for the week before I went to the supermarket. At this time of year I always fancy dishes containting yellow rice i.e. paella or pilau rice. I know its the yellow colour that particularly appeals which you get by adding either Tumeric or Saffron. In clinical trails Curcumin the main active ingredient in Tumeric (the bright yellow Indian spice) has been to be as effective as Prozac. A review of several trains of Saffron found it was a safe and effective treatmetn for depression. While I like to cook with the spices, it isn't as effective as supplements which are standardised extracts. For me cooking with the spice is fine as I am not depressed. 3. 5-HTP A naturally occuring amino acid, 5-HTP is used by the body to make serotonin the "happy hormone". Suplements produced from the seeds of the West African medicinal plant Griffonia Simplicifoia show promised for depression. References Woo YS, Kim S, Jeong JH, Jung YE, Kim MD, Bahk WM. Vitamin D Deficiency/Insufficiency among Inpatients with Depressive Symptoms. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2019 Feb 28;17(1):121-124. Sanmukhani J, Satodia V, Trivedi J, Patel T, Tiwari D, Panchal B, Goel A, Tripathi CB. Efficacy and safety of curcumin in major depressive disorder: a randomized controlled trial. Phytother Res. 2014 Apr;28(4):579-85. Moshiri E, Basti AA, Noorbala AA, Jamshidi AH, Hesameddin Abbasi S, Akhondzadeh S. Crocus sativus L. (petal) in the treatment of mild-to-moderate depression: a double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial. Phytomedicine. 2006 Nov;13(9-10):607-11 Birdsall TC. 5-Hydroxytryptophan: a clinically-effective serotonin precursor. Altern Med Rev. 1998 Aug;3(4):271-80.

Holistic holiday first aid kit – part 2
So I am off on holiday to Japan and thinking about what to pack apart from the obvious clothes, toothbrush etc. In part 1 I discussed my two go to solutions. So now I wanted to share some other ideas: Skin MOA, TheGreenBalm can be used to soothe dry itchy skin, calm minor rashes and burns. It contains both tea-tree oil which is a natural anti-bacterial agent and yarrow a herb well know for its skin-healing properties. Sunburn Fushi wild andiroba oil harvested from the tropical rainforests of south and central america has antibacterial and antiinflamatory properties in the oil. Which makes it great for sunburn, repelling bugs and to moisturize dry or damaged hair. A more readily available remedy is aloe vera. Travel Sickness Ginger has long been the go to natural remedy for any type of sickness including travel sickness. Pukka three ginger tea also contains galangal another plant often recommend for motion sickness as well as anti-inflamatory turneric and soothing licqorice root so it may be useful for calming an upset stomach as well as alleviating travel sickness. Bug Bites Zap Ease from Incongnito (www.lessmosquito.com) is a natural mosquito-repellent maker. I haven't tried the product but it is award winning. A few "clicks" of Zap-Ease around the area of a bit "has the effect of localising the posing and inhibiting the histimine release, which causes the itch and the urge to scratch". The device is harmless but not recommended for kids under 2 years old and people with pacemakers.

