Firstly, CONGRATULATIONS for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere for making it through January! I do hope you are feeling the benefits of just a little more light, the more frequent birdsong and activity in Nature around us… and the feeling that we are back in the routine of life in a more ‘ready’ way!
For those in the Southern Hemisphere… I know what a busy time this is too, with the Festive celebrations coming amidst the main long summer holiday time for many families. Whilst living and working in New Zealand back in the early 90’s, I took note of how, despite the joy of festivities and time off with long warm days, so many suffered with having too much on their plate all at once! I had taken for granted the benefits of being able to have Christmas as a focus to break up the Winter months, and while we were living there, we soon got involved in organising a mid-year Winter festive meal when we learnt that was becoming a thing!
It has to be said, I gave a lot of my support during my time in New Zealand to the women who were usually the chief organisers of the home and family, and were easily overburdened with meeting other’s needs far more than their own – and not having enough of a rest during peak holiday time!
With this in mind, I want to talk about A Pie Chart to help us keep a good measure of our mental and physical health!
- Take a moment, if you will, to consider what you are currently juggling and trying to manage!
- Realise what is going on in your head and what you may even just be trying to remember each day, even each hour or half hour, and give it a percentage. (If you have ADD or ADHD, this is a really important thing to do!)
- Try and theme it: home, work, family (often it is both children and parents/siblings all at the same time for the middle-aged women nowadays).
- Now give it a percentage and imagine the size of the piece of pie it may be taking up.
Drawing this out could be an even more helpful and realistic way of understanding what you are dealing with.
Once done, notice where the biggest pieces of the pie are, under what title and check to see how big the size of the pie is that is dedicated to YOU and YOUR needs… does it look fair enough?
IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE MEASURING OUR SELF CARE AND ENSURING IF WE ARE ACTUALLY GIVING OURSELF ENOUGH ATTENTION IN THIS BUSY WORLD!
- Now re-draw your pie chart and see if you can make some necessary changes to achieve a better balance going forward!
I have mentioned this in previous blogs and the drawing up of a weekly timetable is a good way to keep things as best in balance.
The Art and practise of Homeopathy contributes so nicely to the success in re-gaining our balance in life.
The opportunity to simply sit and make sense of our current health and happiness with your homeopath and the use of relevant remedies can allow the little bit of extra help needed to get us tuning in to ourselves and get back on track in order that we can reach our optimal levels of health and happiness as much as possible.
Remedies may be prescribed to simply ground you more, remedies may be prescribed to help with the exhaustion, setting better boundaries in the journey of re-balancing the over care being given out. They will attend to the physical issues, such as indigestion, difficult sleep, weight gain, headaches, hormonal balance (…the list goes on!) If you have been suffering in silence, they may even help you find your voice in letting others know how you feel, but in a way that is most effective for you …there is lots that can be done! Please do keep in touch if you would like any help.
A nice little remedy to introduce you to!
For those interested in the Newer remedies, I love the remedy Rainbow. Proven and produced by the Guild of Homeopaths in 1996 and also known as Spectrum… it has been a wonderful remedy I have prescribed for several patients and really can help with shifting out of a stuck state. Think of the enlightenment and shift in energy the discovery of a rainbow quickly brings us when we first spot it… well that is Rainbow and just an introduction to the work it can do in many areas of our mental and physical health!
Don’t forget to observe the moon phase!
We have just come through a New moon phase and you may like to look at my blog as it can be an important time to notice if we may have worms! Not a nice subject to have to talk about I know… but useful that Homeopathy provides some fantastic remedies to deal with it, which I refer to! CLICK HERE TO READ
Our LUNG HEALTH…
I just wanted to remind you of the help some key homeopathic remedies can bring when we are struggling with our lungs! The more we can manage our health naturally, the stronger and more established our immune systems can be, to fight off the bug and avoid it returning.
There have been some really horrid long-lasting chesty bugs this winter so far…
Whether you are prone to chesty things or not, this area of our health is always really important to keep on top of. Afterall, where would we be without Breath?!
It can be quite quick for a cough or cold to go to our chest and infection set in.
If a chest infection is not sorted, it can quickly turn to pneumonia or pleurisy and these two conditions can leave scar tissue damage – so we need to protect and heal really thoroughly, not just take it lightly and get back to work too soon.
Please don’t be alarmed at this… just know that there is something you can do to prevent or bring you out of a challenging lung infection with the use of some remedies.
THE MORE WE CAN AVOID ANTIBIOTICS AND STEROIDS, THE BETTER FOR OUR LONGTERM HEALTH!
SOME SUGGESTED TIPS:
Regular calm, deep breathing where you manage to fill the sides and bottom of the lungs (not just the top part) is key. You can also look up Diaphragmatic breathing for yourself. Staying calm and keeping our shoulders relaxed is important to get the best of this.
- Understanding when you need to get the mucous off your chest that might be accumulating, rather than ignoring it, is also key.
- Using the Tipping Exercise to get mucous up and out: lie across a bed with your waist at the edge, head carefully lowering to the floor. Place a cushion or pillow on the floor to keep your head comfortable and simply remain there for 10-15 minute bursts during the day. If the phlegm does not automatically start to come up with a cough, you can gently huff out repeatedly and see if this initiates the ability to expel. Take care to navigate getting in and out of this position and have something to hand to collect the sputum and discard of it immediately!
- Plenty of rest and careful attention to not exposing yourself to change of temperature… i.e. using a scarf and warm clothing when going outside in cold weather, wearing a dressing gown between bedroom and bathroom when you have left either a warm bed or warm bath/shower.
- A good vitamin and mineral rich diet with plenty of fluids… warm fluids might be the best tolerated in the cold winter months! I love bringing in Black Elderberry with Vit C and Zinc when I feel something coming on… and use an easily availably product (in the UK) called Sambucol… there are different formulations for different ages/severity.
SOME SUGGESTED REMEDIES:
Bryonia: This is often described as a ‘bear with a sore head’ remedy. There may be headaches! Lots of pain, worse for movement. There is often some aggravation and worry about work when ill. There is often fever.
Ant Tart: A great remedy to go to when there is rattling of mucous in the chest but no expulsion.
Spongia: A known helper with upper respiratory tract infections, including croup. There may be a barking cough and difficulty in bringing up the mucous effectively, causing gasping which causes anxiety.
Baccillinum: This is a nosode remedy relevant when there is infection. Discuss with a homeopath or Homeopathic pharmacy on how to use.
Tub Koch: Another remedy very well used in general all round support of the lungs as well as acutely. Another one to discuss with a homeopathic pharmacy or a qualified homeopath.
I will pull this to a close and hope it leaves you with some helpful information and enthusiasm to progress through the challenges of Winter or over-busy and exhausting times!
I am easily contactable through this website (details at the top of the page) if you have any further questions.
As always, warm wishes
Ali x
Ali Lomax
LCHE
R.Hom.Int