Herbal help

Guest blog by Alex Martin

I never wanted to work in alternative medicine but fate dictated otherwise. I became ill at the age of 19 and, as the song goes, the drugs didn't work for me. I have a form of arthritis/fibromyalgia that flares up in an auto-immune response from time to time. I have to be careful not to get too angry, tired or even excited or the whole thing kicks off. However, I have the massive advantage of being a trained herbalist and am pretty much in remission most of the time. The doctors told me not to even carry a handbag and put me on Valium for the pain.

I have been an aromatherapist for the last 25 years, which is pretty physical work (but very rewarding). We have a big garden that I love to dig. I have a dog I walk every day and the joy of two children, now adults.

None of this would have happened without the help of my plant friends. The other day, after a busy, stressful time, I had a bad flare up out of the blue. I took various herbs including turmeric, devil's claw, sarsaparilla, rosemary and hawthorn. The effect was immediate, like taking painkillers, and the whole episode subsided within ten days. However my immune system then took it out on my delicate digestive system. Intuitively I knew I needed some aloe vera juice. Within two doses, my stomach started to behave itself.

Herbs - I couldn't live without them - but I also have a theory that to be well, we must also be happy. I don't think we can get that just from good relationships with friends and family, though that is vital. I think we also need to find a way to be creative. For me, that's writing. I've written four novels to date and when I'm not working with clients and plants I can be found scribbling away in my 'plotting shed' up the garden.

Alex Martin's herbal world can be found at www.gowerserenity.co.uk and you can discover her books on Amazon or from her blog at www.alexxx8586.blogspot.com

The age of the enlightened entrepreneur

Guest blog by Richi Watson

Six years ago I began sharing wellbeing guidance, online at first and then soon after with groups and audiences. Within a very short space of time I was thrust into the unlikely role of entrepreneur – I say unlikely because my intention was solely to be helpful to people; business didn't come into it. I shared what I had to share freely and it was the deepest joy to do so. But then something happened, large numbers of people engaged with what I was sharing, my facebook groups reached many thousands in number and I could receive hundreds of messages a week. During all this I had been working as a waiter in a local vegetarian restaurant by day, so that I was free devote my time to these groups and messages by night. I had only recently returned to work following the excited application of the missing lifestyle links which I needed to finally empower my body with the resources it needed to heal and thrive, having been engaged in a lifetime challenge with chronic and debilitating illness. I had no plan, just an intention. I was cell to soul motivated to share what I knew could be helpful to so many people struggling psychologically, emotionally and physically (it is usually some degree of all three).

The most important job
Around eight months after I started offering guidance, I became a father – the single most wonderful experience of my life. I now did a little consultancy work on top of waiting tables to encourage our ends to meet and to help ease our debts which quickly arose while I was too unwell to work and my partner was made redundant in the aftermath of the financial crash. I had two 'work-jobs' and the most important life-job a man can have – to be a good father. My wife struggled severely with what some may categorise as post-natal depression – we wouldn't, but that is all for another time and blog! There was no more time left in my days to continue being there for others outside my family, and so my mail-outs went unwritten and unsent, and my inbox went unseen.

From work-life to life's work
In the 8 months before, I had a message from a bullied 14 year old who told me that something I had shared had helped him overcome the depression from his bullying. A suicidal woman told me how she had finally let go of the pain of her relationship breakdown and was now inspired by altruism, and so many countless others who reached out for help, took what I offered to make their own and created meaningful change in their lives. Turning my back on that wasn't a comfortable idea for me, but it seemed a life necessity. There was only one thing to do – I needed to bring my work-life in alignment with my life's work. I needed to create an income for myself while being of service to others in this way. Why had this realisation passed me by before now? Because of a counter-productive belief which was underlying my thoughts: I associated helpfulness solely with giving, not with exchange. Although this may seem a noble sensibility to have, and that's how I felt about it, it can in reality be unsustainable. In giving, I had fallen into a position in which I could give no more and be of no more help. But in creating an exchange, I could give indefinitely!


The enlightened entrepreneur
We have a strange cultural dialogue emerge with fair regularity, and that is to criticise those who fund themselves to whatever degree by offering goods or services which are intended to be of authentic helpfulness to people in regards to their health and wellbeing. These sentiments are shared with pointed fingers while those who share them may themselves have little or no regard for the ethics of the company they work for. It's bizarre, and it makes no sense. Fortunately we are growing out of it, and recognising that enterprise is a means to create meaningful change. One of the most helpful things we can do in our current cultural paradigm is to find our passion and create a working life which resonates with it. It is the age of the enlightened entrepreneur. Politics is mostly irrelevant compared to the force of societal design which comes through consumerism – where the money flows, industry will grow and subsequently affect massive influence on our culture.

I say all this with an ever deepening intention to be of authentic service to as many people as possible, and to that end it is simply not good enough to amass considerable financial and material success, even by being of authentic service, if not creating ways in which those with little or nothing can benefit from what you can provide. Play to your strengths, find the community you connect with, and then in the expanding flow of your success take a look around and see if you can reach those who can't yet access what you have to offer. With its multi-level entry points to life-changing guidance, I hope my organisation, LifeWell, can serve as a model for others to be inspired by. LifeWell's infrastructure is underpinned by non-profit collaborations and projects which are as enjoyable and rewarding to nurture as a meaningful friendship, while LifeWell finances itself through the best value life transforming wellness experiences in the UK. Was it easy to create this infrastructure? No, but it was simple. If we want to be a force of positive change in this world, we must simply identify our intention, integrity and passion as our compass. We must keep moving, keep smiling, and guide by leading the way.

Richi Watson is an Integrative Wellbeing Guide and founder of LifeWell and the Wellbeing Now Seminar.


Want to learn more about LifeWell's holistic business model and Richi's work in future blogs? Let us know what you want to know using the comment thread below!

Watercress wonder - sneak peek

Eating seasonal vegetables can feel like hard work at this time of year. It seems as though you've been cooking with root vegetables for an eternity, yet there's still longer to wait for the summer bounty of fresh green beans, curly lettuce leaves and ruddy tomatoes (yes, we know tomatoes aren't really vegetables, but would you swirl them through yoghurt with a drizzle of honey?). Thank heavens, then, for watercress, which is here to save the season.

Extract from Issue Three

Ceri Jones shares a bright watercress salad recipe with us

WITH ITS tangle of dark green leaves and crisp, pastel stems, watercress gives a pungent, peppery crunch to even the blandest salad, soup or sandwich. This unassuming plant packs such a punch that it can happily be eaten all by itself, just as it was in Victorian times, when it was sold in bunches on the street to munch on while out and about. Who ever said street food was
a passing fad?



Did you know?
Eating a bag of watercress is said to be a good hangover cure. We haven’t tested this in the Harvest office, but we’ll give it a try after the next staff party!

Ellie Bedford refreshes our taste buds with her raw watercress soup

See Harvest Issue Three for full article and Ceri and Ellie's recipes. You can subscribe to Harvest magazine here.

Competition - win teapigs goodies!

If the matcha article in Issue Three got you excited about all things tea-related then you're in for a treat, because teapigs have teamed up with Harvest magazine to give a lucky winner a cute mug and a big box of their everyday brew tea temples. Join the tea revolution today and put away the dusty tea!




How to win
For your chance to get your hands on this tea-tastic prize, simply drop us an email at competition@harvestmagazine.co.uk describing your perfect cuppa in a sentence or two. Our favourite will win a lovely box of teapigs everyday brew temples plus a mug to brew them to perfection in. Entry closes 19 June 2015.

What's special about teapigs tea?
teapigs use whole leaves in their teas (not the dusty stuff you’ll find in a regular teabag), presented in their special tea “temples” (a roomy, mesh bag that gives the leaves lots of room to brew). They are on a mission to get the country drinking real tea, and you can join the revolution. You can discover more at www.teapigs.co.uk - they have a fantastic range of 28 teas, all selected by their trained tea taster, Louise. Find them on Twitter @teapigs #everydaybrew

On your marks - sneak peek

Skip Archimedes - former British gymnast, coach to the stars and LifeWell Ambassador - takes us back to exercise basics and explains why exercising will make us feel better (clue: it's all about oxygen) and why we should stop fixating on the outcome and start enjoying the process.

Extract from Issue Three

Let’s take a little trip down memory lane and look at things with some good old common sense. As a child, did you ever have to motivate yourself to get up and play in the playground? Of course the answer is no. Think about it: children don’t have to be taught how to play in a playground. They naturally run, jump, crawl, swing, hang, buddy up with other kids, create games and, best of all, they don’t even have to think about any of it because it’s all done on instinct. We are meant to move and the great thing is that when you enjoy the movement endorphins are released from your brain, which are chemicals that naturally make you feel good.

How can I ease into exercise if I’m unfit/elderly/unwell?
Remember every great journey started with just one small step. By moving your body in a fun way, even if you are still sitting or lying down, you’re giving a great gift to your body and mind, so give yourself a pat on the back for making the effort, and praise yourself as you deserve. Also, monitor what you do because you will be amazed at how your momentum picks up once you get going; before you know it, you’ll find yourself doing the most amazing things whilst enjoying the process.

See Issue Three for full article. You can subscribe to Harvest here.

Time to bloom - sneak peek

Spring is in the air, each bird is competing for the loudest song and lambs are scampering across the fields. It's at this time of year that our thoughts turn to new life and new beginnings. To this end, we asked our experts - herbalist Jill Davies, homeopath Claire Zarb and aromatherapist and herbalist Alex Martin - to give us their advice on how to keep pregnancy as calm and happy as possible.


Extract from Issue Three

Finding out that you’re expecting can bring up a number of different emotions and physical ailments, many of which you might never have experienced before. Whether the pregnancy was planned, is your first or your fifth, there is no doubt that making a baby can put an enormous amount of pressure on a woman’s body, resulting in all sorts of weird and wonderful symptoms. Unfortunately, during pregnancy, too many of us suffer the discomfort of minor complaints rather than seek treatment because we are concerned about the side-effects of many conventional drugs. However, it is not always necessary to suffer through pregnancy, as homeopathic medicines and other natural methods are available to relieve symptoms and best of all they are safe for you and your baby.

See Harvest Issue Three for full article. You can subscribe to Harvest magazine here.

Celebrating Beltane

Guest blog by Alison Thompson

Beltane is one of the four cross quarter fire festivals. It is the opposite of Samhain in the Pagan Wheel of the Year. Beltane is traditionally celebrated from sundown on 31st April until the 2nd May. There are many myths and legends surrounding Beltane. It brought the coming of the summer and as such it was a very important time and much merry making can be found when you start to explore ancient customs. Many of these customs still survive through to today, and still others are being revived as a way of going back to our roots and honouring all of nature and all that she provides for us.

Bel-fires

The name Beltane is derived from the Celtic “bel” meaning good, and “tan” meaning fire. The ancient druids used to celebrate by lighting large bel-fires made from 9 types of wood on local beacons on the eve of 31st April. The bel-fire was considered to be the fire of the Gaelic God of Light. Beltane, Beltain or Beltaine is also known as the Celtic May Day.

These bel-fires were symbolic of many things. They were filled by the ancient druids with highly scented herbs and sacred plants and the fragrant smoke was used to purify the cattle and sheep before the journey to new pastures began. The cattle were driven between the bel-fires at Beltane to protect them from ills. Contact with the fire was interpreted as symbolic contact with the sun. The bel-fires were often burnt on hilltops, and used as a symbol of strengthening the sun, which would bless the earth for fruitful crops at this very important time in the agricultural calendar. Beltane fires would often create a chain of beacons on hilltops across the land.

Dancing round the maypole

Beltane is a festival celebrating the union of the god and goddess, often symbolised as the Greenman and the May Queen. The flowers and greenery symbolise the Goddess and the maypole represents the God. The May King was often chosen by a contest, usually dash to the foot of the maypole.

The community would all dance around the maypole wearing ribbons and mayflower headresses, and would dance the dance of the spiral of life. The intertwining of the maypole ribbons can be seen to represent the joining of male and female energies. We are seeing a renewed popularity of the maypole dance in many parts of the world today.

Morris dancing was also popular at Beltane and still survives today. Morris dancing can be found in church records in Thame, England going back to 1555, apparently popular at Beltane or Mayday during Tudor times.

Ley lines

The earth’s amazing energy is particularly potent at this time of the year. You can feel it if you stand with your bare feet on the ground, particularly if close to an ancient ley line. This is a perfect time of the year for walking along ley lines or the dragon paths that snake the countryside.

All of nature is growing and nurturing at this time of year; it is a time for celebrating unions and fertility either in conceiving a child or for improvements in career and other areas of life. It is a time of creative inspiration and for improved health and increased energy. We look at the fertility that is all around us and bring that into our daily lives, enriching our health and home and encouraging new projects to spring into life. Enjoy the fertile joy that Beltane brings with it. What does Beltane mean to you?

How can you celebrate Beltane?

There are many ways that you can celebrate Beltane, either on your own or with family or friends. You can attend a local maypole dance or morris dance, build your own Beltane fire or light a candle and make a wish for the coming summer, or entwine red and white ribbons as you think of your loved ones. Wheel of the Year charms can be purchased here. These beautiful gemstone charms will enhance the strength that comes with each passing season allowing you to truly experience the joy of our wonderful changing environment.

For further information on Beltane, click here. You can hear more from Alison on Facebook and on Twitter.