Back to the land of the employed

Well it had to come to an end at some point. Finally secured myself some paid employment outside of my two business ventures; a part-time (2 days a week) Research Manager job at Southampton University. It will be good to start the new academic year with some new impetus and direction. it's all very well being freelance and I have greatly enjoyed the time I have spent studying massage, naturopathy and nutrition (which I intend to continue) and the gardening but it doesn't pay the bills! With winter fast approaching the idea of spending every day working from home is not so appealing, I find by mid-morning I am absolutely freezing. As the university is 3 miles away it's easily reached by bike so it'll be part of my daily exercise routine as well. Talking of which, I have been running every morning (a little 10 min jog round the local common). Nothing much to speak of but surprisingly, little and often seems to show real benefits. My theory is that if you don't perceive it as a chore you are more likely to do it and so I've not made it too onerous. I have to say though i've not turned into the bionic woman I have certainly noticed the difference with my legs feeling lighter and stronger and my energy levels raised. Am trying to 'practice what I preach' and make exercise a part of my daily life.

My next idea is to learn EFT and Meridian therapy and to this end I have signed up for a Practitioner course. If you don't know what this is then check out the web - it's a type of energy therapy that involves tapping along various points in the body to clear emotional blockages such as phobias, anxiety, etc. Sounds bizarre I know but it's gaining credence in psychiatric circles as it seems to act on the subconscious directly by distracting the conscious brain (with sensory stimuli). In order to practice I have to work on myself first and this will be an important part of my training. I have one phobia which is spiders but that's quite a common one. However, I also have some strange resistance around success and marketing myself which I've always known and wondered why this is. I love to learn new skills but when it comes to selling them i always falter. This is something I would love to look at. Wish me luck!

Have been juicing almost every day too - again trying to make it a regular routine. Finding good combinations is an artform a bit like cookery. My favourite so far is spinach, banana and orange juice but a close second (and more like a dessert) is rice milk, blackcurrant and cocoa powder (you could use raw cacao for a more healthy alternative). Yum! Making them tasty is SO important. I made one today which just wasn't up to snuff and then had to throw half of it away as I couldn't face it!

Finally am reading some wonderful books which I ordered off the internet and are broadening my knowledge of health and wellbeing; one I highly recommend is 'French women don't get fat' which is a wonderful antidote to all those awful diet books where restriction and guilt force you to give up the pleasure of eating to lose a few pounds and then put it all back on again (plus a few more!) when you stop the diet. This is about gradual weight loss through intelligent choices, regaining the joy of preparing and eating real food and realigning your relationship with food. It's a thoroughly enlightening and inspirational read by someone who has done it herself (and lost 3 stone in the process). She makes the valid point that a lot of diet books are written by men (Atkins anyone) for women (who make up the vast majority of the market) without realising the huge differences between men and women (both metabolically and psychologically). Women eat food for lots of reasons besides hunger, a lot of to do with emotional comfort. Another book that tackled this was 'Beyond Chocolate' which I found similarly positive and woman-centred.

Also, and seemingly unrelated, I am reading 'Healing beyond the Body' by Larry Dossey which looks at the links between unresolved emotion and illness, and 'Rethinking Pasteur's Germ Theory' by Nancy Appleton which argues against the idea that disease is caused by external forces against which we are helpless. I've only got to the first chapter but already am thinking how right she is that this has fed straight into the current medical paradigm of being passive consumers of modern medicine (= pharmacological drugs) rather than empowered creators of our own health. The subtitle of the book is 'How to maintain your Optimal Health' and I am looking forward to this part as I have long been a proponent of Optimum Nutrition since I read Patrick Holford's book almost 10 years ago. That book blew me away and it looks like this one may take the argument a little further without the underlying 'buy my supplement' approach.

Have also got into 'Making a Forest Garden' by Patrick Whitefield a classic permaculture book which, as readers of my previous blog will know, is one of my other passions in life. Ah, so many books so little time. A quick poke of my head outside the back to door to pluck some homegrown rocket from my raised bed, got soaked in the incessant rain but still a joy to see my tomatoes, beans, courgettes and leaves all enjoying a good soaking. So, you see not just reading about it but doing it too. That's the learning really.

Bye for now

Juicing at last!

Finally got round to buying a blender for trying out the juicing idea (note blender not a juicer - you get more nutrients and less waste I've now changed my mind on this I think they are both useful, Ed). After much reading and discussion with my friend Dawn re which product to buy (she has both) I used my gift vouchers (leaving present from work) to purchase a Kenwood blender- chosen cos it's a food processer, blender, grinder, etc all in one and within my budget (under £100). For a novice, uncertain about juicing I thought it rather unnecessary to go buying one of the really expensive ones - Rhino or Vitamax though I can see if I was doing this professionally or more than once a day I would need one of these industrial monsters. I actually saw a demo of the Vitamax last week at the Mind, Body Spirit Fayre in London. Very impressive - you can chuck anything thing in, including ice, and hey presto it deals with it all. They guy made soup in it (warmed by being left to blend for 6 minutes - perfect temperature), ice cream (by adding frozen fruit and chocolate bars - very tasty!) as well as juices so it's thoroughly versatile. Then into my inbox arrived a tempting email from the self-styled Green Queen to try juicing for 3 days with a guided 3 day detox and I thought - why the hell not? So, not wishing to re-visit my weeks detox back in March (heavy duty upchucking and flu-like symptoms), the deal is; I replace one meal a day with a juice of fresh ingredients including some greens. Yesterday I tried spinach and banana - surprisingly good - for lunch. Today's was beetroot, grape and ginger -also good (I know beetroot breaks the greens rule but it's a very powerful detoxing root veg so I thought the Green Queen wouldn't mind if I made up my own.
So far what I have noticed is a general raising of energy levels and a decrease in the urge to stuff myself stupid with sugar and chocolate. Also, am feeling very positive but that may be the time of year and of the month (hormones being what they are).

Hey, anyway have had a very interesting couple of weeks with trips to London to the aforementioned fayre and a scientific meeting on DHA which is an essential omega-3 fatty acid. I felt very privileged to be in such esteemed company though a slight imposter being as i am no longer a bona fide university researcher. What was really interesting was watching the politics going on - during the questions some academics making pointed digs at rival academics. Lots of posturing and point scoring. Hilarious but also slightly depressing. And why is it that the few women who make it in the scientific community do so in spite of being female still? I always get the impression they have to deny their femaleness to succeed and become more competitive and aggressive than the men. There is a complete absence of the sense of holism at these events. The 2 days feel like chalk and cheese. A perfectly schizophrenic trip then which mirrors the events of my life where I have one foot in one camp and one in the other. Why is there no dialogue between them? - that's not entirely true as Alex Richardson was at the DHA conference and I have seen her at the Complementary and Alternative Medicine fayre in October so she evidently has some sympathy with that approach but it is rare. You get the definite impression that there would be much sneering if I had talked about my overtone chanting the day before. They can barely tolerate mention of CAM without derision. Shame as both sides have much to teach eachother. Ah well, carry on juicing that's what I say.

Oh and er massaging - my exam is end June so am busy revising (well I ususally end up watching stuff on the internet which isn't quite what I should be doing) and practicing which I am really enjoying. That I get to connect with people in a very physical way is a very powerful feeling - I described it yesterday to someone as an act of love - not sexual - but certainly of wishing to heal and caring. Mm, I wouldn't have believed I enjoy it so much when I decided to learn it. I think I saw it as an opportunity to learn more about the body and make it a good introduction to my holistic practice. I had no idea it would be so spiritual an experience - much like I find gardening - connecting with the earth or with human being-ness. Wow.
Anyway enough esoteric musings. S'all for now, over n out earthlings.

Detox day 1

Hi there from my residential detox centre in Winchester. Arrival last night was a shock when I realised that there was no food on Sunday night! however, as we hadn't eaten we were given a very nice raw soup and a quick introduction to the week. First thing I hadn't realised was that instead of a mixture of juicing and raw food during the week it was a juicing detox first and then raw food from Weds/Thurs! So, I had to face the next 2-3 days without eating anything other than juices. But, in for a penny as they say and here I am 24 hours later having had only green juices all day (including a wheat grass shot first thing which made me feel nauseous). and, though I am missing food (and fantasising about the lovely things I can eat when we resume eating on Weds), I am not desperate or craving but feeling quite liberated. I have felt very tired during the day and have slept quite a lot and expect to have an early night after an enema (my first!) but in general am feeling quite positive.

There are 3 guests here at the moment, all sharing the experience and our life stories. All very empowering and with a series of speakers during the week on various aspects of health and wellbeing (from nutrition through to spiritual/emotional health) it should be fab. Today we had a lecture on longevity from Max Tuck who plans to reach age of 100! Looking at the excellent health she now has I wouldn't be surprised. She is 100% Living food (i.e raw with sprouting) and looks amazing on it. She is a practising vet which as well as a Health Educator which is an interesting mix - a bit like mine being a gardener and healer..

Well, it already feels very inspirational being here but I know tomorrow is going to be difficult physically and Weds difficult emotionally apparently. Wish me luck! Will be blogging anything interesting as it comes up.
Bye for now,
Tricia