Holistic Health

Anjum Anand explains how Ayurveda can help you to achieve optimum health. Ayurveda means science or knowledge of life and is thought to be over 5000 years old. It is said that Ayurveda influenced early health care around the world and many Eastern medical systems are thought to have their roots in Ayurveda. This science has two aspects – the preventative and curative. The preventative side guides us on how to avoid illness with the right diet and lifestyle, meditation and yoga. It states that everything we need to be healthy is all around us and empowers us to be our own healers.

It’s a magical time of year, thoughts of Halloween dancing through children’s minds and fireworks bursting through the evenings. Christmas twinkling on the horizon but what’s that sound coming from the upstairs bedroom? Oh no, one of your littles has the sniffles. It’s THAT time of year again. Coughs and colds are unavoidable and are, according to a growing body of research, actually important for our long term health. But that doesn’t make them any more pleasant or bearable when the whole family is struck down at once. Instead of reaching for the Calpol, Tixylix or antibiotics why not try to find relief naturally, without any chemicals, to help give your body the best possible boost it needs.

You may well be aware that we are entering a time of flux and change. Even if you don’t know about Autumn Equinox, a lot of people notice a change in their body’s rhythms and their general health at this time of year. Before I knew that much about Autumn Equinox, I’d notice that every year around the same time, lots of the people I was working with seemed to succumb to some bug or another, feel more tired, emotional, or a bit all over the place. I later learned that Autumn Equinox, which falls this year on Sunday 22nd September, is a time of extraordinary change when we often experience what is known as a ‘healing crisis’.

Apple cider vinegar is one of those powerhouses of health – the kind of product you can use for an absolute plethora of ailments, and as a natural cleaner to boot. It’s also one of those products you buy and leave languishing in the back of the cupboard, apart from the occasional sprinkle on a salad or two. Or maybe that’s just me. But when a friend was complaining of a dry, itchy scalp recently, and a family member had a pesky urine infection that wouldn’t go, both times I suddenly remembered all the stuff I’d read about apple cider vinegar.

Did you know that 190,000 people suffer from a migraine attack every day? It’s estimated that migraine affects 1 in 7 people - over eight million people in the United Kingdom alone. Migraine is a complex neurological disorder and many sufferers feel that there is relatively little understanding of its impact. Migraine Awareness Week, run by Migraine Action and supported by other migraine charities, takes place this year from 1st to 7th September. The week aims to raise awareness of migraine, encourage those affected to seek the information, support and treatment they may need and increase support for MA’s work.

There’s no shame in sometimes feeling overwhelmed with the demands of parenthood. It can feel as if overnight your life has been taken over by responsibility and in the endless tending to the needs of others, your own needs fall pretty far down the list. It’s what you do when the feeling strikes that counts. Are you a boiler: bubbling over with stress and anger before you finally explode? Or maybe a sulker: retreating into your own resentment and frustration until you’ve cut off those close to you?

The weather's starting to hot up and you've got some great family days out planned but you need a good reliable suncream that you can use on your little ones. Here you can find our pick of the very best natural suncreams and after sun care available both for children, babies and adult skin.

Katie at Wellness Mama shares her favourite recipe for creating your own calendula nappy cream, proven to soothe sore skin. It can even be used effectively on rashes or for healing postpartum.

Running from 10th to 16th April, World Homeopathy Awareness Week this year focuses on homeopathy for trauma and disasters. From personal crises to disasters that effect many people, homeopathy offers a helping hand. One of the most potent uses of homeopathy is in the case of shock and long term traumatic stress disorders.

As a parent, there’s no such thing as clocking off. Even if your little ones stay over at Grandma’s for the evening, you’re still on call. 24/7. Parents must be constantly ready to act, to be there and to take care of their children. It is no wonder, then, that many of us struggle to take care of ourselves when times are hard. Our natural response is to take care of the children first and keep plodding along as best we can. But, a little time to take care of ourselves can go a long way to helping us be more present for our children. It may be difficult to orchestrate but “me time” is essential when it comes to good parenting.