Contrary to what social media is churning out, regulation is not staying calm all the time.  In fact, what some people describe as ‘calm’ is actually a state of frozen - looking so serene on the outside but a total mess on the inside (this was me for so much of my life!). For others, they’re calm, but when you need them to actually do something, they just can’t seem to get going - this calm looks nice but can sometimes be less helpful in real life.  Then for some, when the going gets tough, they get going so much that they burn out. Right when we need them the mo ..read more

Crisp mornings, gloriously colourful foliage and milder days signal the arrival of autumn. We know that as the weather gets colder, we'll see an increase in colds and flus. Why is it that despite all the viruses flying around, some people get sick, and some people remain healthy? Our resilience to getting sick comes down to the state of our wellbeing as we come into autumn and approach winter: our stress levels, our energy or exhaustion levels, our toxic load, our sleep quality and so on. Immune Boost We often hear about ‘boosting’ our immune system but, for most of us, our immune system work ..read more

Have you noticed that some people seem almost immune to stress, they just keep rolling along, get their work done and live their lives with a minimum of fuss? These are the no drama and low maintenance people in our lives. The steady, consistent, grounded people I like to call the ‘Corollas’ of the world. The ‘Ferraris’ on the other hand are wired differently. Being tuned for high performance and engineered for responsiveness, they are born to accelerate, brake and go around corners fast. Whilst life can be an exhilarating ride, slight misjudgements can end up in crashes and a long list of re ..read more

One of the key principles of wellbeing is that health is much more than the absence of disease. Just because you’re not sick enough to need medical help doesn’t mean you are bursting with vitality or happiness. In between sickness and optimal health is a vast middle ground that the majority of us inhabit. How do you evaluate where you sit on that scale? One tried and tested way it to take the Wellbeing Test (WHO -5), developed by the World Health Organization in 1998. It’s a quick and simple way to check your wellbeing status. To take the quiz, simply rate your response, to the follow five que ..read more

In the fast-paced world we live in, where stress and anxiety are commonplace, finding effective tools for self-regulation and moving into the parasympathetic (Rest and Digest) nervous system is crucial. If you are perimenopausal, anxiety can also be a symptom. As a counsellor, I understand the impact of anxiety on mental well-being, and one powerful approach to foster self-regulation is Mindfulness. Mindfulness, rooted in ancient contemplative practices, has gained significant recognition in recent years for its positive impact on mental health. This transformative practice involves paying att ..read more

Pain can arise in the body as a ‘somatization’ of something that is purely psychological just as much as it can represent physical injury or inflammation. Somatisation simply means experiencing psychological distress in the form of physical symptoms. Somatic therapy requires an awareness of what is going on inside the body, meaning the physiological cues in response to a trigger or the physiological reactions we have throughout the day, such as headaches or stomach aches, or muscle tension. When we have a traumatic experience, it gets stored on a cellular level. Some might be aware of a best ..read more

When the world is quite literally on fire, you’re facing threats outside of your control or you’re overwhelmed with the heaviness of it all, these mindful somatic practices can help you regain connection with your authentic self and access a moment of peace and nervous system regulation: * 1 - Coregulation, if the warm and loving embrace of another is available lean into it-and this counts for pets too! As a social species we’re wired to entrain with other nervous systems. Share the love. 2 - If you don’t have another to lean into or on, wrap your arms around yourself, squeeze your upper arms ..read more

Welcome to the end of Spring! Appropriately enough, I’ve been seeing more babies in clinic recently. It’s not something that everyone thinks of in relation to osteopathy, but treating babies is definitely part of what we do as do osteopaths. Babies frequently come in with feeding issues, for example if they’ve been referred following a tongue tie release. An osteopath can help to release any tight muscles around the jaw and neck associated with the tongue tie, which allows the baby to open up its mouth more fully and achieve a better latch. As part of feeding, babies also need to coordinate br ..read more

Could something as simple as exposure to light hold the key to protecting us from depression and anxiety and safeguard our mental health? The findings of a major recent study suggest it does. Messing With Your Circadian Rhythm First, let’s recap how our body reacts to light. Cells in our brain respond to light or dark in our environment by triggering hormonal changes. These hormonal signals activate a cascade of reactions in our body which affects almost every system in the body including the body’s temperature, our metabolism and whether we stay alert or wind down in preparation for sleep. W ..read more

Spring has arrived and with it we can feel the change of seasonal energy. The days are getting longer and the sun is getting warmer, thank goodness! According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), spring is a time of upward and expansive movement of energy, of creativity, of planning and change. Nature expresses this in the new growth in the garden, the buds and blossoms on the trees and the first blooms of spring. In Chinese medicine we aim to keep healthy by aligning ourselves, including our behaviours, actions and attitudes with the seasons. While winter was a time to conserve energy and ..read more