Baby massage

Ayurvedic baby massage

Massage is a most wonderful gift you can give to babies. It is a profound way of communicating, of telling them how much you love them. Touch is a fundamental need of infants (and also of bigger children and adults!). Experience and research shows that babies who are lovingly touched often are happier, grow better, and are healthier.

Babies can be massaged just about anytime (except perhaps when they are hungry or full). Ideal times are after bath and before sleep. more…

Stressed digestion this Christmas?

Now we are a few days into Christmas, how many of you are starting to feel a little sluggish and foggy? This is a sign of stressed digestion and buildup of toxins – the slippery slope to eating badly and feeling worse if you don’t manage the situation.

Here are 5 tips to help you keep on top of festive eating, and keeping your weight in balance:

1. Avoid starchy carbs and sugars

Stick with the turkey and brussels sprouts and avoid the potatoes. For vegetarians, keep to the nut roast and veggies;, and avoid the rice, pasta and bread.

Minimise the chocolates, desserts and Christmas pudding. This is usually what tips you over into feeling awful and heavy at the end of a meal.

Starchy refined carbs and sugars push your insulin levels into overdrive, causing weight imbalance and other metabolic disorders.

2. Work up a hunger before eating

Avoid snacking and eating when not hungry. Dumping fresh food over partly-digested food in your stomach results in improperly-processed food which clogs the system.

Avoid long-drawn meals that last hours, as they have the same effect.

3. Eat at a moderate pace – till half full

Avoid eating too slowly (see above), and eating too fast. Your body needs time to register that it has had enough food. This is usually when you feel satisfied – and not when you feel stuffed!

Give the stomach some space for digestion to work effectively, and you won’t feel so heavy and bloated.

4. Have good drinking habits

Think of your digestion as a fire – would you keep pouring buckets of cold water over it? No!

Avoid cold drinks – especially during and just after meals. Instead sip warm to hot water through the day – this will stimulate digestion and detoxification.

First thing in the morning, squeeze half a lemon into a big glass of warm, filtered water and drink. This will neutralize the previous night’s excesses, alkalize the body, and flush the digestive system.

If you’ve had too much alcohol in the evening, rehydrate with warm water before going to bed.

5. Rest your digestion

Take a few days off the eating spree to give your digestion a rest. Have home-made veggie soups, drink juices and herbal teas, and generally eat only very digestible and simple foods. After the festive season, you can do this once a month to maintain optimum digestion.

So there you are! Here’s to your excellent digestion! My very best wishes for a New Year of great health and happiness!

Best regards,

Gerald.

(This is an extract from an email in response to a question from holistic medical doctor Dr.Tessa Jones – “What is a healthy breast?” My reply was to the founder members of the New Zealand Breast Health Foundation.) more…

Love your breasts

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is here again, and there is the usual talk of early detection and of finding the “cure” around the corner, but no mention of preventing the dreaded epidemic — an absurd and cruel philosophy that fails humanity by focusing on closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

By focusing on disease, we create anxiety and fear, which itself creates disease by causing stress and disarming the immune system. Instead, by focusing on health, women can move from a position of fear to a position of empowerment.

For the benefit of our beloved womenfolk, I now share vital (from the Latin vitalis “of or belonging to life”) information on staying healthy. more…

There is a wealth of information on what we should eat to stay healthy — Today, I shall talk about a subject that goes unmentioned in the health circles: How we eat, and how our eating habits affect our health.

The Art of Eating

Have you ever wondered why some people may eat all the “right” food but still get sick? Whilst some eat “wrong” food but remain healthy?

Part of the solution may be due to HOW they eat. more…

Stress is a natural condition of life – any change in our external or internal environment creates a need for the body to balance the effects of that change.

Stress creates the opportunity for growth – physically and mentally. The important point is that periods of stress must be followed by periods of recovery for growth to occur – otherwise, instead, there is damage or burnout. This is the principle that is used in world-class athletic training – and can be applied to all aspects of life. more…

People have been having colds and influenza (flus) since the beginning of Time (and remember, Time was invented by humans!). Epidemics started not long after, and flu pandemics now occur every year.

The main distinguishing features between cold and flu symptoms, are that flus are often accompanied by muscle aches and high temperatures. Flu in addition tends to infect the lungs and cause  more malaise (feeling “under the weather”). more…

Copyright AmUnivers

Natural health is all about understanding the influences around you – your foods, local geography and climate, the seasons; and even the clothes and gemstones you wear, and the positions of the planets and stars!

The seasons of Spring and Autumn represent major shifts in energy – Spring being the time of renewed vigour and the rising sap; and Autumn the time of slowing down, of withdrawing for hibernation and rest. In traditional societies, Autumn is the time of the final harvests; processing and storing foods; and preparing for the short days and cold, dark nights of Winter. more…

Turmeric is a root that is often used in East Asian cooking, and is now being recognised as a herb brimming with health-giving and health-restoring properties. It is called haldi in Hindi, haridra in Sanskrit and goes by the botanical name of Curcuma longa. more…

The easiest way to make lasting positive changes in your life is to have a daily routine. This provides a structure for your health improvement plan. Daily routines have been recommended by ayurvedic texts for over 2,000 years! I have taken some of these recommendations, and modified them to our modern needs and resources. Commit to doing your routine for 40 days, and it will become a habit. more…