I've just put the finishing touches to my Summer Nurture Journal which you can now purchase from my Resources page to support your health journey.  In light of the fear and anxiety that the Covid-19 situation has brought to the surface I decided to create a personal health journal to support you to build your immune system.  I've made it seasonal because it helps us to get back into a rhythm which is one of the ways we feel 'safe'.  The rhythm of nature is part of our external guidance system, like the rising and setting of the sun.

When we eat food that is seasonal we are eating the nutrients provided by Mother Earth (Gaia) to support us in that season.  Before we had a choice, we had no choice.  Some indigenous tribes and those who live by the land (in small rural towns across the world) do just that.  Many a Summer I've spent in the medieval town of Pontremoli in northern Tuscany where the seasons matter and they live by the earth guided rythm when it comes to food.  Those who live in the countryside and mountains outside of the town all have an 'orto' (veg patch) and all follow the traditions of their forbears when it comes to food.  They are blessed to be able to pick their fruit or or dig up veg in the moment which makes it the freshest and most beneficial for your health and wellbeing.

Over recent months, the importance of food availability, has been starkly highlighted as supermarkets struggled to meet demand, with empty shelves and rationing of staples came into being.  A situation unknown and not experienced by many of today's generations.  Our human created food supply chain and the problems that the Covid-19 situation highlighted was a gift.  Who knew there was a 'hungry gap'?  A time from Jan to May during which there is little or no fresh produce available from the land in the UK.  That means we rely on imports from abroad and that made it tricky on many counts.

Thankfully Summer is the season of bounty in terms of fresh produce and we have the opportunity to indulge in and appreciate the jewels that the season has to offer us:  all types of berries and cherries, tomatoes, greens and beans.  In traditional cultures, much of this prosuce is abundant and to prepare for the forthcoming 'hungry gap' people have numerous innovative ways of preserving these amazing food to tide them over.    One of these methods is fermenting vegetables or making 'sauerkraut'.  This is perfect food for your gut and supports your body in the cooler months when your immune system needs to be at its strongest.  

There are so many ways to lay down the foundations of a strong immune system during the Summer season.  It's actually the best time to do it.  Autumn and Winter are the times to focus on nourishing the foundations you have already laid,  so check out my Summer Nurture Journal on my Resources page to get a head start.

One perspective about the animal kingdom, including homo sapiens, is that we are either in 'survive' mode or 'thrive' mode.  Both are fundamental and we are designed to see-saw back and forth easily between the two.  However, we can (and often do) get in this get stuck in survive mode for various reasons and this has a negative impact on our health and wellbeing.

In the current situation, I’d offer that many of us are in 'survive' mode reading how stressed, scared or angry some people are on their social media posts.  It seems there is much individual and collective grieving, fear, stress, anger and confusion.  In the uncertainty of the current and future moments, these feelings are perfectly normal.  This ongoing rollercoaster of emotions is our body's way of telling us that we don't feel 'safe' so we go into survival mode.  Many of our familiar security blankets have been unexpectedly taken away - job security, food security, physical touch, social gatherings, religious meetings - and that can feel like it is all too much.  Our human response to events or situations that feel overwhelming and outside of our control is to ‘survive’ rather than to ‘thrive’.  When we find ourselves in this tense, contracted state I’d offer it’s an idea to practice self care, self compassion and a gentle, gentle approach.   

Self-regulation is meant to be learned in childhood (although sometimes we are still learning it in our adult years).  It is the ability to recognise your feeling(s) in any given moment, maybe name it or locate it in your body and being ok with it or knowing how to be with it until it passes, which it will.  Emotions are ‘energy in motion’, so they’re passing through, guests at our table, a gift from deep within to help us grow and learn to be the best version of ourselves. 

People often come to see me with feelings of anxiety, overwhelm, anger, fear or a general sense of not being at ease.  We work together on how our body responds to its internal signals (racing heart, breathlessness, butterflies in tummy) and external environment.  We explore why it’s common for us to get stuck in one of these states which can negatively impact our lives and relationships with our loved ones.  We play with  different tools, tips, tricks and life hacks that they can use to calm their brain (mind chatter, constant worrying disaster scenario planning etc) and their body’s responses (physiology).  TRE (tension and stress release exercises) is just one of the many tools I offer to people in individual sessions to move from ‘survive’ to ‘thrive’.   

I’ve opened up extra individual sessions (for stress and tension release (including TRE) nutritional advice on weekdays and Saturday mornings.  Get in touch if you’d like some support to move from ‘survive’ to ‘thrive’’.

Weekly group TRE sessions for experienced shakers and monthly gong meditations are running as normal - albeit online.  

Register your interest for a beginners TRE group session.

Seasonal plants harvested from their natural, organic living space preferred.

You really know where your food comes from when you grow it yourself, pick it yourself (at a PYO or farm where it was grown), order a veg box or forage for it.  

Foods eaten in season are made for the earth and her inhabitants - the perfect medicine at the perfect time.  It makes it fresher than shop bought - imagine farm to table times for 'fresh' shop produce vs. the above. 

This also means it is  higher in nutrient value - a gift for your body and all its 37 trillion cells.  You're worth it and your health status will reward you abundantly for your investment and wisdom.

Wild garlic is so in at the moment - not only in season, but in people's minds and across their social media pages.  Due to the struggling food supply chain in the big supermarkets in the Western world, more and more of us are turning to veg boxes. These are gifting us with hitherto unknown or disliked vegetable offerings and turning some {insert veg of your choice} haters into lovers.    Wild garlic is one of these and the recipe 'du jour', in the UK at least, seems to be this one.   It has a short season - late Winter to late Spring, so get foraging before it all flowers and then disappears back into the ground.

Wild garlic is on of my favourite spring time foods ever, a gift from nature and I was beyond excited when I found some this week on my foraging foray.  It's delicious in pesto, soups, smoothies or salads and the scones recipe above.

From a health perspective it is antibacterial, antibiotic and antiviral, as most parts of the allium family, and supports the cardiovascular system.   It is a powerhouse of minerals containing vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, phosphorus, sodium and copper.  

I'll be sharing more wild foraging tips as the season, and my experience, progresses this year.