Yoga, Foraging & a Homeopathic First Aid Kit for Summer
After the Summer Equinox on the 21st, I bid you a wonderful summer, which let’s be honest, felt like it started in Spring! I am so grateful for this abundant time of the year - watching my garden bloom and the bees feed from the flowers I nurture.
International Yoga Day coincided with the equinox and to mark the occasion I’ve written about the freedom of yoga, below. I’ve been practising yoga regularly for 25 years, half my life and I am so grateful for it shaping the way I live my life.
We’re now midway through the year which brings us to the astrological sign of Cancer, the brave crab and the associated tissue salt Calc. Fluor. with its supportive action on muscles, ligaments as well as teeth.
With family holidays starting as school comes to an end, I wanted to highlight some homeopathic remedies for accidents as well as the bespoke kits I make for families to take on holiday in case of bee stings, insect bites, sunburn and travel sickness. Recently I was making use of the brilliant remedy Apis Mel, for mosquito bites, and I had a feeling like I had come full circle as it was the first homeopathic remedy that got me hooked - it worked!
"Homeopathy is wholly capable of satisfying the therapeutic demands of this age better than any other system or school of medicine."
Charles Frederick Menninger, MD
With an attitude of gratitude and abundance, I have been foraging stinging nettles from my garden as I deliberately let them get overgrown and wild this year. I’ll tell you why they are good to eat/drink below so go grab a cup of nettle tea and enjoy this month’s newsletter.
Here’s to your good health!
Warmly, Mia
Amelia Coutisson RSoH
MUSHROOM GUMMIES
This month I bring you another mushroom discount code, this time for Variety Mode, whose gummies I really enjoy for their prebiotic and energy benefits.
My family and I love these; a blend of 4 mushrooms containing cordyceps, reishi, chaga, lions mane - they came in useful for exam time, travel, and deadlines. Plus, they are delicious, sugar free cherry flavour gummies. Taking mushrooms in this way supports your gut microbiome and therefore immunity so mushrooms are also good for children. Try and eat mushrooms 3 times a week too!
Like Hifas, Variety Mode tests their mushrooms for traces of heavy metals and consistency. They grow their own mushrooms and extract from fruiting bodies (instead of cheaper and faster mycelium extraction). I like these gummies as they are affordable, so I subscribe to them monthly as we are all tucking into them. If you choose to buy one off or subscribe to them you can use my discount code below.
Worth noting, the ratios of the mushroom in 3 gummies:
Lions Mane Mushroom (from fruiting body 8:1 extract), Cordyceps Mushroom (from fruiting body 8:1 extract), Chaga Mushroom (from fruiting body 8:1 extract), Reishi Mushroom (from fruiting body 10:1 extract).
Didn’t order your Hifas da Terra mushrooms in time? Don’t worry here’s the code again for their award winning organic medicinal mushrooms HIFAS 10% discount Code: 9AMC3
Check out my fave Mushroom Gummies and type in discount code AMELIA35944 at check out.
THE FREEDOM OF YOGA
The word Yoga means Union, the union of body, mind and breath but it also means freedom - our freedom to unite with our Self, a life skill that is so important as we move through life’s ups and downs.
Did you know when we experience trauma we can experience dissociation? This means a separation from our body or parts of our body, or even disassociation from our friends and family. Men's Health Week in mid-June reminded me that dissociation impacts men too. Many men are taught to steer clear of conflict and confrontation, often at the expense of their own truth — pushing down intense emotions instead of expressing them.
But what remains unspoken doesn’t simply disappear; it tends to settle in the body, showing up as stress-related illness, fatigue, low libido, or anxiety. With regular yoga practice we can feel a sense of freedom from the trappings of thought, over thinking, worry, disassociation and move into a place of feeling grounded, connected and calm.
Yoga asana (postural movement) acts as a bridge to reconnect our central nervous system to our physical body. So if you’ve been feeling numb or like you’re not in your body, yoga gently brings awareness back to physical sensations through mindful movement and breath, helping you feel grounded and present. Breathwork, ‘pranayama’, used in yoga helps regulate our nervous system.
Since dissociation is often a sign of a freeze state, slow, conscious breathing can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, inviting safety back into the body. Through my regular practice I noticed my self awareness improved as the lines of communication through my body improved; balance, coordination, breath and my response to life improves in a wider sense.
Yoga gives us an opportunity to feel freedom from negative thought, pain, stiffness and limitations within our body and mind. What a gift yoga is! Do you feel a sense of freedom through your practice? What does yoga mean for you?
FORAGING FOR GOOD HEALTH
Urtica dioica, often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle or nettle leaf, are abundant in the UK.
Did you know you can eat the seeds, as well as make tea from the leaves? Stinging nettle tea, a staple in herbal medicine since ancient times, is made from young, really fresh nettle leaves, is not only incredibly nutritious but also really tasty, I think the tea tastes a bit like fig.
Stinging Nettle contains many nutrients like Vitamin A, C, and K, as well as several B vitamins. It also contains some minerals like Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, and Sodium. The seeds are beneficial because they are so nutrient rich. Nettle seeds are a good source of vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, and minerals iron, silicon, calcium, magnesium and essential fatty acids, making them a nutritious addition to the diet.
The list could go on... a Nettle's antioxidant properties may protect your liver against damage by toxins, heavy metals, and inflammation because this plant is adaptogenic, meaning the seeds may help the body adapt to various stressors and promote overall well-being. Nettle seeds are often used as a tonic for fatigue and adrenal exhaustion due to their acetylcholine, serotonin, and choline content. These compounds can improve mood, attention span, and help regulate sleep and appetite.So this is a good time to get outside and forage your way to supporting your liver and adrenals!
For those of you unable to get out and forage Urticaria is available in homeopathic potency as well as in a liquid tincture form, from health food shops - always choose organic.
Need liver support in your life? Get in touch
HOMEOPATHIC FIRST AID KIT
Last month I spoke about how homeopathy can help with acute injuries on holiday and as I’ve had a few orders for bespoke travel kits I wanted to expand on this with first aid.
Burns: Apis - burns with significant swelling, redness and pain, sunburn; Cantharis - more serious burns with great pain and a desire for cold applications; Urtica Urens - for minor burns that itch, good for scalds from boiling water
Muscle Aches and sprains: Rhus Tox (poison Ivy) is wonderful for aching, overused muscles and Ruta works deeper to support the tendons, cartilage and ligaments.
Ruta supports Rhus Tox, they work very well together.
Panic Attack: Aconite is excellent for calming our mind during a panic attack, I tend to prescribe a high potency to match the intensity of the situation. Aconite is wonderful to keep in your first aid kit in cases such as this.
Do you have a fear of flying? How about Nausea when travelling, or is it a fear of being out of control? The emotional aspect of travel sickness is relevant to us homeopaths as we treat you holistically. As I write this I am on a plane, at an altitude of 37,000 feet and sipping water containing a mix of homeopathic remedies to ease the onset of nausea which I’ve accompanied with Bach Flower Rescue pastilles (available in different flavours and in a handy tin). I can feel nauseous on arrival at the airport as I associate the smell of airport fuselage with nausea and I also struggle when the plane begins to descend, leaving me feeling queasy.
The emotional aspect of fear and loss of control is a big part of travel sickness which is addressed in my homeopathic combination of remedies. Travel sickness is debilitating yet once again it is a win for Homeopathy, enabling me to enjoy my holiday without the FEAR of travel sickness. This is the first time I have combined homeopathy and Bach flower remedy pastilles and it is working well for me.
