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Trusting your Instincts and how it can help you find your path to health.

As a new parent you’re bombarded with information and advice about the ‘best’ way or the ‘right’ way of looking after your child.

But what do you do if that advice conflicts with your instincts? What do you do, if you know in your gut, that following all the ‘good’ advice is not what’s best for your family?

Society seems to want to condition us to conform to a ‘normal’ way of parenting, a ‘normal’ way of eating and a ‘normal’ way of thinking. But how can we be normal when everyone has their own brand of ‘normal’.

You need to feel confident in trusting your instincts, even if your instincts lead you beyond what you already know.

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For me, I learned the value of trusting my instincts in finding the path to better health, nutrition and wellbeing when I began to look for answers to ease physical, behavioral and digestive symptoms being experienced by our then-toddler son William, who was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at aged two years old.

In those early days I had applied my own brand of ‘normal’ to transitioning William to solid food, and I was quite certain I had it right. After all, I had worked in the organic food industry, food was my passion and being healthy was a conscious goal.

But, as I applied my knowledge to feeding my child, my gut, my instinct as a mother, told me that something was not right.

I had always fed William organic home-cooked foods that I thought to be healthy but the more I read and saw others’ journeys, the more I realised that was far from what I was doing. At one point he was eating three or four safe foods and a carrot or tomato was causing him skin reactions, tummy pain, behavioral issues and sleepless night. How could this be!

Instinctively I knew that there were more answers to be found.

So we followed our instincts and started working with a Biomedical Doctor who guided us thorough the midfield that is food sensitivity, intolerances and food allergies. We used supplements to build up what his body was lacking. And the results were clear, our gut instincts had taken us on the right path and we were beginning to see results.

That’s when we moved from working instinctively to purposefully seeking answers.

Soon we came across the GAPS Diet and, after the initial hard Intro stage and changing our mindset about grains and dairy and lots of detox, we started seeing massive improvements cognitively and behaviorally with William, and our younger son Edward.

Our instincts were right. Our instincts have taken us down the right path for now and have led to happier, healthier life for my family, and a way of eating that has seen William’s stress levels within his body ease, giving him the space to make the most of early childhood intervention therapies. But then my instincts kicked in again and I could see this Gaps Diet was masking and suppressing not healing and very against my ethical view asa vegan and wanting my family to be vegan to. So we started searching and I went on as many Nutrition courses studying over 100 diets and cultures,  and we found the RAW Vegan- high carb, low fat way of eating based upon the 80 10 10 philosophy from Dr Dough Graham. This lifestyle took us to further healing and to a lifestyle we adore and that fills us with joy and is easy and fun. I have then studied Natural Hygienics which is based upon the work from Dr Herbert Shelton this is a true understanding of what the body needs from a physical, mental and energetic level and be cohesive to the planet. My instincts also showed me the path away from mainstream schooling to our blessed Steiner School where the boys can be held and celebrated for all there quirks differences and needs.

But best of all, easing the stress within William has given him the opportunity to see beyond the anxiety that autism brings, and has made him calmer so he can now embrace emotionally family, friends and is thriving at school. All of this from a boy, who we were told would never feel empathy, be social or be able to love. We are blessed and my instincts led us there . . .

Thank goodness I trusted my instincts!

If you need help to start this path to health for your children please contact me for a consultation in your mindset and how to get your family started on this natural lifestyle.

hannah@nourishtohealth.com.au

0414967763

Mediation and Breathing techniques for beginners!

My journey with meditation and the power of mindset began about 5 years ago when I needed techniques and changes in my life to cope with health issues and the health of my children. I saw very quickly how strong being mindful was and how I can overcome physical conditions with just my mind. I use mindfulness and mediation in each and every day and today I have a strong sexy brain!

Mediation is one of the biggest tools in my healing and our family’s healing and that I now bring to my clients as it is the key to bring all their health goals together. The science of this ancient art form is that breathing deeply and slowly through your belly helps the vagus nerve (running from the neck down through the diaphragm) to send a signal to your brain to turn up your parasympathetic nervous system i.e. (relax and repair) and turn down your sympathetic nervous system i.e. (fight or flight).

A good breath practice to start with is:

  • Breath in for 3 seconds
  • Hold the breath for 5 seconds
  • Breath out for 5 seconds
  • And repeat for as long as you can.

This breath work can be increased to 5 seconds and 8 seconds when you have become comfortable with the first stage.

What ever way works for you be it, Mickle Therapy, Theta Healing, Mediation Apps, Yoga, Meditation, chanting, reading healing self help books like ‘The Power Of Now’ or walking in nature. Finding your key to unlocking your spiritual practice and calming your ‘chattery’ mind, breathing deeply and calmly will help every aspect of your life.

What is spirituality?

My interoperation is that you become aware that you are your body, mind and energetic body, and that they are all connected and that we are connected to each life force in the universe. And that we are all made from the same atoms and molecules or “star dust” and that nothing happens without a reason as we make out won destiny! it can have everything or nothing to do with religion . . .mediation can help you see and feel this.

A few ticks I have been taught along the way and things I’ve found that help me are:

When you meditate it’s not about having a blank mind with no thoughts, more when a thought arises and it will. Don’t pay it any attention just let it drift through your mind or sweep it away. When you pay attention to thoughts aniexty arises as you live in the future or dwell on the past. Over time your thoughts will be less crowded and you’ll let them pass without any attention. If you can hold a positive clear thought for 17 seconds another positive thought will join it and you will feel happier very quickly. The same goes for a negative thought and downward spirals . . .

Finding time for mediation practice can be hard and I’ve learnt not to make it perfect. It’s better to learn this practice in the noise of work, kids, a play ground or whilst the kids are screaming and running around, learn to be mindful in each day. For a long time I sort perfection to be able to mediate the cables and chants and the incenses . . . ha well that never happened. There will always be noise distractions and “life” Mediation is just to be aware of your body, breath and thoughts. It does not need to be hard . . .stop over thinking it!

Practising in a perfect calm yoga studios or mediation rooms has it’s place and is brilliant for healing and others who are in a higher vibration to you can help lift you up, but if you cannot keep that practice space up once your at home you loose that feeling and get despondent. Which stops mindful-living and being present from becoming a daily life choice.

Instead learn to breath and calm you mind with all that is around you and your practice will be stronger.

I few places I like to mediate or concentrate on my breath are:
mediate in the car before school pick up.
Breath deeply and slowly at the traffic lights.
Lying on the floor while the kids watch movies and meditate.
In the garden even when the kids are screaming and attacking each other with water finding a space to sit with my breath.
Putting on an App just before bed or in the bath.

Raising my legs up the wall and being still is the latest way to get out of my head!

Mediation can be done whilst walking or running or cycling too. Anything that allows your mind to be calm and thoughts to drift in and out without giving them any momentum or power. To walk slowly in the grass noticing the feel on your feet and the sounds and the air on your face can be just powerful as chanting in a circle with enlightened hippies! -I can say that am a chanting hippie at heart hahah!

I hope these tips help you see you can strengthen you practice anywhere at any time.

Blessings in your day and let me know if these techniques helped you x x

The Hairdresser that lost her hair . . .

As an ex Hairdresser and trained Tricholgist, when I started to loose my hair and my eyebrows I was so alarmed and it caused me massive self esteem issues. I’d always had thick curly hair and most of my life I wished for thinner hair and spent hours straightening and flattening it so it wasn’t so big. Suddenly I was adding volume and putting rollers in to to make it seem big . . .

At the same time I and lost a lot of weight and was very malnutritioned due to by body failing me with Hypothyroidism, Adrenal Fatigue and Mast Cell Disease so it was not a surprise.

But recently as I’m returning to health my weight is equalising,  my body and cells are healthy so my hair has started growing thick and strong and my eye brows are there!!

It made me want to share with you all why this happens and how you can stop or prevent it if it’s happening to you. It can range from the simple and temporary issue like a vitamin deficiency, to the more complex like an underlying health condition.

Firstly I think the best way to look at it is your blood carries nutrients to each cell in your body, and if your under stress or have inflammation the body concentrates on the vital organs and fighting inflammation. So the hair, skin and nails are not as import and and tend to be the first thing the suffer. Which is why ladies when you are pregnant your blood supple increases and you have thick luscious hair and your nails grow like crazy and then you have baby and the body goes into repair and feeding mode and your hair nails and skin suffer. It’s not far I know . . .

Your hair goes through life cycles too and will not always be the same, for example hair has a programmed life cycle, a growth phase, rest phase and shedding phase. It also sheds more in the Autumn/Winter again due to the blood supple, and as does your skin loose more layers. But if outside of these normal stages you are thinning and its not normal you may want to look at the following to see if you have an underlying issue that may be causing your hair loss.

  • Thyroid Function (Hypothyroidism or Hyperthyroidism: Hair, nails, and skin may become more brittle and break more easily if your thyroid is producing to many hormones or not enough hormones. 90% of hair loss in women is to do with their thyroid. A blood test will determine this and i’d advise that if your have more than a few symptoms of either Hypothyroidism or Hyperthyroidism, but your test result come back in the ‘normal range’ to take them to a Naturopath as you can be out of range but still have issues.
  • Iron Levels: Women who have heavy periods or don’t eat enough iron-rich foods may be prone to iron deficiency especially after child birth. This is because the blood doesn’t have enough red blood cells and red blood cells transport oxygen to cells throughout your body, giving you the energy you need which is why it can cause extreme fatigue, weakness, and pale skin. You may also notice headaches, difficulty concentrating, cold hands and feet, and hair loss.  Ask you Doctor for a blood test to measure ferritin, the protein that stores iron in your body, is usually needed to diagnose iron-deficiency anaemia. By eating iron-rich foods such as beef, pork, fish, leafy greens preferably, along with foods rich in vitamin C, which enhances iron absorption. And steering clear of food that prohibit iron being absorbed like dairy, alcohol, coffee and black tea, soy, and eggs (not to say you can’t eat these but just don’t pare them with iron rich foods have them as stand alone foods.)
  • Inflammation: Inflammation on the body can cause each cell to be under stress and causes scalp and skin issues like seborrheic dermatitis (dandruff), psoriasis fungal infections. By healing your gut you will reduce inflammation in the body and repair your scalp and skin. See my post of healing Leaky Guts.
  • Iodine, zinc and magnesuim levels: The thyroid gland relies on iodine to make the hormones necessary for the growth of healthy hair, teeth and bones. When we are deficient in these nutrients, such as iodine, magnesium and zinc the health of our hair can suffer, leading to hair weakness or total hair loss. Taking a safe nascent iodine supplement recommended by your Naturopath or Doctor and eating iodine and zinc rich foods may boost hair health and growth, and may event prevent or reverse hair loss. it has been a massive help to me.
  • Fat Malabsorption: If your bodies not absorbing important nutrients and fluids like proteins, carbohydrates and espically fats your skin and hair will suffer. The problem may be caused by inflammation or an auto-immune disease. Sometimes, the condition may be the result of the body’s failure to produce enzymes needed to digest some foods and taking digestive enzymes can help along with healing the gut lining. Talking to your doctor about taking a stool test to see if this is happening is the best choice here.
  • Your diet: plays a massive part, and of course if you are not putting the good stuff in your body will not be able to function and your hair will suffer. A diet rich in greens, protein and good healthy fats is essential for good hair growth. Supplementing with iodine, magnesium, grass fed collagen and MSM will help boost hair and nail growth.
  • Low B vitamins but high vitamin A: A deficiency or excess of any vitamin will upset the balance of the body but vitamin B-12 plays a big role in many parts of the body, including the liver, eyes, skin and hair. One possible symptom of vitamin B-12 deficiency is hair loss, because cells need to divide constantly to produce new hair, a process that requires production of new DNA. Without enough B-12, hair grow slows or stops and existing hair starts to fall out. Hair loss that is accompanied by symptoms of malnutrition and gastrointestinal disorders should be checked for deficiencies of several vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B-12. On the flip side to much synthetic vitamin A can cause hair loos too.
  • Stress: Any kind of physical trauma, surgery, a car accident, emotional stress or trauma or a severe illness, even the flu can cause temporary hair loss. This can trigger a type of hair loss called telogen effluvium. as I said hair has a programmed life cycle, a growth phase, rest phase and shedding phase. When you have a really stressful event, it can shock the hair cycle, (pushing) more hair into the shedding phase. Hair loss often becomes noticeable 3-6 months after the trauma. Which is why mothers loose hair 3-6 months after giving birth. But if this is your case your hair will go full cycle and grow back to be thick again. Mediation and self care will help balance your life and allow your body to equalise and repair.

If your hair is failing out your body is not nourished and is in need of proper nutrition. Part of the detoxification stage you may also loose hair and this is normal as your body sheds and rebuilds, it will regrow as mine did. Please contact me and I can guide you through changing your health!

 

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What is a ‘Health Coach’ and how can they help you achieve your goals?

If you have heard the term “Health Coaching,” or “Wellness Coaching” and find yourself wondering what a health coach does and how engaging health coach can help you, then this is the answer . . . Health Coaches support people to help them work towards un-achieved goals in all areas of life, they keep you moving forward not in the past talking over old hurts. Health coaching is different to life coaching which is often solely goals based and does not look at you holistically. It may be nutrition, career, overcoming autism or auto-immune conditions, finance, relationship, exercise and health or any other aspect of their life that they do not feel fulfilled in. It’s my belief that all aspects of your life have to be in balance for true happiness and healing to occur. If one aspect is out it can throw out the others I have tools and personal experience that helps you see this and we work through it together. How I do this is by guiding and creating an environment for you to be empowered to achieve small steps toward your goals. Anything is possible with the right mindset and a supporting guide!

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I work by empowering my clients to embark on this journey to health for themselves, for you to feel excited by Nutrition and see the importance of loving your body enough to fuel it correctly, and take charge of healing YOUR own body, mind and spirit. I teach you the skills to build your mindset with daily practices to become able to deal with any of life’s up’s and down’s and not need another person, place or thing to “fix” you.

Goals and lifestyle changes I can help with are:

  • to empower you to achieve your goals
  • to up-skill you
  • to show you ways that have worked for my family in healing
  • help you find a pathway to heal autism or and auto-immune conditions
  • to save you the 7 years of study and personal ups and downs I had
  • to build up your self esteem and teach you how to love yourself
  • to advise you on your bio-individual nutrition needs
  • to teach you how to use professionals to get results
  • to work alongside your doctor or naturopath to understand result and treatment options
  • to support your whole family and there health and work on getting everyone on board
  • to improve your self-management
  • to teach you how to stay motivated
  • to show you how to live mindfully and a chemical free lifestyle
  • to understand the reason or blockage of why your not where you want to be in life
  • to give you tools to improve your wellbeing
  • to be someone to talk too and someone who will listen un-judgmentally to you
  • to believe and encourage you
  • to have a positive body image just the way you are
  • to strengthen your mind
  • to be someone to make you work hard on your goals
  • to teach you how to incorporate meditation and mindfulness in to everyday busy life

But a Health Coach is not:

  • a shrink
  • a personal trainer
  • a gym teacher
  • a yoga instructor
  • someone telling you what to do
  • someone telling you what your goals should be
  • someone who will make magic happen without hard work from yourself
  • someone who know it all

Only YOU can heal your body. I am just guide to help you see your own power!

Bio-individuality is the most important key to health and wellness. We are not all the same and one lifestyle will not fit us all. This belief leads to despondency and disappointment when you try a diet or exercise and it does not give you the results you wanted. How I work at ‘Nourish To Health’ is to mentor you find your path and to work through your goals in a safe confidential way. I recommend Plant Based Nutritional science based diets, lifestyle choices and exercises that suit your needs at that given time. I work with you to emotionally unblock painful situations that could be causing you to keep failing in your goals and teach you how to plan realistic, manageable goals and achieve them over a time frame we plan together. I do not do the work for you but empower you to achieve them with me guiding you. If you choose to work with me I would take you on a journey to achieve your goals working closely with you on a one to one or via Skype.  I recommend working together between 3-6 months, as there is always highs and lows in a wellness journey and often you get despondent after an initial excitement and need to be encourage to stick to health goals. Weight loss, food intolerances, and depression or nutritional deficiencies take time to correct as does lifestyle changes that are needed to achieve these. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you achieve the health and wellness you deserve. Much love and successes on your health journey and I hope we get to work together when your ready.

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If you connect with my message and approach and feel I could help you on your health journey please email me today on hannah@nourishtohealth.com.au and we can arrange a free 20 minutes Skype consultation to see how we fit together and I will create a plan for you. I work globally via Skype 🌏

Please also join my ‘Detoxing Families – supporting ASD & Behaviours with Raw Foods’ private group too for more advice and a safe sound board to ask questions. https://www.facebook.com/groups/974279649338594/

Blessings and love on whatever path you are on, and what ever stage of the journey you are on . . . we all must start somewhere! 🦋

Hannah Miles

x x x

How your thoughts can heal your body.

Your mindset can heal your body beyond what food and supplements can do. It has taken me a long time to really connect to this thought but i have seen it over and over with clients. We often put a lot of effort into taking the right supplements, green juices and organic foods that is what our bodies need for fuel and to heal. But with every negative thought or judgment of yourself or others you counteract all that good work you’ve done. Don’t get me wrong eating junk and loving your self is not the road to health but eating well and not looking after your mind allowing ‘chatter’, doubt and self criticism that arises daily is not the answer either.

I use to think it was ok to talk to myself and beat myself up in my head. Tell myself I’m not pretty enough, slim enough, talented enough i’ve done it my whole life – hey we all do it, we are all stressed its normal right? . . . but it is not ok and we all do it and we all think the other person has an easier life clear of stress and negative thoughts. Well ladies we all have insecurities and we all think we are not good enough! WHY?

In my dream world we would all celebrate each other, support each other’s dreams and love our differences. We would not look at the girl across the street and think I wish I had her car or her hair or I wish my legs looked like hers or my job was as well paid full of envy and jealosy.

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But we have all heard this before right? Well did you know that every negative thought about you or someone else surges Cortisol through your body and it can take up to 1 hour to process that and disperse it out of the body. It uses up vital minerals and nutrients and stops your body using your fat cells for energy and it therefore runs off of glucose instead which is needed for healthy brain. Meaning it keeps you in that “fight or flight’ state we hear so much about. The mind looks to the past for happy memories to release happy hormones making the future an anxiety fueled place to be. So ladies don’t do it. Live in the now!

Stop that ’chatter’ in your head and stop the negative banter and worry especially what others think of you. Live from your heart not your head, be truthful to yourself and your loved ones. We are all in a vulnerable state and need love. If you have someone in your life who judges you and does not give you what you need . . . maybe now is the time to shed yourself of him or her. You don’t need that in your life so only surround your self with those who make you feel great, support your life and when you come away from them feel secure in that relationship. You need to be surrounded by loved ones who get you without judgment and need things in return. It sound tough but in the long run of your life it is best for you.

Choosing your mindset is as easy as dropping guilt for an action you did in the past – hey you can’t change it and you can’t re-do it, so let it go . . . . I personally held that over myself for years, flogging myself with guilt, self hate, blame and hating the decisions I’d made. But at the time I just did my best with what knowledge I had. A big part of my healing was to forgive others and myself and ‘let it go!’

You choose your actions, mindset and path not your parents, lovers or friends so stop blaming them for your life. Yes others actions and your environment may have influenced you, but you have the choice of how you act or respond to life situations. You can either turn a bad situation in to a positive or let that toxic situation eat you up and make you unwell. Been there done that – no thanks!

When William was diagnosed I fell in to deep depression after struggling to cope for 2 years it was enough to break me. After hitting rock bottom and I mean rock bottom, with the amazing support of my husband a few great friends I worked my way back up and saw all the positives that can come out of out of our new life path. Like a chance to learn and grow and change, to clean up our lives from chemicals and toxins, eat cleanly, live within our means with joy and simplicity. Not to take material things for granted and to stop climbing ladders and striving for goals that are unreachable and unimportant and to share my journey and help others. I had to go through an element of grieving for the life I thought I’d have but now every decision we make or step we take we ask ourselves is this best for the boys our family and in line with our values. This has led us to set up our businesses and we have met some truly beautiful friends on our journey to health who have shown us what’s important.

We are told often to ‘let it go’ and my dearest girl friend and I often laugh at what that means when you’re stressed, up to your eyeballs and exhausted. But over time we have both learnt it means to forgive ourselves, to be kind to ourselves and to let the small things, like a clean floor or perfect makeup or being on time go. These things are all surface things. The true importance is love, health and wellness of mind and compassion for each and every person. The rest you can ‘let go’ really you can let it go and that comes from a control freak with OCD for a clean house haha, you should see my house now!

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A few things that have helped me and still help when I fall off the mindset train of living from love and when I go back to my head and live in fear and with ‘chatter’ are:

Mediation: there is a common misbelief that to meditate you must have a totally blank mind. If you can achieve that, then that’s amazing. But you still get the benefits if you just slow down . . . breath deep belly breaths -In from your nose belly expand and out from your nose belly falls. Even 10 deep breaths will calm your nervous system down. If you find clearing your mind difficult focus on one thing like a candle flame or a tree and hold that thought for a long as you can. If stuff enters your mind sweep it away with a big brush and start again. Laugh at your thoughts and keep trying. Your ego wants to be “chatting” all the time. Don’t let it take over who you are. We use apps on our smart phones to start our mediation off each evening and they are handy if you are in the car before school pick up or a big work meeting. Yoga can help with this too and walking in nature daily.

Mickel Therapy: which is talking based therapy about taking action when an emotion arises and moving through it fast to clear you physical symptoms.

www.mickeltherapy.com/what-is-mickel-therapy/

Homeopathy: which works on lowering your level of stress building your nervous system and supporting you whilst you heal. I have used Dhanvanatari Collage and also more recently Michael Higginson in Geelong to support me.

http://www.geelonghomeopathic.com.au/about.html

http://dhanvantaricollegeofhomeopathy.com.au

A gratitude diary: I write 3 things I am grateful for each night in my phone. This helps me see the positives in the day, even if there were more negatives. So that last thing I think about are positives. We do this with the boys each night too, we talk about their day and pick 3 great things that happened and not dwell on what they may have done wrong or if they were upset.

Debt Clearing: no matter how hard it is if there is something upsetting me or someone had said something that has hurt my feelings I clear the debt by talking it through and not going to bed on it. This means setting boundaries and protecting myself first. It does not mean confrontation or stomping back in to a shop because someone was rude to me. Just simple clearing the air so it does not fester and become a physical symptom.

Happy list: each week I look at my dairy and decide if the tasks in it are + or – and if I have more – than + I plan a trip to the movies, yoga or catch up with a friends or get my nails done to balance up the week. This is putting joy into my life. Making sure I don’t get bogged down with the task of mother hood and running a house or running a business and not going without joy and fun for my being. Its unrealistic to think I can spend my time just in the + zone but if I have a few to look forward to it keeps me from feeling a lack of joy. The body is amazing it likes joy and fun and if it doesn’t get enough it makes you go back in the mind to find it. So feed it joy and fun and show it love and it will keep you in the now and physically strong.

So . . .

When you feel you’re self ‘chatting’ in your head STOP be aware – take action – and practice – clear your mind and start again.

When you have a week of – plan some + joy and fun!

Write down your gratitude list each evening.

Debt clear every night and set boundaries so your not being hurt.

Put yourself first and remember to love yourself and do your self care daily be that a new nail polish, a cup of tea in peace or a day in a spa to unwind or talking to your best friend.

As woman we put our children, partners or bosses first . . . please stop that we come first!

I find as i’m a visual learner I write positive athermations on my walls, mirrors and on postie notes in my car and keep them on my phone to remind me how to think and act. If you are a kinetic learner maybe you could listen to self help books. Find what works for you. . . and roll with it!

The only person that can heal you is YOU! The only person that can truly make you happy is YOU!

Choose to be happy and to live in the now, not the past or future, as that is where anxiety and fear is bred from.

Namaste beautiful ladies x x x