Total Mind and Body Wellness

IT'S now properly SPRING! As I drive along the roads I can see the hedgerows greening up, blossom in the trees and shrubs, it's that wonderful sign of life that we have all been looking out for all winter, that hope of long light sunny days and lots of natural vitamin D! WITH every season change comes new challenges, ones that you want and the ones you are not so keen on. SO what do I mean by Spring challenges then? I am talking about setting yourself some challenges, I'm not on about battling hayfever or getting the grass cut, it's time to set a challenge to yourself to improve your health and wellness. A season change is always a good time for a new start. MAYBE you have been thinking about stopping smoking, quitting alcohol, cutting down on processed foods and sugar? Maybe even doing a 5km run or starting up at an exercise class or gym? It is now time to start on that challenge, no excuses! THE tools you need for a new challenge are as follows...... YOU need an achie...

I work very very hard, and always have done. I started work doing a local paper round, the weekend herald, you got a free rape alarm when you took on a round, it was the 1980's, there seemed to be a lot of raping in those days! I heaved my big bag of papers around, actually, I had one of those old lady shopping baskets on wheels for this purpose, and every household in Meadvale, the village where I grew up, had one delivered, even the abandoned spooky house near to the common. There must have been a stack of them by the time the house was eventually demolished, but as a curious child, I always wanted to go down there and peer through the windows. However, I digress..... MY second ever job was at a local hair salon, 'SOMERSETS' I saw that it was opening and put a note through the door to see if I could get a job there, if you don't ask eh? Well, Maggie got in touch with me and I worked there off and on for years, even baby-sitting her son James on occasions too. Maggie w...

HOW many times have you been poorly, got better and thought nothing of it, unless of course that illness was really bad? MOST of us get a cold or a bit of a headache, get better and get on with our lives, but for some, living with a debilitating recurrent illness can really get you down, but on the plus side, you really make the most of those 'well' times. LAST week I was suffering at the hands of my gut again. I have diverticular disease, following two separate lots of salmonella poisoning. I have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) because of this and it basically wrecked my colon! Two sections of it. I control my IBS with diet, mainly eating the low FODMAP diet, eliminating anything that will cause my gut irritation, but very occasionally something will get 'stuck in a pocket' in my colon and cause me great pain and discomfort, and many days stuck in the toilet! LAST week was such a time, I was really ill from Wednesday right through until Sunday, when I was actually able...