I’m sat in a beautiful sunny glade somewhere between Gatcombe, Wraxall and Failand, (in North Somerset), just a half hour walk from my home. The bird song is surround sound and pure delight. There’s a soft breeze and I can just about hear the running of the water in the stream. The sky is bright blue with fluffy white clouds, and I’m surrounded by tall ash, fully blossoming hawthorn and tons of buttercups!
I am so deeply at peace I could almost cry tears of joy. There were pretty heavy rains during the night that cleansed and nourished the land and droplets of water are still left on each blade of grass which glistens in the sunshine. Every now and then I hear the wind in the trees and when I look up it’s like a wave passing through tickling the leaves into laughter. Looking downwards there are deep red mole hills and looking upwards a slightly terrifying rather large swarm of bees has just flown right over me, thankfully without stopping. Likely off to the incredible amount of comfrey around here in full pinky-bluey-purpley bloom.
My barefoot shoes are drenched from walking overgrown paths of comfrey, nettle and cow parsley. Just a moment ago I actually squeezed the water out of my socks! I’ve striped off down to pants and vest. Those of you who know me well are aware of my many layers, and I’m referring to clothes in this instance. Since having children I’ve layered up to protect vulnerable areas like my pelvis, knees and wrists to avoid them becoming achy with the cold. However, I am noticing this is less of an issue now which tells me my strength is continuing to return. The layering may be more of a habit now and results in me sweltering at this time of year when I haven’t quite ditched my winter clothes entirely.
It was partly as a consequence of a funny thing that happened to me when I became a mother; my heat just left me, or to be more specific, was directed to my breasts for at least a decade until I stopped breastfeeding. After 27 years of hot feet, happy to be barefoot anytime anywhere, suddenly my feet were icy cold all of the time. My take on this is that the heat didn’t immediately return to my body as I was in a state of lacking vitality. I was nutrient deficient for so long, (breastfeeding is even more taxing to the body than pregnancy), I just wasn’t’ getting enough nutrition from my vegan diet, or restorative sleep for that matter, so year after year I was getting further depleted. Adrenal functioning had a big part to play I’m sure, but we’ll leave that for another post!
I am still vegan, (actually I eat organic free-range eggs as well), and I’m much more on it with feeding my body with what it needs to thrive. On top of this, every spring I get a huge boost from the fresh wild herbs I harvest to eat and drink daily, so every year I am nourishing and building up, becoming stronger and more vibrant. I have been enjoying the return of my natural body heat and equate it to the return of my vitality. As time goes on I am finding the cold less penetrating and am again enjoying year round barefoot walking. Perhaps soon I will be able to ditch the unnecessary layers!
It’s not simply the herbs that go in via my digestive system that nourish me deeply, it is also those that capture my heart and touch my soul from the outside. Like when I’m immersed in the pure and natural beauty of nature all around me.
Most people have heard of forest bathing, popular in Japan, and I feel happy to say I know these benefits first hand. We have spent a great deal of our home-educating years in the woods, with a fire, outdoor cooking, being playful and creative with each other and our community. It has nourished us and held us and we have been blessed to have access to such places of inspiration, peace and grounding. Forest schools for children have become much more common place and people understand the benefits of this outdoor learning environment and are keen to encourage it. But what about us adults? How can we get out and enjoy the wild peace of nature?
What’s perhaps a little less familiar these days is going off into the wild countryside for leisure. People do this whilst running, or with a friend, maybe a group outing, but it’s likely happening in designated parks with clear pathways and regular upkeep. We’re drawn in by the ease of parking, toilets, cafes and ice-cream. I really value these free outdoor spaces that offer freedom between the green grass and blue sky. Some of them, as you likely know, are stunningly beautiful places.
What they can’t always give me though is solitude and depth. While I am sat here, totally undisturbed, I can lose myself in the intensity of the dots of yellow buttercups covering the green grass, or focus on the way they dance so beautifully in the breeze. I can follow the path of a butterfly or a shiny green beetle and let my thoughts wander gently with them.
It took me an hour to amble along to this spot, stopping many times to view and maybe photograph various wild herbs. If I was simply walking for the sake of exercise it would have been half an hour or less to get here. Likely I will pick up my pace and enjoy a more invigorating walk on the way home. But for the outward journey, I couldn’t help but take it slow.
You know how it is when you bump into a friend unexpectedly, how it lights you up and how you greet each other warmly? Well this is how it is for me out on a wild walk. It feels rude to just walk on by, ignoring them all, and besides, I couldn’t if I tried! I just can’t help but stop to admire them. They positively light up my day and I show them my appreciation by acknowledging how stunning they look. My husband remarks that going out with me is like taking a dog for a walk, always stopping to sniff things, (I’m not quite sure how to take that!).
This morning I saw nettle in flower, as well as, comfrey, hawthorn, elderflower, horse chestnut, herb Robert, cleavers, plantain, dock, foxglove, ground ivy, speedwell, wild lettuce, burdock, bramble and rose.
It’s like meditation. With each step I take I am taken deeper into myself, into my happy place of ease, peace, freedom and flow. No clutter of man-made objects, constructs or demands. No weightiness, just lighter and lighter strides and more and more groundedness.
I am absolutely loving the warmth of the sun and the caress of the breeze on my bare skin. It feels as though there are no unhappy souls in nature, all are well grounded and connected to their purpose and environment. Celebrating the day and the joy of being alive. And being here with it all allows me to bathe in all its glory. Absorbing its energy.
Nature immersion is the antidote to disconnection and this is where I want to focus my attention. I want to support people to become more self-connected, health aware and able to take action in meeting their needs.
My medium is nature which nourishes externally from the environment and internally via ingestion of powerful herbal medicines. Nature is the medicine, whether it’s the physical assimilation of phytonutrients, or the mental, emotional and spiritual impact they provide. The soulful and vibrant energy of plants is absorbed whichever format they are received. And I think a good dose of both makes for an even stronger health.
I love working with those keen to make health improvements so that they have more freedom to enjoy their life. During herbal consultations I’ve supported clients with awesome listening skills given to me by NVC. This enable strong clarity on health needs so that I can create a herbal prescription precisely tailored to an individual’s health. And with this support in place, it makes it easier for you to implement lifestyle changes that help you flow forward towards your particular health goals, whatever they may be.
Herbs give you that added boost to propel you forward and I can help you to see the bigger picture of your overall health and what you need. Sometimes this recognition and partnership is all that is needed to create a positive shift which can free you up to take action towards your health freedom and a life with more joy and ease.
Supporting one-to-one is extremely fulfilling and yet for me personally, I need to balance this with time in nature and within community. I love supporting people to connect to their own needs and this can be also be done by drawing people out into nature, and into community with others. I hope to bring this into my work in the near future, as it’s always been a natural part of my life and leisure with friends and family.
In July I go on a week-long Nature Facilitation residential which I am really looking forward to. I hope it will inspire me to find creative ways to get people out and into the wild green spaces our beautiful island has to offer.
Right now though, I’m off to get my bare feet into the cold running stream!
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