Proud and humbled to have won the Best Woman in Business Award. Thank you Dorset Echo Industry Awards!

Thank you to the fabulous Gill for her nomination. I find it hard to talk about myself so thought I would let Gill’s words do the talking:

I am nominating Sarah in the Women in Business category as she is proof that you can completely change your life and turn a hobby into a successful and growing business within just 2 years!

She experienced the benefits of kinesiology when she was ill with M.E. using a wheelchair to get around, After treating family and friends in the evenings, her confidence as a practitioner grew to the point that she knew this wasn’t just a hobby anymore.

Thrive was created as she dreamed of a future of leading a life that she truly wanted. Transitioning from treating people in a spare bedroom to building a treatment clinic in her garden illustrates the change from hobby to business.

When she started Thrive Health and Wellness in Summer 2016 she had a small client base which has now grown to over 200 people and she began working on a full time self employed basis in March 2017 reflecting the immense growth of her business. In the past 18 months she also grown a team of over 60 people within Neal’s Yards Remedies Organic to reach a wider audience of people.

Word of mouth remain the most effective form of advertising and she still get a thrill every time a client tells her that their health has improved.

Reviews are flying in and demand for her services has increased, she is often being asked to treat people outside of her current location.

Being passionate about helping people and spreading the benefits of natural health, she has worked to find a solution, and recently launched The Thrive Tribe, an online community with huge growth potential offering free advice, information and inspiring discussion.

She is now developing online courses, webinars and a membership structure allowing people access to a wealth of wellness information wherever they are in the world.

The health and wellbeing industry is booming and Sarah and her Thrive Tribe will definitely be a part of it, spreading the ease and effectiveness of natural health solutions.

Want to sleep better, wake up refreshed and get a bit of sunlight in the winter darkness?

If you struggle to wake up in the mornings, hit the snooze alarm a few times and it feels an effort to get up, or if you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the good news is that thhere are LOTS of things that can HELP YOU.

The Lumie Bodyclock Iris 500 might just be the helping hand you need as a natural, light and aromatherapy alarm clock. Shorter days, darker mornings and a lack of sunlight can directly impact our body’s endocrine glands and result in feeling tired, lacklustre and experiencing a low mood. The endocrine glands are the master glands of your body controlling your hypothalamus, pituitary, pineal & adrenal glands to name a few, essentially they are in charge of sending messages to the brain and controlling our hormone levels and body functions.

Serotonin and melatonin are the ones you will hear of frequently. Serotonin levels affect our mood, sleep and memory as well as impacting on our behaviour, while melatonin relates to the pineal gland the body’s natural circadium rhythm (natural body clock) which helps us distinguish light and dark, day and night and helps us want to sleep at night.

When these are out of balance through stress, mental tension, travelling or anything to upset our natural body clock, we can struggle to fall asleep or indeed to stay awake.

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SPECIAL OFFER 30% off from 25th Jan 2018 while stocks last – SAVE £48!!

As a kinesiologist, I work to help improve the symptoms of SAD, by focussing on balancing the endocrine, nervous and digestive systems (serotonin is also produced in the gut). A treatment plan would cover many areas including structural and cranial balances, nutritional guidance and emotional support.

Alongside this, the Lumie Bodyclock Diffuser might be able to help. It’s a gorgeous little light therapy, aromatherapy diffuser natural alarm clock. Wow! The Lumie is designed to support your natural body clock, allow you to gently wake up through the REM, deep and light sleep cycles, and help you slowly switch off at night. The sunrise and sunset light settings plus two aromatherapy diffuser chambers allow you to control your wake up and relaxation cycles. The Lumie has two separate chambers to make it easy to automatically switch from morning to evening essential oil blends.

I bought one of these for myself in the last 20% off Neal’s Yard Remedies sale and can honestly say I absolutely LOVE it! Those who know me know I’m not exactly a morning person despite trying to lead a healthy lifestyle so I was looking for an extra helping hand in the winter. Using the sunrise light setting you can gently wake up to the light increasing and the subconscious smell of a revitalising essential oil from 15-60 minutes and you’ll find yourself waking up refreshed and raring to go BEFORE the alarm even goes off. It really has made such a difference to my mornings. No more snooze button!

SPECIAL OFFER 30% off from 25th Jan 2018 while stocks last – SAVE £48!!

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EXTRA TIPS AND THINGS TO TRY TO HELP YOU SWITCH OFF AND UNWIND:

Recently, life has been getting busy again and I’ve been leaning on the sunset setting to help me wind down for bed. I try and have a Seaweed & Arnica bath most nights and then pop my NYR Beauty Sleep concentrate & body butter on and settle down next to the Lumie for a 45 minute sunset reading session. I choose 45 mins as I really love reading before bed as it helps take my mind elsewhere and switch off from the day.

By setting the sunset for 45 mins, the light gradually reduces and subconsciously instructs my body to get ready to sleep. With the relaxing oil (lavender, women’s balance or night time are favourites) sending a cloud of relaxation oil into the air, it’s a really effective way of gently unwinding.

Not just for people suffering with SAD, I would recommend this to anyone wanting to stabilise their body clock, boost their energy levels and allow themselves to fully relax in the evenings.

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SPECIAL OFFER 30% off from 25th Jan 2018 while stocks last – SAVE £48!!

Email me [email protected] or message me through my FB page to order your Lumie today.

Essential oil suggestions:

Sunrise: Geranium, lemon, mandarin

Sunset: Night time, de-stress, lavender, calming

STRESS AND ADRENAL FATIGUE

SHERBORNE TIMES – JULY EDITION p.96

 

Have you ever been really looking forward to a day off or a holiday and then come down with a cold on the first day? It just doesn’t seem fair. However this is our body, or more specifically our adrenal glands, waving a red flag.

Our adrenal glands sit on top of our kidneys and help the body react to stress alongside regulating cortisol, adrenaline and hormones. They are involved in the fight or flight syndrome releasing the stress management cortisol and action-stations adrenaline to flood through our bodies ready for battle. Unfortunately, they cannot tell if it is a true emergency or just another deadline at work.

 

As someone who suffered with glandular fever and then M.E. for over 8 years, I’ve spent a fair amount of time unconsciously using and depleting my adrenals. I often picture them as a hamster in a wheel, desperately peddling away but not really going anywhere. When it comes to the end of the current stress they collapse with fatigue and our true energy state is revealed.

Adrenal problems show in two ways: exhausted and burnt out, or hyper stressed and running on adrenaline. They can even be a mixture of both, for example running on adrenaline all week and then feeling burnt out and exhausted at the weekend. Stress is a very moden word but the symptoms are wide ranging including fatigue, lowered immune function, digestive discomfort, anxiety or depression, blood sugar problems, sleep difficulties, memory problems, hormone disruption and weight gain.

We see children and teenagers struggling with stress and can see the mental exhaustion it brings but just witnessing their behaviour at the beginning of summer holidays: lots of outpouring of emotion and need for sleep. Their minds and bodies are overtired and need to switch off and recuperate.

So, what can we do to help?

I’m not going to suggest we all quit our jobs and live on a beach, but I am going to suggest we become aware of how we feel and allow ourselves to take charge of our thoughts and actions. If you feel like you’re juggling too many things, find a prioritisation technique that works for you. If you find negative thoughts take over, try Bach Flower remedies which are marvellous at allowing us to think our usual thoughts but stop the emotions flooding our body with hormones. Useful supplements including B vitamins, essential for energy production and vitamin C for our immune system. Create time for yourself to relax. Write down those pesky items that remain on the to do list. Curl up with a frivolous book or have a gossip with some friends. Enjoy a relaxing wind down routine to help you enter a deep sleep to recharge.

What’s the biggest challenge? Letting go of being a perfectionist. We can’t control everything, we can only control our reactions. Changing our thought patterns and behaviour takes time but techniques like Neuro Linguistic Programming, Emotional Freedom Technique and hypnotherapy can be helpful.

Over the summer, I would love for you to take a moment to check in to see how you are truly feeling.  Whether you are a child, stressed employee, busy parent or active retiree, take a moment to breathe and tune into your body. Allow yourself some down time, mix up the routine and let your mind and body recharge. We can only ever do our best and that is good enough.

SUMMER HAYFEVER TIPS

Runny or blocked nose, itchy eyes, scratchy throat, sneezing, headaches – the joys of hayfever are often multiple.

Seasonal rhinitis, also known as hayfever, is a type of inflammation in the nose which occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air.

Grass, trees and weeds are the most common allergens in the summer which produce IGe inflammatory reactions but it can occur all year round (perenial allergic rhinitis) with allergens including house dust mites, pets and mould.

As a hayfever sufferer, I have spent many years dependent on daily anti-histamines and nasal sprays having received a positive skin test showing that I was allergic to grass (hardly ideal considering I live in the countryside!). There is absolutely a time and place for medication but  I started to search for natural aids that could lower my immune system’s response and control histamine levels.

Below are some of the tips I have picked up along the way to help alleviate my hayfever symptoms. On top of these, I’d also recommend a kinesiology session to investigate the trigger cause of your symptoms and discuss how to strengthen your body.

One of the quickest ways to calm your system during a hayfever attack is to use the cooling White Tea range from NYRO, I absolutely swear by these as my hayfever survival kit.

White Tea Facial Mist and White Tea Eye Gel from NYR Organic. The anti-inflammatory properties of white tea helps reduce puffiness while eyebright coupled with calming aloe vera soothes sore, itchy eyes. Place eye gel around and over your eyes and spritz the mist onto your face to cool and refresh. You’ll be delighted by how much it soothes  your hayfever.

1.WHAT TO TAKE:

Vitamin C – known anti-histamine found in citrus fruit like oranges, lemons + grapefruit, wonderfully high in beta carotene.

Bioflavonoids – combines well with vitamin C and have great anti-histamine properties.

Quercetin – anti-oxidant which prevents immune system releasing histamines

Essential Fatty Acids – increase your intake of essential fatty acids with omega 3+6. Beauty Oil is a fish free version containing hemp, flax, avocado and evening primrose oil.

Supplements suggestions:

Quercetin & Nettle  – take x2 a day for a few weeks to build up natural histamine levels with its vitamin C, quercetin, bromelain and nettle leaf extract.

Aller-C by Nutri Advanced contains vitamin C, bioflavonoids, quercetin and bromelain.

 

2. WHAT TO EAT:

Foods: Tumeric, garlic, onions, chillis, broccoli all contain quercetin.. Garlic can help boost your immune system as well as acting as a decongestant to relieve the stuffy nose feeling.

Pineeapple is a the natural source of bromelain (a digestive enzyme) which helps the body absorb quercertin in other foods reduces inflammation and the production of mucus.

Omega 3 found in oily fish (mackerel, sardines, salmon) and nuts and seeds (walnuts , sunflower, pumpkin, flax and sesame seeds). These essential fatty acids help coat your cell membranes and the clinical tests show it can reduce your symptoms.

Honey – eating a spoonful of LOCAL honey can help reduce the symptoms as the bee pollen can de-sensitise your body to other pollens.

Considerations: Be mindful that garlic, onion + chillis can increase the symptoms of IBS in some people, so do be tested for tolerance beforehand and consider garlic as a supplement instead. 

 

3. WHAT NOT TO EAT:

Avoid: Dairy, wheat + tomatoes are common culprits for exacerbating immune system triggers such as hayfever. Avoid any food triggers kinesiology may have identified; sugar and refined foods are often linked to lowering immunity and heightening hayfever symptoms.

 

4. WHAT TO DRINK:

Camomile tea – antioxidant + antihistamine and is great at reducing inflammation.

Summer Tea NYRO – refreshing peppermint and elderflower are combined with revitalising eyebright, energising liquorice and mineral-rich nettle

Plenty of water – adequate hydration will help flush toxins out of the body

 

5. WHAT ELSE?

Cold water splashed on face and cupping hands to flood the nose with cold water to reduce inflammation.

Wash hands regularly to remove the pollen

Change clothes as soon as you come into your house, or at least remove the outer layer which could have a layer of pollen sitting on it. Don’t hang your washing outside as this could pick up more the pollen.

Putting eucalpytus salve around your nose to both help you breath and also hopefully act as a tacky substance to catch the pollen

 

FINALLY, 

I hope these help as a starter for 10 for some natural ways to alleviate your hayfever. Do get in touch if you want to discuss further and book in for a kinesiology session with me so we can discuss and address what your system needs for long term better immunity. Good luck!

Sarah x

Thrive Health and Wellness

Kinesiologist Cert. ASK and NYRO Independent Consultant

INCREASING IMMUNITY

Very excited to see my first article in the June edition of the Sherborne Times.

Full version of the text was as follows:

“The recent cold snap appears to have clung on mercilessly leaving many people struggling to shake off cold and flu bugs that have invaded their immune systems. Viruses love cold weather and humidity which is why so many of us get sick in the winter months. On average adults get 2 colds per year and children 3-4 times that.

To function properly, an immune system must detect a wide variety of agents known as pathogens and distinguish them from the organism’s own healthy tissue. It usually does a great job of defending against germs and microorganisms every day and works hard to fight off the invaders. However, there are around 200 viruses that cause colds and just three that cause flu so our body has a tough time of keeping up.

Our immunity may be compromised by any number of underlying health conditions and lifestyle factors such as poor diet and nutrition, lack of exercise, excessive alcohol, smoking and lack of sleep We don’t often know how strong our immune system is until we get sick. However, we do know that prevention is better than cure.

Dr Chatterjee (NHS GP and BBC’s Doctor in the House) believes lifestyle and nutrition are the keys to good health, he promotes the 4 pillars of good health:  Eat well, Move well, Sleep well and Relax well. Sounds simple doesn’t it? But I wonder how many of us are actively taking care of ourselves in these areas?  How much fresh air and exercise do you get a day? Do you understand the importance of relaxation to allow your body’s immune system to repair and regenerate?

At the first sign of an attack on our immune system, there are many things we can do to support it. Quick supplements include Echinacea (Neals Yard Remedies) and Collodial Silver (‘Biosilver’ by Metabolics), as well as simple dietary changes such as increasing our intake of Vitamin C and eating more fresh fruit and vegetables, particularly leafy greens such as spinach or kale, will help.

Natural techniques include rubbing the spleen’s neuro-lymphatic points which are on the side of our body in the middle of the ribs (bra line is an easier way of finding it) and thymus tap (gentle tapping in a waltzing rhythm around the top of your sternum).

Try to reduce your intake of caffeine, alcohol and sugar as these are viewed as stressors and disrupt your immune system’s response to the virus. I know we all reach for comfort food when we feel low, but try a hot mug of Elderberry tea (Elderberry syrup, ginger and lemon) or superfood brownies with Organic Greens Complex to perk you up.

Supplements are incredible beneficial but do remember that they do just that – supplement your health, so those lifestyle choices above are important. We all know Vitamin C and zinc help strengthen our immune systems, but are you also aware of the important of increasing antioxidants? They are the good guys who support a healthy immune response and clean cells of pollutants and free radicals.  Iron, selenium and Vitamin D are also vital.

It can be confusing knowing which supplements you need and disciplines such as Kinesiology can muscle test to find the most effective nutritional support for your body, as well as checking for any underlying symptoms. Everyone is different.  The most important thing is finding something, be it lifestyle, dietary or nutritional, that works for you and helps you feel better.”