‘We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather about us that they may see, it may be, their own images, and so live for a moment with a clearer, perahaps even with a fiercer life, because of our quiet’
-WB Yeats
quiet days
November, New Year…
This is the Celtic new year, time for standing at the crossroads, looking back at where you have come from, looking right and left for alternatives, then looking forward at where you want to go..
A good time of year to spend some time every day with yourself, to focus attention on the areas of you life that need some change. Looking at who you are, who you want to be, the kind of life you want to lead…
‘Why is it that so many of us persist in thinking that autumn is a sad season? asked Samuel Coleridge (1772-1834), who could not understand why his contemporaries found autumn so dreary. ’Nature has merely fallen asleep, and her dreams must be beautiful if we are to judge by her countenance’.
Going Boldly Forwards...
September Daze
hedge feasts
September…back to school, shortening days turning to gold. My fingers are stained purple making elderberry syrups and tinctures to ward off colds and flu during winter. Golden days walking at the lake, waiting and watching the hawthorn berries to ripen, stopping to feast on blackberries, enjoying the shift of seasons as the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer. The swallows are congregating on the telephone wires, enjoying their last days here before leaving for Africa – ‘they’ve got the urge for going, and they’ve got the wings to go’. Autumn is my favourite time of year – this ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness..’
out the kitchen window
(not to mention apple crumbles and pumpkin pie!), the trees wearing their finest before the leaves dance down on the breeze, oncoming Halloween, the end of the Celtic year, Samhain, the start of the new year, and a chance to begin again…September, a time of learning and loving life.
st john’s days…
Herbal Medicine by PD LYONS
What if there among their jars and vials
Those poisons that heal came out to play?
Reminisce of summer days,
lazy cats tucked behind old railroad ties
not bothering to move
Even for those well round robins
Tickling roots in search for tender nourishment.
What if among tinctures, oils and dry leaves
it was their nature for telling stories?
Like that time it snowed in April
what sensations to be brand new
tender to an icy touch
all glitter in the afternoon sun.
and oh those Saint John nights
so black, so clear
Stars pushing slowly, the world noticeably turns
refreshed from manic summer selves
our magic then to dance
sitting at home on the rainiest last day of August, remembering harvesting st jon’s wort with blood red fingers from the oil…jars sitting on my windowsill now getting redder and redder…looking forward to using the magical oils and looking back to summer in the garden
workshops
Women’s Health Classes with Michelle Lyons
Women are different – we have different bodies, different hormones and different mindsets. Gender based medicine is a relatively new field – until recently most medical research was done on men and the dosage adjusted for women. But women exhibit different signs and symptoms for many states of dis-ease and illness – for men, the classic signs of a heart attack are chest pain, occasionally radiating to the left arm and sometimes accompanied by shortness of breath. For women, the signs and symptoms may include (amongst others) nausea, indigestion, back pain, insomnia and anxiety. Because these symptoms are commonly written off as ‘stress’ or ‘depression’, for many women their heart attacks may go unnoticed and untreated, until one day, they have a fatal ‘cardiac event’ and the previous episodes are discovered.
Women’s Health Workshops give women the knowledge and confidence to take charge of their health. We will discuss the most common health issues facing today’s women, the signs and symptoms to look out for, the ‘right’ questions to ask our health care providers, what we can do to prevent, halt and reverse the ill-effects and the lifestyle habits we need to embrace to enjoy life to the full. Women have traditionally been the healers in society, both within the home and in the healthcare professions.
Isn’t it time you learned how to take care of yourself?
Workshops Available:
High heels, handbags and hormones – Women and Back Pain:
Women have a differently shaped spine and pelvis to accommodate pregnancy and delivery, whether or not we actually have children. Our hormones influence our joints, muscles and bones. We wear high heels and tight clothes, and carry heavy handbags. If we have had children, our abdominal and pelvic floor muscles, which are designed to support and stabilise our spine and pelvis may become weak, which may lead to postural problems. We are more prone to osteoporosis.
Find out how to protect your spine! What is good posture? The right type of yoga and pilates for spinal health. How can you strengthen your spinal muscles quickly and effectively? Foods to eat, foods to avoid. Supplements and herbs – what really works? Stress management and relaxation techniques.
Managing the Menopause – Naturally:
This workshop focuses on some of the main health issues facing the pre, peri or post-menopausal woman, who wishes to avoid or complement hormone therapy:
Listen to your heart – what every woman needs to know about heart disease, the no. 1 killer of women.
Feeling it in your bones – learn how to prevent, halt and reverse the effects of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis
Developing a cancer resistant lifestyle – promoting immune health and increasing energy and vitality
What every woman needs to eat. Developing effective stress management strategies; balancing your hormones, balancing your life. Managing the ‘symptoms’ of menopause – is it a hot flush or a power surge?!
Yoga and Chocolate: Developing a mindful life:
Two of life’s greatest pleasures in one workshop! Why women NEED chocolate. The history and health properties of chocolate, developing mindful eating habits, tuning in to what your body really wants to say, becoming conscious of your stress patterns and developing tools to manage them. Introduction to mindful meditation, and best of all, chocolate tastings!
Celtic Spirituality, Celtic Healing:
The Celts were a flourishing and dynamic race, who made their way from Northern India to spread throughout Europe. Healthy living was a duty for the Celts; their druids not only had a mystical role but were also charged with the physical, mental and spiritual health of the people. Their lives were structured around a series of festivals and ceremonials throughout the year. They practiced plant medicine, sacred movement and meditation, and lived with a veneration and respect for their environment. During this class, we will re-discover the roots of traditional healing, mythologies and doctrine of signatures, explore the time-honoured medicine used by the Celts – for mind, body and spirit, impossible to differentiate when we talk about whole health.
conscious health for women classes
Week 1: Our relationship with food – if we are what we eat, what are you? Letting your food be your medicine – cooking with superfoods. Hormones, food and you – are you fat around the middle? Conscious eating: making the right choices. Mindful eating: enjoying what you eat. Benefits of vegetarianism. Keeping your digestive system happy and healthy.
Week 2: Tone your bones! Osteoporosis – what every woman needs to know about preventing,halting and reversing the effects.The role of food and exercise. What is ‘arthritis’ – how to protect your joints. Developing an anti-inflammatory lifestyle. Making the right exercise choices for women
Week 3: Breast Health. Developing a breast cancer prevention lifestyle. Knowing your breasts: recognising change, knowing what to look for. What puts you at risk? What are the roles of food, exercise, stress?Getting a regular check up. Ovarian ca signs and symptoms. Trusting your instincts.
Week 4: Heart health and stroke prevention for women. Knowing your numbers. Risk factors. Signs and symptoms of heart disease and stroke in women. How to prevent, halt and reverse heart disease. Keeping your blood pressure where it’s supposed to be!
Week 5: Taking care of your spine from your TMJ to your tailbone. How women’s spines are different. The role of hormones. Headaches, tension and stress. What is good posture? Bladder and pelvic floor. First Aid for back pain.
Week 6: Stress Rx. What is stress? Stressors and your response. Are you stressed? What can you do about it? Time management, Making lists, Saying No. Breathing, body scan, PMR, guided relaxation, mindfulness. Aromatherapy and massage. Making self care a priority.
CLASS NUMBERS LIMITED – PRE BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL!
FOR INFO/BOOKING CONTACT MICHELLE LYONS
tel: 087 2361224 or email: michellelyons@ireland.com
Celtic Healing pt1
The Celts were a flourishing and dynamic race, who made their way from Northern India to spread throughout Europe. Healthy living was a duty for the Celts; their druids not only had a mystical role but were also charged with the physical, mental and spiritual health of the people. Their lives were structured around a series of festivals and ceremonials throughout the year. They practiced plant medicine, sacred movement and meditation, and lived with a veneration and respect for their environment. During this class, we will re-discover the roots of traditional healing, mythologies and doctrine of signatures, explore the time-honoured medicine used by the Celts – for mind, body and spirit, impossible to differentiate when we talk about whole health.
From ancient times, the druidic healers were famous for their skill in the treatment of disease, and the teachers of the healing arts were held high in the rankings of the Druid orders. They were allowed a distinguished place at the royal table and were entitled to wear special robes. They were usually attended by a large staff of pupils who assisted the master healer in diagnosis and preparation of medicines.
Although their skill and proficiency at healing was primarily due to their deep nature of the healing properties of herbs, they were also practitioners of magic to great effect – knowing well the effects that charms, incantations and fairy cures have on the minds of the patient. Consequently, their treatment of disease was of a medico-religious character, in which various magic ceremonials helped the curative process.
The wild plants of Ireland have been intertwined with our culture and folklore since the earliest times. It is only natural that a largely rural society should be familiar with its native flora, and a wealth of stories should evolve around them. In herbal medicine, it was believed by the ancients that there were 365 parts of the body and a different plant existed to help each one. From earliest times, most farms had a ‘lubgort’ or enclosed herb and vegetable garden. Herb gardens later became associated with the monasteries, notably St Brigid of Kildare (see below). The produce of these gardens were grown to promote healing; as well as medicinal herbs, nourishing vegetables such as onions an celery were often mentioned in the early texts
Developing an Anti Cancer lifestyle
An unhealthy diet and poor lifestyle including lack of exercise and being overweight causes three times as many cancers as genetics, according to Dr Rachel Thompson, science programme manager for the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF)
Evidence suggests that only 5-10% of all cancers are due to inherited genes.
39% of the most common cancers, including breast and bowel, could be prevented by eating well, exercising and keeping weight under control (this is without factoring in smoking/ not smoking)
Irish Cancer Society: modifying lifestyle choices could prevent more than 30% of all cancers.At least one in three cancer cases in Ireland could be prevented and the number of deaths caused by cancer could be reduced greatly by changing your lifestyle.
Pay attention to: What you eat, what you drink, how you live, how you exercise.
The single most important thing is to stop smoking.
Be sunsmart – get enough but not too much! Don’t get burned!
Supplement with 1000iu of Vitamin D3 daily to decrease the risk of breast, ovary, prostate and colon cancer
Eat to beat cancer:
fibre: high fibre diet can reduce risk of cancer, especially colon, but also breast and ovarian, possibly by lowering oestrogen levels
olive oil :oleic acid may cut levels of HER2, a protein found in 20% of breast cancer cases, which enables the cells to divide and grow
fermented soy: associated with lower rates of cancer and less dense breast tissue
vegetables: cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale) have been shown to be protective
Avoid saturated fats: saturated fat in the diet is directly linked to both breast cancer and cardiovascular disease (which kills one in every two women)
Lose weight to cut your risk of cancer: if you gain weight between the ages of 30 and 50, your risk of developing breast cancer after menopause increases. Just losing 5% of your body weight (8 or 9 lbs) can decrease your risk of breast cancer by up to 40%
tree medicine, tree magic, pt1
Tree Medicine, Tree Magic
The Celts used the great forests as a source
of meat from hunting, of berries, fruit and
vegetables, as shelter and as their Materia
Medica. That the creators of the first Irish
alphabet ‘Ogham’ named its letters after
trees is a testament to the great regard with
which trees were held
Birch: the leaves make a tea which relieves
rheumatism and breaks down bladder stones.
It is still believed that bad luck follows the
felling of a birch
Oak: ships were made with ‘hearts of oak’
and oaks are regarded as highly sacred.
Associated with strength and nobility.
Women hugged oak trees to ease labour.
Druids were known as ‘Oak Knowers’
Rowan: wood used for everyday hand
tools. Alternative name is ‘quicken’.
Branches used for protection against
evil spirits, berries used to smear the
lintel, protect farm animals.
Hawthorn: Even today, farmers will not
take out a lone hawthorn from the middle
of a field. Hawthorn blossoms were
believed to cause death if brought into
the house. Hawthorn is closely associated
with holy wells, usually known for their
healing properties
Women and Back Pain – IHS 2009
High heels, hormones & handbags:
Women& Back Pain
Michelle Lyons @ IHS 2009
Women are different! (Not defective!)
Why?
We have : Different Hormones,
Physical structure of bones and
muscles,
Psychology, Societal role
‘Busy Woman Syndrome’
(Brent Bost, MD):
Incr weight gain, incr aches and pains,
incr depression, decr libido
No. 1 cause disability in women
= depression
Often initially present with diffuse
aches and pains.
Back pain 2nd most common reason
for a visit to the doctor
(colds/flu = most common)
What your back hates:
dehydration inactivity, esp. prolonged
sitting repeated small bad habits
bad posture bending & twisting
weak core/pelvic floor heavy lifting
holding your breath when moving
High Heels: ¼ of the bones in your
body are in your feethigh heels –
increase osteoarthritis in knees,
cause altered gaitpattern, pelvic
floor dysfunction and low back pain.
decr circulation blood and qi.
need heel cup/strap in shoes but
barefoot is best!
Handbags: (and thin bra straps)
alter posture,
create trigger points in neck
and shoulder muscles
may be responsible for
migraine type headaches
Posture – often a reflection of
self image, self esteem.
self conscious about large
breast size
effects of poor posture on
breathing, energy, circulation,
digestion etc
What is good posture?
static and dynamic
finding it
Knowing the curves of
your spine; where and how
Breathing: deep breathing –
anti stress, energy production,
tones pelvic floor
Hormones: effects on joint laxity,
muscle & ligament integrity, pain
perception, mood, digestion etc
Anti –inflammatory foods:
water not fizzy drinks/ soda
oats, onions, garlic,
dark green leafy veg.
cider vinegar and honey,
omega 3’s: nuts and seeds
esp. flaxseed, oily fish
bay, turmeric, ginger,
cinnamon
Herbs:
Black Cohosh –
old name ‘Rheumatism Root’
not just for menopause!
Nettle –
also good menopausal ally
St Johns wort –
esp. if nerve pain
(I use internally &
externally)
SAMe; esp. if pain accompanied
by depression
Externally:
arnica for initial trauma,
rue for bruising
Healing power of touch – connection
gingerEO & juniperEO
in a massage oil blend,
lavenderEO & rosemaryEO
in a massage oil blend
lavender EO and peppermint EO,
in a massage blend
grated root of ginger in a compress
Epsom salts in bath
Final thoughts:
Lifestyle vs. Medicating
(whether herbs or pharmaceutical)
Proactive or Reactive
Taking control or giving it away
to someone else
‘Never grow a wishbone, daughter,
where your backbone
should be’
- Clementine Paddleford
