Tired but wired? 

Are you tired during the day but wired at night? Do you have trouble falling asleep or wake during the night and can’t go back to sleep? Sleeping pills may provide a short-term solution but there are natural alternatives that can create long lasting change.

Current research indicates that up to 30–50 percent of the general population is affected by acute (short-term) insomnia at any given time, and up to 10 percent have chronic insomnia that lasts more than several months. 

Having insomnia is another way of saying that you can’t fall or stay asleep. There are many factors that might be the root of insomnia such as not having a regular sleep-wake cycle, eating an unhealthy diet, chronic pain, emotional stress and more recently the overuse of screens and mobile devices. 

Everybody struggles to get a good night’s sleep now and then, but insomnia is an ongoing problem that causes sleep disruption. The impact of insomnia includes day time fatigue, physical and mental problems, moodiness, and an inability to concentrate. 

So how can a Naturopath help? My top 3 strategies for naturally improving sleep include changing the diet, creating a new bedtime routine and using essential oils and herbal support.

Diet: A common issue for many people is overeating too late in the evening, giving the body too much food to digest into the evening. By eating early and lighter, this allows the body to digest the last meal before you are ready for bed. Also, stimulants should be avoided as they frequently mess with the body’s natural sleep/wake cycle. 

Bedtime Routine: Many people have simply created unhealthy habits that are not conducive of a healthy night sleep. I recommend all my clients to put away their phones and screens 1 hour before their intended sleep time to avoid overstimulation and create a quiet space before bed. Reading a book, writing a journal or simply having a shower are much more relaxing options to prepare you for a good night’s sleep. 

Essential Oils and Herbs: There are a range of oils and herbs that are widely researched for their benefit with relaxation and sleep, and my top 2 favourites are lavender and chamomile. Lavender essential oil is a great sleep aid that can be massaged onto your feet before bed or add 1-2 drops on a cotton ball under your pillow. Chamomile is great to have as a herbal tea an hour before bedtime. 

There are many other options that can be implemented to overcome insomnia, and by seeing a Naturopath, we can assess your unique symptoms and create an individualised wellness plan to support you through these changes as well as providing quality supplements to support you naturally. 

What can I expect from a Naturopathic Consult?

A naturopathic consult is a one on one appointment with a qualified Naturopath to improve your wellbeing naturally. 

Naturopathy can be used to improve a variety of common chronic health conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, acne, allergies, sinusitis, headaches, migraines, fatigue, hormonal imbalances, diabetes, endometriosis,  polycystic ovarian syndrome, stomach pain, digestive issues, stiff achy muscles, joint pain, back pain, arthritis, poor circulation, anaemia, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, sleep irregularities,  insomnia, snoring, weight gain, and high cholesterol. Naturopathy is also valuable for acute health conditions such as colds, coughs, fever, and infections (bacterial, fungal, viral). 

The Initial Consult: 60 -90 minutes

·     Prior to the consultation you will be sent a detailed questionnaire that covers your health history, current signs and symptoms, medication and supplements currently being taken and an overview of your diet and lifestyle. 

·     This questionnaire helps to shape the direction of the consult and indicates areas that need more clarity and attention.  

·     During the consult, we will discuss your health concerns and goals, investigate all relevant areas of your body systems and carry out physical examinations as needed (temperature, blood pressure, ears/nose/throat/eyes/nails…)

·     Any previous pathology results may also be requested and/or viewed in the consultation

·     After the consult, time and research are invested to craft an individualised wellness plan to address your current needs for the next 4-6 weeks. 

·     The wellness plan will be emailed to you within 7 days and we will schedule a 20 minute phone call to go over the plan together.

·     After 2 weeks, you will receive a friendly follow up call to check in with your progress and to schedule a follow up consult in a few more weeks. 

The Wellness Plan:This is carefully crafted for you based on your current health and your goals. A detailed cover letter is written summarising the focus of the treatment. The wellness plan includes:

·     Specific nutrition advise with guidelines and recipes 

·     Specific herbs, essential oils and/or supplements to take with instructions for use. These are carefully assessed for any interaction or contraindications.

·     Lifestyle advice such as exercise and stress reduction techniques to improve your physical and emotional wellbeing

·     Relevant handouts with helpful info and advice. 

Follow Up Consult: 30-45 mins

·     We usually schedule this 4-6 weeks after you began following the wellness plan.

·     We assess how the wellness plan is going noting any changes in symptoms, discussing the benefits and challenges.

·     Diet and supplementation is reassessed for effectiveness and adjusted as required. 

·     Relevant physical examinations are also performed if required. 

·     An updated wellness plan will be emailed within 7 days to continue on for 4-6 weeks. 

Will I need supplements?

Some clients benefit hugely by starting nutritional supplements but we only prescribe them when and if they are needed. Herbs, supplements and essential oils can be posted or picked up from the clinic. 

It is important to note that we are very happy to work alongside your current GP and health care professionals. We believe that integration between Practitioners and modalities is how our clients get the best outcome!

The Power of Harmony

The past few years have been a wonderful journey of health and wellness for our family as we discovered the power of essential oils and natural health. It has been a fascinating journey that has opened our eyes and minds to so much more about health and wholeness. 

Along the journey of striving for good health, we discovered the most powerful protection for our family was not nutrition, essential oils or even prayer, it was actually a HOME filled with love, peace and harmony. 

Now don't get me wrong, I am ALL FOR nutrition, essential oils and prayer, in fact, I wholeheartedly embrace these things, however my journey has taught me that love, peace and harmony are the key that override it all (I was gonna say 'the key that trumps it all' but maybe that is not fitting during the US elections. lol). Psalm 133 puts it this way, "How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity (harmony)! It is like precious oil poured on the head."

I would love to be able to say that we have perfect harmony in our home, but that would be a lie. There have been many times when peace and harmony are not present in our home and fear, strife and anger have been present. In these times, I have learned about the power and protection of harmony.

Harmony is beautiful. Harmony is when everything is united in love. Harmony is a sweet sound. It is peaceful. It is blissful. When you hear a sound that is out of harmony, it creates discord. It is unpleasant. It causes us to not feel at ease. It actually causes dis-ease to your ears and being. 

That was a big clue for me right there! Dis-ease!

We were created for harmony. Our body is designed for harmony. Love, joy and peace flow freely from harmonious relationships. When there is harmony, the bible describes it like precious oil being poured on the head (Psalm 133 as mentioned above), and you know what, that oil flows down to the rest of the body.

When my husband and I are in harmony, our home is filled with love and peace. It is just incredible. The children are happy and healthy, things go smoothly and even our pets benefit from our harmony. However, when we are out of harmony because we get offended or annoyed by one another, the atmosphere of our home changes quite obviously. There is more conflict among our children, things go wrong and I have even noticed that we become more susceptible to sickness.

I have tested out this revelation time and time again, and this has only further revealed the truth about harmony. As a couple, we have learnt the power of unity and harmony. We have learnt that nothing can penetrate that bond of love. We have learnt that if the enemy cannot put a wedge in between us, he has no way of getting in at all. This is the power of harmony that has led to breakthrough after breakthrough in our home with our health, our relationships, the atmosphere of our home and our business.

It is now obvious to me why the bible says to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit (Eph 4:3) because it is SO POWERFUL! I encourage you to test this out for yourself. Place HARMONY and UNITY as the top priority for your home today and step back and watch your family blossom. Sure, it might not happen over night, but as you continue in harmony, you will see blessing after blessing flood your home, your health and your family. 

Written with much love
Raneeta

QUIT * COMMIT * GROW * DECLARE * OILS

So August is almost here and we need to do a few things to prepare for our winter wellness journey. Let's go through the 5 points and remember what we may need to prepare. Preparation is the key!
If you have not read the first post, please refer back to it here
http://harmonichealthnz.blogspot.co.nz/2016/07/invitation-to-winter-wellness-journey.html

QUIT:
We are all quitting wheat (gluten) and refined sugar (white, raw, brown, coconut sugar). Identify all the items in your daily life that you would usually consume with these things in them and start to say goodbye. But its not all sad. Now we find healthier alternatives to replace them with. You can buy gluten free bread if you would like to but I would recommend not over eating this either.

There are lots of natural sweeteners you can use in raw baking or to make your own sweet treats. I personally use honey and dates but you can also use rice malt syrup or 100% pure maple syrup. Read the label carefully as there are many syrups that are not pure. I'll post some of my raw baking fav recipes soon.

COMMIT:
Hydration is  key to wellness. We often think we may be having enough water but the best way to know is to have a big drink bottle and keep it with us. If its a 1 litre bottle, make sure you get through it twice a day. If its a 500ml, refill it and drink at least 4 times. Please don't just estimate. Aim for a minimum of 2 litres. This is actually not easy for me to do as I forget, but I will be committing to do this.
Also, schedule in 3 x a week for exercise. If we don't plan for it, we plan to fail. So plan each week with this in mind. Include your children if you can on bikes and in prams or enjoy the luxury of exercising while they are in daddy day care :)
I will also be having communion each day so if you want to join me in this, grab a bottle or two of mccoys dark grape juice and some gluten free bread or wraps.

GROW:

Choose 3 plants that you feel drawn to and grab some seeds/cuttings to get you started. You will need a pot, potting mix and lots of love. This step is really important, as I feel it will enable us to see how we are loving and nourishing ourselves just like the plant. I am looking forward to hearing revelations from this step and seeing photos!

DECLARE:
Now is the time to prepare your declarations for the month ahead. Think about anything you have struggled with recently and choose to focus on restoring this area with your declarations. Again, if you need help with this, please ask me. I would love to help. Keep it simple but powerful and to the point.

OILS:
Remember to select an oil to apply each day to help you on your journey. If you have not got an essential oil yet, please contact me asap so we can get it to you in time. Oils are very powerful and effective for supporting us physical and emotionally and work very nicely together with declarations. For a full list of essential oil blends, click here:
 https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/products/essential-oils/blends

I am excited to be doing this with you. August is going to be a powerfully loving and healing month for us all who are choosing this path. Please feel free to get in touch and tell me what ways you would like support.

Love,
Raneeta

Invitation to a Winter Wellness Journey

Well it is almost the last month of winter and I don’t know about you but some of my summery good habits have been forgotten. My heart for health and wellness is about cultivating a lifestyle that enables us to live in harmony with ourselves and the planet in spirit, soul and body. So I am inviting you on a journey with me for the month of AUGUST to reset good habits in our lives to sustain health and wellness.

Here is my Plan

QUIT:

• ·         wheat
• ·         sugar
• ·         Optional: quit caffeine, dairy and meat

Wheat and sugar are two very common foods in our modern diet that we can definitely do without. By eliminating these two things, we create opportunities to include other more wholesome foods in our diet.

COMMIT:

• ·         Drink 2 x litres of water a day
• ·         Exercise 3 x 30 mins a week
• ·         Optional: Daily communion

These simple activities are often neglected but can play a huge role in our overall energy levels and wellbeing. By committing for a month, we are setting ourselves up to create healthy routines for life. If Jesus is part of your journey, I highly recommend having communion with Him each day.

GROW:

• ·         3 x plants/herbs from seed/cutting in your kitchen

Now you may be thinking that you might skip this point and it’s not relevant for you, but this point is ESSENTIAL on your journey. This is to learn the art of love and nurture. I believe our health is a reflection of our love and nurture of ourselves. By growing some plants from seed/cutting this month, we will be able to see a daily example of how small acts of love make a big impact and cause growth and life.

Find an indoor pot, grab some seeds and start loving those seeds to germination. It will encourage and inspire you.

DECLARE:

• ·         Write and declare at least 5 daily declarations to support you

Declarations have changed my life this year and I have learned the more consistent we are, the faster the impact. Declarations can be very simple or a little more specific. Some of my declarations include: I am loved and accepted. I choose to be healthy and fit. I am fully awake and engaged with life.

If you need help writing your declarations, I am more than happy to help you out.

OILS:

• ·         Select and apply one or more essential oils every day

Essential oils have been a huge part of my journey to health. Young Living has so many wonderful blends to help you on your journey including Acceptance, Abundance, Awaken, Envision, Valor, Peace & Calming, Stress Away, Joy, Release etc. 

Choose one or more oils and intentionally apply them each day or night to support you on your emotional journey to wellness.

Yes! I choose this journey!

If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of, then I am asking for your commitment to all 5 aspects of this journey as I believe they are a powerful combination.

QUIT * COMMIT * GROW * DECLARE * OILS

To join the journey:

Like my FB page ‘Harmonic Health NZ - Young Living Essential Oils’

Comment on this blog post and say “I’m in”, “I’m keen” “Count me in”

We will use this facebook page to share the journey of winter wellness together and post comments, photos and ideas with one another. In the lead up to August, I will post tips and ideas to get you started. 

Make a powerfully positive choice and join the journey! It will be fun to do it together. 

Love Raneeta

5 Day Nutritive Cleanse

Hello and Happy New Year!

I trust you all had a wonderful holiday season with family and loved ones. We had a lovely holiday with family in Perth including the celebration of our little brother's wedding, so we are feeling refreshed and blessed to start a new year.

I have had lots of fun writing declarations for the new year and praying into our future and now it is time to implement some of these things. This year my declaration in regards to health is "I Choose to be healthy and vibrant, partaking of the good gifts of nature to nourish and heal my body, soul and spirit. I am healthy, fit and strong."

So to start afresh, I am beginning the year with Young Living's 5 day Nutritive Cleanse which I did about 6 months ago. In my studies so far as a naturopath, I have learned a lot about nutrition, fasting and cleansing, and there is no doubt in my mind that we should ALL regularly fast or cleanse - especially with the modern onslaught of chemicals, toxins and processed foods.

Even Jesus says in the book of Matthew "When you fast..." Not IF you fast. So fasting and cleansing should be a part of our lives. Not only does it help you to reset your body and release toxins, it also enhances your spiritual connection which is always fun :)

So what does the cleanse involve?

The 5-Day Nutritive Cleanse™ facilitates gentle and effective cleansing to improve overall health and well-being.* A minimum of four, easy cleanses a year with our 5-Day Nutritive Cleanse and continued nutritional maintenance will help balance the extremes of the modern diet.
This nutritive cleanse includes the following: Ningxia Red, an energizing, replenishing, whole wolfberry nutrient infusion (1500 ml ); Balance Complete, a super-food-based, daily, superfood energizer and nutritive cleanse (26.4 oz.); Digest + cleanse, which soothes gastrointestinal discomfort and supports healthy digestion* ( 30 softgels ).
Note: The 5 - Day Nutritive Cleanse is a starting place. More intense and targeted nutrients may be required for your particular situation.

The first few days of any fast/cleanse are usually the most unpleasant, but by day 3, most people feel amazing and full of energy. If you fast/cleanse regularly, you will probably feel great by day 2. This cleanse is simple to do as everything is provided for you as listed above.

I highly recommend Young Living's cleanse as the cleansing shake and softgels are completely organic, natural and infused with essential oils. Also, the ningxia red (made from what we know as goji berries) is completely organic and has 5 x the antioxidants as blueberries! So as you cleanse, you are giving your body incredible nutrients to heal and release toxins.

If you are interested in joining me and beginning the year with a cleanse, then please message me with your phone number or email and I can call or email you more details. It takes about 1 week for your cleanse kit to arrive, so make sure you get in touch asap to get it on its way.

Happy New Year
I bless you with Health and Wellness
Raneeta

A Healing Crisis -getting worse before you get better

When I first started using essential oils for health and healing in our home, I did not understand what a healing crisis was and I was sometimes confused by my body’s response to what I was using. From further experience and study, I have been able to learn what a healing crisis is and why it is a good thing.

Below is a definition:

“A healing crisis, or healing reaction, is a temporary worsening of symptoms that occurs when the body is going through the process of healing itself through the elimination of toxins. It occurs when the body “retraces” old injuries, wounds, infections or other imbalances from its past.”

Since having this understanding, I have realised that a ‘healing crisis’ can occur for all types healing whether it is physical, emotional or spiritual and the more people are INFROMED about WHY they are responding a certain way to a natural therapy, the more we can embrace the healing journey.

The ‘temporary worsening of symptoms’ is the hard part for most people, and sometimes, we give up on something because we feel ‘it is not working’. But that could not be further from the truth. Eliminating physical toxins as well as toxic thoughts and emotions can sometimes be painful…but the truth is, they are better out than in!

Many mainstream medicines “supress” our symptoms and do not involve a healing crisis, as nothing is being released, rather the pain or symptom is being switched off without removing the problem. Even mainstream culture has encouraged us to “supress” our emotions and “get over it”. But I want to suggest that this just leaves toxins within that will one day surface.

So if you are experiencing pain, physically or emotionally, your body or heart is trying to get your attention. When you start the journey to heal naturally, you may experience a healing crisis, but take heart. Do not stop. As my pastor says, “If God is revealing it, He is healing it”. KNOW that the healing crisis is only temporary and it is GOOD NEWS that hidden and stored toxins are being released which will lead to REAL HEALING and REAL FREEDOM.

 

My prayer is that you fully embrace the healing journey and find courage to endure the tough times to be fully healed. As Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping may last for the night, but there is a song of joy in the morning”.

Much Love,

Raneeta

Essential Oils and Amplification

I woke up from a dream last month declaring over a microphone that, “Essential Oils amplify the body’s innate ability to heal itself”.

You see, God has been teaching me about magnification and amplification. It started off in my car with my iPhone playing music. I put the phone in the little compartment that it usually sits in, but this time I was playing music and the sound bounced back at me and was much louder. When I took the phone out, it was quieter, and when I put it back in (speaker inside) the sound was amplified.

Now some of you may be laughing at me, because you already know this, but for me, it began a week of revelation and understanding on amplification and magnification…including my dream. In my dream, I was in a parade and was meant to be singing and playing the guitar, but the microphone was not working. Since the microphone was not working, no one could hear me, but in my dream, all of a sudden, the microphone started working and I spoke these words to a crowd…“Essential Oils amplify the body’s innate ability to heal itself”. The crowd cheered and clapped, and I woke up.

I have been pondering on these thoughts and this dream, and I know this will help some people understand essential oils a little better. God designed you to be healthy. He designed your body to want to regulate itself and remain balanced. It’s called Homeostasis… and your body is constantly working to keep balanced from your blood sugar and blood pressure, to your fluid levels and temperature. So you were designed for healing. Your body is incredible at healing…but often, we don’t give it what it needs in order to heal, which leads to dis-ease in our bodies.

Simply put, essential oils enhance the inbuilt healing capacity within us. Pure essential oils are the lifeblood of a plant and carry the signature and aroma of that plant, along with its incredible healing properties. They work so well in our bodies because they are 100% natural, and our body knows how to work with natural things. Using essential oils for wellness is so wonderful because you are amplifying your body’s innate ability to heal, rather than working against your body.

I wholeheartedly recommend using essential oils everyday to support your health and amplify the healing taking place in your life. God created the plants, and He said, “It is good”. So work with what you know is good, and you will get good results.

If you want to know more about essential oils for your specific journey, let me know, because I would love to help you out with a wonderful natural solution.

Love, Raneeta

P.S Check out this cool invention someone made that relates to my little discovery! Have your own little experiment by putting your phone in a cup when you are playing music and experience 'amplification'