I know I keep harping on about the relationship between our health, our emotions and stress levels, but it’s a point that has really hit home to me lately because I’ve been in the middle of experiencing it.

There’s nothing like learning something really well by going through it yourself, and because I had a bit of stress earlier this year, I noticed a direct relationship between it, and a decline in my usually quite good health.

I do have a bit of a tricky adrenal and thyroid system that needs lots of support - but even with doing that AND eating really well and exercising regularly  - during the times I felt the most challenged, I had quite a number of negative physical changes.

My skin broke out a bit, I gained a few kilos, my hair was falling out, I was tired, and had lots of aches and pains.  It wasn’t until I resolved the emotional component and got back on track, that my physical health then naturally improved.

It just goes to show what a huge impact how we feel has on our physical health - and I am beginning to count this area as being just as important as what we eat, and maybe even more so.  I don’t believe that we can eat well and do everything else right - but leave our emotional garbage unresolved, and still be healthy. 

Our mind / feelings / emotions live in every cell in our body and we cannot separate them.  To be really healthy we need to heal the body and the mind, not just one or the other.  I see my best results in clinic, when someone embraces the physical side of healing, and also works on resolving their emotional issues as well.

With the launch of my Embracing Life! Six Day Detox, Healing and Renewal Retreats, I’ve found a new passion and have become very excited and enthusiastic about it all - and these feelings have resulted physically in a new-found energy, clear skin, healthy hair, a few kilos dropping off and a brighter outlook.

We never stop learning, and the best lessons are the ones that we experience ourselves. The power of observation in our own lives can be a powerful tool for significant insights and healing experiences.

I am very happy to be announcing the launch of my fantastic health retreat experience, the Embracing Life!
Six Day Detox, Healing and Renewal Retreat.  My passion in life is to spend time with people dedicated to
learning about health and healing, and there is nothing better that doing that with a group of like-minded people in a beautiful luxury setting.
 
You can read more about this exceptional retreat experience below, and you will find more detailed information, and how to book in for the retreat, at my website: www.EmbracingHealth.com.au/retreat
 
The first of these retreats is being held on the Sunshine Coast of QLD in September, and if you are quick, there is an early-bird special for 6 lucky people who book and pay for the retreat in July.

I’ve put the retreat blurb below for you to have a bit of a read of - and you can also register your interest to have a retreat held in your area at the website.  I look forward to many of you joining me for a great week of detoxing, fun, relaxation, laughter and fantastic food!

Leisa Wheeler, founder of Embracing Health, is proud to announce the creation of a fresh, innovative style of luxury health retreat.  Departing from the rigid ways of “right” and “wrong” that have pervaded the older mind-sets of healing, Leisa has brought to life a new approach to the concept of a healing retreat - designing a program that empowers participants with knowledge that opens them to a higher awareness of what healing really means.

Not bound by any one strict doctrine, Leisa has woven together the best of the natural medicine world, blending the fields of detoxification, the secrets of superfoods,  the art of raw vegan gourmet cuisine, and the healing power of whole foods, into a delightful six day living experience of food as medicine.

Healing with whole food is only one part of the Embracing Life! Retreat, where as much emphasis is placed on feeding the mind,  understanding the emotions, and nurturing the soul, as in supporting the body.

Daily lectures on a range of health subjects cut through the confusion; yoga and meditative walks centre the mind; healing massage soothes the body; discussions on the role of emotional healing provides sustenance for the soul; and plenty of personal time gives you the space to really rest…

With dedicated attention to every detail of your six day renewal retreat, you will find the information, the luxury settings in exclusive boutique resorts around Australia, the food, the support, the whole experience – will surpass every expectation you ever had about what a week in a healing space should be.

You deserve to take some time out, to experience the divine combination of pampering, detoxification, education, rest and inspiration that a week with Leisa and her team will bring.

We look forward to seeing you there…

With stress being the causative factor in so many degenerative health conditions, part of my philosophy on healing is to lower and manage stress through various techniques.

I talk to people about the benefits of regular exercise in stress reduction, we talk about resolving and working on the emotional aspects of stress, we can look at using herbs and supplements that support our body and help us adapt to stress - but one tool that I think is essential, is meditation.

Now when I say that to most people, they have a vision of having to sit cross legged on the floor, eyes closed, and “OM” for a half an hour while the mind races and reminds us of all the other things we could be doing.  For most people this style of meditation doesn’t suit, and causes more stress that it relieves.

There are many people who do have the discipline and interest to study and learn these type of techniques, such as Transcendental Meditation, yet for many of us, we try, we get bored,  and we’re not really that interested.  We may practice that style of meditation for a while, and then we give up and move on.

Because the benefits of meditation are so numerous - physically, mentally and spiritually - it is important to include in out lives - but we need to find a style of meditation that suits us, and that doesn’t mean sitting cross legged on the floor.

All sorts of practices can move us into that meditative state, where our mind has switched off and we have a heightened but peaceful awareness and connection.  Often that comes doing something we love that we are so focused on that we lose the racing mind and enter another state.

I realised that yesterday when I spend some time with some horses - my mind was still, I was immersed in what I was doing, and I was definitely in a meditative state for quite a while.  When I had finished with the horses I felt rested, alert, energetic and very calm.  That is the state that helps us be healthy, and the more often we can access that, the better for our stress levels.

So meditation doesn’t have to be a cliche.  We can find that meditative space doing all sorts of things - surfing, horse-riding, gardening, walking in nature, yoga - often it will be found when you are doing something you love.

Being healthy doesn’t mean we have to do things that are difficult that we don’t enjoy just because we think they’re good for us.   Happiness keeps us healthy, and if we are aware of what brings us to a peaceful, joyous space, then that is what we need to do.

I know I’ll be spending a lot more time with horses - what is that you will do?

I have always seen the recognition of our feelings as a way of connecting with our true and authentic selves, rather than seeing them as something we need to “overcome” in this life. 

Life without feeling, to me, is a life only half-lived, and to abandon the texture and colour that feeling gives to life, is to deny the depth and beauty of our own existence.  (I talk about this in much more detail in my DVD “The Emotional Aspects of Healing“)

Many spiritual teachings aim to go beyond feeling, to a place of joy, peace and surrender - and as I have spoken about before, this is a wonderful inspiration and guide - but not necessarily a way to live every day.

Our feelings can have very important messages about the way we are living our lives, and to work on bypassing the feeling rather than understanding it’s core, we can miss important signposts for our life.  In one of my favourite books “Riding Between the Worlds” by Linda Kohanov, she writes about this subject:

“…yet this is precisely the behavior that many religious leaders and holistic healers promote, as McLaren found during her search for a more soulful way to approach her feelings.

In order to “be more spiritual,” she strained to be emotionless and non-judgemental,” to “have only joy in my heart.” But this proved to be a dead end: “I saw quite clearly that happiness and joy could become very dangerous if they were trumpeted as the emotions of choice - as the only emotions any of us should ever feel.

I can’t count the number of people I’ve seen whose lives imploded after they disallowed the protection of anger, the intuition of fear, the rejuvenation of sadness, and the ingenuity of depression in order to feel only joy.

In short, I’ve found throughout my life that what we are taught about emotions is not only wrong - it’s often dangerously wrong.”

Part of healing is reclaiming our ability to feel and understand the wisdom behind our “negative” feelings.  In my journey as a practitioner, I am quite certain that healing can only take place when we explore this side of life, and that food, herbs and supplements will only take us so far down the healing path.

Just something to keep in mind as we explore this fascinating roller-coaster called life!

When I was younger I always got caught up in thinking that everyone else was better than I was and knew more than I did, and in my own mind I elevated many people onto a pedestal. 

I learned very painfully over the years, that very few people are who they appear to be, or who they project to the public, and I found that blatant hypocrisy in people quite a shock. 

Now I’m not expecting that everyone has to be perfect, but there is a level of integrity that I think shines through when you are coming from the heart.  I couldn’t in all honesty be a naturopath and teach people about healthy living, if I myself didn’t embrace those principles.  I would feel like a fraud.

It must be very stressful to project one image to the public, and then to live another. 

There are those of us who do our best to walk with integrity who can see the false web that people weave around themselves with their own self deception. 

There are also those that know all the right words and appear to be conscious and aware, but they have never really done the deep work, the depths of enquiry to meet yourself and know that you are accountable for who you are in this world. 

Then we have the “success junkies” who again have missed the point and think that if everyone just did their affirmations and watched “The Secret”, then they would have the perfect life.

Everyone is searching for answers, not only to health concerns, but to the bigger questions in life.  And although there are wonderful, special people out there that can teach us an enormous amount – the most profound insights are found within.

So keep on learning, but also keep in mind that you are just as important and have just as much to offer as the “guru” on the stage.  Have faith in yourself, be open to new information, but also know that we are all struggling along doing the best we can, and there’s no need to ever see yourself as less than anyone else.

That’s not a bad thought for the day