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Krauting for wellbeing

April 11, 2019 besspurser

I was inspired to get my ‘kraut on at the weekend after foraging for wild garlic last Friday. I did an introduction to fermenting foods workshop a couple of years ago with Wild Pickle (I highly recommend their workshops for those in the midlands) and knew roughly the basic quantities required, but the rest of the ingredients I found in the fridge and made it up as I went along. Please see the Wild Pickle facebook page for more information on the whole process, workshop details and more recipes.

Sauerkraut, wellbeing, Aromatherapy, essential oils, recipe, food, fermenting, fermentation, massage, Belper, Derbyshire, Health, gut bacteria, friendly bacteria, beneficial bacteria

Ingredients

2 small cabbages, about 500g each

Handful of wild garlic

Thumb of fresh ginger

Zest of a large lemon

20g of sea salt

Method

Remove the outer leaves from the cabbage and cut out the stalk. Put to one side to use later.

Finely chop/shred the cabbage (or slice thinly in a food processor).

Peel and grate the ginger.

Finely zest the lemon rind*.

Finely chop the wild garlic.

Combine all the above in a mahoosive mixing bowl.

Sprinkle in the salt (I actually used some Cornish Seaweed Salt that I found in the cupboard, I can’t wait to see what it tastes like).

Massage the lot with your hands for 5-10 minutes until it’s softened, squelchy and juicy. This is my favourite part, and being a massage therapist comes in useful here. I put the bowl on the kitchen table, rather than the worktop, as the lower height enables me to stand over it and use my body weight to squish it all up.

Pack into a 1 litre Kilner jar, leaving a 2-3cm gap from the top.

Cover the kraut with the remaining outer leaf and press it down so everything is covered in the juice.

Put the stalk on top and use it to keep everything submerged by squeezing the lid down on it.

Sit the jar in a bowl and leave it to ferment for 7-10 days on a work top, then 2-3 months in the fridge.

You’ll need to burp it (open and close the jar to let the gas out – I do this in the sink as you’re likely to be sprayed with kraut juice!), at least 1x daily for the first week or so.

*If you’re feeling fancy, you could thinly slice the lemon and slide it into the sides of the jar before putting the cabbage leaf on top. It prettifies the jar and adds extra lemony zing.

Walking, Belper, Aromatherapy, Wellbeing, massage, Derbyshire

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Walking for Wellbeing

March 28, 2019March 28, 2019 besspurser

I love a good walk. I like to feel my heart beating and my breathing quicken as I power up a hill. I like to stop and soak up the fresh air, the scent of the forest and flowers and gaze at a view not appreciated before. I like to be nosey into houses and gardens that you can’t see when whizzing by in the car. I like to observe the seasons changing; lambs in the spring, floral abundance in the summer, leaves turning red, gold, orange and purple in the autumn and frost coating the branches in the winter.

I like the opportunity it gives for talking, without actually being face to face, but alongside each other. After an argument I find it less confrontational and more like teamwork. It is soothing to be out in nature, not so fraught and confined. Problems seem to disappear after a good old slog up a hill and a moment’s pause for gratitude.

I like to explore new areas, discover new footpaths and uncover hidden places to rest, relax and regain my inner peace. I like going back to favourite haunts and reliving memories made there.

Travel, wellbeing, Aromatherapy, massage, Belper, Derbyshire, Spain, Altea — View from Aleta, Spain. November 2018

There’s no thinking about personal bests when I’m on a walk. I’m not in it for the competition, to be better than anyone else or myself. It is purely for my enjoyment, my fulfilment, my soul. But I also know that it is good for my health. Physical as well as mental, emotional and spiritual, for all the reasons mentioned above.

Where’s your favourite place to walk? Why? Where’s on the list to discover next?

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15 years of Aromatherapy

February 19, 2019February 14, 2019 besspurser

It is 15 years ago, to the very day, that I received my Tisserand Institute Diploma in Holistic Aromatherapy. It was that course, that set me on my course, to enable me to help people to help themselves. From the very beginning of the diploma, it felt right for me. It felt like I had always done massage, like my hands already knew what they were doing and had been doing it for centuries. Learning about the essential oils and their traditional healing properties was also a feeling of coming home, and I distinctly (and proudly) remember scoring 97% on one of the exam papers. A feat yet to be repeated!

4449C0F6-C636-4C29-BE00-AB66378354DC — Tisserand Institute Diploma in Holistic Aromatherapy

I enjoyed dipping my toe into living in London, experiencing life in a major city as I commuted from my flat in Brixton to Kensington (the course was in Baden Powell House, right next to the Natural History Museum) and would come home to the rolling hills of Derbyshire at the weekend. It certainly is a different pace of life, there is always something to do, something to see, a new area to explore and an adventure to be had.

On finishing the course and settling back in Derbyshire, I went on to set up a local group of the International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists (IFPA), the professional body I was a member of at the time. This gave me a sense of companionship that I missed from being away from my cohort who were mainly London based. Although the group only ran for a couple of years, there were many friendships that grew from it that endure to this day. Something else I’m proud of.

Most of my clients I still see today are people who have been with me from the early days, a couple were case studies for me for the diploma. Some become friends, others move on with their lives, move away. It is a privilege to be a witness to their lives and to work with them, giving them a space to relax and unwind, to escape from the world for an hour or so.

Over the years I have studied other complementary therapies, including kinesiology, thought field therapy and Asyra health screening but I always come back to aromatherapy. It is always at the heart of everything I do, my way of life. I have been thinking recently about adding reflexology to my bow, and I know that I won’t be able to resist adding essential oils to the therapeutic benefits of that too. Who knows what the next 15 years will bring, all I can say is…. watch this space!

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Alternative Therapy

January 18, 2019 besspurser

What do pole dancing, writing, Argentine tango and singing (shouting) all have in common? They are all things I do to help me vent, distract myself, escape the inside of my head and generally keep me sane.

I have been pole dancing on and off for 6 years now and it’s a fantastic way to strengthen and push my body physically. I was hooked by the second class I went to when I’d improved vastly from the week before. It took me a week to recover from the first class though! I feel strong and confident when I master a new trick and for some reason I like the feeling the day after a class when I’m stiff and achy, perhaps because it’s satisfying to know I’ve worked my body.

Pole, pole dancing, strong, confident, aromatherapy, Belper, Derby, Derbyshire, massage, complementary therapy, alternative therapy — Pole makes me feel strong and confident

Writing down my feelings helps me to process them and work through whatever is going on in my world. I express my inner most thoughts in a safe place that I don’t have to share with anyone, unless I want to. If I want to share, I write letters (emails) when I have scrawled through the fury and got to the point where I can make sense of what I’m feeling and how to communicate that in a way that hopefully isn’t confrontational. I’ve kept a diary at various times since I was a teenager, mostly when I’m depressed and angry (I’m too busy enjoying myself when I’m happy). It has helped me through teenage angst, grief and most recently a traumatic divorce.

Argentine tango is a new form of alternative therapy for me, having started taking classes a few weeks before Christmas. I have danced modern jive for well over a decade, my first class being just before I launched my clinic, Peak Wellbeing, in 2007. At that time, it was the only two hours of the week I wasn’t in charge, and it was wonderful to be lead around the dance floor and legitimately blame someone else when I got it wrong! Argentine tango is quite a different kettle of fish, but still requires me to empty my head of all other busyness and tune in to my partner and the music. I’m finding it very technical and am getting used to the increased level of intimacy, but I am enjoying the challenge and am looking forward to it flowing effortlessly.

Singing is also relatively new for me, having had a course of lessons in spring last year. I was told at primary school I couldn’t sing and am naturally a quiet person so to be heard in a new way (even if it was just by my teacher) was daunting. I loved learning how to shape my mouth to hit the notes and turn the volume up. I’ve no plans to sing in public and I’m never gonna be Nina Simone but it’s fun to practice in the car on my own or with my son.

I included shouting in brackets because sometimes, when I’m really, really angry, I shout in my car as loud as I can. It can be an aggressive ‘aaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!’, or yelling along to a song, or roaring an imaginary conversation (including obscenities!) to whoever has riled me. I find it’s a fab way to disperse my rage and makes me laugh at myself too. You can’t be angry when you’re laughing 😂.

And I nearly forgot, which is appalling behaviour for an aromatherapist, that I also love to have an aromatherapy massage! If I could I’d have at least one a week as it’s so soothing and relaxing. The oils are tailored to my needs in that moment and work on multiple levels, the massage relieves aches, pains and stress and reconnects me with my body. I am still surprised when I feel which parts of my body are holding tension, and occasionally by which areas aren’t!

I’ve shared the ways I look after my mental, emotional and physical health. I know others find running, gardening and/or cooking helps calm their mind and bring balance to their life. What do you do? What can you add to this list?

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The Scent of Christmas

December 17, 2018December 14, 2018 besspurser

Wrapping presents, writing cards, eating chocolate and listening to classic Christmas tunes all help to get me in the mood for the big day. But there’s something missing from the picture, one of my senses is yet to be fulfilled, and that’s when I reach for my essential oils to concoct a festive feast for my nose. There’s so many to choose from at this time of year, each evoking it’s own memory of Christmas past.

Pine and fir essential oils remind me of putting up the tree and decorating it, finding those lost baubles I’d forgotten buying and where I lived when they first went on the tree.

Orange and cinnamon bring to mind this delicious Italian chocolate nut Christmas cake by Delia Smith, which is a hit every time. To me it combines my all favourite Christmas flavours in one scrummy treat.

And last but not least, frankincense and myrrh, those most famous of nativity gifts. They bring back memories of my school plays as a girl and more recently my son’s star turn in his play group Christmas play. It was definitely a proud mummy moment.

I add a couple of drops each of 3 – 4 different essential oils to my burner, light the candle and let the scent of Christmas fill my room. If you don’t have a burner, you can always fill a small bowl/dish with water, add the oils to that and carefully balance it on a radiator for the same effect.

Wishing you all peace, joy, love and laughter for Christmas and the new year.