2015 in review
If you’ve been too busy to keep up with my newsletters, posts, vodcasts or tweets this year, grab a cuppa and catch up with some of the highlights.
Word for the year
It all began with a hastily constructed bookshelf and, after a number of tribulations, my word for the year found me. Though flexibility has never been my strong suit, the word that found me was ‘adapt’. You can sometimes regain power in the process of naming something – a feeling, situation or thought can reduce its grip on you when you acknowledge it. By the time I’d done this, the year seemed less challenging.
Inspiring people
Part of what made embracing life easier were the many wise words I gobbled up watching author Liz Gilbert speak at the Sydney Opera House in March. Her motto “done is good enough” deeply resonated.
While the talk was about creativity, she beautifully unpicked how fear and perfectionism get in the way of not only creating art but most aspects of work and life. These themes are eloquently explored in her latest book Big Magic.
Another event that shaped my year was the Mindfulness Summit. This generous, month-long festival was created by another amazing woman, Melli O’Brien. Not only were many of the 40 experts inspiring (a veritable who’s who of the meditation and mindfulness world) but the process of creating the time to practice and follow each lesson for 31 consecutive days was quite a feat. Although the summit has finished, some of the talks are still freely available on her website as well the option to purchase all the recordings.
Health buzz of 2015
It has been the year of the microbiome. Is there any health condition that the state of the flora of our gut doesn’t play a role in? The research about the roles of gut flora goes way beyond our digestive system. Naturopaths have always known this and it’s wonderful to see science catching up. But probiotics are only part of the picture, as this article on prebiotics and our nervous system demonstrates.
Body, mind and spirit
The cornerstone of natural health encompasses taking care of not just the body but also our mental, emotion and ‘spiritual’ wellbeing. I’ve explored many of these issues through my articles this year. Some that I particularly enjoyed writing include posts on curiosity, isolation, the grief that arises when changing diet or lifestyle and travels with my Fitbit.
Food glorious food
It’s no secret that I enjoy eating and believe that healthy food should be delicious and simple to prepare. Some recipes only appear in the newsletter for subscribers, while you can find many in my Foodie Friday series. My pick for the year is not so much a recipe but some help for those who find salads boring. There’s also an extensive recipe archive including dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian choices.
This year I started my first Sydney garden. It’s a small but fertile plot. While there’s an ongoing battle with snails and birds, there are always enough leafy greens to feed the entire neighbourhood. There’s nothing like freshly picked produce to spark ideas for a healthy meal.
Why “say it with flowers” when you have homegrown vegetables and herbs?
Vodcasts
Before the ambient noise in the neighbourhood got out of control, I rolled out 28 videos. Each Health Q&A Monday vodcasts responds to one of your questions on topics as varied as how to encourage children to eat more vegetables to waking up more easily in the morning. As an added bonus you can see my pink hair evolve throughout the year and meet my friendly assistant, Mishka the Burmese cat.
Professional supervision
I love working directly with naturopathic/health coaching clients and this remains the main focus of my work, newsletters and articles. But there’s another string to my bow that I equally enjoy. For 18 years I’ve been supporting fellow practitioners in their business and clinical practices. This has grown strongly in the last couple of years. When updating the media webpage, I noticed that all my seminars, publications and appearances this year have had a supervision focus. If you’re a naturopath or allied health therapist experiencing challenges in your practice, you might be interested in my supervision offerings.
Thank you
Looking back over the year, I’m surprised at just how much ground I’ve covered professionally. On a personal note 2015 also saw me literally scale some heights with a once-in-a-lifetime journey to Peru, Chile, Brazil and Argentina. I will never forget watching the sunset over Lake Titicaca or visiting Machu Picchu.
It has been a pleasure inspiring wellness this year and interacting with you through consultations, comments, tweets and messages. I look forward to continuing to serve you in 2016 as I enter my 25th year of practice.
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