I think this is my favourite description; Naturopathy is a holistic, patient-centred health care that identifies low vitality leads to illness and therefore; education and lifestyle modification, may stimulate a patient’s innate ability to heal leading to general wellness (Connolly 2015). Or another way to put it is using what is in nature to allow the body to self heal.

After four years of studying a Bachelor degree in Health Science I have learnt a great deal about the human body but what I have learnt most is that we will never know everything!  Our body is a fascinating organism that is increasingly adaptable in many different environments.  We put our bodies through stressors every day and even when it complains we pop a pill to silence those complaints or we muscle through ignoring it's warning signs.  But you know what happens then?  The body reaches a breaking point.  

Suppressing the body's warning signals with medication, whether they be prescription or self-prescribed (i.e alcohol or excess caffeine), is a sure way to trigger your body to complain louder.  And just like an ignored toddler your body complains louder, and louder until the tantrum leads you to need a time out in the form of a chronic illness.

Contact me today to have a chat about how naturopathy can help you achieve optimal health.

Find your happy place.  Know where you love to be

Well after entering my website I think you know which one is my favourite.  Don't get me wrong I also love the bush but I can only do a couple days away before I find myself desperate to get back to the water.  And it doesn't have to be the beach, any large body of water will do.  
Living in Brisbane I am really lucky to have a lot of rivers nearby to walk along and I love being only 45mins to the beach.  One day the kids and I will hopefully move to the coast but at the moment Brisbane is perfect for us.

The reason I wrote this post is to try to get you to think about where your happy place is.  It may not be a deserted beach or a trek out bush.  It could be the local park or even your own backyard.  If you're not sure where your happy place is yet just close your eyes and go on a journey remembering areas and events around you and where you felt the most calm and relaxed.  Where made you laugh out loud or so quiet and still you could hear the subtle breeze in the trees and the wildlife around you.  It may not come to you right away but that's OK.  Just think on it over the next few days.

If your happy place is somewhere far away (hey we all can't be on a beach in Fiji everyday) try and think of a substitute nearby or have a picture of your favourite place in your bedroom.  

Life gets busy and can at times be stressful.  Use the image to calm your thoughts and bring the happy and safe feelings the place brings to the front of your mind.  This mindful practice can take as little time as 30 seconds or you may want to meditate with the image for longer.

If you are lucky enough to have access to your favourite place make sure you use it often as a place to recharge.

I'm sure most of us can think of many things we would rather be doing than studying, am I right?  Do you hide in your room trying any means possible to avoid studying?  Lying on your bed with the textbook open hoping the words will somehow transfer off the page and into your brain, oh, and stay there!  Yep, I think during my four year degree I have tried every creative way to get out of studying that anyone can think of.  Ok, and Netflix and Facebook don't help.

But what I have learned is that there is no point sitting down at your computer willing motivation to come.  Even if you do manage to get a small amount of study done I don't think you retain much.  The key to studying is to find the way your brain works. 

• Do you prefer to read as much information as you can on a subject? 
  
• Do you prefer to watch YouTube tutorials on a subject until you get it?  
• Do you re-write all the information out into dot point or draw mind maps?
• Do you prefer to work in groups and find teaching others about a subject helps you retain the information?
• What about making your own set of flashcards?
• You can use different coloured pens for different subjects so when you are in an exam you just think of a certain colour.
• If your mind wanders maybe listening to soft instrumental music may help to stop the chatter.  
• You don't need to study in your room!  Maybe you prefer to be surrounded by people so could go to the library, maybe sitting on the grass under a tree is more your style or even a local coffee shop with wifi.  Some people get distracted at home and are better out of their natural environment.

Whatever your study method there is no need to put in hours at a time.  You probably won't retain the information if you do that anyway.  Try setting a timer for 20 minutes and get as much as you can done in that time.  When the timer goes off, go and have a drink of water and a snack e.g handful of nuts, for 5 minutes and then go back to it and set the timer for another 20 minutes.  If you are still struggling then have a break and go for a walk or watch one episode of your favourite Netflix show (just one!!) and then try to come back to it.

I also find having a dedicated calendar to study is a good way to keep track of what assignments are due when and also when exams and holidays are.  Also as soon as you get an assignment have a look at it.  Read the outline and make sure you know what it's about.  That way if during class information comes up that may benefit your assignment you can take extra notes or if you are surfing the web and come across an article that may be beneficial you can save it into a folder on your computer to look at when you are ready to write the assignment.  
Always complete an assignment at least 24-48 hours before it's due so you can go over it again with fresh eyes and look for any mistakes.  Re-read the assignment task sheet to make sure you have answered the question properly and given enough information in the sections that are worth the most marks (no point writing 1000 words on a section worth 5 marks and only 200 words on one worth 30).

Most importantly, remember you will not retain information if you are stressed.  Try to relax by having a picture of your favourite place with you (bush or beach maybe?), have water nearby and stay hydrated, spray a flower essence for concentration (I can make up a personal blend just for you) and if all else fails?  There is always tomorrow xx