"I eat well and take supplements. I exercise. I've tried massage, physio, yoga, meditation… but my body is still bracing and holding so much tension"

It's something I hear in clinic. Sometimes it's someone who's been living with persistent neck or back pain. Sometimes it's fatigue that never seems to lift, digestive issues that come and go without explanation, headaches, anxiety or simply a sense that their body is always carrying more tension than it should. I have experienced this myself a lot over the years too.

Many people arrive feeling frustrated because they've been doing "all the right things" and yet their body doesn't seem to be responding. If this sounds familiar, I'd like to offer a different perspective. Perhaps your body isn't failing to heal. Perhaps it's been working incredibly hard to protect you.

Your body is designed to heal

From the moment you're born, your body is constantly repairing, adapting and responding. Every cut begins to mend. Bones knit together after a fracture. Your immune system recognises and responds to infection. Cells are replaced, tissues remodel and countless processes quietly work together every second to keep you alive. Healing isn't something your body occasionally does. It's what your body is continually trying to do. So why can it sometimes feel like you've become stuck?

Protection is not the opposite of healing

Imagine you're walking through the bush and unexpectedly hear a snake rustling in the leaves. Before you've consciously thought about what's happening, your body has already responded.

Your muscles tense.

Your breathing changes.

Your heart beats faster.

Your senses become sharper.

Blood is redirected towards the muscles you'll need if you have to move quickly.

This is your nervous system doing exactly what it evolved to do. It keeps you alive.

The remarkable thing is that your nervous system doesn't only respond to immediate danger. It also responds to repeated physical strain, emotional overwhelm, poor sleep, illness, inflammation, ongoing pain, grief, major life changes, environmental stressors and countless other experiences that require adaptation. Most of the time, once the challenge has passed, the body gradually settles again. But sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the protective response becomes so familiar that it begins to feel like the body's new normal.

When protection becomes the default

Think about the last time you felt truly relaxed. Not distracted. Not watching television. Not simply exhausted at the end of the day. But deeply settled. For many people, it's surprisingly difficult to remember. We live in a world that asks a lot of our nervous systems. Constant notifications, busy schedules, financial pressure, caring for children or ageing parents, disrupted sleep, emotional stress and years of accumulated physical tension all add to the load. The body adapts remarkably well, until eventually those adaptations become patterns.

Muscles remain guarded.

Breathing becomes shallow without us noticing.

Digestion slows.

Sleep becomes lighter.

Pain becomes more persistent.

Our capacity to recover between stressful events gradually decreases.

These aren't signs that your body is broken. Often, they're signs that your body has become exceptionally good at protecting you.

So where does healing begin?

One of my favourite things about working with people is watching the moment they realise they don't have to fight their body anymore. Instead of asking, "How do I make these symptoms go away?" we begin asking, "What might my body be trying to protect me from?" It's a subtle shift but an important one. Because when we stop seeing the body as the enemy, we can begin working with it rather than against it.

For some people, that means exploring lifestyle factors such as sleep, nourishment, movement or time in nature.

For others, herbal medicine offers gentle support for the nervous system, digestion, immune function or stress resilience.

Sometimes flower essences help people process emotional experiences that feel difficult to put into words.

And sometimes the missing piece is creating an opportunity for the nervous system itself to experience safety again.

Where Spinal Flow fits

This is one of the reasons I was drawn to Spinal Flow Technique. Rather than forcing the body to change, Spinal Flow uses gentle contacts along specific access points of the spine to encourage the nervous system to shift out of patterns of protection and towards greater ease.

The intention isn't to "fix" the body. The body already knows how to heal. The intention is to create the conditions that allow healing to become possible again. Everyone's experience is different.

Some people notice they breathe more deeply.

Others sleep more soundly.

Some become aware of emotions they hadn't realised they were carrying.

Others simply feel lighter, calmer or more present in their bodies.

Healing doesn't always happen in the way we expect. Often it begins with the nervous system recognising that it no longer needs to hold on so tightly. Personally, I experienced healing through release of emotions during sessions, reduction in tension, expansion of breath up my spine, improved sleep and a calmer presence. My clients have their own personal experiences but many are in line with my own. Everyone feels calmer and more centred within themselves, like they’re connecting back into parts of themselves that they hadn’t in some time.

A holistic approach

There's rarely a single cause behind persistent symptoms, which is why I don't believe there's usually a single solution. Our health is shaped by our nervous system, nutrition, environment, movement, relationships, emotional wellbeing, connection with nature and many other factors that interact throughout our lives.

That's why my work combines Spinal Flow with herbal medicine and other holistic approaches when appropriate. Together, they help us understand not just what you're experiencing, but why your body may be responding in that way and how we can gently support it towards greater resilience. No two people arrive with the same story. Your care shouldn't be the same either.

The science behind protection and healing

Modern neuroscience tells us that the nervous system is constantly assessing our internal and external environment for cues of safety and danger. This process happens largely outside our conscious awareness and influences heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, digestion, immune activity and even how we experience pain.

When the brain perceives ongoing threat, whether from injury, chronic stress, poor sleep or persistent inflammation, it may continue prioritising protection over repair. This can contribute to ongoing muscle guarding, heightened pain sensitivity, disrupted sleep and changes in digestion or energy levels.

Importantly, pain doesn't always reflect tissue damage. We now know that the nervous system itself plays a significant role in how pain is produced and maintained, especially when symptoms become persistent or chronic.

While no single therapy is the answer for everyone, approaches that support nervous system regulation are receiving increasing attention because they aim to improve the conditions in which the body's natural healing processes can occur.

A final thought

Perhaps your body isn't working against you. Perhaps it's been working for you all along. Sometimes what feels like a problem is actually an intelligent protective response that has simply outlived its usefulness. When we begin listening to the body with curiosity instead of frustration, we often discover that healing isn't about forcing change. It's about creating the conditions in which change becomes possible.

If you are keen to connect, please either get in touch or book in. I’m here to support you, your body and your nervous system (all intertwined as one beautiful being :) There’s more information on the following pages:

Spinal Flow Technique: Samford, North Brisbane

Holistic Herbalism: Consults, Samford and Telehealth

Herbal Medicine Workshops: Samford/Wights Mountain

The feminine energy of softness and strength settling into the space in between.

I’ve been reflecting a lot lately. On this life and the push and pull we find ourselves in on a daily basis. I’m one to push myself and to be honest, it’s often not what’s best for me physically, mentally and/or emotionally. So then I find myself pulling right back, hiding under the covers, not wanting to engage. And more often than not I end up sick, with a migraine and massive tension throughout my body. My body is sending me messages but have I been listening as intently as I should? Well, yes and no. I listen, I feel into my body, I say “just let me do this thing” then “just let me finish that thing”. I do respond but often it’s only when the shouting starts. Either my own shouting or my body shouting at me. And I tell you, this push and pull is exhausting! I suppose I do it because I want to do “all the things”. All the things I love, all the things my girls want to do, all the things I expect of myself. Then there are those other things: things others expect of me (although I find the wiser I become the less I allow those things to make a dent in my emotional whirlpool), the general responsibilities we need to undertake in order to simply “survive” and those mundane tasks we can’t avoid forever. Even if we’re not “doing” them, we’re thinking about them and they’re like a heavy tonne of bricks on our psyche, weighing us down as we sink slowly (and sometimes quickly!) into the ground, unable to push them off of us without a lot of effort, all the while more things are being added to this sometimes invisible tottering pile of tasks and expectations. Who’s with me?!

I’m not complaining (well not to you but admittedly I do sometimes complain to loved ones and myself about “all the things”!), I’m simply wanting to point out these reflections and how I’ve come to a place of really needing to find that space between for my own sanity and, even more deeply, my survival. You see, I don’t think we can survive as beautiful feminine women in this heavily masculinised world if we let the weight of everything continue to pull us down without supporting the feminine in a nurturing and nourishing way. Yes there is an ebb and flow to life, that is the very nature of the feminine. But if as women we are DOING more and PUSHING more in a masculine, driven way, then we may in turn be suppressing our feminine when she wants to come out to “play” or to rest or to simply BE. It’s about finding both the softness and the strength and intwining the two of them together to become the women we’re meant to be.

For me, I found myself in a very masculine state after being diagnosed with breast cancer. I really took charge and I do feel I needed to be there at that stage of my life and I’m grateful that I could allow my masculine to take charge. It became quite entrenched though and I can even see how it has negatively affected my relationship with my husband and my children. Because I was so in my masculine my husband wasn’t able to be. You see, there is a dynamic in relationships, a balance of masculine and feminine, whether you’re in a female/male relationship or a LGBTQIA relationship, for a relationship to work with ease and flow, the masculine/feminine balance needs to be there otherwise there’s another push/pull that’s likely to be taking place. I can also see that being in my masculine wasn’t what was best for my daughters and as my feminine has been in the light more in recent years I can see and feel how my relationship with my girls has gone from strength to strength. They respond to the feminine because it’s in them too. And I want to model that for them so they keep their feminine energy in the light rather than pushing her away to hide. They also respond to the screaming banshee that I sometimes become when they’re simply not responding to anything at all! This isn’t what I like to model for them but alas she does present herself at times when I’m massively triggered and haven’t had enough of that space I’m talking about here.

So, it took some time to recognise in myself that I was living in the masculine much more than the feminine. And even with that awareness it has been difficult to drop the constant DOING of the masculine and to allow more time and space for daydreaming, simply being and self nurturing. I’m wound up so bloody tightly that my body memory wants to continue in that state as that’s how it remembers to be. Rushing, busy-ness, constantly thinking, ticking off my mental list. It’s certainly not a state I enjoy being in or want to be in long term. Yet that’s where I constantly find myself if I’m not conscious about the state I intend to be in. Yes, I see the benefits when things need to be done, they get done. But I’ve come to the point over the last few months where things weren’t getting done anyway. Until recently I’ve been in a victim state of procrastination, overwhelm and apathy. These states are messages from my body saying “STOP!” I finished work in June and I haven’t given the space to my soul and body that they desire. Actually, not desire, deeply need. I’ve been ignoring the signs. When I look back further, I can see that I haven’t made that time and space available to myself since finishing cancer treatment. I went straight into doing mode with study and trying to “fix” my health. All very masculine. All go go go. All requiring vast amounts of energy that I didn’t have then and I still don’t feel I have now. As a woman it’s not my natural state of being so it requires more energy to stay in that state long term. In the meantime I’m constantly depleting any energy I am able to build up when I do snatch those feminine spaces.

So how does one replenish that feminine energy and vitality? There are so many ways!

With lots of self reflection taking place I’m realising that my plant medicine business just needs to be in the flow, I’m not going to push, I’m just going to allow what it will be to be. I love creating and making flower essences and my oil blends and will definitely continue to do so. I’m playing with tea blends to share and I look forward to seeing what else will come forth from this space of play and creativity with the wonderful plant medicines we have available to us. This was always my intention but I’ve let myself and my own internal expectations take me on a bit of a ride (all in my head of course, gosh we can get stuck in there sometimes can’t we!!) If you’d like to keep supporting me in my creative outlet then I’ll happily serve you in this way :)

I’ve been taking a homeopathic remedy which has been wonderful for pulling me out of that awful cycle I’d found myself stuck in that was energy depleting. I’ll continue on that and will no doubt continue to see the benefits to my whole being, including my feminine coming out to play more and more.

Attending women’s circles and similar events lift me up and definitely get me into the flow of the feminine. I’m going on a women’s retreat in November which I am so looking forward to. Cacao ceremonies and the dancing that ensues definitely gets my feminine energy flowing and these will continue of course as my deep love for dancing will never be abated. Then simply spending time in my body, in bed, in the shower, focusing deeply on my body and all the feels that come with that. Being in our bodies and feeling the feelings that arise is the quickest way of getting ourselves into the feminine! Simply sit and focus all of your attention on your whole body for two minutes and feel that energy vibrating within. Let that energy flow into the activities of your day and the encounters you experience.

Another way to increase your feminine energy is to spend time with other women who are also within their feminine. We share energy and this energy is passed with every connection we make. This simple connection, a touch, a long held eye gaze, a loving comment, will touch the heart of your feminine, so make sure you’re sharing your feminine energy with others too. Let’s help it to grow!

This last week I had a very intense psychosomatic body therapy session whereby I released a lot of stuck emotions from my body. The therapist could see from my way of being and my words that I’m a striver and my female ancestors have probably also been strivers out of necessity. They had to step into their own masculine for extended periods which I’ve picked up on and carried throughout parts of my life. There are some wonderful flower essences for that, in particular Spirit of Woman’s Pink Shamrock (if you’d like to work on clearing some of your transgenerational ties and patterns I can help you with that, please get in touch). Anyway, this therapist has recommended (and given me permission in a way) to go back to bed for two hours once the girls have gone to school (and on weekends) where I’m to sleep, read fiction (only) and journal. No study, no phone, no to do lists, no non-fiction books, no Netflix. Light a candle, have a cup of tea, JUST BE.

Upon reflecting on this and how wonderful this feels to even just think about, I feel this is what has been missing for me. I definitely take snippets of time for myself but such a big block daily feels very luxurious. But also necessary to help move me through this phase of my healing journey. I can’t quite believe I hadn’t thought of doing this myself! But I suppose as a wife, mother, home manager, student, business owner, I didn’t feel like I’d have the time to do such a thing. I’ve been saying since I finished work in June that I was in need some space. Well, this is just the space my heart has been desiring. I am so looking forward to giving myself this space over the coming weeks and perhaps even months to see what happens with my tense and overly wound up body, my tense and overly wound up mind, with my psyche and my soul. I’m looking forward to this experiment and will try to share some of my experiences with it, if it feels in the flow to do so.

This is one of the way I hope to find that “space in between” so that I may continue doing the things I love for myself and others with more vitality, joy and pleasure.

Does any of this resonate with you? I’d love to hear your own experiences with being in the masculine and how you get yourself back into that beautiful feminine that is our life force.

Much love to you and healing energy too!

Cassie xo

Dandelion is the perfect flower essence for anxiety and you’ll find it in many of the Plants + Passion blends (it’s my personal favourite!)

Anxiety:

Cloak.  Weight.  Tired.  Wired.  Adrenaline.  Racing.  Overwhelm.  Busy.  Fear.  Unknown.  Control.  Life.  Death.

Which words, emotions and feelings describe anxiety for you?

This is how I felt for many years.  I remember feelings like this from my teenage years, scattered throughout my 20s and for half of my 30s after my breast cancer diagnosis at 34.

Over the last year I’ve been amazed at how much these feelings have reduced, even disappeared for the most part, even though I am busier than ever and feel stretched in many directions.

So, what can I credit this reduction to?  Well, it isn’t just one thing.  I would say it’s many things even though I'm not doing all of the things all of the time.  As a human being I personally just find it too difficult to maintain all of the things all of the time!  I’m sure you can relate.

Around this time last year I signed up for Mindful in May which set me on a wonderful path of meditation and inner reflection.  Finding time for a regular meditation practice (even 10 minutes a day) or a daily mindfulness practice does wonders for anxiety.

I then committed myself to a pretty strict ketogenic diet and herbal medicine gut healing protocol for 6+ months and also stopped drinking alcohol.  There is a strong link between gut health and mental health so it’s no wonder doing this work has improved my mental health.  I’ve enjoyed coming back to a more varied diet but have continued with a cyclic keto diet which is generally low carb high fat.  It feels really natural for me to eat this way and I can feel that my body is well nourished because of it.

During this time I also became a flower essence practitioner and have been dosing myself and my family almost daily ever since!  Flower essences are a wonderfully empowering way to take control of your emotional health (nb. flower essences are not essential oils, although I do use both in my mists and natural perfumes).  Flower essences are an easy, natural vibrational medicine where the small dose can have huge benefits.  I’m in awe of the results I’m achieving not only with myself but also with my clients.

This year exercise has finally become a regular part of my week, something I’ve been trying to establish for many years.  I can’t quite believable how much I look forward to it and enjoy it in the process.

Another thing that has helped is just a greater awareness of my inner landscape.  I don’t get caught up in there over analysing too much but I can see what’s holding me back and areas that need some assistance in blossoming.  Again flower essences are wonderful to help give us more clarity on what’s going on inside those monkey minds and to give them a bit of a declutter.  Meditation also does wonders for this.

So, is it one of these things or all of them that’s helped to reduce the anxiety that was ever present in my mind, chest, gut and throat?  All of them of course!

It’s never just one thing that will bring you closer to your health goals.  It is a holistic way of being, one that may be difficult at times, that you want to give up on and do some days (I do!), but one that feels right from the depths of your soul.

Life has felt very busy this last year and in the past I would have had trouble coping with the overwhelm of it all.  It’s not just a change in biochemistry or physical and emotional resilience but also a change in mindset (flower essences are wonderful for helping us to see our situations in a new and positive light).  I like to see my life as full of abundance rather than full of busy-ness (in a negative way).  As long as the abundance (busy-ness) is in alignment with my values and not taking me away from the things that I love then I’ll welcome it and be grateful for it.

So, how much abundance do you currently have in your life?  Do you need some guidance in changing your mindset and reducing your anxiety levels?  The flower essences and I would love to assist with that if the time is right for you.  Custom elixirs and set blends are available.  Stress Less is particularly indicated for anxiety but a custom blend would be even better with some Stress Less as support.  Reach out when you’re ready and enjoy your abundance!

Beautiful Kale

Let's talk food, diets, eating programs/plan.  I really don't like the word diet and try not to use it too often.  One definition of diet is "the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats."  I'm actually okay with that definition.  There's no negative association there.  Here's another, "a special course of food to which a person restricts themselves, either to lose weight or for medical reasons."  I'm not as fussed on this one and it's the restriction part that makes me baulk in this definition.  Plus it's often associated with weight loss.  I prefer to say "eating program/plan", which I know could also be considered to be the same as a diet but it has less negative connotations, well, in my mind anyway.  I may use the word diet throughout though because it's just easier and I'm hoping you know it's not about weight loss when applying this term to myself.

So, on the Kultured Wellness gut healing program, I'm following quite a strict ketogenic diet for an approximate amount of time (about six months, with an adapted version from there).  It isn't your typical keto diet but takes into account other aspects such as healing the gut, removing pathogens such as candida and parasites plus also reducing inflammation.  What I'm focusing on is the vast array of beautiful foods I can eat to help in this healing and sealing of the GIT (gastrointestinal tract).  I think that is always what needs to be the focus when you're changing how you eat.  Simply focus on what you CAN eat.  Full stop.  Have a list of the most beneficial foods and prepare wonderfully tasty meals that nourish your body from those ingredients.  Forget about other food for the time being.  I know there are many of us out there who also like to feed our emotions.  This is often the hardest part when adjusting to a new eating program that you've likely initially come to for physical health reasons.  The mind has cravings too and can be hard to resist.  We have habits and rituals in place around food and it's important to replace these with other healthful habits to help get us through potentially tough periods.  Think exercise, meditation, journalling, chatting with a close friend, creative outlets, taking out the sweet stuff and adding in some fat, as fat is satiating. Work out what works for you and try it on for a bit.  If that doesn't continue to work, introduce another healthful habit and just keep trying.  Our urges tend to be fleeting.  If you can sit with the urge and resist it, your ability to resist in future will only get stronger.  It's like working a muscle.

A ketogenic diet's main focus is low carb and high fat.  Don't confuse this with the Aitkin's Diet from the 1990s though which seemed to have a focus on low carb, high protein and moderate fat.  If done properly, the ketogenic diet has a focus on low carbs, high (good) fats and moderate protein (as is recommended in a standard diet anyway).  Just to be clear, this isn't a diet with a focus on high protein.  Yes, protein is essential, it's broken down in our body to amino acids which are then formed into other beneficial proteins within our body for structural and functional purposes.  Too much protein will be converted to glucose via the process of gluconeogenesis and if the glucose isn't needed as energy for the cells then will be stored in our adipose (fat) tissue.  Too many carbs will do the same.  Hence, the focus on fat.  Our bodies are miraculous and dynamic, being able to derive energy from fat if there's no glucose on board.  Our brain needs fat in order to function.  When we eat fats, our bodies break that fat down into ketones, just like sugars are broken down into glucose.  Both ketones and glucose can be used as an energy source by the body and the brain.  In times prior to agriculture, when food was harder to come by, people didn't have the excessive amount of carbs that are available these days and therefore in leaner times the body was able to run from excess fat stores which were increased during times of excess.  These days it's all about excess really.  In our western society, there is so much excess that our bodies are going into shock and chronic disease is at an all time high in both adults and kids alike.  We have an emotional connection to the food and our bodies are addicted to food that has been tested excessively in science food labs to find that sweet spot of sugar and (unhealthy) fat.  It's a difficult habit to break when big food businesses are trying their darnedest to keep you hooked on their "gear".

The ketogenic eating program I'm following does more than increase good fats and reduce carbs.  One of the main focus is vegetables.  Lots of leafy green, sulphurous vegetables.  This is where I'm getting my carbs and fibre from.  They're extremely alkalising and supportive of the liver and our detox pathways.  I'm probably eating 7-9 cups of vegetables a day.  I'm also fermenting fruit such as bananas and berries to eat with my coconut yoghurt or I'm adding fresh fruit to ferment with my kefir.  I'm fermenting fruit to reduce sugars but still consuming it to benefit from all the amazing antioxidants and phytochemicals. You may be wondering why I'm reducing sugars, and carbs too.  Well, for one, I have parasites , a strep overgrowth and also potentially a candida overgrowth.  These pathogens and opportunistic bacteria and yeast love sugar, so instead of giving them what they love, I'm depriving them of that during the course of the program.  This makes my gut less hospitable to them and they vacate with the help of enemas, other detox tools, supplements and herbal cleanses.  Will I continue eating in this way after I finish the program?  I am going to listen to my body which is what we should all be doing.  Having a reset like this is a wonderful way to cut out all the crap and just eat real food.  As we add new food back in we will have become more in tune with our bodies and the messages they're sending us.  At this time it will be really important to listen and perhaps wait a bit longer to reintroduce certain foods.  But I am getting way ahead of myself.  I've been following this way of eating for 2 months and I have to say, it's actually getting easier rather than harder.  I have 4 more months of the program left with reintroduction of foods obviously occurring towards the end.  I'm looking forward to this process as a learning experience and experiment as it's not really something I've done before and given the right amount of attention to.  What wonderful learnings will present themselves to me I wonder?!  I'm already learning so much and enjoying the whole experience, even when feeling bad because that is part of it and I will be able to put myself in my future clients' shoes.

Back to the here and now, I am eating a wonderful array of food.  Mostly cooked, often slow cooked, fermented fruits and vegetables (never raw), fresh vegetables (cooked), olives, fish, meat, eggs, pate, broth, coconut yoghurt, kefir, flavoured kefir and yoghurt, cultured guacamole, cauliflower fritters, fermented green banana pancakes with yoghurt and fermented berries, lots of butter, ghee, olive oil, mayo and coconut oil, plenty of ginger, garlic, turmeric and other spices, gelatin/jellies, bulletproof decaf coffees, herbal teas and water.  Lots of water.  So much food, so many wonderful combinations.  As the weather gets warmer I'm going to add in some fermented juices and bulletproof ice cream plus some other cooler options to see how my body handles them. 

I'm very much a "it's cold, eat warm food" type of person so that's what I've been doing over the last few months. From an Ayurvedic perspective, we must keep our agni ignited, which is our digestive fire.  Raw foods can put this digestive fire out, particularly in people who have a weakened constitution and low vitality.  These people need all the help they can get and eating food that's already been partially digested via the cooking process will be much easier for them.  For me!  I find every summer my gut health worsens and I suffer with bloating, cramping and heartburn.  I've realised that eating raw food hasn't been agreeing with me and that for the time being I just need warm, cooked food or fermented food which has also been partially digested in the fermenting process.  I love salads and raw fruit so I'm looking forward to reintroducing them both down the track.

One thing that I've come to realise over the last couple of years is that I most likely have low hydrochloric acid in my stomach.  This means that my food isn't being broken down as much as it should be in the stomach before moving onto the small intestine.  What can happen here is the undigested food in the stomach starts fermenting and can cause reflux and heartburn (a little apple cider vinegar in warm water and/or digestive enzymes prior to eating can assist in breaking down the food).  These symptoms often mean too little hydrochloric acid in the stomach, rather than too much (which is often the way conventional practitioners view heartburn and reflux).  Also, if the food particles are too big in the small intestine and there is a leaky gut present (the tight junctions in the membrane of the gut wall are no longer tight), larger food molecules can escape from where they're meant to be (contained within the gut) to outside the gut and into the blood, where they can wreak havoc on our immune system (hello autoimmune disease and food intolerances!) Anyway, this is what can happen biologically in the body with a combo of low hydrochloric acid and leaky gut.  First, food intolerances, brain fog, heartburn and reflux, next, autoimmune disease, depression, anxiety and chronic disease.  If the message still isn't getting out there then I'll say it again, it all starts in the gut.  Heal the gut, give your guts the love they deserve and you'll reap the rewards.

My husband is also eating this way with me.  He's not as super strict as I am but he's doing wonderfully.  And even though my aim isn't to lose weight, that's one of his goals and the weight is peeling off of him.  He's not weighed himself but he's gone down many belt holes and his pants are falling off of him.  This is without any exercise whatsoever.  He also combines the ketogenic diet with a bit of intermittent fasting.  Again, he's not super strict with it but on a couple of days a week he'll simply eat less calories.  It might be because he's forgotten to take lunch that day or because he's simply not hungry.  I think in this way he is listening to the signs his body is giving him and not eating just because it's a preconceived meal time.  I'm super proud of him.

Something I say to myself and also to my girls is that I am choosing to eat this way.  I don't say, I can't have chocolate or I can't have cake, I say I'm choosing not to.  Because I am.  It's a choice I've made and I am so determined to stick with it because I have no doubt that the benefits are numerous.  I know a ketogenic diet won't be for everyone and I have to admit that initially I lost a few kilos which isn't ideal for me as I'm already underweight.  My weight is now stable but could still fluctuate as I continue on the herbal cleanses (more on these in another post).  I was also concerned initially that it would mess with my hormones as I'd heard that that can happen.  Anyway, my menstrual cycle has been super regular with no issues.  Hopefully it continues that way.

I'm loving the fact that what I'm essentially doing is cutting out all the crap and just eating an abundance of real food.  Beautiful, tasty, satiating, fresh, nourishing, satisfying food! Just as nature intended it :)  What's your favourite real food?  At the moment, if I was to just pick one, it would be brussel sprouts - strange I know!  And my fav meal is slow cooked lamb shoulder with cauliflower and leek puree and a big pile of green veg that's been steamed/fried in lots of yummy fats, garlic and broth plus some sauerkraut and a cup of kefir.  So good!  I'd give you a recipe but really you won't need one.  Add the lamb to a slow cooker, add rosemary and thyme, salt & pepper and a splash of water, cook on low all day.  With the cauli puree I use my Thermomix but essentially you steam the cauli and leeks, add some broth, butter, S&P and blitz to a smooth consistency.  Greens, just cook them how you like them!  I like mine fried up in lots of fat, then before they brown I'll pop some liquid in plus a teaspoon of Marrow & Meadow bone broth concentrate, season and pop the lid on.  Cook until they're at the texture you enjoy.  My mouth is salivating thinking about it... What's your fav meal?  Do you have any keto style dishes you'd like to share?

One of the reasons I wanted to start blogging again was to write about my experiences whilst undertaking the Kultured Wellness six month gut healing program.  For years I've experienced poor gut health and have thrown numerous different healing strategies at it.  I had IBS in my teens and 20s, well, so the Dr said after numerous tests and surgical procedures showed up no medically recognisable issues.  It's amazing how far gut health research has come in 20 years though, even if something like gluten intolerance is still scoffed at by the medical fraternity. 

Eating a healthier diet during my late 20s and early 30s (thanks to my husband Derek who has never minded cooking lots of yummy vegetables for me!) meant a reduction in IBS symptoms.  I feel that being settled in life and less stressed with Derek by my side also helped in reducing the IBS symptoms.  When stress flared, so did my IBS symptoms.  IBS has been shown in the research to worsen during times of stress.  As you should all know by now, even conventional medicine is getting on board to some extent, there is the gut-brain connection and it goes two ways.  For easy to read, evidence based readings check out Michael Mosley’s body of work.

Biologically, our guts contain numerous neurotransmitters that affect our mood.  In fact, the enteric nervous system in our gut produces the most amount of serotonin in our whole bodies, even though it is also produced in the brain.  Serotonin is our happy hormone (it is considered both a hormone (in the gut) and neurotransmitter (in the brain)) and it helps to regulate our moods, social behaviour, libido and sleep.  Who doesn't want more of that going on in our lives?!  If our gut is in poor health, things like our neurotransmitters, hormones plus vitamin and mineral balance can be affected negatively.  It can affect us mentally, emotionally and physically.  The whole is more than the sum of it's parts after all! 

Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is when gut health is poor, it affects all aspects of our lives.  When I was having conventional cancer treatment I suffered quite terribly with diarrhoea.  It was horrendous and relentless.  I lost a lot of weight and couldn't leave the house without taking gastro stop.  If I knew then what I know now I would have taken psyllium husk or slippery elm instead!  Psyllium husk is regulatory in the bowel, which means you can take it for both constipation and diarrhoea.  Drink a teaspoon down a few times a day with lots of water for constipation and only a small amount of water with diarrhoea.  My gut was in taters.  I even underwent an endoscopy and colonoscopy to explore whether there was something more sinister occurring in my bowels and gastrointestinal tract.  Truth be told though, it was the drugs I was on.  So, as this treatment came to an end my bowels returned to a more "normal" state and my first focus of healing was using nutrition. Starting with nutrition in healing is always a wonderful first step due to it really being essential in making long term change to our health.  It's been an interesting and satisfying ride to see where I've come from since back then, with a few hiccups along the way...

The gut was obviously a very hospitable place for pathogens because since that time, even though I had done lots of healing, I've had parasites, a candida overgrowth and more recently have found out I have a streptococcus overgrowth.  Yes, the bad guys love partying hard together, in my gut.  In that time though I've also managed to grow some of the good guys to fantastic numbers.  Escherichia coli (E.coli) is a beneficial bacteria that is important in the production of CoQ10, vitamin K2, folate, amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and neurotransmitters.  My naturopath tells me that she's quite impressed with my distribution of E.coli and that I should be proud of my efforts.  It's probably why I actually cope quite well and my gut issues aren't all consuming compared to others who have similar issues but with low E.coli as well. 

So, 2.5 years ago I found out I had two species of parasites in my gut and even though they weren’t causing me too many gut symptoms at the time, they were likely causing other issues like brain fog, anxiety and moodiness. Fast forward a month and the whole family had a gastro bug. Everyone got over it relatively quickly except for me. The parasites had taken their opportunity and grown in numbers while my other good bacteria were down and out. They are opportunistic creatures after all. My symptoms were horrendeous.  On occasion it felt like I was in labour. And the full moon always brought about the worst symptoms. Did you know that parasites follow the lunar cycle? Just like women’s cycles do. So here I was, moving house, starting college on campus for the first time, doing two school drop offs, my eldest daughter (then 6) with major separation anxiety and also dealing with these vicious parasites. It was a very stressful time! Feeling so stressed would have only provided a more hospitable environment for them too as pathogens thrive in an inflammatory space. 

At that time I threw everything in my power at the parasites, Diateomeba fragilis and Blastocystis hominis (and don’t forget the Candida overgrowth). I used herbs and garlic and different herbs and essential oils and different herbs again (using different herbs cyclically helps to stop the pathogens becoming resistant). I heard Mary from Good Mood Food speak on the Quirky Cooking podcast about her parasite protocol and semi followed that. I chatted to the naturopath at my local health food store and she and I together formulated an anti-parasitic herbal remedy (pomegranate, green tea and golden seal) which I used on and off with different remedies.  I also did a colonic and some home enemas with garlic juice and probiotics in water towards the end of a six month period of suffering. In the end it was the colonic and enemas that pretty much stopped the horrible symptoms I was experiencing. Looking back I thInk I felt so bad because I wasn’t actually doing anything to remove the toxins from my body. Meaning I was killing the parasites and as they were dying they were releasing toxic material so this toxic material and the dead parasites were still in my system, not being removed quick enough by my system (think detox pathways, kidney pathways and digestive system). The colonic and enemas helped to move these pathogenic materials out quickly and stop creating havoc and inflammation in my body. I did another stool test a few months later and the Blasto was gone although the D.frag was still there but wasn’t causing me any gut issues.

So that was then and this is now. Towards the end of last year my gut started causing me issues again after doing so well for so long! I stopped eating cheese, except for goats cheese, all legumes (we’re not friends) and reduced my grain intake again (I’d eaten a strict Paleo diet for a while a few years ago). This year I had 4 colds that seemed to merge Into each other all by the end of May. My immune system was obviously struggling and my food intolerances getting worse. Mind you my stress levels had increased again (definite correlation there) having taken on a new job and three subjects at college. 

Some health conscious friends whose values totally align with mine had alerted me to the Kultured Wellness gut healing program. I checked it out and was totally inspired by the thought of it. Could I take six months of my life and give it to doing some deep healing on my poor gut? I’d already given it so much love but like a needy girlfriend/boyfriend it obviously wasn’t enough and I was going to have to cut myself off socially to some extent in order to help heal it. That’s not a great analogy but it certainly feels like I have to go all in or suffer from niggley to bigger issues gut related for the long term. So I bit the bullet and signed up. 

So that’s where I am now. One month in and things are starting to shift... it ain’t all roses though, let me tell you...

Next time!

I'm back!  This is my first blog post since November 2015.  I was previously blogging over here about my breast cancer "journey" (if anyone has a better choice of word please do share).  I have been a very busy girl since then: studying, working, raising my two daughters, healing myself, cooking and eating lots of yummy healthy food, spending time with family and friends and learning a lot about myself in the process.  It feels like the right time to come back.  I have been head down bum up with the studying for three years now.  Some days I feel in the grove, like nothing can stop me!  Others I feel like I'm on the long train to wisdom, experience and knowledge.  I can see that each subject I take builds on the previous ones and that in each lecture there is information that I am storing for later use.  I'm doing my Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy) part time, which means a four year degree could potentially take me eight years or even more!  The plan is to have it done in six.  If I do achieve that it means I'm now half way!  That actually feels like a big achievement.  I didn't study at University after high school and for many years actually doubted my abilities to be able to do it.  But I am kicking goals all over the place, however also learning that Ps equal Degrees.  Meaning, I don't actually have to get Distinctions and HDs every single time.  Something I've had to learn the hard way this semester as I started working part time alongside my study and raising a family.  There's just not enough time in my week to fulfill all of my needs and desires so I opt for self care a lot of the time over hard core study.  I just feel that's better for me in the short term and long term.

So, why Naturopathy?  Well, it was the nutrition aspect that got me to thinking I wanted to study natural health and then once I started thinking long and hard about it I realised I loved herbal medicine just as much as nutrition.  It's really difficult for me to pick a favourite...  Okay, it's herbal medicine!  Mainly because nutrition often feels more science based when studying it and herbal medicine feels more like a warm hug.  To me nutrition feels more masculine and herbal medicine more feminine.  I'm just going with my gut feels.  I do love both though and I think both can bring about some extraordinary holistic healing and changes in the body.  I will no doubt write extensive amounts about both nutritional and herbal medicine.

So, the purpose of this new blog is multi-pronged.  I'm hoping that writing about things that I'm learning will help to cement my knowledge, especially in areas that interest me.  I'm hoping that I can work out what I'd like to specialise in once I graduate, which area of natural health inspires me the most to make a difference in (I'm guessing that's what I'll write about the most!)  So far my interests lie in cancer (although this could also be very confronting for me), women and their young families plus gut health.  Talking of gut health, I've just started quite an intense, six month gut healing program (long term poor gut health, cancer treatment and parasites have all left me feeling like it's my gut that needs some tender loving care right now).  I feel it will be beneficial to blog about this.  Another aspect is building up a blog and website for future me - Cassie Hower Naturopath.  And lastly, I want to help people.  I hope that some of my learnings along the way, whether they be from scientific sources, anecdotal stories or my own personal n=1 experiments, will ripple out to others.  We are all so connected and I find that once that ripple starts it just keeps on going!  

So that's why I'm here.  Why are you here?  What would you like to learn more about?  Food/recipes, gut health, natural remedies, evidence based natural medicine, meditation or mindfulness?  What interests you about health and wellness?