Learning Naturopathy - A New Beginning (even though I'm half way through...)

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?