Your Home Has The Power to Heal

Your Home Has The Power to Heal.

by Gina Lazenby

Home. Home Sweet Home.

It's a phrase we all know so well, but what does it mean? Is it about the sweet sensation of arriving home safely, closing the door to the outside world behind you and falling into the loving embrace of your own home, your own private space?

And this welcoming energy ……. does it not also heal the spirit? That is exactly what home does; it's our place of healing and a private sanctuary that provides a restorative balm to our tired and sometimes wounded mind, body and soul.

Knowing that home is the heart of your life and the place for healing, what have you consciously set up to facilitate deeper healing when needed? We can put so much in place to support daily living and make continual corrections to the imbalances that we experience every day.

We are blessed with access to so much knowledge, both old traditions and new insights, so it would be good to set up your home as a restorative space more consciously.

That means paying particular attention to your kitchen being set up for the most nourishing and healing foods; your home generally being clutter-free with vibrant energy; your bedroom primed for deeper, regenerative sleep; a strong relationship with nature and living plants; and a pleasing arrangement of space, colour and decor to support quiet relaxation and enjoyment of beauty.

Take responsibility for your health .. yourself.

Before the National Health Service came into being in 1948 in the UK, people naturally had to handle many of life's illnesses and imbalances in their own homes. Visiting a doctor was expensive and beyond the reach of many.

With the advent of a free care service for everybody in the UK, generations of people would increasingly make the doctor the first person of choice for illness. As we enter the third decade of the 21st-century, we understand so much more about how our bodies work, what causes illness, and what we can do about it.

A self-care programme built into your home and lifestyle is now essential. It's also a smart thing to do when the medical system gets overloaded, and accessibility is reduced with long waiting times. An ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure.

Anything you can do to keep yourself well is the way forward. (You have to make your own judgement about when to call for a health professional and when to take care of yourself). I assisted a family member to recover quickly from a set of symptoms (dehydration) by strongly recommending a larger intake of water … don't forget the basics of life .. air, water and food!

The 21st-century first aid box

When I moved house, I found a green box emblazoned with a white cross full of gadgets and bandages, so I decided to rationalise and upgrade it. Beyond the staples of plasters, antiseptic, scissors, thermometer, cotton sling and bandages …… there is so much more than you can add. Take some time to explore possibilities like a SAD Light Box to give you extra daylight in the darker winter months to uplift your mood and energy levels. You might find that your first aid box becomes a whole cupboard for the family to access weekly or daily.

Gadgets for aching muscles:

Sitting in the chair with a sore back or neck? You can plug in your own mini-massage machine and place it where you have tension giving yourself a shiatsu style kneading of the muscles in spasm. So many other massage gadgets help release tension from the body. If you don't let the tension build up, you are warding off an escalation of the problem.

Tinctures:

Not all wounds are visible, so when someone has had, for example, a shock, maybe after falling or witnessing something startling, they are suffering from mild shock which needs treating immediately; otherwise, it can get trapped in the muscles and start creating tension. Some shocks can even feel like whiplash.

One solution is Rescue Remedy … it literally comes to your rescue. Over a century ago, Dr Edward Bach researched the potential for the essence of flowers to be used to help shift emotional issues.

Bach's Rescue Remedy bottle should be in everyone's first aid kit. There are 38 flower remedies altogether; you can also research the list of conditions and states, and buy some additional remedies to suit your family. One that tackles the feeling of overwhelm might perhaps work well for you to have to hand.

Using the sense of smell:

So many essential oils can freshen up a room, provide an aroma to encourage relaxation and even stimulate the mind if you're working at your desk and need to uplift your concentration levels.

Negative Ions are good for you:

It might be confusing but reduce the number of positively charged ions around you .. the ones that are like static. Negative ions keep you alert and assist with oxygen delivery to the brain. Bring in more living plants, fresh air, moving water in an ornamental fountain and even a glowing salt lamp.

Sleep is a great healer:

Yet research indicates that 50% of people sleep so little or so badly that it adversely affects their health. Health experts agree that the three key things that contribute to us staying healthy, are good nutrition, regular exercise and good quality sleep. Most people know about the first two, but not many recognise how much sleep can contribute to our well-being. In fact, of the three, it is undoubtedly the most important.

Many people do not recognise a problem with the quality and quantity of their sleep. Lack of good sleep is a significant source of stress because when we are asleep, the body processes many of the stressors that we experience during the day. So deep, healing sleep is what we all need every night to stay healthy and live longer.

Sleep is not a luxury but a necessity to keep us going. You need an excellent bedroom set-up and a good evening routine.

Good sleep hygiene. This is the term for preparing yourself for sleep and involves paying attention to the two hours before bedtime in terms of what you expose yourself to, the amount of light and the activities you do.

Try to create some buffer time in your life between going to bed and turning off the lights, and closing your eyes. Be intentionally slow and quiet in your pre-bed routine. Drink a relaxing tea like chamomile, turn the lights lower, and take some time for meditation or quiet reflection.

Turn off the electrical equipment in your bedroom and the Wi-Fi router. Avoid sitting at your desk with the lamp near your head and the monitor lighting up your face before bedtime. Do not use a hairdryer in the evening; that puts too much electricity around your head just before sleep.

A good, fresh air supply is optimal. If you're not brave enough to keep the window open slightly to keep the room cooler, then use an air system to bring ionised air into the room to help deepen your sleep.

Invest in a good mattress. Much can be written about the choice of mattress, but suffice to say, some beds have a much more beneficial effect on you than simply being comfortable and supporting you. I've slept on a magnetic mattress for 25 years, and it provides restoration for me every night. It's as if I am sleeping outside in nature, as the energy from the magnets replicates the Earth's natural energy and helps me sleep more deeply.

Whole books have been written about every aspect I have talked about here. The bottom line is that there is so much you can do to take care of yourself, live longer, and live well. Streamline, simplify and slow down. Eat mindfully, cook with the seasons, grow herbs in your garden or window ledge … invest in your well-being. Take care of yourself daily rather than simply booking a weekend away to recover occasionally. As good as getaways are, they can never replace healthy, life-sustaining routines. The state of your health and your longevity comes down to the choices you make daily in your own home.

The hot bath is a classic de-stressor:

It can provide remarkable healing after a long day. Add magnesium salts and essential oils, which can be chosen for their relaxation qualities and muscle support. Just having candlelight is another way to soothe away your layers of tension. A cold shower is also a powerful health aid. It might be easier than the wild swimming that everyone is talking about!

Take the lights down low:

Over-exposure to bright lights in the evening reduces your production of the sleep hormone melatonin. TV screens and your computer or tablet give off a vibe that affects your ability to sleep.

Your kitchen is by far the most comprehensive pharmacy there is:

If you expand your learning about the potential food and herbs have to assist you, there is so much you can do for yourself at home. The possibilities are endless! Your search engine will do all the heavy lifting!

In China, there is a concept of the Barefoot Doctor, one who travels to you and your community and literally with their own hands, through acupressure and massage, or the preparation of herbal home remedies, had most of the tools they needed to help you.

Everything we put in our mouths to eat affects us beyond satisfying hunger. It can either add to our well-being or diminish it in some small way. Food is medicine. That's a concept I have been studying more deeply with the Academy of Healing Nutrition these last months. I have added so much knowledge about the power of food to what I have practised in wholefood cooking for many years.

I'll share a few pointers which I have benefitted from:

Expand your range of drink choices beyond black tea and coffee. The world of herbs has much to offer, and exploring those daily can delight your taste buds and your digestion system.

Adapt your food choices every quarter to align with the seasons. Very few things grow all year round, so it's good to stop buying fruits in your winter season that are harvested in the summer in another country.

Soups, and stews, have priority over raw foods for much of the year except for the absolutely hottest months. The stomach does not favour raw food as much as the media does. But it does love fermented food, so adding a pickled vegetable to your dinners will massively aid digestion.

Even if you rarely eat meat, getting bones from the butcher and making bone broth for your soups will be an excellent choice in nourishment.

Food seen as healthy would be much more so if it were soaked in advance so that all the nutrients don't remain locked in and they can become more bio-available to your body. Most nuts, seeds and grains benefit from soaking or sprouting.

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper …. an old proverb that holds true. Move heaven and earth to eat your dinner early. It benefits your sleep as well as your digestion.

Reduce white sugar with coconut sugar, maple syrup, stevia or raw honey.

Invest in good quality water with a filter and also one that restructures it back to its natural state before being delivered through the municipal treatment plants and plumbing systems. Drink plenty of it throughout the day.

Gina Lazenby

Healthy Living Activist, Feng Shui Expert

Gina’s beautiful hilltop home in the Yorkshire Dales, featured on many TV programmes and the inspiration for her Healthy Home book, is now let as a retreat house to facilitators of yoga, transformation work and wellness. It’s also a special place to hire for family gatherings and celebrations.

She has always understood the management and care of a home as a highly feminine skill set. Her work in the last twenty years has been in the exploration of the changing nature of gender roles and the value of home-making in our lives. Her feng shui skill set enabled her to teach hundreds of students the value of aligning your home for success and wellness. She has also produced and presented a radio series called ‘The Rise of the Feminine’ exploring the shift in values in the world and the unique contribution of women.

Gina is a veteran conference speaker and has led gatherings for women entrepreneurs all over the globe. Most recently, she has taken on the role of global host for Conscious Café, a consciousness raising initiative, and hosts the northern community group based in Skipton. Gina is a born organiser and has created thousands of events since she was a small child and led birthday parties for her reluctant toddler brother. You can join her online or in-person at one of the many gatherings she creates around her passions of conscious conversation, feminine leadership, wholefood cooking, Feng Shui, living well and wisdom. Her Healthy Home podcast is about to be launched from the Retreat House with tips for making your home the foundation of your abundance and health.