Health & Wellbeing

Life Coaching

Do you feel stuck and unable to achieve your potential? Are you dreaming of a more fulfilling future? I can help to support you to achieve your best life on your own terms. Contact Sarah Eustance on 01258 458340 or 07743 418233, or email sarah@sarahjeustance.plus.com Visit www.lifecoachingsolutionsdorset.co.uk

FREE COUNSELLING SERVICE

We have received funding from the National Community Fund to enable us to offer a telephone support line for anybody having trouble coping with these weird times that we are going through. What ever your problem, give us a call and our friendly counsellor will try to help. The help line is available: Tuesdays Daytime1 - 4 pm Wednesdays Evening6 - 8 pm Thursday Daytime12 - 3 pm Telephone: 07714 550969 It’s good to share

David Stanton

IAC ICPT ISOCS ISSUP Psychotherapist and counsellor

l Individual and group sessions l ANY issue sensitively and thoughtfully covered by consultant and trainer with more than 40 years’ experience l Confidentiality assured

Go to edas-addictionservices.com or tatvacenter.com or call me on 07584 711488

NEW CLINIC

PODIATRY CLINIC ST EDMUNDS

Burton Street, Marnhull DT10 1PS Julie Anne Smith DPodM MCPod hcpc registered Podiatrist T. 01258 821297 E. stedmundspodiatry@gmail.com

Age Concern North Dorset

(Sturminster Newton) Your local charity for all age-related information and advice

01258 475582

Office open 10am - 2pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Health & Wellbeing Small steps key to opening back up

A thread has been appearing in conversations I have had with clients and friends recently. It’s a feeling of change in people’s lives that has occurred over the last year or so for obvious reasons but has only now come to the surface to be acknowledged. For many people, the last year has given cause to shy away from decisions that need to be made because the world had to grind to a halt. But now… as we come out of our hideaways, reality must be faced. For many, that is a truly daunting prospect. It signifies now is the time to decide and to take steps to move on in a new direction. It could be the end of a relationship or the start of a life without a loved one. Or moving on from a collapsed business. Whatever your situation, here are some thoughts on how to look after yourself and make moving forward a bit more accessible. Small steps. I know – I always say that. Because they are always the best option. Small steps rather than giant leaps are more sustainable and more absorbable into your current life. So make small changes and get used to them before making the next small change. Nothing too dramatic that will send waves crashing through the whole show. Talk. If something is on your mind and niggling you, talk to someone. It may be the first step is to talk to someone not directly involved, in other words not your partner, not your employer. Just by putting your concerns into words and saying them out loud you have taken a significant step. Talking is powerful. Don’t rush. Unless your situation is time-sensitive, don’t rush into decisions based on an emotional reaction. Take it steady and consider every step in the cold light of day. Our brains have an emotional side and a logical side (and knowing that is a key part of my stress management work) so make sure you are basing decisions on logic, not emotion. Don’t be afraid to say no. This summer is going to be filled with So Much Reunion. If that’s not your thing, all the time, don’t be afraid to say no. Have a stock answer ready for when friends or family spring a plan on you that makes you go cold. Everyone has to return at their own pace. n Alice Johnsen is a life coach based near Sherborne. 07961 080513 alicejohnsen.co.uk

OSTEOPATHIC CLINIC IN

WINCANTON HIGH STREET

Offering specialist osteopathic treatment for Headaches Back Pain Arthritic Pain Muscular Spasm

Sports Injuries Neck pain Sciatica Call now for professional advice and to arrange an appointment or visit our website brueosteopathy.co.uk info@brueosteopathy.co.uk 07421 100144

ADELE CLINCH, NATURAL PAIN RELIEF

BSC, HCPC, therapist in Gillingham registered Bio resonance scan & treatments, chiropodist/ podiatrist. 01935 812231 Home visits in NW Clinical reflexology & baby/toddler reflexology T: 01747 826931

Dorset Sherborne yvonne@intelligenthealthclinic.co.uk sherbornepodiatry.com Making Life More Comfortable!

Health & Wellbeing The marvels of mugwort can help with so many ailments

Mugwort or Artemesia vulgaris is a herb that I am beginning to really love. For anyone who has had acupuncture and has had moxa burnt above the needles to induce heat, it is from this herb. It is also known as white sage and more often than not, is used for smudging to remove negative energies. Mugwort grows all over the world and the beliefs about the herb’s power is similar in all regions which suggest that is one of the oldest herbs known to man. It grows in waste places and on roadside verges. I often come across it and will pick a bit to bring home as, when it is young and fresh, it is quite delicious and can be cooked in a soup or stew or the young leaves can be put into salads. The dried leaves have been known to be used as a tobacco, but I think it is pretty revolting to smoke. In the middle ages it was believed that if you carried a sprig of mugwort in your girdle, you would be free from fatigue, sun stroke, wild beasts and evil spirits. Mugwort has been used for thousands of years for digestive complaints and you can use both the flowers and the roots for this. The roots are bitter so will stimulate the liver to produce bile which is vital for digestion and elimination. It is also supposed to improve appetite and absorption of nutrients, help with anaemia and relieve flatulence. Mugwort is however really a woman’s herb. It regulates menstruation and will help with painful periods, pelvic inflammatory disease, fibroids, endometriosis and can be used very carefully for threatened miscarriage. It should really be avoided in pregnancy but can be used for childbirth. It helps to purify the blood which is why it is so good for the reproductive system, allowing hormones to move around the body easily and to be recycled or eliminated. It is also said to help with mental exhaustion, depression and insomnia, some of which can be related to hormone imbalances. Topically Mugwort is reportedly good for fungal infections and can be used as a douche for thrush or put into a lotion where it also helps relieve itchy skin. Traditionally it is harvested in August when it flowers and roots dug in the autumn but it is quite woody by then, so if you want a little salad addition or to make a fresh tea, pick a few leaves now. n If interested in herbal medicine, I am taking consultations via Zoom through my college. Please contact me on 07742 453285 or pellyfiona@gmail.com.

Fiona Chapman is studying naturopathy and herbal medicine at the College of Naturopathic Medicine

Go gently into that good night, delight at hooting tawnies

We are just moments in time, sharing the stillness as the last of the light in the forest fades. The dusky, crepuscular gloom is rapidly turning evening into night. Sat on a log sipping black tea and eating chocolate with my son, we listen to the steadily diminishing repertoire of the songbirds and the rising chorus of tawny owls. We have set out for a night walk to wash away the tensions of the day. The thing I love the most about being in nature is its insistence that I live in the present. Unhelpful deliberations are overcome by the difference and diversity around me and the sounds, smells, and sheer beauty of the countryside revive my senses. Now accustomed to the darkness, we began to pick out small sounds and movements: a bat leaving its roost, a tawny owl gliding silently through the trees and the haunting call of a barking deer. Leaving the forest behind, we follow the track. Parting clouds reveal a rising gibbous moon, its silvery intensity cloaking the landscape with a vivid platinum glow. Water droplets hang off the vegetation like fireflies and a rising gossamer mist hugs the ground; both signs of the wet day that had gone before. We stop to breathe it all in, astounded by how busy the nightshift is. Hares shoot in front of us and herds of fallow and sika deer huddle in groups in the moonlight; their large ears listening intently to our footsteps, always alert and ready to bolt. We sense animal eyes everywhere watching our passage through their homelands. But it is the tawny owls tonight that bring us the most delight. We have never counted so many. At this time of year gawky young tawnies leave their nests to begin their branching phase. This is when they sit together in a tree begging for food from their parents. Tawnies are our most common but sedentary owls, preferring to sit silently on a perch and listen for the prey upon which they pounce. The familiar ‘twit-twoo’ calls that provide the woodland with its nightly soundtrack are actually not one owl but a combination of the female’s “ti-wit/kewick” call followed by the male’s haunting “whooo”. Sounds that delineate their territories. Making our way for home, we are sad to be leaving the night behind. It is a whole realm of nature that we rarely get to experience unless we step outside into the darkness.

A walk around...

LYDLINCH

Much of the parish is rather flat and low lying so I suggest (unless you’re a mud lover) that you do this walk after a week without rain. Park near the church, whose bells are good for sound and liked by all the neighbours round. The path goes through the churchyard and continues in a straight line west-southwest across a couple of fields then curves to the right to enter Lydlinch Common. You can either weave your way through the Common or join the road through it, heading north-east to join the A357 where you turn left and, being careful of traffic as it’s busy with no pavement, continue until you reach Warr Bridge on the parish boundary. After checking for minnows, turn back and join the adjacent footpath that takes you southwest for a mile, crossing fields and following a farm track through Stroud Farm. You then meet another footpath that takes you south past Stock Gaylard House. The path then curves left and with retired Dorset rights of way officer Chris Slade

you can use a bridge over the haha to enter the churchyard. The church has some ancient plaques and monuments. When you leave the Church, head south across the deer park, looking out for the herd of fallows. When you meet the road, turn right, then left to join the B3143, Blackrow Lane, which takes you south. After about half a mile take a smooth (not rough) road to your left which, after about 100 yards, is crossed by a footpath. Take the path leftwards, north, which, after crossing a stream, veers right, north-west and continues for a mile or so across fields and skirting woods and withy beds. Some of the gates are difficult to open. You are then back at the village street, a furlong south of your car.

We’re on the run, so come and join us!

Laura Langley launched Shaftesbury and Surrounding Areas Running (SaSAR) in February 2019 for lone runners to share routes to give others ideas for new routes to try. Much to Laura’s surprise, she began receiving requests for a group run, so eventually Laura organised an evening run on a Friday. “It turned out to be fantastic,” said Laura. “We run in all weathers, the hard core group were even all running in the sleet last year! It’s a great social run and the group always run to the slowest runner. “There are a few different runs, shorter 1-2k, longer 5k runs and a long 10k run, so there is something for everyone.” And from the initial 23 members, the group has grown to having almost 500 members of SaSAR. Laura helps members keep confident and motivated. She said: “Remember, it doesn’t matter whether you’re at the front or the back, the fact that you showed up shows determination and you’ve run laps around anyone who has stayed at home on the sofa!” SaSAR attracts many new members who join as novices and in a short period of time, start taking on half marathons! Laura said: “Some of the members that joined in 2019 and who couldn’t run 5k are now running half marathon races and even ultras, which are 30 miles plus.” The group has grown exponentially and now they even have their own running tops ‘It’s only a hill’. Laura added: “I just wanted to say a gigantic thank you to all of the SaSAR members for making this group what it is. Together we have created a fantastic running community in Shaftesbury and the surrounding areas. “I am still so humbled by how it has evolved from the 23 people that initially joined to almost 500! “Crazily amazing! Thank you all...keep running!” n To join the group go to facebook.com/groups/shaftes buryandsurroundingareasru nning