Seasonal wellness – late summer shifts
My new book, Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living, takes a seasonal approach to well-being. By making little shifts we can help keep ourselves in balance. So each seasonal section gives …
Neurogenic yoga – shaking away trauma with TRE
My first Neurogenic Yoga™ class starts off like any other. We gently warm up and then move into a series of sun salutations, followed by a range of common asanas …
Tibetan healing for balanced ease
Another dose of Tibetan healing… I’m sitting cross-legged on a cushion, mesmerised by the intense stare of the huge golden statue in front of me. Incense saunters around the room …
Sound healing – vibration, energy, frequency
I’m thrilled to see sound healing becoming more mainstream. ‘If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration,’ said physicist Nikola …
Functional medicine – truly holistic healthcare
Functional medicine is, I firmly believe, the future of healthcare. Last year I went to my GP with a series of health issues. We discussed my cough but, when I …
The fine art of bathing
I can live without most luxuries but I’d be hard-pressed to give up my bath. I know the world is split between shower people and bath people – and I …
Aromapsychology – how essential oils affect our mind and emotions
Lately I’ve been intrigued by the way essential oils can affect our mind and emotions. This burgeoning field is called aroma-psychology and it’s not being confined to the aromatherapist’s massage …
Biodynamic craniosacral therapy
I’ve just returned from a session of biodynamic craniosacral therapy (not the catchiest of names). Sometimes serendipity really does trip-trap into one’s life. I’ve had a relentless cough for the …
Bach Flower Remedies
My mother introduced me to the Bach Flower Remedies way back when I was a teenager. We’d spend hours poring over each remedy, deciding which combinations we’d make up for family …
Tibetan medicine
Traditional Tibetan medicine can appear as mysterious and magical as its beautiful home country. I first encountered it about 20 years ago, when I was researching my book The Natural …
Family constellations – healing inter-generational trauma
I’m watching the most extraordinary scene. My own family dynamic is being played out in front of me, with strangers representing my parents, my grandparents, even myself. I watch, with …
Holotropic breathwork – making the psyche whole
I’m lying on a padded mattress, surrounded by cushions and I’m breathing fast. The music is loud, deep, rhythmic, insistent. My body starts to curl and I have the strangest …
Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD)
Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) is the secret behind many a healthy body and beautiful face. It has the ability to boost the immune system, clear sinuses and can stop a …
Be kind to your back
My back has always been my weak spot, my Achilles’ heel if we’re going to mix metaphors. It’s hardly surprising as I’ve spent most of my adult life hunched over …
The Good Breathing Guide
Good breathing is the hidden health secret – a sure-fire way to improve your well-being, freshen up your looks and boost your mood. While we all know how to breathe, …
Depression – unraveling the mysteries of the black dog
Why should one person sail through life while another gets beaten down? When does a low mood become a clinical illness? And are drugs the only answer? These are questions …
Mongolian Healing
Strolling through old files I came across a feature I wrote a long time back about Mongolian medicine and Chua-ka. I thought it might be of interest to those who …
Sound healing
Children sing for joy. They yell if they get angry and wail if they get hurt. Yet, by the time we have reached adulthood, we have learned not to cry …
Kaliyoga – sociable yoga in Spain
A warm breeze is caressing my skin and I’m almost drunk on the sweet heady fragrance of orange blossom and jasmine. Lying in a hammock at Kaliyoga is so supremely …
Biodynamic Therapy – rediscovering your ‘true self’
How many of us simply muddle through life as best we can? There’s the job that stifles us, the family who drive us mad, the relationships that grate. Over the …
The Alexander Technique – realigning posture to improve health and mood
A straightforward, down-to-earth technique could make you taller and slimmer. It can help silence stress and banish the blues. It can even give significant relief from back and neck pain …
Floatation meets shamanism
As a journalist and author of books on health and wellbeing I’ve tried pretty much every technique and treatment going. All were interesting but there were only some I fell …
Autogenic Training – ‘mental circuit training’ to control stress
NOTE: I wrote this feature some years back, before mindfulness was such a buzzword. If you can’t seem to get on with mindfulness – or meditation – then this might …
Art therapy – painting the unconscious mind
When we were children we used to paint and draw with pleasure and delight. For a few short blissful years we could do no wrong with our paints and crayons …
Is massage the new psychotherapy? Bodywork and the mind connection
Might the massage table take over from the psychoanalyst’s couch? Just imagine if all your painful memories and old hurts could be simply massaged or pressed away? It’s not just …
Is Niacin the cure for schizophrenia, alcoholism, migraine, arthritis and heart disease?
I recently read a book called Niacin: the Real Story while I was on detox in Portugal. We were taking Niacin four times a day to dilate blood vessels (and …
How to eat – the Viva Mayr way – for weightloss, energy and good health
The Viva Mayr programme is totally different from most detox programmes on offer. Forget juicing and raw vegan regimes, the Mayr doctors believe firmly that cold raw food is tough …
Tazeka Aromatherapy – a dose of optimism, balance and motivation in shiny pretty bottles!
Remember, all those years back, when I talked about flirting? Not about how people flirt (well, not necessarily) but how things can flirt with you? Well, that’s what happened with …
Smudging – clear your home, your aura, your life
I was introduced to smudging at a workshop by the wonderful Denise Linn. The scent of the burning bundle of herbs sent tingles through my body and I could feel …
Liver flushing – Polarity Therapy’s liver detox
A few years back, my GP raised her eyebrows and said my liver was unhappy. Mild understatement really. Bottom line? I was drinking too much alcohol. Now, nobody likes to be …
An ayurvedic detox for autumn
Here’s one of my favourite autumn cleanses, based on ayurveda. I like it for this time of year because it’s warming. As we prepare for colder weather, it’s best not …
McTimoney Chiropractic – no pain, all gain
The first time I saw a chiropractor I thought I was going to die. She took my head between her hands and, without warning, gave my neck a sharp twist. …
Esalen massage with John Orum – Let go and relax, damnit!
So I was lying on a massage table at the Emelisse Art Hotel in Greece, giving a little sigh of pleasure because truly there is little in life I like more than …
Watsu – water shiatsu that takes you back to childhood
Watsu is a deep, powerful and curious form of bodywork. A long, intense, intimate session of massage and manipulation techniques, carried out while you float in (or even under) a …
Trager – maximum effortlessness and freedom from pain
Trager ® or Trager Psychophysical Integration (to give it its full name) is a gentle system of bodywork whose predominant goal is to make life easier, more comfortable, more pleasurable. …
The Natural Year begins…living in tune with the seasons
I loved writing The Natural Year. The aim was to produce a book that would act as a friend throughout the year, not badgering or hectoring, but offering suggestions, inspiration, …
The Body Retreat: smart and supportive de-stress and weight-loss
The Body Retreat’s Stress Re-Set retreat is a four-night retreat that aims to balance body, mind and emotions through an immaculately thought-out programme of diet, exercise, mindfulness and behaviour modification. …
Ten ways to love the cold
Yes, it’s freezing out there but, while it’s tempting to turn up the heat and huddle by the fire, maybe we’re missing a trick. There’s been a sudden plunge in …
Ti Sana – detox spa with a dose of science in Italy
Ti Sana has the ambiance of a monastery: an ancient but very smart monastery. Set in the heart of a small Italian village, midway between Milan and Lake Como, the …
Kaliyoga: sociable accessible yoga in Spain
A warm breeze is caressing my skin and I’m almost drunk on the sweet heady fragrance of orange blossom and jasmine. Lying in a hammock at Kaliyoga in the foothills …
Ayurvedic healing at Austria’s Schloss Pichlarn
I love Ayurveda, the 5,000 year old system of Indian mind-body spirit medicine. In fact, I love it so much I wrote an entire book about it. Yet I hadn’t …
Mindfulness – the key to less stressful living?
Could mindfulness provide the key to less stressful living? The simple form of meditation, based on Buddhist principles, is fast gaining acceptance as a powerful way of bringing peace to …
Superfoods – safer than supplements?
A new book is warning that vitamins might not be as healthy as we think: they could even be causing us harm. Dr Paul Offit, author of Killing Us Softly …
Medical spas – the new route to all-over health
Spas have become so commonplace now that it’s unusual to find a smart hotel that doesn’t have one. The word spa has become synonymous with pampering, with elaborate ‘rituals’ and …
Crystal wand healing with Nicki Hughes
Nicki Hughes is one of my favourite therapists so when she said, ‘Come and have a treatment – as a treat – on me’ I made my way forthwith to Nicki’s …
Repêchage – fantastic facial with Nicki Hughes
I’ve been pretty spoiled over the years. Having worked as a health and beauty journalist (mainly for the Mail and the Telegraph) for decades I’ve been pampered every which way. …
Brain gym – simple exercises for a better mind and body
A simple series of exercises could help your brain function better, making you sharper, smarter – and far more confident. Brain Gym comprises very easy body movements which have been designed …
Power Plate: Shake your way to fitness
The trouble with getting toned is it all takes so much time and effort. So when Madonna let slip that her uber-toned body was down to no-sweat sessions on a …
Are lava shells the new hot stones? No, they’re much better
Nothing much surprises me when it comes to massage. I’ve been pummelled with hands, elbows, feet; on the floor, in swimming pools, on beds of hay. But when I heard …
Natural therapies as snake oil?
Is complementary therapy a waste of money – and potentially dangerous?
Are spas worth it?
I recently visited a spa where a facial cost a cool £350. An exfoliation and massage would set you back £175 and £200 would buy you a couple of hours …
Annee de Mamiel: the nourishing touch
How often do we nourish ourselves? I thought about that word for quite a while. At first I wrote ‘pamper’ but I think it’s been downgraded somehow nowadays. All that …
Moor mud – celebrity beauty starts at home
Sometimes the oldest and simplest products are the best. Mud from the lowland moorland of Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia has been used for wellbeing for at least two thousand years …
Zero Balancing = zero stress
Good bodywork can soothe away the strains of modern life. It can unravel taut muscles, banish back ache and even soften emotional stress and psychological pain. Yet many people flinch …
Watsu – underwater shiatsu
Watsu is the extraordinary form of water shiatsu, now becoming hugely popular amongst celebrities and mere mortals alike.
Cranial osteopathy – easing the trauma of birth
Cranial osteopathy is an absolute boon for new mothers. This most gentle form of manipulation can soothe the trauma of birth and give their babies a head-start for a healthy happy life. But what exactly is this wonder therapy and is it really such a miracle cure-all?
Avoiding pandemics with commonsense and natural remedies
Beating swine flu with natural remedies and obvious commonsense.
Easing the summer misery of hayfever & allergies
Hayfever and allergies are on the increase. Find out why and how to treat them both conventionally and with natural therapies.
Be kind to your back – banishing back pain
Back pain is one of the most common health problems yet is almost always preventable. Lowdown on how to help your back.
Water therapy – 15 ways to enjoy H20
Fifteen ways to enjoy water – whether outside in a fabulous summer or inside in a typical British one….
EMDR – farewell to phobias?
EMDR is an exciting technique which can help banish fears and phobias. Pioneered in the US it is now spreading around the world and is an invaluable new tool which offers freedom from anything from mild anxiety to full-blown life-restricting phobias.
Is Reiki just pyramid selling?
Reiki is hugely popular, but is it really beneficial or a bit of a con?
MLD – Manual Lymphatic Drainage for health & beauty
MLD is a very gentle yet highly effective treatment – superb for people with lymphoedema and lipodema. Yet also a wonderful cosmetic treatment. One I wholeheartedly endorse.
Dream healing pilgrimage in Greece
A dream healing pilgrimage in the Pelopponese – the most extraordinary journey into the land of myth and one’s own soul.
Parkschlosschen – the 5,000 year old cure for stress
Review of the Parkschlosschen ayurvedic spa in Germany. Famous for panchakarma, the uber-detox treatment.
Cryotherapy – for pain relief, insomnia, depression
Cryotherapy is the coolest therapy on the planet – literally. Testing out the Big Chill in Austria and finding it highly impressive for pain relief and energy boosting.
Seiki – mind and bodywork
Seiki is the rock and roll of natural therapies – a zen bodywork session that chills out the mind as well. Get it now – it’s fab.