So its Xmas again and you need a gift for 'himself'. No not 'himself' from Sophie White and Recipes for a Nervous Breakdown and her weekly column.

Your own 'himself'.

From our in-house marketing team we have discovered that your 'himself' likes to have smells such as lavender and vetivert which is why we have put our Chillax Bath Oil containing both and some more into our Christmas Box for Men, i.e. 'himself'.

'Himselves' also like  to have lovely after shave lotions. So we made ours with 80% organic ingredients. Yes organic. No pesticides or hormone disruptors.

German 'himselves' would swap their frankfurter for a bottle any day.  Ms Merkyl announced to the Bundestag only last week the recent availability of our mail order to the Rhinelands.  

This smooth lotion for shave skin smells gorg too. 'Himselves' love the smell as its super clean with Lemon and Eucalyptus.

Take a look and only 19.99 Euros a box. Buy six and we will give you the sixth box free. Made in Ireland too.

More than one 'himself'? Aren't you the lucky lady?

We were thinking about throwing in our AfroDizzy sensual massage oil as well. Its made with sensual essential oils and Horny Goats Weed. The herb has wonderful benefits. Just ask goats.....

So here is the campaign. If we get 5000 orders for the men box before the 1st of Dec for Irish ladies wanting to impress their 'himself' we will throw in our AfroDizzy massage oil for FREE. So order ASAP.

So here is Vic & The Wonderstuff with  the AphroDizzy anthem....I'm so dizzy....

So order ASAP by clicking on any of the photos above.

Lets break twitter together and set fireworks off for the New Year 2019!

OK folks here are our selection of gift ideas boxes for Christmas this year 2018.

We have Deluxe one for ladies, the Ladies Beauty Box and the Men's Box.

Both the Men's and the Ladies cost only 19.99 and the ladies contain one of our Dry Hair Shampoo's FREE.

With over 800 million Euros of cosmetics being imported, and therefore out of the country into foreign shareholder bank accounts, we thought of letting you know so you can support an enterprise that actually has been supporting communities in Ireland.

If you order six Ladies Beauty boxes at 19.99 Euros each you get the sixth free.

None of the imports are offering these deals.

So support Irish this Christmas - all Irish: chocolates, gin, wool, sausages, jams and cakes. Especially Christmas Puddings sold at Limerick Milk Market which are simply divine!

First up Christmas Ideas for Her is our Ladies Deluxe 79.99 Euros that contains our bestselling Lavender Pillow Mist, sumptuous age defying Serum 22, Basil and Grapefruit Bath Oil, Orange Frankincense and Myrrh moisturiser and a FREE Dry Hair Shampoo
worth 9.99 Euros. Beautiful for Christmas morning indeed.

Click on the picture to go to the purchase page.

Our Ladies Beauty Box retails at 19.99 and contains our bestselling Lavender Pillow Mist, Rose Bath Oil (made with 1000's of roses),  and a FREE Dry Hair Shampoo worth 9.99 Euros. Beautiful for Christmas morning indeed.

If you buy six we will give you the sixth free. Order now whilst stocks last as this is being promoted nationally.

Plus postage and packaging free anywhere in Ireland. Click on the picture below to order.

For Men this year we have an aftershave balm which is now made with 80% organic ingredients. Smells lovely clean and fresh with Lemon and Eucalyptus. Plus Chillax Bath oil made with Lavender and Vetivert to help the man of your life chill.

This is also 19.99 Euros and to pass on the saving of buying Irish and not imports if you buy 6 we will give you the sixth free. Plus postage and packaging free anywhere in Ireland.

Order them here now whilst stocks last.

Last date for ordering is the 19th of December to ensure your boxes get delivered to you for Fri the 21st.

Discover Your Beautiful Mind
www.mindfulbeauty.eu

We won another award this October at the....

This time its for our Calendula & Chamomile Balm which won at this years West Awake Honey Show.

The judges thought it was so good they put a very 'highly commended' badge on the balm made with Irish Beeswax.

Did you know Irish honey is as good, if not better, than Manuka?

Irish honey is also biodiverse, in that, the honey is made by bees who forage across flowers from many plant species unlike their British cousins who are now just have rapeseed to feed on mostly.

The product which is 50ml in blue containers has lovely ingredients
such as the following;
Organic Coconut              
Irish Beeswax                   
Shea Butter                       
Sunflower oil infused with Calendula Officinalis      
Cocoa Butter                                   
Sweet Almond                 
Jojoba                                  
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil                 
Rosehip oil                         
German Chamomile       
Helichrysum                      

This is a really rich high quality formula that people can enjoy.

Irish Herbalists love recommending it.

Calling all ORGANIC food producers?! (We will assume you are certified shhhhh at least by the 3rd of September). The National Organic Food Awards celebrate the achievements of an increasing number of Irish Organic food and drink growers and manufacturers. This award is held every 2 years and the awards recognise developments in the sector across key categories as judged by a panel of experts. Bord Bia with tentacles to all EU distribution channels are backing it. So it might help to get on their radar.

The award in 2018 highlights the sustainability achievements and contributions of organic producers to their local communities. There are currently 1,721 registered organic operators in Ireland with 52,390 hectares of land being used to produce organic foods.

This is a very important event to give organic food producers a platform to ‘sing’ or ‘squeeze’ about their food product and the story behind it. We need to be eating more organic food to avoid the nasty chemicals. When I wrote for many UK publications I found out that over 60% of people getting into organic production had no previous agricultural background but brought a lot of extra skills into the agricultural sector from design, to logistics and marketing and sales.

This is an important event as a platform to export. For not only do buyers in Germany, France and elsewhere in the EU need organic certification for your produce, an award makes your brand and products more attractive and trustworthy to them. You end up in their stores.

Winners are going to receive a tailored support package to the value of approximately €12,000 to assist in growing their businesses. To be honest it could be more by comparison to other awards, some might say, due to extra costs of certification and PR spend to explain organics to consumers in Ireland. However if you get into other markets like even the UK then you could grow by 20 times what you would in Ireland.

The winners will be assigned a mentor to aid in the tailoring of a suitable supports, elements will include; commercial marketing strategy, developing communication and PR plans, branding supports and assessing market opportunities. In fairness, Board Bia has major contacts in food distribution channels in lots of territories. One government agency that does not sit on its ass at least.

Winners in each category will be presented with an Irish made hand sculpted trophy and an award certificate. (Certificate is pretty big for the wall for all the neighbors to be impressed and your Mammy)

The winners are entitled to use the awards symbol for on-pack promotion. This could be a unique selling point for shop buyers and consumers. All shortlisted companies in each category as well as subsequent winners will be promoted by Bord Bia in print, broadcast and online media. This is not to be sniffed at as a lady who is the Queen of organic tan in Ireland made 1 million Euros of sales after she was on the Irish Dragons Den TV show.

Once again the food fairies at Board Bia have press contacts worldwide.

Organic food is much higher in mineral content mainly as its growing in living soil and not dead soil which most conventional plants are grown in. All disease according to Professor Linus Pauling who won the Nobel Prize can in some way be linked to mineral deficiency.

The Organic Food Award Categories for 2018 are.....

1. Chef’s Award
To include products currently available through Irish foodservice channels (restaurant, hotel, café, institutional catering). Judging criteria will include taste and quality, versatility, market opportunity and value for money.

2. Retail Award
To include products currently available through Irish retail channels. Judging criteria will include taste and quality, market opportunity, value for money, packaging and branding.

3. Direct Selling Award
To include products being sold directly at farm gate, via box schemes, online or at food markets etc. Direct sales should represent a majority of sales turnover (more than 50%). Judging criteria will include, creativity and flair in sales, customer service approach and what direct selling represents to the business.

4. Export Award
To include products for sale in export markets. Judging criteria will include, innovation for the market, evidence of success (sales results), ability of company to overcome export challenges and expected export growth in 2018/2019.

5. Best New and Innovative Product
Open to products launched between January 2017 and August 2018. Judging criteria will include market opportunity, achievements in sales growth to date, innovation and insight used to meet consumer’s changing needs in the development of product, packaging or service.

6. Business in the Community Award – NEW 2018
This new category will reflect the achievements of businesses in their local communities. All entrants should submit details of the corporate and social responsibility initiatives which their company has undertaken.
A shortlist of all producers entering the awards will be judged for their achievements in this area.
Key Dates

• 3rd September: Deadline for applications.
• 11th September: Deadline for delivery of products
• 12th September: Judging Day
• 20th & 21st September: Photography of shortlisted entrants
• 10th October: Award Ceremony & Brunch (Bord Bia)
  

Completed entry forms must be received by Monday 3rd September 2016. Only entries on the official entry form will be accepted.

Forms must be submitted by by e-mail to: organic@bordbia.ie

There is no award for organic wine but people are telling me that it is growing. My second book Nutriwine is all about the modern universe of wine and also I have done a chapter just on what organic wine is all about. In short no pesticides, far less sulphites and grapes from vine roots with 20 meters depth rather than the one metre of conventional wines. You can order the book here

Recently I came across a book called The Language of Kindness in a bookstore and I was, by the nature of my work and spiritual life, curious to read it. Initially I wondered 'oh no not another Mind Body Spirit' book that fails to do anything or say anything. So I was pleasantly surprised that it was written by a nurse. Well, not just any old 'nursey nursey' but one that also won the Costa Book Award for her first book of fiction no less.

Having trained 1,000 nurses in ten Irish hospitals I have also learned a thing or two about nursing. Christie Watson's book is honest, revealing and a type of unintentional manifesto for modern medicine which has become so dehumanised by a plethora of quantitative rather than qualitative research studies.

For some reason I felt  a sense of the twilight about the book. There was a tone that it was written at night maybe at five when all was silent and before the roar of the hustle and bustle began. The dawn just before the dawn. Such a peaceful time and a great time for reflection which this book is.  A depth. The book was very easy and enjoyable to read.

One of the highlights for me of the book was the mentors she describes from the start of her career. They were clearly excellent and had a lot of wisdom to impart and something that Watson was clear to soak up. Unlike some of my mentors who turned tormentors.

Anna particularly stood out and she was clearly a leader. I am always quoting Waren Bennis in relation to this, "Leaders do the right things and managers do things right". Someone else said you manage things but you lead people and you can see Anna had a hand in carving Watson into the fine nurse she became. The sad thing is that many Anna's are leaving the NHS as well as the HSE. So there is transmission of wisdom that can only come from them that is being lost. The value of this cannot be put into money it is truly priceless. This informed legacy is also not being passed on to student nurses - the next generation.  Their years of experience are rarely valued enough.

In fact nurses need to be valued more which is why we started Mindful Beauty Days for HSE nurses. We have taken 100 HSE nurses through this event pro bono in partnership with Limerick College of Further Education Beauty School.

Like many people who get into nursing she was attracted to nursing from the satisfaction of caring and the practicality rather than the academic side of nursing. The nursing of being with patients and also helping family members shines through the book. Nurses have taught me, as adult education I like to say is a two way street, that there is an 'art' and a 'science' to nursing and nurses today don't get to do the art with all the paperwork they have to complete. In a lot of cases this causes what is called 'moral distress' as the nurses feel they are not caring for the patient as much as they used to without all the paperwork.

Through all of the training in Learning to Exhale we do in the hospitals we do try and raise an awareness of: burnout compassion fatigue and moral distress. Watson does touch on them in her writing and one can clearly see how she and her colleagues have suffered them but I feel she could have talked more about them and the kindness nurses need to be shown when they suffer them? Plus compassionate leave required to recover from them.

What I found very brave is also discussing the loss of her marriage. Her partner was a Dr, so the two of them were more than likely affected by these occupational health hazard's that most other profession don't suffer from. Many readers from healthcare will possibly identify with this.

The prose throughout was sharp and the book is the result of a great editor too. Being a writer myself I love books that are well edited. Being a writer and and editor are two different things - it really is a team effort.

Certain passages elucidate Watson's natural awareness of common humanity. For those who have done our Mindfulness course you will know this to be part of the three parts of Self Compassion described by Dr Neff that we teach. More importantly the embodiment of its feeling which Watson conveys in her book when she describes interactions with her patients.

Most poignant was where nurses were deeply affected also by a patient in many cases here a child died. So this is essential reading for pediatric nurses.  Nurses had grief to grieve too and this must be seen as a human reaction to a human passing. This generates a need, as Watson says, for more debriefing and counseling. I could not agree more.

We have to care for our carers.

Interestingly she never mentioned bullying which is a big problem. This is her luck I guess as many healthcare professionals have suffered it and have had careers ruined because of it.

The book will not only appeal to all nurses but also medical doctors patients and society at large. The effects of nursing go beyond the boundaries of hospitals. Nurses touch the lives of so many people.

Her equanimity as a person is actually tremendous, in that, she got to a point of having compassion for all suffering devoid of judgement which is a hard thing to do for most humans. Whilst Watson speaks candidly about  the conditions, I feel she could have raised the scandal of Francis Report for the results that occur when you dehumanise medical settings to hammer her point home.

The bonding she describes with patients is transcendental really.

Watson's challenge of certain nursing theories that can sometimes turn into unquestioned dogma was refreshing. Sometimes not questioning can be very dangerous indeed.

Watson I am sad to say, like many other nurses, is the NHS's loss and in Watson's case Creative Writings gain.

Her testimony is one that all nurses will identify with and enjoy reading.

This month HerbFeast, a national conference and community get together, came to County Mayo. What was most most delightful and inspiring was not only the great speakers but the amount of people who attended. I would say well over 200 people attended from all over the country, and for good reason, for the three days.

Over 100 million EU citizens use herbal medicine every year. Herbal medicine not only treats disease with little bad side effects, if used correctly, but can also act as a preventative medicine. Herbal medicine, as we will see in this article, has much to offer orthodox western medicine with alternatives to drugs which cause further problems. In the recent age of a cervical cancer crisis Complementary Medicines hold a lot of answers and cures for our ailments.

Let us also not forget most drugs are derived from plants anyways.

Don't get me wrong though about the benefits of Orthodox Medicine. If you go through a windscreen a herbalist would not be my first recommendation. However, for nearly everything else they would!

First to the stage was American Herbalist Jim McDonald who had everyone laughing with his witticisms and natural connection with an audience that was anticipating to hear him. Jim's journey started as a chance encounter with a book about herbalism which has now had him speak at practically every herbal medicine school & conference in the Michigan area USA where he resides and has a very busy practice. He also writes extensively on herbalism through his website. This was also his first trip out of the USA. Trump free too.

His talk of the day was on 'adaptogens' which "can increase a persons resistance to stress, regulates the organs and balances people out". Adaptogens like St Johns Worth, which was banned in Ireland some years ago but that is now available on prescription, also work across the bodies systems.

At present, one in four Irish people is now on an antidepressant compared to 1 in 20 in the UK. St Johns Worth is an excellent antidepressant if you are German where you can easily access it.  At the same time we are prescribing SSRIs medical doctors in Germany are prescribing over 70 million daily doses of the herb for mild to moderate depression and over 2 million people in the UK use it. Ireland? We banned it for 15 years. Imagine?

No sooner did he start into his talk he pushed a button on his computer which wiped his speaking notes. The show went on regardless and you could see through this unintentional act how much he knew. Not many speakers speak without notes. Or even can. Herbal autodidact ruled the day.

Lots of patients come to Herbalists seeking cure from burnout or the diseases burnout bring after reaching what is called 'the point of decompensation' in psychoanalysis. The point at which you 'snap' biochemcially or psychologically.
"Give me energy" they ask sometimes to do more of the rat race but is that what herbalists should do?

As a herbalist Jim believes "Energy comes from food & metabolism not Siberian Ginseng. " What I particularly liked about this guy's talk was his ethical way of practicing which was to 'heal' the person which is more than herbs its the integrity, insight and healing wisdom the herbalist practices. Good character. In an age of a national bioethics crisis I found this refreshing.

One of the issues that has not been raised in Ireland by the press at large and Irish intellectuals is how we now have a national crisis of bioethics. Not a word has been spoken of this.

The Hippocratic Oath commences with 'First, do no harm.' This is what Jim McDonald's practice is about and I wish more medical practitioner's would do the same. "The situation is the problem not them," this is a telling statement from Jim as only people who work with people in crisis would know to say this. Many of them believe its them not their work pressures, toxic relationships, workplace bullying etc; "Their body is responding to stress the way its supposed to. Stress is the problem not their bodies".    

Next on the day was Herbalist, author and Ayurvedic practitioner Anne McIntyre FNIMH MCPP MAPA who is a Fellow of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, a Member of the College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy, and a Member of the Ayurvedic Practitioners’ Association. Anne has trained as a herbalist, aromatherapist, homeopath and counsellor and has been in clinical practice working as a medical herbalist for over 35 years. She introduced Ayurvedic medicine by way of why she personally got inspired to study it and how diseases arise due to "imbalances in the mind" or stress rather. She went through a case of ulcerative colitis of a patient of hers which was quite severe and lasting a long period of time. During which she interestingly asked a lot of questions from the audience to which many responded with various answers of how to treat the patient.

This question asking by the speakers was part of the HerbFeast that was endearing to me as an educator. In fact all speakers asked multiple questions of the audience and this was to encourage them to think for themselves critically which builds independence and a robust intelligence specifically here in herbal medicine practice.

She cured the patient in six weeks with a herbal and food regimen. 

The afternoon, after lunch (where the food ran out for some people eeerrr) was followed by Richard Adams Dip Phyt. MNIMH  MCPP  MBHMA  is an established Medical Herbalist with over 20 years of experience. Alongside his herbal  clinic, he has been training herbal medicine students since 1994. His work in this field culminated in the setting up of the Archway Clinic of Herbal Medicine on behalf of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists and Middlesex University; the training clinic for Britain’s first BSc Hons. Degree in Herbal Medicine.

He really demonstrated what herbal medicine could do for Europe never mind Ireland.  His focus was on PPI's (Proton Pump Inhibitors) which millions of Europeans are taking to mange acidity in their stomachs. The FDA he discovered only ever allowed these on the market for people to take for a maximum of eight weeks. The truth is that people have been on them for years, decades in fact, as their GP has not reviewed their medication. One of the side effects of the PPI medication is that it induces bone fractures, masks stomach cancers and increases the risk if heart attack by 20%. Now this is alarming stuff.

At this point in the article I want to confront the  orthodox medical cynics of herbal medicine. Richard had very well researched his case in medical literature and beyond. His case was robust and he drew on medical statistics internationally with regard to PPIs. For me a Biotechnologist I found his presentation very familiar being evidence based and at a high standard of both science and medicine. In fact a standard I wish some pharmaceutical companies and some orthodox medical schools would follow. Once again I found ethics or bioethics in Richards talk which seem to be lacking in certain areas of medicines.

Surely the most important reason for any type of medicine is the patient. Specifically the patients wellbeing and not the shareholders income.

The point here is that the use of herbal medicine could treat the stomach acid problems and eradicate the need for PPIs and eliminate the side effects. Herbal medicine could even help people come off this medication entirely.  When I say 'people' we are talking at least 5 million in the UK alone. Richard said," In Canada 40% of people taking PPIs have no reason to be taking them". He even shared herbal prescriptions from his clinical practice for all the herbalists wishing to help people come off of PPIs. This can be successful within 12 weeks of starting the herbal medicine treatment.

Interestingly he told the conference that both Peppermint and Spearmint aggravate the condition and that Chamomile soothes stomach acidity. So better try chamomile tea then and avoid cancer and bone fractures.

His final note was to warn that PPIs could have a role in all cancers. Sobering stuff. One can see here through this talk how herbal medicine can help EU communities.

Personally I think Richard Adams should immediately be a consultant to the Irish Department of Health and become a lecturer on the University Limerick Medical Degree Program. This way we could have physicians in our communities who could also be less ignorant of potent medical solutions that cause less iatrogenic disease.

Then the final talk - the reason I came - of the day was from Brigid Mayes BSc Hons (Little Miss Bhutan) who is a medical herbalist living and practicing near Mullingar in Co. Westmeath. She is currently exploring the Materia Medica of Gaelic physician Tadhg O Cuinn, a work completed in the year 1415. Having being interested in European Materia Medica for years I was very curious to see what she had found. You see Celtic Physicans, as she explained, were attached to the Chieftans (not the band) and held a certain position in the court. Their training took 20 years and was also seen as a craft. They knew from books and study many of the medical philosophies of the day. Thanks to a Celtic studies translator called Micheal O Conchubhair we have O Cuinn's text in English in Dublin.

O' Cuinn she told us all was au fait with the Herbals of Salerno from the 12th century and Salerno, as any medical historian will tell, was the epicenter of medicine at that time. These text were used to teach physicians in Ireland by translating the latin into Irish by O'Cuinn and his peers. The Materia Medica of Tadhg O Cuinn includes 208 chapters on individual plants or plant-based materials used medicinally. 18 manuscript copies survive, all but three held in Ireland (in Trinity College Library, The National Library and the Royal Irish Academy).

One point that I found quite poignant was that we did not just loose our aristocracy who went on to start Catholic Universities all over Europe as a result of The Flight of the Earls but our traditional physicians went with them as did their craft.

 The Irish community of herbalists is one of the ways of welcoming these herbal medicine traditions back and their craft. From seeing the passion of the people gathered there for herbalism and with the Solstice drawing near there is a new dawn on the horizon for herbal medicine in Ireland and all the Celts that it will benefit: professionally, ethically, scientifically and yes - medically.

Supporting our range also contributes to a HSE nurse who has completed our mindfulness training getting a Mindful Beauty Day Spa. One hundred nurses have gone so far and more days planned nationally. No other brand is doing this - so keep it local.

Over 800 million Euros of cosmetic products are imported to Ireland each year – lets put some of this back into the communities in Ireland.

Discover Your Beautiful Mind - Mindful Beauty has come from training  over 2000 people in Mindfulness through www.learningtoexhale.ie to rave reviews.

Interior design expert and former Changing Rooms star Linda is still a regular part of the designer/presenter team on ITV’s 60 Minute Makeover series, and also appears pretty regularly on various TV magazine shows, covering topics from interior design to health and fitness. She will be there as will Patricia Power Quantity Surveying and Project Management Practice is well known to the public for her role on RTE One’s ‘Room to Improve’ working with her Clients alongside Architect Dermot Bannon.

There is lots of FREE advice at numerous talks at the event.
Check out the range of speakers here - https://idealhome.ie/theatre-timetables/

Enjoy the show!

Don't forget to pick up any of our footcare range for tired feet from all the walking at our stall V46.

Aromatherapy is the medicinal science and art of the use of plant essential oils to enhance your wellbeing.

Essential oils are the very concentrated essences of plants.

Did you know that it can take three tonnes of roses to make one litre of rose essential oil?

This should give you an idea of the concentration essential oils are of the plants. Over 300 essential oils can be used in aromatherapy. Smell is an important instinct and the olfactory part of the nose is connected to the limbic part of the brain which is connected to emotions. Each essential oil can have up to 30 chemical compounds in it whereas chemical perfumes have only one – an amine.

This holistic therapy was made very famous by Margurite Maury who was a French chemist and decided to impart the essential oils to the body via the skin.

Aromatherapy has use in all areas of health & wellness in that a blend of essential oils supports the biological systems of the body. The proper application of essential oils to the body can boost wellbeing and elan vital. The main effects can be seen on stress. There is nothing better than a lovely aromatherapy massage with, let’s say, roman chamomile, grapefruit, and rosemary essential oils blended into a carrier oil like Sweet Almond oil which will also nourish your skin.

We are all hardwired for soothing in terms of our nervous systems and not harsh criticism. Soothing was the backbone of our first three years in life.

You can use aromatherapy in oil burners, lotions, massage oils, natural home fragrance and even mouth wash. Some even use essential oils in cooking.

Aromatherapy can boost your immune system and energy levels, reduce stress, enhance circulation, speeds healing, aids sleep and reduces pain and inflammation.

Every house should have lavender for the bedroom as it can aid a good night’s sleep. With one in four Irish people on antidepressants I would recommend using bergamot as it’s known to be very uplifting for people with depression.

One drop of lemongrass on a burner can deodorise a house without having to use synthetic chemicals. Tea tree essential oil is the only one that is anti-bactericidal, anti-fungal and anti-viral. Marjoram is a heart tonic. Peppermint is good for headaches digestion and tired feet. Ylang-ylang, cardamom and sandalwood are aphrodisiacs.

Well even though some products claim to have essential oils if they are mixed with synthetic fragrance is only a ‘dash’ of essential oil in the formula.

More and more people are becoming aware the synthetic fragrances are also ‘hormone disruptors’ so it’s best to stock get products that are made only with essential oils. Products also that have essential oils at no more than 1% to reduce the risk of allergic reaction as 20% of the population has reactions to allergens found in essential oils.

As long as a blend of essential oils is no more than this products are safe to use.

All of our Mindful Beauty products are aromatherapy based for the obvious reasons. We never formulate using synthetic fragrance. Two of our bestsellers are Lavender Pillow Spray made with Lavender from Provence in France and Stress Busting Spray made with lemongrass.

We source our lavender directly from the producers there and we add a little German Chamomile to this product making a lovely bed linen spray which aids your ability to sleep. The lemongrass and geranium of the Stress Busting spray is another big success with our clients. Lemongrass is deoderising and Geranium is balancing and we also add Cedarwood to soak up all the ions from pc screens and TV’s that will be in the air. People who use it in open plan offices say it really works. Others who use it in the car say it helps them stay awake.

Mindful Beauty Lavender Pillow Spray and also Stress Busting Spray are available for €9.99 (50% less than other brands) in over 300 stores nationwide and online.

 This documentary had me wondering what it was going to entail. Was it just purely going to be about the ‘form’ of yoga as western coverage of yoga so often is. But I was pleasantly surprised.  

The documentary was inspired by photographer Michael O’Neill who as a result of an operation on his neck was told, as can happen, by the surgeon that he would never use his arm again. He served as a contributing photographer to The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Life, the New Yorker, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and Time. 

This happened to be the arm that he used to take photographs. So off like many he went to seek an alternative. His came in the form of yoga to heal his ‘spiritual emergency’. This was an odyssey of 20 years where he got to have darshan ‘breath the same air’ of some of the great yogi’s of yoga through photography.

This also seemed to alter his understanding of photography which was up to that point taking shots of famous people which if you talk to real art photographers is an easy thing to do and make a name for yourself from. He seems to have transformed from ‘form’ to ‘substance’ in terms of his photography as a result of this crisis.

What I liked most of about the movie was India and my yearning for this spiritual motherland. India is an interesting nation. Most of its citizens are vegetarian, imagine the greenhouse gas from raising beef to feed the population in India?

There is something about vegetarianism, lots of geniuses were vegetarian.

There is a natural sense of wandering in this documentary which in some ways what India is about for people on a spiritual path – wandering. The wandering yogi, no home, no place, no job, no family – free. Everywhere is home, everyone is family and being is the job, the path.

India as a country just pours inside you. I really liked the way his disease brought him on a journey as it so often does for people. What some descibe as a 'calling'. For him it brought him into contact with different masters and some yogini’s which a lot of the time are underrepresented or ignored in favour of the Guru trip. ‘My Guru is bigger than yours’ nonsense. This was refreshing and for the most part most of the yogini’s were sound, insightful and decent. All too often people who are bat shit crazy are pushed or push themselves to the front row. What you had here were people who for the most part were integrated.

A question was posed by one about whether we should in life be materially or spiritually rich? Well, you can be both but you have to figure it out. You can have nothing like a yogi and be so blessed. ‘Blessed are the poor for they shall inherit the earth’. Carefree. And boy do we need in the west to get a load of this. The Shuar Indians who I live with from time to time tell me that westerners are sick because of ‘fears and doubts’. This what plagues them and eventually gives rise to diseases.

As the main focus O’Neil said he went to yoga to get a cure for his arm. Many people who have MS have been practicing yoga to slow down nerve degradation to great effect.   From my research believe it or not NASA the space agency in the USA saw that yoga above all sports was the best for the body and yoga is also the only sport type activity that raises your energy, life force or elan vital to better more positive levels

Another part of the documentary was how consciousness was described as flowing through the body. Many people in the west use meditation and sometimes yoga to supress emotion. I felt they could have delved into this a bit more.

Deepak Chopra made an appearance but he himself does not do the physical practice? Telling us all we are divine consciousness yada, yada, yada, well I suppose flattery will get you everywhere. But when will he ever tell us all we are essentially worm fodder and cause a good few to wake up and start living their lives not the lives other people want of them? I know, I know this won’t sell books.

The camera angles I also loved as it must have been a photographer that was shooting the footage. They were quite beautiful and something you don’t see very often. This lens eveloped everything and everyone and caught myteries subtly. This is director Heitor Dhalia’s first documentary and I hope he does more art type documentaries if this is his style. The angles are very photographic and impart all of the mood and ambiance and most importantly ‘presence’ to document the masters.

India has that presence through it’s wandering Saints, sacred land and spiritual music. You get to touch it through the medium of the documentary in places. There was no mention of Maharashi the Saint who influenced so many and who caused a lot of social shift through his student Ram Dass or Professor Richard Alpart who wrote the classic 'Be Here Now'.

There are spiritual nuggets that you will make sense to all the people who have completed our Learning to Exhale Mindfulness training and especially to all the people who were fortunate enough to attend the top up group. Many of them will be able to personally identify with what some of the master’s both male and female say about a life lived consciously as…..it’s all just a dream.....
 
If you wish to join us on our tour in India in November 2018 let us know soon. 
Then you can touch India yourself and let her, her people,cultures and terroir touch you. You let us know your interest and can get more info from hello@learningtoexhale.ie

The curriculum for the Diploma in Mindfulness, Spirituality & Medicine is also nearly finished. More news on that in coming weeks.
Photographs C of O'Neil

The fashion industry spends millions every year on creating ads to entice us to buy their products. However using super thin models who may be anorexic is now being made illegal in France thanks to the French governments new law governing the fashion industry.

Hopefully this practice will now become a phenomena of the past and more European countries will follow suit. .

The French Government has just passed a law banning under weight fashion models. This is to act as a preventative against anorexia in  the industry and models now will have to have a certificate from  their doctor that the agency holds on file. If anyone is found in breech of this law it is punishable by six months in prison and or up to a 75,000 Euro fine. This also aims to stop extream dieting by the models who act as role models for the younger generation.

The French government  has good reason to do so as this practice does not just affect the models but also all of society that is looking on and comparing themselves to these ideals that have also been airbrushed. Mostly vulnerable young people who don't have enough life experience to see through illusion, perhaps deception, of the edited pictures. This leads to lots of low self-esteem of which faulty self-image is a leading characteristic. This is why the French Government has also enforced as part of this law that all images that are photoshopped, now have a statement saying so. 

The world is full of illusion (maya) but never so much as in the fashion industry. In Buddhist psychology the first of the five skhandas is form. In the western world we are obsessed with form especially in the fashion industry. Focusing on form gives rise to self-identification which in turn gives rise to suffering. Lets say a person identifies themselves purly through form, like a model, when that model ages, as she surly will, then the body will too. These changes will be unwelcome and cause suffering as she will resist these changes. Therefore a person needs to Discover Their Beautiful Mind of wisdom and compassion.

One thing the press has failed to mention is that this type of anorexia culture and distorted images lead many in society to have Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Thousands of people have ended up being very self concious about their looks in an anxious way and have hang ups about non-existant flaws. 

Dame Anita Roddick founder of The Body Shop International, my old boss,  once put it very well in the 1990's when she ran a campaign against comparing yourself to ideals and a narrow view of what beauty is. At the height of the supermodel spindoctoring she placed posters in the windows of all her stores saying "'There are 3 billion women in the world who don't look like supermodels and only 8 that do.'

This comparing yourself to unrealistic people creates a lot of confusion for people which ultimately contributes to the Lifetrap of DEFECTIVENESS. If you don't have self-esteem you will have defectiveness. Let's face it  there is more to a person than just their looks. In Schema Therapy this LifeTrap is sometimes called the Unloveability Lifetrap. A person feels that they are somehow flawed usually without evidence.

One of the major champions of this latest challenge to the fashion induistry is international model and actress Cara Delevingne who is also  a friend of Justin Bieber. She said recently on Instagram “I am tired of society defining beauty for us. Strip away the clothes, Wipe Off the make up, cut off the hair. Remove all the material possessions. Who are we? How are we defining beauty? What do we see as beautiful?”

Since 2004 DOVE have been running a self esteem project that aims like ourselves to increase peoples levels of self esteem and be more body positive. which interviewed 10,500 females across 13 countries, found that women's confidence in their bodies is on a steady decline, with low body esteem becoming a unifying challenge shared by women and girls around the world - regardless of age or geography.

Despite this, there is still a strong desire among females to challenge existing beauty norms, with 71% of women and 67% of girls calling for the media to do a better job portraying women of diverse physical appearance, age, race, shape and size.

The report is the third and most comprehensive study Dove has undertaken on the topic, building on two previous studies published in 2004 and 2010. It reveals the impact low body esteem has on a woman's ability to realise her potential, with nearly all women (85%) and girls (79%) saying they opt out of important life activities - such as trying out for a team or club, and engaging with family or loved ones - when they don't feel good about the way they look.

Additionally, 7 in 10 girls with low body-esteem say they won't be assertive in their opinion or stick to their decision if they aren't happy with the way they look, while 9 out of 10 (87%) women will stop themselves from eating or will otherwise put their health at risk.

Here are some key findings from DOVE's The Real Truth About Beauty: Revisited which they published recently

• Only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful (up from 2% in 2004)
• Only 11% of girls globally are comfortable describing themselves as ‘beautiful’
• 72% of girls feel tremendous pressure to be beautiful
• 80% of women agree that every woman has something about her that is beautiful, but do not see their own beauty
• More than half of women globally (54%) agree that when it comes to how they look, they are their own worst beauty critic

New international French pop sensation Héloïse Letissier from Christine and the Queens was very annoyed with  the photoshopping that took place when she did a shoot for ELLE  magazine. Most people would be bribing for the graphic designers for enhancement such as this but not chanteuse Héloïse. She said it felt violent to have her imperfections erased, “For me, feminism and humanism are all about ways of owning your body and finding a way to exist without being oppressed."

Men are actually affected by this in other terrible ways.  More than 40% of boys in middle school and high school regularly exercise with the goal of increasing muscle mass. 38% of boys in middle school and high school reported using protein supplements and nearly 6% admitted to experimenting with steroids. More than four in five men (80.7%) talk in ways that promote anxiety about their body image by referring to perceived flaws and imperfections, compared with 75% of women. Similarly, 38% of men would sacrifice at least a year of their life in exchange for a perfect body – again, a higher proportion than women.

The only way to guard against this DEFECTIVENESS is to study and practice Self-Esteem as a subject. Self-esteem is the greatest psychological resilence we could ever give the younger generations. 

We run Mindful Beauty Self Esteem & Self Compassion Masterclass Days to deal directly with this. These one day events are hugely popular with rave reviews from participants and continuously being booked. If your company would like us to stage this training just get in touch.