Most of my clients come to me having heard about me from someone else. The word of mouth option. Yes, I do lots of marketing, update the website frequently - and people do find me through these routes, but the majority of new people come to me as they've been recommended me by someone who's done well through the sessions. Or their child has improved significantly and they think they'll come too. People love to know what works for someone else, and equally love to tell you what helped them.  And so I think that the Find a Homeopath website is particularly great in that it gives people an option both to share their good news stories and to read about what has worked for others people.  It's a brilliant place to have a say - and it would be great if you'd share your story.

It's just here:
http://www.findahomeopath.org.uk/HaveYourSay and only takes a moment to complete the short sections.

For homeopaths, these stories are valuable, for the public, who may have thought there was no other option for their dis-ease - they can be more than valuable. They can change lives. I can't imagine how it would be for me struggling through with migraine after migraine. As a patient said to me recently 'my Doctor told me that there were some people who just got headaches and I was one of those'. It's wonderful to see that after a lifetime of chronic headaches, she knows that she no longer has to be 'one of those people' and there are options out there.

If you've a story to tell please share it. It could help someone just like you.

Many, many thanks,

Em x

PS Just click here!

The hayfever season may seem like a long way off. It's not yet been the darkest day. Still, I believe that the best way to treat hayfever is by prescribing on the biggest possible picture, giving the remedy that matches the person as a whole and allowing time for this to work. Whether that be as a catalyst, enabling the body to begin to heal itself, allowing the immune system to repair and mend or however it works. The fact is it works.  And starting treatment during the winter allows time for this mending, this healing to happen.  My belief isn't that the homeopathy itself is healing.  I don't believe anything heals except for our own bodies. I do think though that we get stuck, unable to mend due to a block, a repeating pattern we get stuck in, and sometimes this needs a little help, a nudge, a catalyst, to be able to get on and do it's own thing healthily again.  Which I believe homeopathy is able to assist with. I see it happen time and time again. Too many times to be luck, placebo, or all the other things we get thrown at us.

Anyway back to hayfever. Many people have their introduction to homeopathy through effective acute hayfever prescriptions and are blown away by the rapidity of response to the remedies.  Acute prescribing is great and can cut down the need for hayfever meds. Sometimes it may be all someone needs. Usually my feeling is that they may need to repeat the acute prescribing, and the hayfever may be likely to return as it's not been addressed on a deeper level. Which is where winter comes in. Now, or January/February time is a great time to get going - to look at the bigger picture, the who someone is as a person and find a remedy to suit them as a whole person, instead of merely isolated symptoms.  So give me a shout if you've any questions, or if you'd like to book in to address any issues. 

I'm happy to be working from the lovely Studio Pilates now on Tuesdays, from home on Wednesdays and from Craven Clinic on Thursday and Saturdays. And usually can be found with my head stuck into a book studying or appreciating the great outdoors (or both at the same time in summer) Mondays and Fridays (although I can be persuaded to work if people really can't fit into the other days)!

It's coming up to almost two years since our beautiful family horse decided it was time to move on. Tonight on twitter I saw a tweet from the vet who I consider as starting my whole homeopathic journey so it got me thinking.

Kara our Czech Warmblood mare had developed uveitis, which it transpired was recurrent for her. Conventional treatment was steroid injections into her eyelid, which I'm sure you'd guess, wasn't possible without an initial sedative. Every 6 weeks. And, as a precaution, she used to head into the field with her 'half pirate' mask on, a modification of a racing mask that meant her eye was able to be shielded from bright sunlight (or there was the total blockout mask that meant she could still go out and graze whilst having the attacks). Not a huge barrel of laughs.  With pretty limited conventional options mum took it upon herself (she's a fabulous researcher), to investigate. And chanced upon Chris Day, a veterinary homeopath who works in the south of the UK.  Following this lead further took us to a more local practice, a week of homeopathic remedies given to Kara. Not knowing what to expect we waited. And waited. And when she died 15 years later I guess we were still waiting for anything to happen.

Cured? Remission? Healed? Do they all mean the same thing? I don't know the answer to that. But I do know she never had to have steroids into her eyelid again, we relegated the pirate masks to the tack trunk and she enjoyed life to the full.

We used homeopathy on and off for the rest of her life, although towards the end after developing Cushing's disease and having ended up (not totally sure quite how but she did) on conventional medication which nearly was the end of her, we were pleased to restart remedies on a more regular basis which again served her well.

I love that our horse started my homeopathic journey. I love that my first ever experience of homeopathy blows the placebo effect out of the water. And I love that I am able to say thank you for the first seed of homeopathic awareness that was sown for me (I've thanked him tonight).

Homeopathy in the UK. It's been a funny old time recently, and yet I feel increasingly positive the tide is turning.  We needed a wake up call, we needed to work together as an organisation and we needed to grow together as a profession. Which has been one of the gifts that the skeptic movement has given us. 

Many of us practice homeopathy slightly differently to each other, indeed just as many General Practitioners practice slightly differently to each other.  We are working towards the same goal (both homeopaths and GPs too I guess albeit from even more different angles) - that of an increased level of health.  For the Homeopaths amongst us that may include a lower dependence on medication, a greater feeling of wellness, as well as a concrete reduction in symptoms for the patient.  Sometimes it's an education about living well as well as the remedy prescribed. It's an individual thing - and I believe it has to be. Afterall, my needs are very different from yours.  It's the memory of the same goal, the same healing potential that we're aware of with this very incredible medicine that for me means it's essential to work as a coherent whole. We work with holistic medicine, so surely being holistic in our approach to each other is the way forwards?

It is for me anyway - and to be honest in all areas. I want to see integrated healthcare where the medics and complementary practitioners work to each others' strengths.  I feel we have much to give. Working with food choices, homeopathy and other complementary medicines can make significant changes and improvements in health. Working together, both parties can provide better care for the individual.  However I digress. Tangents I am good at.

Working together as a profession, as professional homeopaths is what 4 Homeopathy have created.  A partnership between the leading registering bodies for homeopathic practitioners, patients groups, charities and other stakeholder organisations.  And this is what I'm calling homeopathy lovers, facebook users and tweeters for.  There is lots to do, much to be involved in and with and much we on the ground can help with. 

Have you benefitted from Homeopathic treatment? The Find a Homeopath website is collecting testimonials from patients who've found homeopathy and helped their complaints using it. It would be brilliant if you could take 2 minutes to share your story.

Do you tweet? Follow @HomeopathyWFM - there's a fabulous, fresh new awareness campaign coming very soon.

Facebook more your thing? Homeopathy Worked for Me is where it's at on facebook. You can like the page and follow updates as they evolve.

YouTube? I love to listen to videos whilst I'm cooking - whether it be homeopathy, food or... well usually it's homeopathy or food. FindaHomeopath on YouTube enables you to listen to brilliant, world famous homeopaths in the comfort of your home.

So check out the links, follow for brilliant information, and watch out for the really, really exciting awareness campaign that's coming very soon!

With gratitude and love,
Em x

I was at a marketing workshop today (where I did discover some useful hints, as well as that I'm not doing a terrible job of the marketing side of my business which was reassuring), and got chatting to the trainer guy. His wife is involved with nutrition and reflexology.  Apparently she thought about studying homeopathy but decided to help people not get ill in the first place. Which is a fantastic goal and one that I would love to add to my list of lifelong goals.

People do get ill before I've talked to them about food and before I'm able to make a difference here. So I think it's brilliant that homeopathy can assist in one's journey back to health.  Food too. And there is study after study (I'm currently reading Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr and the evidence presented is nothing short of astounding) which details how switching to a whole food, plant based diet can have hugely positive implications on one's health. At a very measurable level.

To go back to homeopathy and here I wish to call on Hahnemann, whilst he is not the earliest authority on food and eating this way by any means, as the founder of homeopathy and a great mind, it's interesting to hear what he says to avoid:

'Coffee; fine Chinese and other herb teas; beer prepared with medicinal vegetable substances unsuitable for the patient's state; so-called fine liquors made with medicinal spices; all kinds of punch; spiced chocolate; odorous waters and perfumes of many kinds; strong-scented flowers in the apartment; tooth powders and essences and perfumed sachets compounded of drugs; highly spiced dishes and sauces; spiced cakes and ices; crude medicinal vegetables for soups; dishes of herbs, roots and stalks of plants possessing medicinal qualities; asparagus with long green tips, hops, and all vegetables possessing medicinal properties (herbs - translation mine), celery, onions; old cheese, and meats that are in a state of decomposition, or that possess medicinal properties (as the flesh and fat of pork, ducks and geese, or veal that is too young and sour viands), ought just as certainly to be kept from patients as they should avoid all excesses in food, and in the use of sugar and salt, as also spirituous drinks, undiluted with water, ...'

So to cut out tea, coffee, beer, liquor, chocolate, very spicy foods, herbs in cooking, strong flavours (I've cut out onions recently and feel better for it), many meats, sugar, salt as well as avoilding all excesses in foods would be his recommendation here, at the footnote of aphorism 260.  It all makes sense to me.

Making dietary changes may help to restore health that has been impaired, just as working with homeopathy may. In my humble opinion, working with them both together can enable us to gain and sustain greater levels of long term health.

With love and healthful wishes,

Em x

It's my very special birthday tomorrow! And what I would really, really like is loads of wonderful, life giving presents.  I've made it really easy and they're all available from my website (couldn't get more straightforward really could it?)...

Just here in fact and you can get me anything from the chance to help de-worm 5 children to running a Maasai school for a month.  So very appreciative of your time reading this - thank you and have a beautiful day.

Em xx

PS If you'd like to get one of the gifts for someone else I'll absolutely promise not to be offended at all (and can even send you a card to pass onto them with details of how it helps).

 I wanted to share some advice about how to help minor complaints both while abroad and on holiday in the UK.

Digestive problems can blight even the best planned holiday, with tummy bugs being the most common travel-associated illness, according to the NHS Choices website.

While simple measures such as not drinking tap water can reduce the risk of stomach complaints, homeopathic remedies can be used to help holidaymakers get back on track.

Other common holiday complaints include sunburn, insect bites, jet lag and travel sickness.

Many people are looking for a more natural way to help their ailments. Homeopathic medicines are non-toxic, so they are safe to use in people of all ages.

Homeopathic medicine is holistic and while treatment by a professional homeopath is recommended, over-the-counter remedies can be used in minor ailments.

Homeopathic medicine works in a different way to conventional medicine, with each remedy having its own specific characteristics. Useful remedies to take on holiday include:

Arsenicum - the number one food poisoning remedy. There is much vomiting and diarrhoea, the patient is chilly, restless and anxious.

Belladonna – useful in sunburn where the burn is throbbing, you can feel heat coming off the body, and the patient may have a headache.

Cocculus – useful in travel sickness and jet lag, where there is nausea, vertigo (i.e. a ‘dizzy’ sensation as if you’re head is spinning), an empty feeling and you feel better lying still.

Ledum - useful in puncture wounds and insect bites, where the area is swollen blue and cold, but better for cold.

Arnica - the number one remedy for bruising but also useful in jet lag where there is an exhausted “bruised” feeling.

Note: patients are advised to consult their GPs before travelling abroad.

 

Happy holidays to everyone!

  My own journey into Homeopathy began in 1995 when my horse was diagnosed with an 'incurable' recurrent eye disease resulting from, we think, an injury.  Conventional treatment consisting of injections into her eyelid every 6 weeks meant she had to be sedated to do this wasn't a lot of fun for anyone involved. 

We began, or rather, at the time my mum, began to look at alternative options available to us - at this time conventional options were limited to the injections, and we'd also sourced a 'pirate hood' (adapted racing hood to have a full blinker on one side) which meant she could still go and play out instead of having to stay indoors until the atropine wore off if she was having an attack.

Several to many enquiries later we happened upon Towerwood Vets who are alternative practitioners - conventional vets who've then added Homeopathic training, Acupuncture etc to their work.  David Saxton one of their Homeopathic vets visited us and then sent remedies which Kara was to take for a week.

Conventionally we were told that she's 'in remission' however to date having had no attacks of uveitis for the next 17 years until her death - I was happy with the remission status.