Category: – Healthy Lifestyle

Exercise and My Body

by Nicole Serafin (40 yrs old), Nutritionist / Dietician

In my mid twenties, after having a lower back and shoulder injury, my physiotherapist suggested some gentle stretching and Pilates exercises to rebuild the muscles and tissues – to strengthen those areas. I began first at home with the exercises she gave me, and then looked into doing a few yoga and Pilates classes.

My body became strong and my core strength was amazing, but I had become so obsessed with strengthening myself that I had stopped feeling what all of this exercise was doing to me – I had totally lost touch with how my body was really feeling. My body had become so hard and disconnected that I was unable to feel when it was time to stop or when I was pushing it too far. Continue reading “Exercise and My Body” →

Sleep

by Anne Malatt, Australia

“Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care.” (William Shakespeare, Macbeth)

I have always struggled with sleep.

Ever since I was very young, I remember not wanting to go to sleep, having trouble falling asleep, waking during the night and not being able to go back to sleep, and waking in the morning feeling more tired than I was the night before. I used to stay up late, trying to avoid sleep. When I was in my teens, I began drinking to try and help me sleep, which only made the problem worse. I tried everything, and nothing helped (except chamomile tea, which left a strange taste in my mouth). Continue reading “Sleep” →

Weight Loss

Anonymous,  NSW, Australia

Since regularly attending Universal Medicine events my body has gone through the following changes:

My weight has gone from 91.5kg to 69.5kg, or from a BMI of 27 to 21. The first 10kg through dieting (I was in a hurry and decided off my own bat to do something), the next 12kg happened by themselves.

I drank almost daily until five years ago and have never had any alcohol since. The interesting thing is that I don’t miss alcohol at all.

I drank my last decaf coffee two years ago because drinking a cup was like being kicked and I was unpleasantly racy for two hours afterwards. I love the taste of coffee but even decaf (let alone caffeinated) coffee is no fun.

The upside is that I have no problem working eight hours a day, six days a week, sometimes longer, and I don’t fade at all after lunch and am only pleasantly tired in the evening.

My blood pressure has gone from 125 to 109 and sometimes as low as 98, which is pretty good for a male aged 53. I had elevated cholesterol 10 years ago and my cholesterol is now deep in the healthy zone.

I regularly took multi vitamin pills in the past but gradually reduced it to one a week, one a fortnight, one a month and now no pills at all. When I took a vitamin pill during a very stressful time two years ago my urine turned a very bright orange which in the past only happened when I took too many vitamin pills, so I didn’t take any more.

My Ex-Partner – Chocolate

by Heidi, Goonellabah, Australia

I am a 22 year-old Australian with a Swiss background. It goes without saying that I loved chocolate. I loved the taste, the texture, the feeling and I ate it all the time. When I was 16 I started to nominate and second-guess my love/need for chocolate. It was strange, I started to notice that it was almost like chocolate would call to me and I was pretty much powerless to resist. I remember one New Year’s Eve I made the dedicated choice to not eat it for an entire year. Holy moly, that was hard!! I lasted a couple of weeks and oh, how long those weeks were! This is embarrassing, but one morning I remember cleaning the house and finding some old chocolate… hidden in the sofa. I looked at it guiltily for a while and then ate it. Well, it was a downhill spiral from there and my intimate relationship with chocolate started all over again. Except this time I was convinced we would be lifelong partners (whether I liked it or not). Continue reading “My Ex-Partner – Chocolate” →

A Woman And Her Family Start to Make Loving Choices

by Angela Perin, Brisbane, AUSTRALIA. DipT (ECE), BEd (ECE), Business Owner

I was introduced to the work and modalities of Universal Medicine in 2010, just over two years ago. One of my daughters had become quite ill with asthmatic symptoms to the point where she was missing many days off school. In the months prior, my eldest daughter was diagnosed with glandular fever and was also challenged with poor health as a result.

As parents, up until that point, we had prided ourselves in electing the alternative and natural medicine approach, and had largely avoided conventional medicine to treat any illness or symptom our family experienced. We felt we had a healthy lifestyle as we ate organic (wherever possible), and all participated in physical activity or sport on a regular basis. We didn’t eat fast food, my husband and I didn’t smoke, we didn’t have tattoos or body piercings, we didn’t drink excessively, and we capped our espresso coffees at 2-3 per day (we loved our coffee!).  Continue reading “A Woman And Her Family Start to Make Loving Choices” →

Learning Responsibility – it’s a Revelation

by Lee Green, Perth, Australia

Having worked in the hospitality industry for some 22 years I have seen many things and done many things that have made me who I am today. The choices I have made up until now have made me who I am right in this moment. I get to manage and run three cafes with an amazing team of people. They are everyday hard working people who get to show me many things that amaze, educate and make me wonder? Continue reading “Learning Responsibility – it’s a Revelation” →