By Mary Berkery
Happy springtime, everyone! Spring is starting well for me because this is the first of a series of regular articles I will be writing for Positive Life about positive beauty. I have been a tutor in Aesthetics for many years, with an emphasis on natural wellness and beauty, living-food nutrition, oriental diagnosis, holistic skincare, Shiatsu and eastern approaches to inner and outer care. My fundamental interest is the use of natural and soulful approaches to enable each person to find their own individual expression, eliciting their own vitality and glowing beauty.
As we step into spring, we certainly notice some changes. We want to sleep less as the days lengthen. We discover aliveness in ourselves, want to spend less time sitting in front of the fire or the TV and suddenly have the impulse to go out more in the evenings for a walk or a cycle or even simply to sit outside – weather permitting! We find ourselves throwing off some of those winter wraps and woollies we were enveloped in for so long.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, in winter we need to sleep more to build our kidney and adrenal reserves. We need to eat more warming spices and have less activity in our lives. In spring, the energy changes into what they call liver or gallbladder time, which is more active. So, how can we align our own inner rhythms with nature’s rhythms for health and harmony?
Time in nature
Get out and experience the invigorating joys of nature. Let the delicate colours of this time of year and the trills of birdsong fill your being with hope for new expansion in your life and with those you love. If at all possible, try to take a whole day outside to mark the turning of the light. Feel the fresh air, the rain, and invite the earth’s abundance to fill you and feed your soul. See the beauty of nature as a reflection of your own beauty and creativity. Ask what it is you need to let go of as you move towards the brightness of summer. Take time to listen to the awakening spring energies in your being. When you deepen into yourself, answers are there!
Regenerate your skin
Find the new you beneath those old skin cells. The Dead Sea Body Scrub is excellent; and for the face, the Dr. Hauschka Cleansing Cream and Cleansing Clay Mask will provide you with a cleansing mask routine for your face and neck. Nourish your hands with a mask and nail oil treatment at the same time. The hands can suffer badly from both the cold winter and from the drying affect of indoor heating. Lavish your body afterwards with delicious Dr. Hauschka Lemon Body Moisturiser to regenerate and stimulate skin function.
Detox
March and April are ideal times to do a detox. You can choose a three-day to a week-long detox. This will energise and bring back your youthful radiance. A place I recommend is Cloona Health centre in Co Mayo. You can partake in a weekend or even a week away. Another option is to do it at home with a home kit from the health store. Dr Vogel does a good herbal home detox kit. Include more spring greens in your daily diet such as lettuces, scallions, cucumbers, sprouts.
Juicing
Green Juices are ideal for alkalizing the body. They are rich in enzymes and antioxidants. Also, a daily shot of freshly juiced wheat grass is one of my inner beauty secrets. And it does so much more than that!
Receive a body massage or an acupuncture session
Body massage helps to remove uric acid build-up in muscles. It relaxes the speedy mind and improves lymph and blood flow. Acupuncture moves the stagnated damp heat that can accumulate over the winter and awaken the body into the rising energies of spring, boosting liver and gall bladder function. Find therapists who are recommended, and arrange times that will allow you to enjoy some free time afterwards.
Enhance your beautiful expression
Your hair style, clothes and make-up: are they revealing and enhancing the real you? Get rid of those clothes that no longer reflect who you are. Perhaps try a new, unexpected colour, or experiment with make-up to accentuate the beauty of your features, or ask your hairdresser to advise you on a new hairstyle.
Treat yourself to a Makeover using all natural products and enjoy a radiant and renewed you this spring.
If you have any questions regarding natural beauty, please email mary@livingbeauty.ie
