Healthy Life Essex Newsletter - June 2008

Hi Everyone

Well, it’s here at last – the first newsletter of Healthy Life Essex. The delay means that this newsletter is a bit lengthy. Apologies! We promise they’ll not always be so long but we have loads of new articles and lots to tell you.

One of our greatest successes are our Wildlife / Countryside Events pages. The RSPB and Essex Wildlife Trust are really pleased with the work we have done on their behalf. Pick a date, see what’s on, and take a trip out in to the countryside!

We love wandering around other people’s gardens so, if you are like us, check out the Open Gardens section. And if your town or village is arranging an ‘Open Gardens’ do let us know and we’ll add the info. No charge – all part of the service!

Do let us know of appropriate events. No charge for any completely charitable events and a small charge for others.

Many of you will have already read the seven issues of Healthy Life – Mind, Body & Soul magazine. (For those of you who may not know, this was the predecessor to www.HealthyLifeEssex.co.uk). All the articles are of course on the site now and if you have not read the magazines you sure have a lot of reading to do!

The following are brief introductions to the new articles added, sorted in to areas of interest. This will be a regular feature of the newsletters. Some areas do overlap, so don’t be surprised if the same article appears more than once.

Click on the green links for the full story

Countryside & Wildlife
Must be our ‘twitcher’ month as we have a lovely new selection of bird articles provided by the RSPB. All you need to know about attracting birds into the garden and looking after them.

• Garden Bird Profiles
• Bird Facts
• Who eats what
• Make a Nest Box

We have also added to our bushcraft articles ‘Wildfood – Autumn’ from Kris Miners, our resident bushcraft and wildfood specialist. Slightly out of season so do look at the ‘Wildfood – Summer’ article now and check out autumn later in the year. Kris is also a teacher of bushcraft for Essex Wildlife Trust. He offers some great courses. See the Wildlife / Countryside Events calendar.

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Gardening 
Our new garden articles, provided by the RSPB, continue with the wildlife theme.

Wildlife Garden Calendar – exactly what it says on the tin! If you want to garden with wildlife in mind this will provide you with a month by month guide of jobs to do and tips to help you develop that wildlife haven.

Homes for Wildlife – more advice to help you create that wildlife haven including planning your garden, recommended plants, shrubs and trees, and 5 top tips.

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Charities

Fair Havens Hospice ‘In Need Appeal’
Many of you will know that Fair Havens Hospice in Westcliff-on-Sea had a major funding crisis earlier this year. Thankfully, they met their target to raise the £250,000 they needed by 31^st March so that essential services were not disrupted but, of course, ongoing funds are needed. Do read the ‘In Need Appeal’ to find out more about the wonderful services the hospice provides and perhaps consider ways to support Fair Havens in the future.

CANCERactive 
CANCERactive may be an unfamiliar name to you, but one we believe you should be aware of. This unique charity is one of the few completely independent cancer charities in the UK. (Are you aware of the amount of funding most cancer charities receive from the big drug companies?) CANCERactive provides evidence-based information and takes the best from orthodoxy, complementary and alternative therapies. Do read their article to find out why everyone should know about this charity. Chris Woollams, founder of CANCERactive, also wrote the poignant story ‘The Butterfly Effect’ for us.

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Therapies
We have lots of new therapy information:

Shamanism and Shamanic Healing by Mark Barwell. 
When I received my first bit of information about Shamanism I naively commented that it had a lot in common with other mind / body therapies. Mark, a Shamanic Practitioner and Reiki Master of Equinox in Westcliff-on-Sea (fantastic shop and therapy centre) politely explained that Shamanism is thousands of years old and many of today’s therapies actually have their roots in these techniques.

Mark, together with his colleague Adrian Harris, also runs the environmental group South East Essex Dragons www.seedragons.org.uk. The next meeting is 9th July at the Cricketers Pub, London Road, Southend-on-Sea.

Ladies, are you interested in joining an environmental group? South East Essex Womens Environmental Network meets monthly in Westcliff. Contact Eileen Peck eileen@peckfamily.co.uk for further information.

Hypnosis - Examining the Media Myths by Andrew Mercer
Andrew separates the hype from the truth.

Mickel Therapy – Harnessing the Power of Your Symptoms by Saul Levitt of Intuitive Health
Saul explains how this very new mind / body therapy works.

Singing Can Change Your Life by Alexandra Conner.
Alexandra is not a music therapist, she is a vocal coach and tutor based in Southend-on-Sea, but has nonetheless seen the dramatic mental, physical and emotional improvements that learning to sing can have. So go on – let it rip!

Sound Therapy - Good Vibrations by the School of Inner Sound
Music has great potential to help us create physical and emotional change. Many of us will experience different feelings when listening to music, but this article explains how sound vibrations work at a cellular level.

Coaching for Children by Jan Grover of Passion4Living. Jan is an experienced coach, based in Leigh-on-Sea, whose speciality is working with children. A coach will listen and help children gain confidence and set their own goals – often the fundamental key to a fulfilling future.

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Health conditions 

Stroke – Information provided by the Stroke Association.
Understand the symptoms if you suspect a stroke and act FAST.

Heart Attacks - Women and Heart attacks: 
One woman’s story of her personal experience of a heart attack, written in the hope that she might save others. Once again, understanding the symptoms, that were actually much more subtle than the dramatic stabbing pains you normally associate with heart attack, and acting quickly is essential.

Cancer – The Butterfly Effect by Chris Woollams of CANCERactive.
The poignant story of Chris’s beautiful daughter Catherine who was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour at the age of 22. Chris’s fight to ‘think outside the box’ and find every possible way to help his beloved daughter led to the formation of CANCERactive.

Mental Illness – "The drugs don't work..."
by Melanie Fryer of Health in Nutrition.
Research published in February 2008 revealed that only the most severely depressed patients benefited from the use of antidepressants. Melanie discusses the research and the role that complementary therapies can and should play in alleviating depression.

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Nutrition 

Looking at Food Labels by Melanie Fryer of Health in Nutrition.
Melanie is a member of the British Association of Nutritional Therapists and practices throughout Essex. She offers a simple guide to understanding the often very misleading labels on the food we buy.

Use Real Salt by Phillip Day
Founder of Credence and ‘The Campaign for Truth in Medicine’.  
Although common salt quite rightly has a bad press, ‘salt’ is essential for the body’s systems. Find out more.

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Other health issues.

Geopathic Stress by Jackie Tyrell of Feng Shui Pathway. Jackie is an accredited Feng Shui consultant who works throughout Essex, London and the South East Counties.  According to Jackie, research has shown that 85% of people that are suffering ill health are sleeping in a Geopathic Stressed area. Could this be affecting you or someone you know?

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Sustainability 

Green Car of the Year 2008.  The Environmental Transport Association (ETA) has looked at over 1,300 models of car to create the definitive guide to buying the greenest vehicle. Check out which cars to buy and which to avoid!

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Volunteering 

The GreenGrid Taskforce.  If you are based in the South East of the county and are interested in conservation and the environment, this could be for you.

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Reviews 

Books, CD, video reviews etc. will be included in the next newsletter. For this month we have only included our regular review on HiTec walking boots and shoes:
Auckland WP Lifestyle Shoe
V-Lite Radar eVENT adventure sport shoe

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We hope you have enjoyed this newsletter and managed to read most, if not all, of the articles! If you have any comments to make or you would like to submit articles yourself please do contact us.

And don’t forget, www.HealthyLifeEssex.co.uk is a Social Enterprise with a mission to help the community, so do please pass this e-mail on to your family, friends and colleagues.

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