We are delighted to be welcoming Jeanette Svensson to our team this summer. Jeanette bring Cranio Sacral Therapy (CST) to WNT, a treatment we have been keen to offer for some time and we hope will be a boon to many of you!

CST is a fantastic treatment that is really less of a 'treatment' than an empowering self care session. Gentle touch is used and Jeanette listens with her hands and the body responds. Profound releases can be felt and also profound relaxation. CST is gentle, non-invasive, calming and can be powerful. 

Jeanette grew up with CST, her mum was a Cranial Osteopath so she experienced it through her childhood and came back to it in her adulthood for self care and in feeling it's efficacy she felt compelled to share this with others. Jeanette is also a yin yoga teacher and runs sound healing workshops. She is a space-holder in all of these environments and we think she will be a safe and warm space-holder with us at WNT.

Jeanette is used to bodies with a background in dance and her brand name now is 'Magic of Stillness' which really gives an idea of her approach and how she aims to support people. We are glad she has decided to share some of her magic with us at WNT and we hope you will enjoy benefitting from what she has to offer. 

Read more about Jeanette on her profile page and her own website.
Jeanette will be at WNT various hours over the summer, including weekdays and weekends. You can see her availability and book online here.

We have a couple of jackdaws that come to nest in the wall of our workshop every year. The first couple of years we lived here they drove me crazy, I was only aware of them when I came out of the workshop door and they suddenly flapped away. I’m a bit squeamish with flappy birds (ironic for a Duck I realise) and the fact that I forgot every time and then it gave me a sudden fright meant that I often ended up swearing and cursing them.

Then I learned something that changed my approach entirely. I learned that jackdaws mate for life and that they return to the same spot each year to have their babies. I learned that they are so clever (in my arrogant human terms) that they recognise specific people and choose to trust them. In this I learned that they trusted me, despite my cursing, and that they felt ours was a safe haven for their precious young.

I also learned – or rather realised – that this was a seasonal thing, that their arrival marked the beginning of spring and that their arrival would be quiet at first but as the weeks went on we would begin to hear little chirps of their babies and those chirps would get louder as the babies got bigger.

I still get the occasional fright if my mind is elsewhere when I go out that door on a May morning, but this is totally diminished now by the delight in hearing those little chirps, a delight my 2 year old daughter shares. We are now very fond of Maw and Paw Jackdaw as we call them and I hope we’ll keep seeing them for some years yet.

This annual ‘event is part of a host of things that are now now becoming rituals in our life on a rural smallholding. Before we moved up here we had imagined all the things we would be doing – planting, growing, keeping chickens and goats, making our own preserves etc etc. And then life intervenes with all the things it brings to interrupt our fantasies and we do not have goats or chickens, my veg patch is currently ¼ it’s intended size, the greenhouse is out of action and the polytunnel is full of aphids causing blackened cucumber plants, so sometimes I don’t think we are ‘smallholders’ in a true sense at all.

However, with my kinder eyes I see the little rituals that we have developed that my kids enjoy getting involved with and how, gradually, without our forcing them, they have become annual events that mark the passing of seasons, the children growing older and are little touchstones for us. And also fun things that keep us well oiled, fed and juiced for the rest of the year 😊
Some of these are:

• Picking elderflower in May and making cordial for drinking or making ice lollies
• Picking roses from our wonderfully aromatic rose bush in June and infusing oil that lasts the rest of the year for my skin
• June brings strawberry harvest and the beginning of pea season that has us all popping pods obsessively for a good couple of months, or more depending how well I did at planting stage!
  
• Picking Calendula that I started growing in 2018 and it now self-seeds rampantly with a beautiful array of yellows and oranges scattered through the veg patch, then using this to make calendula oil (equally vibrant in colour) for baths and skin and a fantastic calendula salve for cuts and scrapes that we also call ‘bum balm’ as it is a great nappy rash protector / healer
• July also brings the ripening of raspberries that are littered through our garden and as we get to the end of the month the gooseberries kick in – we have some enormous bushes so we eat these daily, and use them for jam as well as blackcurrants and redcurrants
  
• If we’ve left enough elderflower heads there’s elderflower syrup to be made in late summer as the brambles get going and we come home from walks purple with faces and fingers
• Apples are next and these go to eating straight up and then we’re into crumble season and some apple jam
• My husband, Wayne, is the jam maker and he also makes wines with brambles, apples, rhubarbs and gooseberries
  
• I’m the veg grower and preserver, so if I’ve gotten on well with squash we get some of this baked so we have pumpkin pie filling ready for Christmas and I get stuck into preserves in Autumn – usually some tomato chutney with whatever is left and then fermented chilli sauce and pickled beetroot are favourites

Add to this the ‘opening up’ of early spring when we start planting seeds and preparing beds and the ‘closing down’ of late Autumn when we clear older crops and mulch the beds for next year and we do really get a sense of living with the seasons and the passing of the years.

From discussions with the WNT team and exploring the idea of rituals as more enriching than habits,  my yearning now is that these annual events or duties can be firmly approached as rituals so that we are doing them with intention and attention and reaping even more reward than soothed skin and tasty preserves 😊

I turned 60 recently and was very excited to receive my wonderful London Oyster card and find out that I now qualify for free prescriptions but wanted to find out what other positives there are about reaching this milestone and while searching the internet was informed that it is a time of ‘celebration of resilience, wisdom and possibility’.                                                                              
 
As far as resilience and wisdom go this may be true, as by this age, we have had decades of experience dealing with sometimes challenging situations that we have hopefully managed to overcome.
 
Possibility however, will really depend on our financial security and physical ability. If we are fortunate to have a mortgage-free home, a good pension and with that, some spare cash, we can happily embrace a work-free future and spend more of our leisure time on hobbies, holidays and fitness. Ah yes. Fitness. This is the most important thing of all, as without it, possibilities may be limited.
 
From the age of 30 our bodies start to change. We start to lose lean tissue, muscles start to atrophy (3-5% per decade) and we see an increase in fat. Bones may start to weaken, skin starts to thin, joints start to stiffen and we start to lose height as the discs in our spine begin to dry out.
 
So what can we do about it?

I see a lot of clients who are over 60 and I am pleased to say that the majority of them have realised that they need to take their physical health more seriously.
 
According to current figures the average life expectancy is 81 for women and 79 for men (longer in more affluent areas) so when we turn 60, we can expect to live for another 20-30 years. Therefore we need to be able to move, have balance and be strong. Now is the time (if we haven’t already) to implement changes to save our bodies.
 
Fitness doesn’t have to be an expensive business.

• Walking. Walking is free, good for you and if you join a hiking or rambling club, also sociable.

https://www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/ramblers-groups/south-bank-group

• Running. No equipment needed apart from a pair of running trainers, love of the outdoors and some will power!

If you would like to start running and would like a very friendly beginners course, the Dulwich Park Runners run two courses a year in March and September. Members receive a 10% discount on Sports Massage at West Norwood Therapies.
https://www.dulwichparkrunners.co.uk/

• For something a little more challenging, why not look at Windrush Triathlon Club

Where you can run, cycle and swim with a friendly, encouraging bunch. They run weekly training sessions and also get a 10% discount at West Norwood Therapies.
https://windrushtri.co.uk/

• Cycling. A fantastic and inexpensive way to keep fit as you can always pick up a fairly decent second hand bike or borrow one from a friend if it’s for an occasional ride. Take a look at this website if you don’t know where to start.

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/cycle-skills

• Gym. Join the local council gym who have vastly reduced swimming sessions, exercise classes, and gym access. Active Lambeth offers a 15% discount to over 60’s (£43.85 per month) while Better offer a discount from age 66. If you are unstable on your feet, Active Lambeth offers a couple of chair-based exercise classes and aqua aerobics.

 
If you can afford it, I would really recommend finding a Personal Trainer and seeing them twice a week. If only once, ask them to design a simple exercise programme that you can either do at home or in the gym (with a few bands or hand weights) a couple of times per week.
 
If you think you can’t, look for concessionary seniors classes connected to local libraries, hospitals and community centres.

• Swimming. Have a few swimming lessons if you need them and then take yourself to the local pool or to one of London’s fabulous lidos.

 

• Pilates. If you book a block it can be cheaper and you will be going regularly so it is worth the investment. I would suggest that if you are new to Pilates, you choose a mat class rather than a reformer class. The reason being, if you have a weak core, you will learn the foundations of how to engage and strengthen it in a mat class. Whereas, the reformer equipment moves on springs and if you have little core strength to start with, this can be challenging and occasionally dangerous (you could fall off).

It is a good idea to find out the qualifications of a practitioner. At least a Level 4 in mat and reformer.

• Yoga.  Again check the qualification of the instructor. Do some taster classes to find out what kind of yoga is for you as there are many types. Yin (more stretching) to Vinyasa Flow (faster moving) and others in between.

 
N:B if you have been diagnosed with, or suspect you may have, hypermobility please inform your teacher as it is very easy to over-stretch tendons and end up with injuries.
 
Class Pass gives access to many different classes from gym to yoga and a two week trial costs £1. https://classpass.com/walkthrough/getclasspass

• Walking Football and Walking Netball

Great for those who are new to the sports or have previously played but are returning from injury or want something less stressful on the joints.
There are a few teams in South London
https://thewfa.co.uk/directory/pride-of-lions/
https://www.englandnetball.co.uk/play/walking-netball/

• Tennis, Padel and Pickle Ball

All of these court based sports are a lot of fun but can be expensive (padel for sure). And, if you are a beginner, it is very easy to get over enthusiastic and play too often.
Although they are wonderful fun and great for aerobic fitness, they can cause knee, hip and shoulder issues as there is a lot of ‘stop/start’ movement which puts stress on the joints.
https://www.lta.org.uk/support-centre/competing/competing-in-padel/what-is-the-gb-seniors-padel-tour-and-how-can-i-enter/
 
By keeping strong we will have increased mobility and energy to really benefit from the free oyster card travel to galleries, museums, parks across London, visiting friends and family and trying different exercise classes. AND greatly reduced the need for those free prescriptions.
 
Tessa Glover
Clinical Sport and Remedial Massage Therapy
ISRM/BTEC (Level 5) Professional Diploma
07966 473738

Frankincense as a ritual tool.
Rituals are ancient and found in all cultures in human history around the world. Pagan or religious, rituals and ceremonies have marked important milestones, cycles and events in the lives of our ancestors and can help us today to reconnect to values, to nature, to ourselves and the divine in a way that has been lost in time.

Rituals and ceremonies for Rite of Passages, such as coming of age like the First Moon (Menarche), for Closure and Beginnings like deaths, births, healing, marriage or separations, to celebrate the harvest or a new season, to crown the new king or queen with the anointing of the ‘Chism Oil’ - these all express a desire to honour and bring the sacred into our life.

When we are in ceremony we enter a profound connection with ourself and Source, whatever that means to us. We experience a glimpse of our divinity. We bathe in the bliss of eternity as we alter our consciousness and we perceive ourself as soul beings, as part of something bigger. Ceremony holds the mystery of eternity that unfolds the experiencing of our divinity.

Rituals nourish the soul, nurture healing and support our spiritual growth.

In ancient Egypt rituals were a daily sacred task performed in the temples with mystical aromatics like Frankincense, age old incense, used by many civilisations. Aromatic fragrances, ritual and the divine in ancient Egypt were inextricably interconnected.
"Scents were believed to originate from the gods, to have sprang from their eyes or their bones, in particular the eyes of the sun-god Ra" - Lise Manniche.
Sacred Scents were believed to be a link to become ‘one’ with the Divine, to be the very fragrance of the gods, derived from the sacred essence of gods, from their particular manifestation.

FRANKINCENSE
Frankincense has been described as the 'golden resin of the sun'. Spiritual and holy, Frankincense is evocative of ceremonial rituals from the land of the Pharaohs, it fills your space with the mystical scents of an ancient temple, bringing the sacred from the distant past into your present life. The history of the precious Frankincense resin can be traced back through ancient texts.

Revered by the ancient Egyptians, considered as valuable as gold, incense was central to the worship of the deities of the Ancient Egyptian Pantheon and large quantities of Frankincense  were burned every day in temples throughout Egypt. Olibanum, “the substance being conducive to a divine state” is documented in many hieroglyphic texts and it was listed as one of the seven sacred oils in temple rituals. Believed to help the soul of the deceased to find its way to the spiritual world, it was also found in the tomb of the young pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Frankincense is fundamental in my daily meditation, rituals and ceremonies, to open sacred space, purify my energy and cleanse the room, inviting blessings and protection and open the connection with self and the Divine. It immediately grounds me and connects me with source when the mundane feels too distracting and overwhelming.

Frankincense resonates at a high vibrational frequency, and yet it grounds you deeply on Earth while connecting you to the Divine. It provides spiritual protection, purification and energetic transmutation, dissolving the illusion of separation between the physical and spiritual realms. Centering and uplifting, it enhances focus, alertness and clarity.

PURIFICATION RITUAL WITH FRANKINCENSE
Fire Ceremonies are incredibly powerful to release the old and heavy, to burn away that which is holding us back from expressing all that we are fully and shining our light vibrantly.

Fire has the powerful ability to transmute energy and transform it. To transcend dense and disharmonious energies into resonant ones.

In many cultures and traditions, Frankincense, burned as sacred smoke, is believed to have the power to protect, purify and transmute heavy, negative energies.

For cleansing and purification purposes, the smoke of the burned resin can be smudged on yourself, your space, or any object you intend to purify by passing these objects through the smoke of burning frankincense. There ancient incense can be burned for DAILY MEDITATION, PURIFICATION, BLESSINGS & PROTECTION.

HOW TO BURN FRANKINCENSE
To release its scent the frankincense is burned over hot coals. The bamboo coals provide a natural alternative to standard commercial charcoal which contains saltpeter and interferes with the scent and therapeutic benefits of the frankincense.
Place the coal inside a censer or a small ceramic bowl, or anything that can tolerate heat. Once the coal is completely light up and white, place a piece of resin on top of it. Just a small tear of resin will produce enough scented smoke that will linger for hours. More resin can be added if needed.

FRANKINCENSE IN CEREMONY
In my Sacred Sound Ceremonies and healing sessions I integrates the ancient Temple Tradition of Sacred Aromatics.
One of my very favourite ceremonies is the Sound Journey with Sacred Frankincense Purification Ritual.

A Sacred Smoke Smudging Ritual is performed in preparation for entering the Inner and Outer Temple in this Sacred Sound Ceremony, using the sacred smoke of the Frankincense resin, green Hojari Frankincense (Boswellia sacra) from Oman and sacred instruments to clear our body on a cellular level as well as our energetic and electromagnetic fields.
In this ritual we offer sacred smoke to our own divine being and body temple. I instruct you how to perform this purification ritual, a skill you will take home with you.

This vibrational re-calibration will reset your unique energy signature to its original resonance. Both the sound frequencies and sacred scents have been used since ancient times for purification and healing purposes. Sacred smoke was offered to the gods and goddesses in ancient Egypt temple rituals; they believed these scents to be derived directly from the gods and be a link to become ‘one’ with the Divine.
A cascade of sounds from gongs, crystal singing bowls, flutes, chimes and other instruments then immerse you into a transcendental experience as set and promoted by the Frankincense.

Source: https://sothistemple.com/royalgreenhojarisacrafrankincenseresin
To learn more about Frankincense visit  https://sothistemple.com/sacredoilssoulessence/sacred-hojari-frankincense
and https://sothistemple.com/sacredoilssoulessence/sacred-hojari-frankincense
Source: https://sothistemple.com/royalgreenhojarisacrafrankincenseresin
 
ABOUT VERONICA
Veronica Massa offers unique multisensory soundscape experiences bringing the healing power of sound into ritual and ceremony. In her Sacred Sound Ceremonies, she integrates the ancient Temple Tradition of Sacred Scents - using Sacred Oils and ancient resins - connecting to the spirit medicine and soul essence of plants. She is the creatrix of Sothis Sacred Oils and founder of Sothis Temple where Sacred Art, Sacred Scents and Sacred Sounds meet in unison to celebrate life, nourish the soul and nurture healing and spiritual growth. www.sothistemple.com. Veronica is a visionary artist Spirit inspired and a multidisciplinary intuitive healer; in the past two decades she gathered experience in the Holistic Healing Arts and as a workshop facilitator.
Learn more about Veronica Nilah https://sothistemple.com/my-journey
 
WHAT IS SACRED SOUND
Everything is frequency and in a state of vibration. All matter vibrates at specific frequencies, including our body, our organs and the cells in our body. We are in optimal health and wellbeing when we have a normal resonant frequency, but if that frequency begins to shift then that part of our body is vibrating out of ease, we say it is dis-eased. This is basically the principle of using sound as a transformational and healing tool: “Sound can change molecular structure” restoring that part of the body back into its healthy resonance to repair damaged tissue and cells within the body and reinstate the harmonious energetic, emotional and mental function. The impact of Sound on human cells has been extensively studied since the ’80 but we also know that the ancient Mystery schools held a deep knowledge of sound and vibrational medicine, using sonic energy for healing and to achieve altered states of consciousness.
A sound immersion bathes you in deep relaxation restoring self-alignment, synchronizing the brainwaves and facilitating the rehabilitation of your cells to normal vibratory frequency, or to resonance which is your original vibratory frequency.