Welcome to the 6th episode of the #UpYourBrave livestream series of panel discussions. I’m thrilled to have 3 awesome guests to share their insight and tips on having a Healthy Happy Home in times of Challenge.
Sharleen Greer is a mother of four daughters, a Midlife mentor who has a background in nursing and essential oils, and is a qualified Life Coach.
You can find Sharleen here: http://www.midlifecourage.co.nz/ or join her free Facebook Group Midlife Conversations: https://www.facebook.com/groups/691210164980696/.
In this episode Sharleen mentions:
- Ritual. It’s important in the home to set the boundaries and get some actions going. Sharleen talks about her evening meal ritual with her daughters, including how they incorporate essential oils into their routine, and how she managed when the kids were little, including incorporating blessings, gratitude and holding a family meeting to review the week. When schedules are busy try to carve out one evening a week where everyone is home and can participate, and create rituals around that.
- Distribute chores around the home, and get the kids to help with the running of the household. For example, when your kids are old enough, give them a coloured wash basket each so they’re responsible for their own washing, and work out what days they can cook a meal. Be sure you and your partner are on the same page beforehand to establish what jobs the kids are paid for, and what are done as being part of a family unit.
Matthew Cutler-Welsh is on a mission to inspire people to make a better place to live. He’s currently the Education Manager for Pro Clima New Zealand. Matthew has over 10 years of experience leading residential energy efficiency projects, including nearly four years as Technical Manager for Homestar at the New Zealand Green Building Council. In 2016 he joined the Board of the Passive House Institute New Zealand. He also sits on the advisory group of the Exceeding the Minimums research stream for BRANZ. Prior to training as an engineer, Matthew was an Outward Bound Instructor in New Zealand and the US.
You can listen to Matthew’s podcast here: https://homestylegreen.com
In this episode Matthew mentions:
- Our homes and buildings have a huge impact on our health. To help keep your home healthy, warm it up. Homes are often under heated, so don’t underestimate the value of keeping your house warm. Houses need to be at a minimum of 18oC vs the average home temperature (measured by BRANZ which is around 13oC).
- After warming your house, it needs to be dried to get the moisture out. The relative humidity and temperate climate in NZ makes it perfect conditions for mould. So continually extract damp air from the inside. Particular sources of moisture are cooking and bathrooms, so extract quite heavily from those areas especially during times of heavy use. Shower Domes are useful to retain that warmth and humidity inside the shower.
- There’s a lot of misinformation about heat recovery ventilation systems in NZ, they can cause more harm than good and are particularly inefficient. If you do have one, get it checked out by someone who knows what they’re talking about (and who’s probably not who sold it to you), as you may be drawing damp air in instead of extracting it. The best extraction system is a fan extracting warm damp air away from your bathroom and kitchen.
- Another big source of moisture if you have a wooden floor is the ground underneath. If possible, get underneath and put some plastic sheet down to stop the rising damp. Anything you can do to dry out the house will be of benefit.
Diane Sorrell has a keen interest in the mind/body connection and how it relates to discomfort and disease. She’s the business owner and Integrative Health Practitioner at Body•Mind•Health assisting adults and children with all aspects of health, especially accelerating potential, integrating optimum physical and mental health and the transformation into wellness. Diane is an experienced manipulative physiotherapist having worked in Auckland, Wellington and London and established a sports clinic in St. Anton, Austria. She’s trained extensively in Neurolink (Applied Kinesiology) and recently NIS and Psych_K, incorporating these techniques into her treatments.
You can find Diane here: https://www.bodymindhealth.co.nz/about/
In this episode Diane mentions:
- Keep calm and keep it together – breathe, stretch and move. If you’re not breathing properly it can increase your stress levels, including physical stress and pain. So take time to breathe, go outside to exercise and make sure you’re warm and comfortable at home.
- Keep your thoughts clear and positive, because how you think and feel can impact and show up in your body. While we’ve been in our bubble there’s been a lot of fear mongering in the media. It’s not positive to keep reinforcing how negative things are, when we need to be positive. Listen to your body and what’s happening with it, because there can be emotional triggers to a physical problem. Try meditating each morning, and reflect on the great things in your life.
Natalie Cutler-Welsh is your host, speaker, author, Impact Entrepreneur and mother of 3. Aka the Go to Girl and the Up Your Brave Mentor, Nat helps people to Amplify their Impact, business and wellness with her Amplify Membership and Essential Oils.
In this episode Nat mentions:
- Be aware of your kids’ ‘currency’, and remember to treat them equal but not the same, parent to their personality type. If you have more than one child, you might find the same tactic might not work with each child, so find out their ‘love language’ eg: is it quality time, acts of service, physical touch, words of appreciation or gift giving?
- One of the rituals in Nat’s house is to ‘say what you want’. So if someone is having a tantrum, complaining or blaming, ask them ‘what is it that you want’? Learning to say what you want and doing something about it is key to health and happiness.
This is one of the #UpYourBrave livestream series designed to help raise the state of resilience, health and happiness on a global level.
You can find Nat here: http://nataliecutlerwelsh.com/about/. You can also check out the other videos in the #UpYourBrave series here: http://nataliecutlerwelsh.com/video-series/.
You can also find more recommended tools and resources here.