Each new season brings it’s own joys and wonders. As we welcome Spring we are reminded that new life abounds and after a Winter of slow down and slumber, bulbs are emerging through the soil, seeking out sunlight and nourishment. To celebrate new beginnings we are focusing on pregnancy and new life along with health giving recipes and tips!
If you’ve been lucky enough to experience massage at any stage in life, you know just how much better you feel afterwards. Pregnancy Massage tailored especially for Mum to be can alleviate many common pregnancy conditions as they nurture new life.
As the body changes during pregnancy, so do the massage techniques. Massage is generally advised after you’ve gotten to the end of your first trimester (12 weeks) and is performed in a side-lying position with the support of lots of squishy pillows to keep you safe, comfortable and stable.
Here are some of the common benefits massage offers:
Muscle aches, pain, stiffness
During pregnancy the body changes and with each week and month comes an increase in weight and issues around balance and stability. This can affect your posture, causing extreme discomfort and can trigger pain in different areas from the neck, shoulders, spine, lower back to buttocks, thighs and calves. Pregnancy massage can help you soothe pain and sore areas with tailored techniques that improve blood circulation to fatigued muscles leading to better mobility.
Pain in pelvic area
Increased weight in the abdominal region and pregnancy hormones can cause pelvic and sciatic pain. During massage our therapists can work to ease the stiffness and discomfort of the pelvic joints.
Swelling of the legs and ankles
Swollen sore legs and ankles are very typical during later stages of pregnancy. Gentle, soothing, draining strokes will reduce the swelling and improve blood circulation.
Sleep
During massage the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, this immediately calms your body and mind leading to better sleep quality.
We are here to answer any questions you might have and can’t wait to guide you through this experience!
Springtime means more time outside and with that the opportunity to spend more time in nature: the weather is improving, new life is everywhere in nature, and the days are getting longer. There is plenty of research that proves being in nature has huge benefits to our long and short term mental and physical well-being.
If you’re into gardening and growing your own produce, then Spring has a lovely variety of seasonal foods like; artichoke, beetroot, bell peppers, carrots, chicory, cucumbers, leeks, parsnips, purple sprouting broccoli, radishes, rhubarb, salsify, spring onions, swede, sweet potato and watercress.
Wild garlic comes into season late March to April and what’s great is you can go foraging for it too. It’s part of the allium family that includes garlic, onions, shallots and leeks.
Throughout history, garlic’s main use was for medicinal purposes. Health benefits include anti-fungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory antimicrobial properties. These are caused by the sulphur compounds when the garlic is crushed, chopped, or chewed. It works amazingly with fish, stews, and pasta.
Here’s our quick and easy recipe for homemade pesto with a green leafy vegetable. For this one I used kale, but you can also use cavolo nero or spinach.
Wild garlic and kale pesto:
- 200 g of wild garlic
- 200 g of kale
- x1.5 juice of lemon
- Pinch of Himalayan salt and pepper
- Pinch of chilli flakes
- 5 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (extra virgin cold pressed)
- 50g sunflower and pumpkin seeds
- A splash of pasta water (the starch content gives it a thicker texture)
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast to give it a creamier texture (optional)
Method:
- Rinse and chop the wild garlic leaves
- Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the instructions
- While the pasta is cooking, remove the leaves from the stem of the kale.
- Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and steam the kale for around 5 minutes (don’t overcook and let it go too limp, you still want a bite to it)
- Add the wild garlic, lemon juice, nuts, salt, pepper, chilli flakes, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and a splash of pasta water) to a blender, gradually adding the olive oil as you blitz until it’s a nice creamy and chunky consistency.
- Drain the pasta, then add the pesto to the pan and stir
- Serve in bowls and enjoy
- You can also transfer the pesto to jars and keep in the fridge for up to a week