Autumn 2017 Tidy Hints

Cam – Garden report
Autumn is officially here, although one may be forgiven for thinking we are still in a tropical Summer, with more humid days, and good rainfalls. We have begun to transition into our Autumn winter crops, with beds of Tuscan kale, rapini, Romanesco and salad leaves coming through. Its time to start removing old eggplant bushes, tomato plants and cucumber vines, to make room for our many micro leaf beds, baby beetroot, radish, daikon and carrots. We have transplanted our strawberry runners this month, and along with our first Blueberry bushes, we will be looking forward to freshly picked organic berries on the breakfast table in the morning.
We have begun to harvest the first of our young white ginger, for use in our Japanese salads, and for pickled ginger for our larder. In April we will start to harvest our red and yellow turmeric, which along with the ginger, will become a staple ingredient in our ‘winter tonic’. Just in time to bolster your immune system ahead of the cold and flu season.
With the change of season, its worth taking time to observe the changes in your garden. With the temperatures cooling, we can hope to see a bit of a relief in pest pressure, with caterpillars and grasshoppers becoming less prevalent. Do keep an eye out now for slug and snail activity, there is never any rest in the garden! Make up a diluted coffee spray, using your leftover morning plunger grind, and sieve out the fine pieces. Spray onto affected plants on a dry evening. You may have to repeat process after rain.
Enjoy your garden, make the most of the opportunity for quiet reflection, after a busy day at the office. Make it part of your daily practice to harvest something out of your garden each day, and make it a feature in your evening meal. This is the fundamental principles we work with at Gaia, and is one of the reasons our meals are so nurturing and nourishing.
With food+love
Cam

Danielle – Yoga
Sometimes we can find it hard to sleep. Here’s some good tips for drifting gently off to La La land.
Turning off your TV, computer, mobile early and perhaps listening to some soft
music or night sounds. Avoiding any alcohol, coffee, tea or heavy foods in the evening,
having a cup of chamomile or sleepy time tea, doing some gentle resorative stretches
on the floor, massaging some pure lavendar oil into your feet, having your bedroom dark and cool
with fresh air and free of electronic equipment. Doing some light reading then a gentle
breathing (pranayama) practice to slow down the mind. Imagine breathing gently all the way up
your spine then exhaling any worries, anger, fear or negative thoughts (dukkha) out of the body.
Sweet dreams………..X

Trudi – Skincare
Treat your skin to a new luxurious at-home beauty ritual. The summer humidity is almost gone and our skin can start to dry out. To keep your skin glowing, Autumn is all about weekly exfoliating and staying deeply hydrated.

Why not take a little inspiration from our new Gaia Spa facial treatments? Alongside Gaia’s own Retreatment skincare range, we’ve introduced fresh organic ingredients into our beautiful signature facials. These new nourishing rituals include coconut yogurt cleansing, strawberry masks and hydrating cucumber treatments.
Here’s a spa beauty tip to try at home. In addition to your daily skincare staples, add in a fresh face mask that only takes minutes to prepare:
1) Put 1 strawberry in a bowl.
2) Mash it thoroughly with a fork.
3) With your fingers, apply the mask to freshly cleansed skin for 10 minutes & wash off.
Voilà! Your skin will feel smooth & radiant. How does it work? Strawberries are rich in vitamin C and natural AHAs that dissolve dead cells & brighten the skin. Note: If your skin is super sensitive, switch strawberries for banana ~ this recipe will soothe & calm.
For more tips on your Autumn beauty ritual, visit our new Retreatment Organics website:
https://www.retreatmentorganics.com/pages/your-complete-guide-to-autumn-skin
Thanks!
T

Hayley – Naturopath
As the weather starts to cool it’s time to start eating more warming and cooked foods such as porridge, soups, stews, and casseroles. Eat fruits and vegetables that are in season, and eat the Autumn colours such as pumpkin, sweet potato, squash, ginger and garlic. Autumn is known as lung season, to avoid getting coughs and other respiratory conditions drink lemon, manuka honey and ginger tea; and keep your neck and kidneys warm, wear a scarf and a jumper if it’s windy. Enjoy the sunshine while it is still there, dose up on that Vitamin D to strengthen the immune system before winter hits. Even though the weather is cooling it is still important to be adequately hydrated, you can get this through herbal teas as well as water, it is the perfect weather for drinking tea. Some immune boosting herbs are Echinacea, which is an amazing immune modulator, and Andrographis which is another great immune enhancer. Please see your trusted healthcare practitioner for your individual prescription of immune herbs and supplements.

Mel – Day Spa Manager
Winter is upon us and this means caring for our body and our skin.
Our Body Polish is a fabulous treatment to treat your dehydrated and rough skin. Our Body Polish is performed in our steam room and the steam will also help to soften and prepare your skin for the Scrub to leave it soft and smooth after.
The steam room helps to open up airways which improves your breathing and alleviates congestion. It is great to receive this treatment when you feel like you are coming down with a cold or to look after your dehydrated skin. At Gaia Spa we also add some essential oils to the steam treatment to help you with relaxation and opening up the airways to improve your breathing.
The wet heat from the steam room also helps to soften your muscles, and is a great way to prepare your body before starting your Massage Treatment.
When you combine a Relaxation or Deep Tissue massage with the warmth from heated and warm stones, you get a truly warming experience. The heat from the stones may allow your therapist to work on problematic areas as the warmth penetrates through to your muscles and makes them more pliable.